Comparison of various forms of oscillators for the

compensation of fluid flow pulsations in hydraulic

systems
J. Mikota1 , R. Scheidl2

Institute for Mechanics and Machine Design, Johannes Kepler

University of Linz, Altenbergerstr. 69, A-4040 Linz, Austria.
1
e-mail: mikota@mechatronik.uni-linz.ac.at
2
e-mail: scheidl@mechatronik.uni-linz.ac.at

Numerous hydraulic sources create significant flow- and pressure pulsations. Common
measures to reduce these unpleasant effects include accumulators, in particular featuring
a ’Pulse-Tone’ design, shock absorbers in various arrangements and novel multiple-volume
resonators. In this paper we will compare conventional devices to 3 novel concepts of
solid-body compensators, i.e. compensators based on a multi-degree of freedom mass-
spring system, compact λ/4 side branch resonators and compensators based on various
arrangements of plate/shell elements. For this comparison, we will use criteria, such as the
adjustment of the resonance frequency, mechanical stresses in the resonator, the ability to
compensate frequencies which are integer multiples of a base frequency as well as compact
and cheap design.

1 Introduction
Although the design of devices for the suppression of hydraulic noise has been an as-
pect of hydraulic engineering for a long time, a rigorous mathematical treatment of
their behaviour was so far undertaken almost exclusively by physicists (e.g. Rayleigh,
Ingard, . . . ). In this paper we will present a comparison of both conventional and
novel devices for the suppression of hydraulic noise. Three novel concepts, i.e.
compensators based on multi-degree of freedom mass-spring systems, compensators
based on various arrangements of plate/shell elements and compact λ/4 side branch
resonators will be investigated in detail with respect to the adjustment of the reso-
nance frequency, mechanical stresses, their ability to compensate frequencies which
are integer multiples of a base harmonic as well as compact and cheap design.
 Accumulator V a l v e

⊕ simple device, readily available M e m b r a n e

ª low performance (especially at high fre- C a s i n g

quencies) C

b
o

l o
n

c k
n e c t i o n

λ/4 Line silencer

⊕ simple device
P u m p L o a d

ª attenuation of odd order harmonics

only 2 n + 1
l n Î N +
2
ª builds rather long for low frequencies
In-Line noise suppressor
⊕ fairly simple device
ª expensive
P u m p L o a d

λ/4 Side branch resonator

⊕ simple device l = l / 4

ª attenuation of odd order harmonics

P u m p L o a d

only
ª builds rather long for low frequencies
Helmholtz resonator
V
⊕ simple device
A
⊕ simple frequency adjustment
ª attenuation of 1 harmonic only t

P u m p L o a d

Multiple volume resonator

⊕ fairly simple device
⊕ may be tuned in such a way to attenu-
ate integer multiples of a base harmonic O R

ª complex tuning
V a r i a b l e r e s o n a n c e M u l i t D O F t y p e

t y p e s i d e b r a n c h H e l m h o l t z

r e s o n a t o r r e s o n a t o r

Table 1: Proprietary noise suppressors

2 Conventional Devices
As can be seen in Table 1, no common device but the multiple volume resonator is
capable of attenuating a base harmonic and integer multiples of it. Furthermore,
the selection of compensators, such as accumulators and in-line noise suppressors, is
mainly left to the experience of the engineer, some rules-of-thumb and quite often
a field for trial and error.
3 Overview of novel concepts
3.1 Multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring compensators
3.1.1 Principle

c 1

p r e s s u r e l i n e d a m p i n g i n t h e g a p
m
Q ( t ) b e t w e e n c y l i n d e r w a l l a n d m
1

L o a d
c 2 d 3

m 2

s e a l i n g e l e m e n t
P u m p
c 3

m 3

F ( t ) = p ( t ) A N

Figure 1: Principle of a third order mass-spring compensator

The pulsating volume stream Q(t) originating at the pump produces a pulsating
pressure p(t) in the pressure line. This pressure p(t) acts on the mass mN as this
mass is coupled to the hydraulic circuit via a sealing element. Hence, the solid
body oscillator is stimulated by the Force F (t) = p(t) AN , where AN is the piston
area. The oscillator, i.e. the masses m1 . . . mN and springs c1 . . . cN respectively, are
tuned in such a way to place the natural frequencies of the oscillator ω1 . . . ωN at
the frequencies of the first n harmonics of the pulsating flow Ω1 . . . ΩN . This means
that a system with an initial pressure signal p(t) = p0 + p1 cos(Ω t) generates a
harmonic motion xN (t) = xN 0 + AN cos(Ω t + φ) of the (undamped) oscillator,
which cancels out incoming flow pulsations and consequently eliminates pressure
ripples (lim p1 → 0).

3.1.2 Frequency tuning

As presented in [3], an undamped chain-structure mass-spring oscillator of order N
may be tuned in such a way to place the natural frequencies of the system ω1 . . . ωN
exactly at Ω1 . . . ΩN , where

Ω1 = Ω
Ω2 = 2 Ω
..
.
ΩN = N Ω (1)

simply by using the following simple mass-spring allocation

 m1 = m c1 = Ω2N mN = N c
m2 = m/2 c2 = Ω2N −1 mN −1 = (N − 1) c
.. ..
. .
mN = m/N (2) cN = Ω21 m1 = c (3)

where the base harmonic of the pressure pulsation is Ω. Furthermore, it is possible

to show that this concept of frequency adjustment also works fairly well for weakly
damped systems (ζ̄ in the order of 0.01, see Fig. 7), where the dimensionless damping
ratio ζ̄ is defined by

d
ζ̄ = pN (4)
2 mN cN /mN

3.2 Compensators based on plate/shell elements

3.2.1 Principle

2 a
z

h r

r
P u m p L o a d

Figure 2: Principle of an oscillator based on a circular plate

The simplest conceivable compensator based on plate/shell elements is depicted

in Fig. 2. A plate of homogeneous thickness h is clamped at the circumference and
tuned in such a way to place the first natural frequency at the base harmonic of the
pulsating flow stream. Additionally, one needs to ensure that the stresses due to the
maximum hydraulic pressure pmax do not exceed the maximum permissible stress of
the material.

3.2.2 Frequency tuning and stress analysis

Assuming a circular plate of constant thickness h being clamped at the circumfer-
ence, the first natural frequency Ω may be calculated as
 s
λ11 D
Ω= where λ11 = 10.216
a2 ρ
E h3
and the flexural rigidity of the plate D= (5)
12(1 − ν 2 )
The induced bending moments due to a constant pressure distribution at the
bottom surface in radial and tangential direction, Mr and Mφ respectively, are given
[5] as

1
Mr = p a2 [1 + ν − (3 + ν)α2 ]
16
1
Mφ = p a2 [1 + ν − (1 + 3 ν)α2 ] (6)
16
where α = r/a.
At the circumference r = a, above equations simplify to

1
p a2
Mr = −
8
ν
Mφ = − p a 2 (7)
8
and result in maximum stresses at the bottom/top layer of

6 Mr 6 Mφ
σr = 2
and σφ = (8)
h h2
These stress components σr and σφ respectively may be combined to an equiva-
lent stress σE according to the ”von Mises” hypothesis
q
σE = σr2 − σr σφ + σφ2 (9)

3.3 Compact λ/4 side branch resonators

As known in the literature, a side branch resonator of length λ/4 may be used
to compensate incoming pressure pulsations of a base harmonic Ω1 = Ω and odd
multiples Ω3 = 3Ω, Ω5 = 5Ω, . . . of it.
However, since the length of the device l = λ/4 directly determines the first
filtering frequency f with
s
B cS
cS = and λ= (10)
ρ f
long pipes are required for the attenuation of low frequency noise (typically
λ/4 ≈ 1.1 m for a resonance frequency of 300 Hz using hydraulic oil). In the following
paragraph we will discuss how the influence of wall flexibility can be exploited to
build more compact resonators.
 0

- 0 . 5

w = W

- 1
1 1 3
0 l l l l
4 2 4

l = l / 4
0 . 5

w = 3 W
0

- 0 . 5

x
- 1
1 1 3
0 l l l l
4 2 4

P u m p
1

L o a d
w W
0 . 5

= 5
0

- 0 . 5

- 1
1 1 3
0 l l l l
4 2 4

(a) Principal arrangement (b) p = f (x) for ω = Ω, ω =

3Ω and ω = 5Ω

Figure 3: Arrangement and p = f (x) of a λ/4 side branch resonator

3.3.1 Principle

I n f l u e n c e o f w a l l

f l e x i b i l i t y c o n s i d e r e d

d p

I n f l u e n c e o f w a l l

f l e x i b i l i t y n e g l e c t e d

l = l / 4

Figure 4: λ/4 Side branch resonator considering the influence of wall stiffness

According to the theory of thin walled tubes, the increase of volume of the tube
due to an increase of pressure [1] is

∆p d
∆VT ube = V0 (11)
ET ube s
Therefore, the total increase of volume ∆VT ot is

∆p d ∆p ∆p
∆VT ot = ∆VT ube + ∆VOil = V0 + V0 = V0 0 (12)
ET ube s B BT ot

Hence, the bulk modulus BT0 ot , considering both effects is

 B
BT0 ot = B d
(13)
1+ ET ube s

3.3.2 Frequency tuning and stress analysis

Considering the effect of wall flexibility, the natural frequency f of a resonator is
given by

s s
1 BT0 ot 1 1 B
f= = (14)
4l ρ 4l ρ 1 + E B ds
T ube

A simple equation to estimate the stresses in a cylindrical vessel with diameter

d, wall thickness s and a homogeneous pressure distribution p is given by

pd
σ= (15)
2s

4 Illustrative Example and discussion

In order to highlight the merits and shortcomings of different solid body compen-
sators, we would like to discuss the following example:
Suppose two hydraulic systems, one low pressure system with pmax = 40 bar and
one conventional hydraulic system with pmax = 200 bar, are driven by a 9 piston
pump with nominal flow of QN om = 50 l/min at a speed of nN om = 1450 rpm.
C o m p e n s a t o r

9 P i s t o n p u m p

n = 1 4 5 0 r p m
N o m p B a c k
Q N o m
= 5 0 l / m i n

L o a d

Figure 5: Structure of application example

Assuming a very simplified model for the flow per piston, see Fig. 6, the base
harmonic of the flow pulsation for a given speed n and an odd number of pistons is
f1 = 2zn [1], which amounts to f1 = 435 Hz.

4.1 Multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring compensator

The first N harmonics of the incoming flow pulsations may be attenuated by a mass-
spring oscillator of order N . Assuming a third order system (N = 3) and a mass
 Parameter Unit Value Description
z - 9 Number of pistons
Hydr.
n rpm 1450 Pump speed
Pump
QN l/min 50 Rated pump flow
Hydr. B bar 16000 Bulk modulus
Fluid ρF kg/m3 850 Mass density
System pressure pmax bar 40 and 200 Maximum system pressure
E N/mm2 2.1E5 Young’s modulus of steel
Compensator ν - 0.3 Poisson’s ratio
material ρ kg/m3 7800 Mass density of steel
σmax N/mm2 500 Maximum permissible stress

Table 2: Parameters of application example

6 0

5 0

P i s t o n 1

4 0 P i s t o n 2

P i s t o n 3

P i s t o n 4

P i s t o n 5

P i s t o n 6
]

3 0 P i s t o n 7
i n

P i s t o n 8
[ l / m

P i s t o n 9

T o t a l F l o w
Q

2 0

1 0

0 p / 2 p 3 / 2 p 2 p

f [ r a d ]

Figure 6: Pump flow per piston

m = 0.6 kg, the masses m1 = m, m2 = m/2 and m3 = m/3 are given accordingly.
Since the base harmonic f = 435 Hz and hence Ω = 2πf = 2733 rad/s, the spring
stiffness is fixed to c = Ω2 m = 4.482 kN/mm with c3 = c, c2 = 2c and c1 = 3c. As
already outlined earlier, the sealing gasket of the mass mN has got some damping
effect assuming Newtonian behaviour of the hydraulic fluid in the gap between mN
and the cylinder surface. Fig. 7 gives an indication of the frequency behaviour of
the compensator for different dimensionless damping ratios ζ̄.
 1 5 0

S i n g u l a r i t i e s o f u n d a m p e d s y s t e m

1 0 0

z = 0

5 0

z = 0 . 0 1

]
B
[ d
i n
a
G

z = 0 . 1

- 5 0

- 1 0 0

1 0 2 * 1 0 4 * 1 0 6 * 1 0 8 * 1 0 1 0
3 3 3 3 3 4

F r e q u e n c y [ r a d / s ]

Figure 7: Normalised frequency plot of a 3rd order damped oscillator

Evaluation

⊕ Adjustment of resonant frequency is simple

⊕ Ability to compensate one base harmonic and

N −1 higher order harmonics by utilising one com-
pensator

ª Sealing element between mN and the cylinder wall

causes damping

ª Expensive

4.2 Compensator based on plate/shell elements

To facilitate a natural frequency of f = 435 Hz and to limit the equivalent stresses
at the boundary to σmax = 500 N/mm2 , the equations 5 - 9 need to be solved for
the plate thickness h and the plate radius a. Doing this results in the following
geometries:

pmax [bar] a [mm] h [mm]

40 13.4 1
200 150 24.5
 Evaluation

⊕ Simple mechanical design

ª Compensator only works at one frequency

ª Plates become large and bulky at high system

pressures and low frequencies of the pulsating
pump flow

4.3 Compact λ/4 side-branch resonator

Assuming a diameter of the resonator of d = 40 mm, the required wall thickness s
is given by equation 15 and results in
pmax [bar] s [mm]
40 0.16
200 0.8
The frequency condition in equation 14 may be fulfilled by making the length of
the resonator tube to
pmax [bar] l [mm]
40 463
200 671

4.3.1 Comparison of theory and numerical results

In order to compare the theory given in chapter 3.3 with the results of a numerical
calculation, the resulting λ/4 side branch resonator (length l = 463 mm, d = 40
mm, material steel, wall thickness s = 0.16 mm) was the object of a combined
acoustic/elastic analysis in ABAQUS. As you can see in the following table, the
results differ by approximately 5 - 15%. This indicates that further work is necessary
to confirm the results. However, the theory given in chapter 3.3 should be useful for
an initial design.
First natural frequency [Hz]
Wall thickness s [mm]
Analytical model FE model
0.16 435 376
0.24 492 426
0.32 560 531

Evaluation

⊕ Simple mechanical design

⊕ Large displacement volume
ª Resonator builds long particularly at high operat-
ing pressures and low frequencies of the pressure
pulsation
5 Conclusions
In this paper, we presented a comparison of both readily available and novel devices,
namely compensators based on a multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring system, com-
pact λ/4 side branch resonators and compensators based on various arrangements
of plate/shell elements, for the attenuation of flow pulsations. Even at this present
time, solid body compensators are a vital and cost effective alternative to other
devices, such as accumulators, etc. especially in the high frequency domain. Fur-
thermore, it is possible with some compensators to also attenuate higher order har-
monics by utilising a single compensator. It is believed that with the advent of
switching techniques (switching frequencies of up to 1 kHz appear to be feasible in
the near future) in hydraulics, solid body compensators will become a ubiquitous
part of hydraulic engineering.

References
[1] W. Backé, H. Murrenhoff Grundlagen der Ölhydraulik. Lecture notes: Institut
für fluidtechnische Antriebe und Steuerungen, RWTH Aachen, Germany, 1994.

[2] E. Kojima, T. Ichiyanagi Development research of new types of multiple vol-

ume resonators. Bath Workshop on Power Transmission and Motion Control,
University of Bath, UK, 1998.

[3] J. Mikota, R. Scheidl Solid body compensators for the filtering of fluid flow
pulsations in hydraulic systems. Mechatronics and Robotics’99, TU Brno, Czech
Republic, 1999.

[4] H. Parkus Mechanik der festen Körper. Springer Publishing Company, Germany,
1988.

[5] W.D. Pilkey Formulas for stress, strain and structural matrices. John Wiley and
Sons, New York, 1994.
List of notations
a Radius of plate m
A Area m2
B Bulk modulus N/m2
c Spring stiffness N/m
cS Speed of sound m/s
N s
d Damping ratio m
E Young’s modulus N/m2
f Frequency Hz
h Thickness of plate m
l Length m
λ Wave length m
m Mass kg
n Pump speed rpm
N Order of system −
p Pressure Pa
Q Pump flow m3 /s
ρ Specific mass kg/m3
s Wall thickness m
σ Mechanical stress N/m2
ν Poisson’s ratio −
V Volume m3
ω Natural frequency of dynamic system rad/s
Ω Harmonic of the pressure pulsation rad/s
z Number of pistons −
ζ̄ Dimensionless damping ratio −