A REPORT ON

PROPORTIONAL VALVE _______________________

SUBMITTED BY: PRATIK PATIL

M. TECH., FIRST YEAR, MECHATRONICS. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KARNATAKA, SURATHKAL

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KARNATAKA, SURATHKAL

TABLE OF CONTENT:
SR. NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

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Introduction Types Of Proportional Valve Principle of Pascals Law Cross Sectional View Valve Representation Applications Application In Braking Braking System Without Proportional Valve Mounting Of Valve In Braking System Role Proportional Valve In Braking Methods To Control Rear Brake Pressure References

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INTRODUCTION:
A name Proportional means this valve gives output in proportion to the input. It is an open loop control valve that means the feedback of valve opening or closing is not received. The pressure or force control at outlet ports is maintained by the principle of Pascals Law. A Proportioning Valve is a valve that works on the laws of fluid pressure to distribute input forces to one or more output lines. A proportioning valve can increase or decrease forces for each output, depending on the cross-sectional surface areas of those output lines. A simple example is an input tube with crosssectional area A entering a chamber. Leading out of the chamber are two more tubes, one with cross-sectional area 3A and the other with area A/2. If a force F is applied to the fluid in the input tube, the pressure in that tube will be F/A. Utilizing pressure laws, we find that each output tube will see the same pressure. This means the output tube with area 3A will yield a force of 3F, and the output tube with area A/2 will yield a force of F/2. Thus, if you apply a 10-pound force to the input, you will get forces of 30pound and 5-pound, respectively, from the outputs. If you apply a 10 N force to the input, you will get forces of 30 N and 5 N, respectively, from the outputs. These valves are also called as Electro-Hydraulics as they can be operated by solenoid that is by supplying electric power or by sensors or by manual switches and the fluid used is incompressible liquid such as oil. Thus they can control direction of flow and/or amount of the flow and even the pressure or forces within the system as discussed.
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TYPES OF PROPORTIONAL VALVE:

1. Flow control valves

2. Pressure reducing valve

3. Pressure relief valve

4. Directional control valve

In this report we are going to discuss about flow control valve

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PRINCIPLE OF PASCALS LAW:

Within a fluid the pressure applied at different points is equal.

Figure 1
When pressure P1=F1/a1 is applied at right chamber the equal pressure P2=F2/a2 acts at right camber. That means a small force F1 at one point can create a large force F2 at another point (Figure 1).

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CROSS SECTIONAL VIEW:

Figure 2
This is typical cross sectional view of the solenoid operated proportional valve. When the solenoid is operated, the torque motor rotates and magnetic field generated. Due to this the strip is tilted slightly as a result the piston connected by mechanical connection moves forward thus the opening of ports takes place. The fluid flows from tank to supply port and vice versa as shown by arrows.

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VALVE REPRESENTATION:
A B

4/3 VALVE: FOUR PORTS:

One pressure port, two service ports and one exhaust port

THREE STATES:
When solenoid 1 is actuated then first state is achieved in which fluid from tank (port P) goes to service port A, and from service port B comes back to tank through port R. When solenoid 2 is actuated then second state is achieved in which fluid from tank (port P) goes to service port B, and from service port A comes back to tank through port R. In the normal position all the ports remain closed as show. The arrow mark on solenoid represents current can
vary (keep in mind output will vary in proportion to input).
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APPLICATIONS:
Supply different force to front and rear wheels while braking

Light length control (% of gas mixing can be proportional to air volume input)

Steam flow adjusted until the desired temperature at the exchanger outlet is reached

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APPLICATION IN BRAKING SYSTEM:

When diagnosing wheel lockup, one item you'll want to inspect is the brake proportioning valve. The brake proportioning valve is used to balance front and rear brake loads during periods of hard braking. When brake is applied to the vehicle the passengers move forward because of the vehicles motion. As a result the load distribution changes, more load acts on front wheels comparing to the rear wheels. So one has to apply more pressure to front wheels and comparatively less pressure to the rear wheels. Because if same pressure is applied then rear wheels get locked before front wheels which results it skidding of rear wheels. To avoid this proportional valve is used. The proportioning valve is usually mounted near the master cylinder. Brake pressure supply lines are routed from the master cylinder through the proportioning valve, to the calipers or wheel cylinders. Some system designs will incorporate the proportioning valve into the master cylinder outlet ports, to the rear wheels. The proportioning valve in a vehicle's brake system provides a way to control how much and when brake pressure is applied to each axle set of the brake system. Located between the master cylinder and the rest of the brake system, this component is the key to safe, reliable brake system operation in all conditions.

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Braking system without proportional valve:

Figure 3
Here whatever pressure applied at master cylinder same pressure acts at both front and rear wheels. This can be prevented by mounting proportional valve just after master cylinder as shown in Figure 3.

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MOUNTING OF VALVE IN BRAKING SYSTEM:

Figure 4
In the Figure 4 there are two supplies from master cylinder on either side of the valve. Two supply ports for front wheels (one for left and one for right). While only a single supply to rear wheels. By changing the diameter or cross sectional surface area of front and rear wheel supply port we can achieve different forces at respective wheels. Thus pre-locking of rear wheels is prevented by maintaining greater force to front wheels and comparatively smaller to rear wheels.
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Benefits
o

The benefit of having a proportioning valve in the system is that you can control front to rear brake bias by reducing pressure to the rear brakes when system pressure is high during rapid deceleration. This prevents premature rear brake lock-up during times of heavy braking.

Types
o

There are three types of proportioning valve in use today: master cylinder mounted, combination valve mounted and load sensing. Master cylinder mounted valves are located on the master cylinder and screwed into the fluid ports between the master cylinder and the brake lines. Combination valve mounted valves are part of the combination valve along with the pressure differential switch and the metering valve. This component is usually mounted to the inner fender or frame, just below the master cylinder. Load sensing proportioning valves are located in the rear of the vehicle on the frame. A lever attaches the valve to the suspension.

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Function
o

The proportioning valve is a spring-loaded device. As fluid pressure builds, the plunger in the valve begins to unseat. When pressure reaches the calibrated range, the spring is compressed, and the plunger moves to block the fluid passage. This prevents premature wheel lock-up. In a load sensing valve, the same function applies; however, the arm attaching the valve to the suspension changes the calibration of the valve to compensate for load. As the load gets heavier and compresses the suspension, the amount of pressure supplied to the rear wheels is increased.

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METHODS TO CONTROL REAR BRAKE PRESSURE:

Rear Brake Pressure Control In general, there are three ways to deal with rear brake pressure: leave it alone, make it proportional to the front brake pressure, or control it in a way that combines these two strategies. Strategy 1: Leave it Alone If no device were used to modify the rear brake pressure, then as shown in Figure A, the front brake pressure and rear brake pressure would always be equal. Naturally, this is the easiest way to deal with the issue, but in order to prevent rear bias under all conditions; the rear brake itself would need to be absolutely tiny.

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Strategy 2: True Proportioning True proportioning, as shown in Figure B, would result in rear brake pressures being linearly proportional to front brake pressures under all conditions. Ironic as it may seem, proportioning valves do not provide this kind of control, as they are not the purely proportional devices their name would imply.

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Combining Strategies Conventional proportioning valves should really be referred to as braking force regulators or brake pressure regulating valves. While their name might imply true proportional control, in reality they provide a combination of the control found in Figures A and B. Up to certain pressures, these valves allow equal pressure to both the front and rear brakes (as in Figure A). However, once a
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preset pressure point is reached (600 psi in the example), the rear brake pressure continues to build, but at a slower rate (or slope) than the front brake pressure (as in Figure B). Figure C displays this for us quite clearly.

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REFERENCES:
Brake Proportioning Valves, 14528 Bonelli St. Industry, CA 91746.

Hydraulic and Pneumatic Actuators and their Application Areas Elena Ponomareva, May 26, 2000.

ITI GmbH, Webergasse 1 C/2 . 01067 Dresden, Germany .

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