Precision Control for Diverse Applications
In the test and simulation industry, precision control, accurate motion, and short cycle times are crucial. Hydraulic systems rely on advanced components like servo valves to achieve exceptional fluid control and meet demanding performance criteria. Domin Valves are designed to deliver unmatched speed, accuracy, and reliability in dynamic environments, ensuring optimal performance across diverse applications.
Beyond their renowned capabilities, Domin Valves offer a unique combination of efficiency and performance. They precisely regulate fluid power, helping engineers replicate complex scenarios and gather accurate test results in the test environment.
Applications of Hydraulic Test Systems
Servo valves and proportional valves are essential for creating realistic environments within hydraulic test rigs and simulations. These systems enable engineers to analyse performance, assess reliability, and enhance the durability of products across multiple industries. Below are some key applications:
Automotive
- Crash Testing: Hydraulic systems control the precise motion of dummies and components during simulated vehicle crashes. By adjusting spool position and ensuring smooth fluid flow, servo valves enable the replication of crash scenarios with unmatched accuracy. This ensures critical safety data is captured and analysed for both structural integrity and occupant protection.
- Durability Testing: Hydraulic actuators apply repeated loads to test components under extreme conditions, ensuring long-term performance. Servo valves provide the high-frequency control necessary for simulating millions of cycles, enabling manufacturers to identify potential points of failure before products reach the market.
- Suspension Testing: Servo valve controls are used to simulate real-world road conditions on vehicle suspension systems. Hydraulic test equipment recreates potholes, bumps, and high-speed manoeuvres to ensure suspensions can withstand diverse terrains and driving scenarios.
- Brake System Testing: By using hydraulic pressure to replicate braking forces, servo valves help evaluate the performance and reliability of braking components under various load conditions. This contributes to safer, more efficient vehicle designs.
Aerospace Testing
- Structural Testing: Hydraulic actuators simulate forces and vibrations to evaluate the structural integrity of aerospace components. Servo valves play a critical role in recreating flight conditions, including dynamic loads and vibration profiles, to ensure airframes and other components meet strict safety and performance standards.
- Landing Gear Testing: Hydraulic systems equipped with servo valves test the durability and reliability of landing gear by simulating the forces experienced during take-off, landing, and taxiing. The precise control of fluid flow ensures accurate replication of real-world scenarios.
- Flight Control System Testing: Servo valve controls are integral to testing the responsiveness and accuracy of hydraulic flight control systems. By mimicking in-flight conditions, these tests ensure that actuators and controls perform optimally under variable loads and speeds.
Materials Testing
- Load Testing: Hydraulic systems apply controlled loads, providing insights into the static and dynamic properties of materials. Servo valves ensure precision in applying forces at various intensities, enabling detailed analysis of material deformation, strength, and resilience under pressure.
- Fatigue Testing: Hydraulic systems equipped with servo valves simulate cyclic loading to determine a material’s durability over time. This is particularly critical for industries requiring components to endure millions of cycles without failure.
- Impact Testing: Hydraulic actuators, guided by precise servo valve controls, recreate high-velocity impacts to evaluate how materials respond to sudden stress, contributing to advancements in safety and design.
- Thermo-Mechanical Testing: By integrating servo valves, hydraulic systems can combine temperature variation with mechanical stress to simulate real-world operating conditions, ensuring materials meet performance standards in extreme environments.
Renewable Energy Testing
- Wind Turbine Testing: Hydraulic systems simulate wind forces and mechanical loads to test turbine components under real-world conditions. Servo valves enable precise replication of varying wind speeds and pressures, ensuring components like blades and rotors can withstand dynamic forces over extended periods. Testing also includes analysing pitch control systems to optimise energy output and reliability.
- Hydraulic Energy Storage Testing: In renewable energy systems utilising hydraulic storage, servo valves manage fluid dynamics to test system efficiency and energy recovery rates. This testing ensures the reliability of components in large-scale energy storage applications.
Oil and Gas Industry Testing
- Pressure Testing: Pipelines, valves, and other components undergo rigorous pressure tests for safety and efficiency assessments. Servo valves enable precise control of fluid pressures to simulate conditions encountered in deep-sea or high-pressure environments.
- Blowout Preventer (BOP) Testing: Hydraulic systems equipped with servo valves are critical for testing the functionality and reliability of BOPs, which are essential for preventing catastrophic well blowouts. Precise control over hydraulic actuation ensures these safety devices meet strict regulatory standards.
Addressing Industry Challenges with Domin’s Solutions
Hydraulic systems face several operational challenges that can impact efficiency and reliability. Domin Valves are engineered to address these challenges head-on:
- Unstable Loading: Conventional valves can struggle delivering precise and consistent fluid flow and pressure. Domin’s valves deliver precise control, reducing wear and ensuring smoother operation.
- Slow Response Times: Mechanical feedback valves lag in dynamic scenarios, compromising productivity. Domin Valves feature rapid response times and high bandwidth for seamless performance.
- Lack of Dynamic Control: With enhanced fluid control capabilities, Domin Valves optimise spool position adjustments to match even the most demanding requirements.
- Energy Waste: Traditional systems often lose energy through inefficiencies. Domin Valves minimise parasitic leakage, align with sustainability goals, and cut operational costs.
Advantages of Domin Servo Valves
Domin’s precision-engineered servo valves are optimised to deliver the high-flow, quick-response, and low-leakage performance needed for absolute control over hydraulic actuation, helping manufacturers uphold the highest standards of test and simulation performance. Whether controlling the position, force, or velocity of hydraulic actuators, Domin servo valves deliver exceptional resolution and set new standards for the precise control and replication of real-world scenarios.
- Increased Accuracy: Minimal hysteresis ensures repeatable movements and precise input signal responses, enhancing test reliability.
- Seamless Upgrades: Drop-in interchange designs allow for easy integration into existing systems, reducing downtime.
- Optimised Energy Efficiency: With no pilot stage and reduced leakage, Domin Valves lower energy usage while maintaining peak performance.
- Extended Equipment Lifespan: Superior contamination resistance and reduced maintenance extend the operational life of hydraulic systems.
Supporting Hydraulic Test Equipment and Systems
Contact us to evaluate upgrading your hydraulic test stands with our high-performance servo valves tailored to your systems pressure and flow requirements. Explore what our customers have to say about their Domin valves in the testimonials section.