Reliable, high-frequency miniature valves for smart material electrohydraulic actuators

A key element in developing high-performance smart material electrohydraulic actuators is the design of improved check valves for high-frequency fluid rectification. One method to create valves with fast frequency response is to replace the single-reed valves typically used in these systems with an array of miniature-reed valves. A robust miniature-reed design is presented to overcome the fatigue and fabrication limitations observed in previous approaches. The fluid–structure interaction between an individual valve and hydraulic fluid is modeled using the multiphysics software COMSOL; the results are validated with experimental testing on an array of miniature reeds. The performance of this array in a smart material actuator is compared with a larger, single-reed valve design. The miniature-reed array is shown to reliably rectify flow in the high-pressure and high-frequency environment of a smart material pump.