Increasing the Power Density for Axial-Piston Swash-Plate Type Hydrostatic Machines

Power density is an assumed attribute of an axial-piston swash-plate type hydrostatic machine. As such, very little research has been conducted to examine the nature and limit of this machine's power density and the literature is all but void of this important topic. This paper is being written to fill this void, and to provide a thorough analysis of the machine's power density. This paper is also aimed at identifying the most significant parameters that may be adjusted to increase the power density for a typical machine. As shown in this research, the power density of an axial-piston machine depends upon four dimensionless quantities that are characteristic of the machine's rotating group. As it turns out, the allowable stress for the cylinder block is the most sensitive parameter that may be adjusted for increasing the power density of this machine. It is further shown that increasing the machine's swash-plate angle, and reducing the minimum overhang length for the pistons, will have a significant impact on the power density as well. It is significant to note that altering the number of pistons in the design has essentially no impact on the power density of the machine and therefore the selection of this design parameter must be based upon other design objectives. In conclusion, it is shown in this paper that the power density of a typical machine may be increased by as much as 64% by altering a few of these parameters within a realistic realm of constraint.