Electro-hydraulic proportional flow valves are widely used in hydraulic industry. There are several different structures and working principles. However, flow valves based on the existing principles usually have some shortcomings such as the complexity of the system and additional energy losses. A concept for a two-stage poppet flow valve with pilot pressure drop – pilot spool opening compensation is presented, and the linear relationship between the pilot stage and main stage, the semi-empirical flow equation are used in the electronic flow controller. To achieve the accurate control of the outlet flow, the actual input voltage of the pilot spool valve is regulated according to the actual pilot pressure drop, the desired flow rate and the given input voltage. The results show that the pilot pressure drop – pilot spool opening compensation method is feasible, and the proposed proportional flow control valve with this compensation method has a good static and dynamic performance.

The Humanoid Walking Robot (HWR) is a research platform for the study of legged and wearable robots actuated with Hydro Muscles. The fluid operated HWR is representative of a class of biologically inspired, and in some aspects highly biomimetic robotic musculoskeletal appendages showing certain advantages in comparison to more conventional artificial limbs and braces for physical therapy/rehabilitation, assistance of daily living, and augmentation. The HWR closely mimics the human body structure and function, including the skeleton, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. The HWR can emulate close to human-like movements even when subjected to simplified control laws. One of the main drawbacks of this approach is the inaccessibility of an appropriate fluid flow management support system, in the form of affordable, lightweight, compact, and good quality valves suitable for robotics applications. To resolve this shortcoming, the Compact Robotic Flow Control Valve (CRFC Valve) is introduced and successfully proof-of-concept tested. The HWR added with the CRFC Valve has potential to be a highly energy efficient, lightweight, controllable, affordable, and customizable solution that can resolve single muscle action.

Electro-hydraulic proportional flow valves are widely used in hydraulic industry. There are several different structures and working principles. However, flow valves based on the existing principles usually have some shortcomings such as the complexity of the system and additional energy losses. A concept for a two-stage poppet flow valve with pilot pressure drop – pilot spool opening compensation is presented, and the linear relationship between the pilot stage and main stage, the semi-empirical flow equation are used in the electronic flow controller. To achieve the accurate control of the outlet flow, the actual input voltage of the pilot spool valve is regulated according to the actual pilot pressure drop, the desired flow rate and the given input voltage. The results show that the pilot pressure drop – pilot spool opening compensation method is feasible, and the proposed proportional flow control valve with this compensation method has a good static and dynamic performance.

<p>У овој докторској дисертацији, акценат је стављен на анализу даљински<br />управљаних дигиталних пнеуматских система у концепту Индустрије 4.0.<br />Доприноси тезе су сљедећи: 1) Показано је на који начин је могуће, постојеће<br />пнеуматске системе надградити тако да се омогући даљинско управљање<br />кретањем пнеуматских радних елемената, даљинска регулација притиска и<br />даљинска регулација протока. 2) Показано је на који начин је могуће развити<br />даљински управљан дигитални пнеуматски систем, који има могућност<br />даљинске промјене управљачких параметара (радног притиска и/или<br />протока) у току процеса рада, и који је искључиво софтверски<br />реконфигурабилан, те реализован на оптималан начин, чиме достиже ниво<br />флексибилности потребан да се задовољи основни концепт Индустрије 4.0.<br />Примјена добијених резултата могућа је у свим индустријским, а потом и<br />неиндустријским системима, у којима постоје пнеуматски радни елементи.</p> / <p>U ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji, akcenat je stavljen na analizu daljinski<br />upravljanih digitalnih pneumatskih sistema u konceptu Industrije 4.0.<br />Doprinosi teze su sljedeći: 1) Pokazano je na koji način je moguće, postojeće<br />pneumatske sisteme nadgraditi tako da se omogući daljinsko upravljanje<br />kretanjem pneumatskih radnih elemenata, daljinska regulacija pritiska i<br />daljinska regulacija protoka. 2) Pokazano je na koji način je moguće razviti<br />daljinski upravljan digitalni pneumatski sistem, koji ima mogućnost<br />daljinske promjene upravljačkih parametara (radnog pritiska i/ili<br />protoka) u toku procesa rada, i koji je isključivo softverski<br />rekonfigurabilan, te realizovan na optimalan način, čime dostiže nivo<br />fleksibilnosti potreban da se zadovolji osnovni koncept Industrije 4.0.<br />Primjena dobijenih rezultata moguća je u svim industrijskim, a potom i<br />neindustrijskim sistemima, u kojima postoje pneumatski radni elementi.</p> / <p>In this PhD thesis, the emphasis is placed on the analysis of remotely<br />controlled digital pneumatic systems in the scope of Industry 4.0. The<br />contributions of the thesis are the following: 1) The possibility of upgrading an<br />existing pneumatic systems to allow remote motion control of pneumatic<br />actuators, remote pressure control and remote flow control, is shown. 2) The<br />possibility of developing a remotely controlled digital pneumatic system, which<br />has the ability of remote change of the control parameters (the operating<br />pressure and/or the flow) during the operating process, and which is<br />exclusively software reconfigurable and optimally implemented, is shown. At<br />that way, it is achieving a level of flexibility needed to meet the basic concept<br />of Industry 4.0. The application of the obtained results is possible in all<br />industrial and then non-industrial systems, where pneumatic actuators exist.</p>