When selecting a construction hole to make a connection, designers often maintain diameter of the target hole. Neither increasing nor decreasing the construction-hole diameter.
VEST conducted Finite Element Analysis based flow simulation research on holes which conduct hydraulic power, i.e. pressure and tank connections.
Expansion and contraction effects of the flow cause energy loss as flow bends and transits from one hole to another. A larger diameter for the construction hole results in lower pressure drop, regardless of the direction of flow. Beyond a certain relative size, upsizing of the diameter results in only marginal energy efficiency improvement.
MDTools® automatically selects an optimal upsized construction hole diameter.
Oil velocity ranges that can be defined by users:
· High velocity range, where energy concerns dominate and dictate upsizing of holes
· Low oil velocity range, where energy concerns are not significant and manufacturing costs dictate downsizing of holes
Pilot and Signal lines do not carry power and energy efficiency is of no concern. Diameters can be chosen based on geometry, stress, and manufacturability.
In rare cases, when a valve operates at flows significantly
lower than the rated flow, then the bend losses are low, and diameters
can be downsized.