Design and Control of a High Velocity, High Force Hydraulic Shock Test Machine

This paper discusses the design and control of a large hydraulic shock testing device. The system is capable of peak velocities up to 10.2 m/s (400 in/sec) and peak forces up to 801 kN (180,000 lbs). The major challenges discussed are: 1) the concept design, 2) the specification and procurement of two very large (2500 gpm) electro-hydraulic servovalves and 3) the failsafe control of the servovalves and system response. The system performance is briefly discussed.