Cylinder block / valve plate interface performance investigation through the introduction of micro-surface shaping

Swash plate type axial piston machines are widely used positive displacement machines in different fields of industry ranging from aerospace, agriculture, automotive, heavy machinery, etc. Lubricating gaps are the main source of energy dissipation in axial piston machines. This type of machines have three lubricating interfaces: slipper/swash plate interface, piston cylinder and the cylinder block/valve plate interface. The cylinder block/valve plate interface being one of the most critical design elements of the machine. Extensive research has been done at Maha Fluid Power Research Center in Purdue University both to model this interface and to study the effects of micro-surface shaping on the solids interacting in this interface. The aim of this work was a more in-depth simulation-based investigation into optimizing the cylinder block/valve plate interface by introducing micro-surface shaping in order to achieve a fluid film thickness that compromises between leakage and viscous friction, maximizing the overall machine performance