Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 2462: 3D Printing for Energy-Saving: Evidence from Hydraulic Manifolds Design (Energies)

With the compact circuit layout and small size, hydraulic manifolds sometimes cause high pressure loss. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pressure loss under different circumstances with various geometry features and present solutions to reduce pressure loss. The pressure loss performance is evaluated by both experimental and numerical methods. Verified by the experiments, the numerical simulations are qualified to depict the correct trend of the pressure drop. After the basic analysis of traditional passages, three novel forms are proposed, which are very hard to be manufactured by a common method. Furthermore, the geometrical features are selected optimally by means of full factorial experiments to balance the pressure loss and space requirement. Moreover, taking advantage of 3D printing, it is possible to build the passages in novel forms which are beyond the capacity of conventional manufacturing. Results show that the pressure loss can be reduced considerably by adopting a smooth transition, where the reduction can reach up to 50%.