Mechanical-Hydraulic Co-Simulation of Full Hydraulic Articulated Steering System

With the development and improvement of the hydraulic steering system, the articulated steering system became the research focus of numerous domestic and foreign scholars. The full hydraulic steering system with a compact structure and ease of operation, is widely used in articulated steering mode. Furthermore, its performance can directly impact the steering sensitivity and stability. This paper studies the working principle and actual structure of the priority valve and the steering control valve, which are very important. By setting up a mathematic model, the system’s load-sensing characteristics and the impact of steering control valve bypass throttle damping on steering stability can be analyzed. The Hydraulic Components Design (HCD) model was established for the hydraulic part of this system. It is proved that the model can reflect the system’s actual properties by comparing simulation and experimental results. The dynamic model is based on its actual prototype parameters by taking the tire and ground forces into account. The steering process’s dynamic characteristics are co-simulated in the 1D+3D system model by combining AMESim and Virtual.Lab Motion. The simulation results show that the system’s load-sensing characteristics ensure the sensitivity of the steering operation, and the bypass throttle damping has significantly improved the operation stability and lowered down the cylinder pressure fluctuations. This can improve the system performance by appropriate optimization.