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Hydraulic And
Pneumatic
CHAPTER Control Valves

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 INTRODUCTION

A fluid power system can be broken down into three segments. The power input
segment consisting of the prime mover and the pump. The control segment consisting
of valves that control the direction, pressure and flow rate. The power output segment,
consisting of the actuators and the load.
This section is devoted to each of the following categories of control valves.

1. Directional control valves

2. Pressure control valves
3. Flow control valves

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Cont’d…..
 DCVs control the direction of flow in a circuit, which among other things; can control
the direction of the actuator.
 PCVs control the pressure level, which controls the output force of a cylinder or the
output torque of a motor.
 FCVs control the flow rate of the fluid which controls the speed of the actuators.
VALVE CONFIGURATION
There are the essential types of control valves based on their configuration or modes of
operation. They are
1. Poppet or Seat Valves
2. Sliding Spool Valves
3. Rotary Spool Valves 3
POPPET or SEAT VALVES
In poppet valves, balls are used in conjunction with valves seats to control the flow.
 When the push button is depressed the ball is pushed out of its seats and hence the
flow is permitted from port 1 to port 2.
 When the push button is released spring and fluid pressure force the ball back up
against its seat and so closes off the flow.

 These types of valves are simple in design and

less expensive. The force required to operate the
poppet valves are more, so they are suitable
mostly for low pressure applications
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 SLIDING SPOOL VALVES
These types of valves are most frequently used in hydraulic system. A spool moves
horizontally within the valve body to control the flow. The raised areas called lands block
or open port to give the required operation.
 In first position the port 1 and port 2 is opened and port 3 is blocked so the flow is
permitted between ports 1 and 2.
 In the second position the ports 2 and 3 are open and port 1 is blocked so the flow is
permitted between 2 and 3.

 By using this type of valves different

operations can be achieved with a common
body and different spool. It is used for high
pressure applications. 5
 ROTARY SPOOL VALVES
These valves have a rotating spool which engages with ports in the valve casing to give the
required operation. The Figure shows the cut section of a rotary spool valve.

 When the spool rotates, it opens and

closes ports to allows and prevent the fluid
flow through it. There are four ports 1, 2, 3,
and 4. In the first position there is flow
between 1 and 3, 2 and 4. In second position
flow between 2 and 3, 1 and 4. In third
position all the ports are blocked by the
spool and there is no flow.
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DIRECTION CONTROL VALVES

These valves are used to control the direction of flow in a hydraulic circuit.
 According to the construction of internal moving parts it is classified as poppet type and
sliding spool type.
 It may be further classified as one way, two way, three way and four way valves,
depending upon the number of port connections available.
 On the basis of actuating devices, it can be classified as manually operated,
mechanically operated, solenoid operated and pilot operated.

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 CHECK VALVES
The simplest direction control valve is a check valve. It allows flow in one direction and
blocks flow in the opposite direction. It consists of a ball with a light bias spring that holds
the ball against the valve seat. Flow coming into the inlet pushes the ball off the seat against
the light force of the spring and continues to the outlet.

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PILOT OPERATED CHECK VALVE
Pilot lines are hydraulic lines that are used for control purposes. They typically send system
pressure to component, so that the component can react to pressure changes. The free flow
in the normal direction from a port A to port B is achieved in a usual manner. But the
reverse flow is blocked as the fluid pressure pushes the poppet into the closed position. In
order to permit the fluid flow in the reverse direction that is from port B to port A, a pilot
pressure is applied through the pilot pressure port. The pilot pressure pushes the pilot
piston and the poppet down. Thus the fluid flow in the reversed direction is also obtained.
The purpose of the drain port in the circuit is to prevent oil from creating a pressure
building in the bottom of the pilot piston. The pilot lines are shown in dashed lines.

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TWO WAY DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVE
A spool valve consists of a cylindrical spool that slides back and forth inside the valve body
to either connect or block flow between ports. The larger diameter portion of the spool, the
land, blocks flow by covering a port. This particular valve has two ports, labeled P and A. P
is connected to the pump line and A is the outlet to the system.

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 TWO WAY DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVE
‘Figure A’ shows the valve in its 'Figure B' shows the valve in its actuated state
normal state and its corresponding and its corresponding symbol. The valve is
symbol. The valve is held in this shifted into this position by applying a force
position by the force of the spring. to overcome the resistance of the spring. In
In this position, the flow from the this position, the flow is allowed to go to the
inlet port P is blocked from going outlet port around the smaller diameter
to the outlet port A. portion of the spool.

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Application of Two Way DCV
The figure shows the example of an application for
a two way valve.
 Here pair of two way valves is used to fill and
drain a vessel.
 Although two tanks are shown in this schematic,
there may in fact be only one tank in the actual
system.
 When valve 1 and valve 2 are in the closed
position then the line from pump and tank are
blocked to hold the fluid in the vessel.
 When the valve1 is shifted to the open position
and valve 2 remains closed. This will fill the
vessel.
 When valve 2 is shifted to the open position and
valve 1 remains closed. This will drain the
vessel. 12
THREE WAY DIRECTION CONTROL VALVES
As discussed earlier two way valves are used to start and stop fluid flow in a particular line.
They can either allow or block flow from a pump to an outlet line for example.
 Three way valves also either block or allow flow from an inlet to an outlet. They also
allow the outlet to flow back to the tank when the pump flow is blocked, while a 2
way does not.
 A three way valve have three ports a pressure inlet port (P), an outlet to the system
(A), and a return to the tank (T).

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(A) Extend Cylinder (B) Hold Cylinder (C) Retract Cylinder
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FOUR WAY DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVES
Four way valves are the most commonly used directional control valves in hydraulic
circuits because they are capable of controlling double acting cylinders and bidirectional
motors.

 The figure shows the operation of a typical four way, two positions DCV. A four way has
four ports, usually labeled P, T, A and B. P is the pressure inlet and T is the return to tank.
A and B are outlets to the system.
In the normal position, pump flow is sent to outlet B and outlet A is connected to the tank.
In the actuated position, pump flow is sent to port A and port B is connected to the tank.
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FOUR WAY DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVES

The most common application for a four way DCV is

to control a double acting cylinder as shown in the
Figure.
 When the valve is in the normal position, the
pump line is connected to the rod end of the
cylinder and the blind end is connected to the tank
 The cylinder will therefore retracted, the pump
flow will go over the pressure relief valve back to
the tank, as it must whenever the pump flow
cannot go to the system.
 In Figure B, the pump line is connected to the
blind end of the cylinder and the rod end is
connected to the tank. This will cause the cylinder
to extend. When the cylinder is fully extended,
pump flow will again go over the pressure relief
valve to the tank. 16
 SHUTTLE VALVES

These valves allow two alternate flow sources

to be connected to one branch circuit. They
have two inlets (P1 and P2) and one outlet
(A).
Outlet A received flow from whichever inlet is
at a higher pressure.
 If the Pressure at P1 is grater than that at
P2, the ball slides to the right and allows
P1 to send flow to outlet A.
 If the pressure at P2 is grater than at P1,
the ball slides to the left and P2 supplies
flow to outlet A.
The Figure shows a circuit that utilizes a
shuttle valve. This circuit allows either of two
three way buttons to operate a single acting
cylinder. 17
 DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVE ACTUATION
Various methods used to shift the valve are shown in Figure. All
shown controlling a spring return four way two position valve.
 Manual lever is a popular method of actuation for DCVs used in
mobile equipment applications such as back hoes, bulldozers and
farm equipment.
 Push button actuation is more prevalent in industrial applications.
 Foot pedal actuation, which could be used in an application in
which hands free shifting of the DCV is required.
 Cam actuated valves shift when depressed by some mechanical
component of the machine.
 Pilot operated valves are shifted with system pressure. As stated
earlier, pilot operated check valves use system pressure to hold a
check valve open or closed when pressure is applied to the pilot
line.
 Solenoid actuated DCV valves are shifted using electrical current,
which induces a magnetic force that shifts the valve spool.
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 PRESSURE CONTROL VALVES

The force of a cylinder is proportional to the pressure in a system and the area over
which the pressure is applied.
 Controlling the pressure level in a circuit will therefore allow us to control the
output force of a cylinder.
 Pressure control valves control the max pressure level and also protect the
circuit from excessive pressure, which could damage components and possibly
cause serious injury.
 Some types of pressure control valves simply react to pressure changes rather
than control the pressure.

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 PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES

Pressure relief valves limit the max pressure in a hydraulic circuit by providing
an alternate path for fluid flow when the pressure reaches a preset level.

The basic types are

1. Direct acting pressure relief valve
2. Pilot operated pressure relief valve

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 PILOT OPERATED PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE
The Figure A, B shows the pilot operated pressure relief valve, rather than a direct acting relief
valve, is used to control the maximum pressure.
 A pilot operated relief valve consists of a small pilot relief valve and a main relief valve. It
operates in a two stage process.
 First the pilot relief valve opens when a preset maximum pressure is reached, which then causes
the main relief valve to open. Just like the direct acting type, the pilot operated type has a
pressure port that is connected into the pump line and a tank port that is connected to tank.

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 PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE
This type of valve is used to maintain reduced pressure in specified locations of hydraulic
systems. It is normally an open valve.
It is actuated by down stream pressure and tends to close as this pressure reaches the
valve setting. The figure shows the construction of the valve.
This valve is one which uses a spring loaded spool
to control the down stream pressure.

 If down stream pressure is below the valve pressure,

fluid will flow freely from the inlet to the out let.
 When the outlet pressure increases the valve setting,
the spool moves to partially block the outlet port.
 If the valve is closed completely by the spool, it could
cause the down stream pressure to build above the
valve setting.
 To avoid this, a drain line is provided to drain the
fluid to the tank. 22
 FLOW CONTROL VALVES
Flow control valves control the flow rate of fluid in a circuit.

 They accomplish this by incorporating a variable orifice into the circuit that acts like
a faucet; closing the flow control valve orifice reduces the flow rate and opening the
orifice increases the flow rate.
 The speed of an actuator depends directly upon the flow rate in the system.
Controlling the flow rate therefore allows us to control the speed of actuators.
 A variable displacement pump’s flow output can be varied, even while it is being
driven at a constant speed. This will also control the actuator’s speed.
 In spite of this, flow control valves are commonly used because they are much less
expensive and easier to control than variable pumps.

Types
1. Needle flow control valve
2. Pressure compensated flow control valve
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 NEEDLE VALVE
The simplest type of flow control valve is needle valve as shown in Figure.

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 PRESSURE COMPENSATED FLOW CONTROL VALVE
The flow control valves blocks the flow in term there is a pressure drop across the
valve.
 This pressure drop affects the motion of the actuators and also increases the
temperature of the fluid.
 To eliminate the above problems pressure compensated flow control valve is
designed as shown in below Figure.
 This type of flow control valves
automatically adjusts the size of the orifice
in response to changes in system pressure.
 It accomplishes this through the use of a
spring loaded compensator spool that reduces
the size of the orifice when the upstream
pressure increases relative to the downstream
pressure. Once the valve is set, the pressure
compensator will act to keep the pressure
drop across the valve nearly constant. 25
 HYDRAULIC CARTRIDGE LOGIC VALVES
These are simple two position Open/Shut valves using a poppet and seat.
 Figure A shows the construction and symbol for a normally open (pilot to close)
valve.
 A normally closed (pilot to open) valve can be constructed as Figure B.

A.
B. 26
 HYDRAULIC CARTRIDGE LOGIC VALVES
Because a cartridge valve is a two position valve, four valves are needed to provide
directional control.
The Figure shows a typical circuit for moving
a cylinder.
 Note these are operated in pairs by a
solenoid operated two position valve; 2
and 4 cause the cylinder to extend and 1
and 3 cause the cylinder to retract. As
drawn the cylinder will drive to a fully
extended or fully retracted position.
 If the cylinder was required to hold an
intermediate position the single two
position solenoid valve would be replaced
by a three position center blocked valve
with one solenoid for extend and one for
retract.
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 HYDRAULIC CARTRIDGE LOGIC VALVES
Logic valves are very versatile.
They can emulate almost any type of hydraulic valve and can be used as directional controls,
pressure controls, check valves and flow controls.
 The valves can also handle large amounts of flow with accuracy.
 Their design may be simple or complex, although generally they are quite simple.

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Thank you
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