Characterization & Identification of Short Circuit Connections in Hydraulic Drive Networks

Motivated by energy efficiency and decreasing the amount and size of components,
recent studies have presented hydraulically actuated systems that
include one or several fluid short circuit connections between actuator chambers.
The main motivations for establishing short circuit connection have
been to enable hydraulic power sharing directly between hydraulic actuators
in terms of cylinders and motors, thereby reducing conversion losses and
enabling reduced power installations in hydraulic drive networks. This paper
expands the general theory of hydraulic short circuit connections by generically
analyzing the consequences of short circuit connections. This analysis
is used to define which short circuiting schemes are physically feasible and
which inhibit the full functionality of a machine. Furthermore, a generic
method is presented on how to identify every feasible short circuiting scheme
for any number of double acting hydraulic actuators.