ABSTRACT

This paper describes a novel experimental approach to investigate the complex phenomena occurring in the sealing gap between the cylinder block and the valve plate of an open circuit axial piston pump. A sophisticated test bench has been built to simultaneously measure the temperature field directly inside the sealing land as well as the fluid film thickness at different pressure levels, speeds, and displacement angles. The measured operating conditions were analyzed, to understand the impact of the thermal condition on the gap heights in this interface. The results of three different tests with different cylinder blocks and valve plates will be discussed in the following.