First Paper: A General Approach to Hydraulic Lock

Abstract

The present state of knowledge on the hydraulic lock phenomena of oil hydraulic control system components is reviewed briefly. A general one-dimensional solution of the Reynolds equation which governs hydraulic lock is presented. The solution embraces the particular solutions of past workers, and allows ready solution for piston-cylinder configurations for which a one-dimensional solution is adequate. A general method for making full solutions of the Reynolds equation is presented, requiring the use of a digital computer for particular solutions. Pressure distribution, the lateral force on the piston which produces hydraulic lock, and the location of the lateral force can be obtained. The commonly occurring case of a single-land piston lying tilted in its bore is examined in detail. The limit of accuracy of a one-dimensional solution is clearly shown by illustrating the discrepancies between the one-dimensional and two-dimensional solutions for several configurations.