Proportional Fluid Amplifiers as Feedback Oscillators

Abstract

Oscillating outputs from proportional amplifiers of the jet interaction type are obtained by connecting the outputs O1 and O2 to the inputs C1 and C2, respectively, and by providing power jet pressures dictated by the amplifier’s make and its feedback loops. The distortion of the oscillating outputs with respect to pure sinusoidal signals varies between 7.5 and 15 percent. Although the system consisting of the proportional amplifier and its feedback loops is nonlinear, its ability to oscillate could be predicted, more or less, by studying the frequency-response plots obtained for the open-loop system.