Investigation of fuzzy logic approach for selecting hydraulic directional control valves at the preliminary design stage

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Osman, T.A. | El-Giddawy, E. | Bakery, M. | Salama, A.

Affiliations: Department of Mechanical Design and Production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 123413, Egypt | The Higher Institute of Energy, Sahara City, Aswan, Egypt

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: r&[email protected]

Abstract: Improper selection and sizing of hydraulic control valves at the preliminary design stage may cause many technical problems. Hydraulic control valves vary in arrangement and complexity depending on their function. The roots of the valve selection dilemma lie in the extraordinary variety of valve designs and the multidisciplinary skills required in selecting proper valves for control applications. Due to lack of complete information, uncertainty, and imprecision for system selection, a technique to perform design calculations on imprecise representations of parameters is presented in this work. This technique is based on fuzzy logic using fuzzy sets. Hydraulic directional control valve alternatives are expressed in terms of fuzzy orders of magnitude. Calculations based on fuzzy weighted average are performed to produce the ratings among design alternatives. Membership functions for the alternative rating are presented for comparison.

Keywords: hydraulic control, valve selection, directional control valve, fuzzy logic

Journal: Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 35-44, 2002/2003