Directional Control Principles

Introduce yourself to the function of the ports on a directional control valve and instruct yourself to the process of tracing the various flow paths through the valve.

Prerequisites

General knowledge of hydraulic schematics is required. Review of the lesson, Hydraulic Schematics, is recommended.

Description

This is the tenth lesson in the iKNOW Industrial Hydraulic Power Library. This lesson describes various directional control valves. The lesson explains the function of the ports on a directional control valve and instructs the process of tracing the various flow paths through the valve. The lesson also describes the centering conditions and piloting arrangements commonly used with directional control valves.

Objectives

Identify the schematic symbols for various types of directional control valves, Identify the functions of the ports on a directional control valve, Using a system schematic, trace the various flow paths through the directional control valve, Using a system schematic, describe how different kinds of directional control valves can be used to control the operation of a hydraulic cylinder, Describe centering conditions commonly used in directional control valves and Describe piloting arrangements commonly used with directional control valves.