With her simulation model, Maartje van Leuven made a lasting impression at COMSOL Multiphysics®.
In September 2020 she received a phone call asking whether she would like to present as a Key-note speaker at the COMSOL Multiphysics Conference 2020. She accepted the offer with great pleasure. This gave her the unique opportunity to show her innovative work!
With her topic “Deformation of a hydraulic valve block due to preloads and operating loads and their effect on the size of the valve spool fit”, she provided an inspiring example of how COMSOL Multiphysics® can be used.
In a hydraulic manifold for construction machinery, spool valves are used to control the movement of the machine. Spool valves essentially consist of two main elements: a cylindrical bore (1) in which a spool valve (2) slides. When the control spool moves in the bore, flow cross-sections are opened and closed, which enables the connected hydraulics to work.
In order to achieve good function and reliability in operation, the fit between the valve spool and the bore is important. Too much play leads to unnecessary leakage. Too little, and a slide that moved perfectly during assembly will later become stuck under the loads acting due to the deformation of the hole.
Simulations with COMSOL Multiphysics play an important role in gaining a deeper understanding of the deformation of the barrel bores due to preloads and operating loads.
With her work Maartje van Leuven has advanced the qualitative predictability of influences on the function of hydraulic valve blocks to a large extent. In the future, she will continue to improve the method she has developed in order to perfect the accuracy of the prediction and the universal applicability of the method.
We as XCMG are proud of our employee and wish her many more opportunities to present herself, her work and us at further conferences.