Computational study of the hovercraft hydraulic transmission

Abstract

Implementation of the vehicles optimal operating modes and improvement of their energy efficiency appears to be an urgent task. The paper considers a hovercraft with the hydraulic transmission. Combined mathematical model of hydraulic transmission and fan supplying air to the air cushion section was developed. Automatic control of the pump swashplate inclination angle with the vessel moving upon different support surfaces was analyzed in the MATLAB/Simulink environment in terms of increasing efficiency of the fan and system operation. The system calculation scheme is presented, and acceptable transient characteristics were obtained. The developed mathematical model makes it possible to select and assess optimal frequency of the hydraulic motor shaft rotation with the vessel moving upon different surfaces, analyze and improve the system energy efficiency. Using the proposed transmission control unit in a hovercraft allows maintaining the fan efficiency and the required vessel height above the supporting surface.