Making hydraulic manipulators cleaner and safer: From oil to demineralized water hydraulics

This paper presents the developments carried out at CEA LIST to adapt the 6-DOF hydraulic manipulator Maestro to work with pure water instead of oil. Its elbow joint has been redesigned for water applications and a prototype of water hydraulic pressure servovalve has been manufactured. Both performances of the actuator and its pre-actuator are discussed. A model of the servovalve is proposed to identify its driving parameters and validate the next evolutions in its design, anticipating the second generation of prototypes.