Dynamic Analysis of Integrated-Slipper Seawater Hydraulic Axial Piston Pump (ISHAPP) Based on Virtual Prototype Technology

Seawater hydraulic axial piston pump is the most commonly utilized core power component in seawater hydraulic transmission systems. However, as with traditional axial piston pumps, the lateral force on the piston-slipper structure severely constrains the pump's service life and reliability. Fortunately, an integrated-slipper structure can fundamentally mitigate this lateral force and thereby enhance the longevity of the piston pump. To comprehensively investigate the dynamic characteristics of the integrated-slipper structure, this study employs virtual prototyping technology utilizing ADAMS and AMESim software to separately model the dynamic and hydraulic modules of an Integrated-Slipper Seawater Hydraulic Axial Piston Pump (ISHAPP), followed by a coupled simulation within a unified software interface. The simulation results demonstrate that in the conventional structure, the lateral force acting on the piston exhibits periodic variation between -500 N and 500 N (with negative sign indicating direction). However, with the implementation of an integrated-slipper design, the previous lateral force acting on the piston is distributed between both the piston and connecting rod. Consequently, there is now a reduction in lateral force experienced by the piston to values ranging from -180 N to 300 N. The integrated-slipper structure effectively mitigates the impact of lateral forces. The ISHAPP virtual prototype facilitates the investigation of dynamic characteristics across the entire pump, and provides valuable guidance for innovation and advancement in seawater hydraulic piston pumps.