Hydraulic actuator control with open-centre electrohydraulic valve using acerebellar model articulation controller neural network algorithm

Real-time learning control of a hydraulic actuator is studied using a cereb ellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network architecture. Exp eriments are conducted on a one-degree-of-freedom hydraulic cylinder. The m ain applications considered are the earth-moving equipment applications. Th e electrohydraulic valve used to control the flow in the hydraulic circuit is an open-centre non-pressure-compensated type of valve, the type used in most earth-moving vehicles. Large hysteresis and dead band are observed in the hydraulic system which result in a large delay and poor dynamic trackin g performance. A comparison of the experimental results on the control of t he hydraulic actuator for the CMAC controller and a conventional proportion al-integral controller with a model-based feedforward valve transform is ma de.