HYDRAULIC - Hydraulic Network Simulation

Description

The HYDRAULIC library is a specialized toolkit for the simulation of liquid networks in both steady-state and transient conditions. By utilizing a set of standard components—such as pipes, valves, turbomachinery, and tanks—engineers can construct complex systems where each component encapsulates fundamental conservation equations for mass, energy, and momentum. This deterministic framework is ideal for designing industrial pumping stations, managing reservoir energy storage, and validating sophisticated thermal management systems, such as cooling loops using water-glycol mixtures or mineral oils.

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Last Releases

VERSION DATE RELEASE NOTES
HYDRAULIC 3.2.0 May 2026 More Info
HYDRAULIC 3.1.5 December 2016

Main Features

The HYDRAULIC library provides a robust framework for deterministic fluid analysis, ensuring physical consistency and numerical stability through the following capabilities:

  • Physics-Based Modeling

    All components are based on fundamental conservation equations for mass, energy, and momentum, with integrated calculations for pressure drops.

  • Extensive Component Palette

    Includes a wide range of components such as tanks (uncovered and thermal), pipes, valves, and heat exchangers (based on the effectiveness method).

  • Hydraulic Machines

    Features specialized components for turbomachinery, including pumps and turbines, which can be modeled with optional rotor dynamics and mechanical inertia.

  • Incompressible Fluid Support

    Designed for incompressible liquids with constant density and specific heat. It includes a pre-defined database for Water, Water-Glycol mixtures, and Synthetic/Mineral Oils, while also allowing for user-defined fluid properties.

  • Smart Connectivity

    Uses the specialized "hyd" port to automatically manage the exchange of variables such as mass flow, pressure, temperature, enthalpy, and energy flow, ensuring physical consistency throughout the network.

  • Boundary Management

    Includes generic "Inlet" and "Outlet" components to easily impose boundary conditions for mass flow, pressure, and temperature within the schematic

  • Instrumentation and Control

    Provides dedicated sensor components to measure flow, pressure, and temperature, facilitating the coupling of hydraulic circuits with control blocks.

  • Multidisciplinary Integration

    Seamlessly integrates with EcosimPro’s CONTROL, THERMAL, and MECHANICAL libraries to simulate complex, multi-domain systems.

User Cases

This example features an industrial pumping system designed to transfer water between two reservoirs at different elevations. The model is configured in “Torque Mode” by activating the RotorFlag component parameter. This mode provides a high-fidelity dynamic analysis by incorporating the mechanical inertia of the pump’s rotor. Unlike simplified versions, this configuration does not directly impose rotation speed; instead, the system calculates the rotation speed based on the torque input applied to the shaft.

The pump is turned on at TIME = 1000s, at 1500 rpms. Then, at TIME = 2000s, the pump is accelerated up to 3000 rpms. After that, the pump is turned off at TIME = 3000s.

  • Dynamic Reservoir Levels: The simulation accurately tracks the transfer of fluid against gravity. As the pump operates, the water level in the upper reservoir increases while the lower reservoir empties, representing the conversion of mechanical work into stored potential energy.
  • Power Consumption and Losses: The rising water column increases the pressure difference between reservoirs, progressively affecting the consumed power (P_mech):

This example features a closed hydraulic system consisting of two reservoirs at different elevations connected by a pipe network and a control valve. The model is designed to demonstrate automated flow regulation: a PID controller monitors the mass flow and dynamically adjusts the valve’s position. The primary objective is to maintain a constant mass flow rate despite the continuously changing pressure head as the water levels in the tanks shift during the transfer process.

  • Precise Mass Flow Control: The simulation confirms that the PID controller successfully stabilizes the mass flow at the specified set point (e.g., 0.75 kg/s). Even as the water levels in the tanks move toward equilibrium and the natural driving pressure decreases, the flow rate remains constant.
  • Valve Compensation Dynamics: As the driving pressure between the tanks drops, the results show the PID controller progressively opening the valve to compensate. The constant mass flow is maintained until the tanks reach a physical equilibrium or the valve hits its fully-open limit, at which point the flow naturally begins to decline.

This example features a piping system centered around a heat exchanger (HydHex) that manages two distinct fluid loops. The cold side of the exchanger operates with water, while the hot side utilizes synthetic oil. The model is designed to show the library’s capability to simulate multiple fluids within the same schematic. The heat exchanger itself uses the thermal effectiveness method, allowing it to calculate heat transfer based on mass flow rates and fluid properties without needing complex internal geometry.

  • Temperature Distribution: The simulation provides a precise tracking of the temperature evolution for both the water and the synthetic oil. It calculates the thermal profiles immediately before and after the exchange process, allowing engineers to analyze how the heat is rejected from the oil loop into the water cooling line.