Analysis and design of a novel hydraulic power source for mobile robots

We have developed a novel device to supply hydraulic power for anaerobic mobile,robotic systems. This power source demonstrates the possibility of operation in oxygen-free environments, such as underwater or in space. Unlike the internal combustion engine, the design produces power on demand, eliminating idling when there is no load on the system. This monopropellant-powered free piston hydraulic pump (FPHP) was designed as a human scale (1.0-3.0 kW) power source, and produces only steam and oxygen as its byproducts. The FPHP utilizes high concentration hydrogen peroxide as the monopropellant energy source, which decomposes into hot gas when exposed to a catalyst. Energy is extracted from the hydrogen peroxide and transferred directly to hydraulic fluid by expanding the hot decomposition gas in an integrated piston/cylinder arrangement. Based on a specific power and specific energy analysis using a Ragone plot, the performance of the FPHP potentially exceeds that of a battery-based hydraulic power source for short operation times.