HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS PRESENTLY IN USE CAN BE VERY LIGHT AND RELIABLE (AS SHOWN BY AIRCRAFT USE), CAN BE EXTREMELY RUGGED AND DEPENDABLE AS SHOWN BY EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT AND MACHINE TOOLS; AND CAN OPERATE IN VERY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS, AS DEMONSTRATED

HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEMS PRESENTLY IN USE CAN BE VERY LIGHT AND RELIABLE (AS SHOWN BY AIRCRAFT USE), CAN BE EXTREMELY RUGGED AND DEPENDABLE AS SHOWN BY EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT AND MACHINE TOOLS; AND CAN OPERATE IN VERY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS, AS DEMONSTRATED BY SPACE SHUTTLE SYSTEMS. WHEN ELECTRICAL POWER IS NOT AVAILABLE OR CONDITIONS PRECLUDE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES, SPARKS AND HEAT SOURCES, HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE IF STORED ENERGY (ACCUMULATORS) CAN SUPPLY SUFFICIENT POWER FOR THE NEEDED TASK. A PRACTICAL ACCUMULATOR RECHARGING SYSTEM COULD HAVE MANY USES. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS A CONCEPT FOR RECHARGING HYDRAULIC ACCUMULATORS THROUGH THE POINT OF ANALYTICAL PROOF OF PRINCIPLE. ANALYSES OF TEST DATA WILL PERMIT FULL ASSURANCE OF IDENTIFYING ANY IMPACT TO THE ENVIRONMENT OR TO SAFETY CAUSED BY THE RECHARGER. THE PHASE I EFFORT PARAMETRICALLY ANALYZES ACCUMULATOR SIZE/WEIGHT VERSE RECHARGE CYCLE, CYCLE FREQUENCY/QUANTITY VERSE EFFICIENCY AND PRESSURE RANGES VERSE SYSTEM WEIGHT/EFFICIENCY. A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF A DEMONSTRATION ROTARY HYDRAULIC POWER PACK CONTAINING AN AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED RECHARGE SYSTEM AND ANALYTICAL DATA TO SUPPORT THE PREDICTION OF THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL HARDWARE IS DEVELOPED.