Integrated slipper retainer mechanism to eliminate slipper wear in high-speed axial piston pumps

The power density of axial piston pumps can greatly benefit from increasing the speed level. However, traditional slippers in axial piston pumps are exposed to continuous sliding on the swash plate, suffering from serious wear at high rotational speeds. Therefore, this paper presents a new integrated slipper retainer mechanism for high-speed axial piston pumps, which can avoid direct contact between the slippers and the swash plate and thereby eliminate slipper wear under severe operating conditions. A lubrication model was developed for this specific slipper retainer mechanism, and experiments were carried out on a pump prototype operating at high rotational speed up to 10000 r/min. Experimental results qualitatively validated the theoretical model and confirmed the effectiveness of the new slipper design.