Hydraulic system for a vehicle and method of using the same

An aircraft comprising:

• a fuselage;
• at least one wing attached to the fuselage;
• one or more landing gear assemblies attached to the fuselage, the one or more landing gear assemblies each comprising a strut, an axle, and at least one aircraft wheel;
• and
• a hydraulic system comprising:
• at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly rotationally coupled to the aircraft wheel, the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly having a first operating mode comprising a braking operation, wherein a rotation of the aircraft wheel causes the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly to pump a thixotropic fluid from a fluid reservoir of a fluid supply system;
• a variable restrictor assembly coupled to the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly, the variable restrictor assembly controlling a flow of the thixotropic fluid issuing from the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly, to brake the rotation of the aircraft wheel on a ground surface;
• and
• a variable restrictor controller coupled to the variable restrictor assembly, the variable restrictor controller controlling the variable restrictor assembly, so as to enable a variation of a rate of braking of the aircraft wheel on the ground surface,
• wherein the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly comprises an inlet flow port that receives the thixotropic fluid into the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly from the fluid reservoir of the fluid supply system, via the variable restrictor assembly, and further comprises an outlet flow port that discharges the thixotropic fluid from the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly to the fluid reservoir of the fluid supply system, via the variable restrictor assembly.

A method of using a hydraulic system for a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

• installing the hydraulic system in the vehicle, the hydraulic system comprising:
• at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly rotationally coupled to a road wheel of the vehicle, the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly having a first operating mode comprising a braking operation;
• a variable restrictor assembly coupled to the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly;
• and
• a variable restrictor controller coupled to the variable restrictor assembly;
• rotating the road wheel to cause the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly to pump a fluid from a fluid reservoir of a fluid supply system, and to convert a rotation of the road wheel into a flow of the fluid;
• using the variable restrictor assembly to control the flow of the fluid flowing to and from the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly, to brake the rotation of the road wheel on a ground surface, and to perform the braking operation;
• and
• using the variable restrictor controller to control the variable restrictor assembly, so as to enable a variation of a rate of braking of the road wheel on the ground surface,
• wherein the hydraulic rotary actuator assembly comprises an inlet flow port that receives the fluid into the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly from the fluid reservoir of the fluid supply system, via the variable restrictor assembly, and further comprises an outlet flow port that discharges the fluid from the at least one hydraulic rotary actuator assembly to the fluid reservoir of the fluid supply system, via the variable restrictor assembly.