Saving Energy in Construction Machinery using Displacement Control Hydraulics Concept Realization and Validation

Sammanfattning: In the sector of mobile hydraulics, valve controlled systems are predominant. In these systems the load force and speed are adjusted by control valves. In machines where multiple drives are used in parallel at extremely varying loads the energy efficiency of such systems is often compromised over large working regions. Most valve controlled systems also lack the possibility to recuperate potential energy.A different category of hydraulic systems, called displacement controlled hydraulics are based on the manipulation of the hydraulic flow using the relative displacement of the hydraulic machines as the final control element. This type of hydrostatic power transfer, yields a resistance free velocity control, ideally leading to lossless load actuation.This thesis concerns the introduction of a new type of displacement controlled hydraulic system, adapted for construction machinery. The system decouples the hydraulic functions using one dedicated hydraulic machine for each drive. These machines are of open circuit type, capable of over center operation which enables energy recuperation. The system also comprises four separate valves that by means of switching allow the cylinder to be controlled over all four load quadrants. Depending on the selected valve hardware, the system may also include features available in a conventional valve controlled system, such as meter-out flow control. The system supports both symmetrical and asymmetrical cylinders. However, using the asymmetrical type the load may be controlled in two distinct states of operation. This yields an increased region of operation, which is otherwise generally stated as a drawback in displacement controlled systems. It also allows the selection between different control modes, where one of the modes is always more efficient than another.In this research both theoretical studies and a practical implementation demonstrate the energy related benefits of the new concept. The target application of this study is a medium-size wheel loader. Measurement results using the wheel loader in a short truck loading cycle show a 10% percent reduction in fuel consumption. According to the theoretical investigation, this corresponds to a 20% reduction in energy consumption for the hydraulicsystem itself.