Today’s mobile machines most often contain hydraulic valve controlled drives in an open loop-circuit. For the purpose of saving energy the constant pressure pumps have, in the past, often been replaced by load-sensing pumps and load-sensing valves. In mobile applications these load-sensing solutions have significantly reduced the energy consumption. However, in applications with unequal drive pressure levels the load sensing systems still result in energy losses, referred to as metering losses. Throttling losses associated to load lowering have also been paid more attention to in the energy debates. By instead adopting direct pump displacement control, with the capability of energy recuperation in lowering motions, many of these losses can be avoided. In this article the author has studied a hydraulic system configuration where each actuator/supply system comprises a variable displacement pump/motor working in an open-circuit together with four separate electrically controlled valves. The four valves render a solution versatile in control, as the cylinder chambers can be connected to pump and/or tank as well as be closed at any time. The pump is electrically controlled and is used either in pressure control mode or flow control mode depending on the state of operation. Along with the hardware described above, the open-circuit solution requires a number of electronic sensors as well as a microprocessor control system, hence the system is a mechatronic system. In contrast to a conventional hydraulic system the control objectives in this concept are not strictly defined by the hardware configuration, but instead many of its critical parameters can be adjusted in software, thus an increased flexibility in system design is obtained. Consequently, defining the desired system properties becomes even more important. Furthermore system robustness must be considered to a greater extent, due to the increased number of sensors and components. The main focus in this paper is to show how machine operability and performance depends on a set of chosen control strategies, what can be achieved as to energy efficiency and driver comfort and at what cost. Additionally the trade-off between energy efficiency and comfort is discussed. In previous work the author has investigated the influence on energy efficiency by lowering loads in different modes of operation, in respect to how the valves are controlled. In this article strategies to decide which mode of operation is the most energy efficient are considered, and how transitions between these modes can be handled by pressure matching prior to opening valves. As the open circuit solution does not support energy storage over time, methods to manage recuperated excess energy is investigated in order to prevent the primary mover from speeding up. The author will also discuss some application specific challenges where a wheel loader has been equipped with the open-circuit solution. For instance, how to handle interference between drives due to the mechanical coupling in the lifting framework and how to handle load actuation over gravity center.


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    Title :

    Applied Control Strategies for a Pump Controlled Open Circuit Solution


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2008-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    DDC:    629



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