<p>The electrification trend affecting off-road vehicles is paving the way toward dedicated electrified hydraulic actuation systems. Although traditional centralized fluid power architectures are still utilized in many applications for low cost, power density, and reliability, nowadays emission policy results in an increasing interest in developing electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA) solutions. EHAs enable non-throttling actuation and energy recuperation during overrunning loads, leading to higher transmission efficiency and lower fuel consumption. These features in energy efficiency make EHAs competitive in meeting emission regulations compared to conventional hydraulic solutions.</p> <p>The key challenge in developing the EHA solution comes from the high cost and space requirements, especially for the adoption of self-contained EHAs in mobile applications. In this study, two architectures for the EHA are proposed, a closed-circuit architecture and an open-circuit one, to determine the most practical and efficient configuration. The most effective open-circuit architecture with distributed concepts is further investigated for implementation, which requires less modification of the mechanical structures and performs more efficiently than the closed-circuit alternative. The proposed EHA is driven by an electro-hydraulic unit (EHU) consisting of a variable-speed electric motor and a fixed-displacement hydraulic pump, which is relatively cost-effective. A novel hydraulic configuration is proposed, which allows the EHA to cover full-speed operating ranges in four quadrants. </p> <p>To verify the EHA design, the behavior of the proposed system should be predicted prior to costly experiments and demonstrations. For this purpose, an integrated simulation model is developed based on the lumped parameter approach in the Amesim environment. The model includes the electric system, the hydraulic system, and the mechanism to be implemented, which are capable of flexible analysis of functionality, efficiency, and thermal performance.</p> <p>In this work, a dedicated test rig for EHA testing is developed. The test rig can help verify EHA performance, test the control algorithm, and diagnose errors before implementing the system on real applications. The experimental results from the test rig also validate the simulation model. An independent load drive of the test rig allows testing all possible  loading conditions of the proposed EHA, thus demonstrating the energy performance in four quadrants. Thermal behavior is investigated with long duty cycles to determine the need for additional cooling equipment. After the validation of the hydraulic configuration, a power electronics setup is added to the test rig, which allows to drive the EHA system with the novel designed EHUs. Validation on the test platform paves the way for implementation in a vehicle. </p> <p>As a final step, the proposed EHA system is implemented in a reference vehicle, a Case New Holland TV380 skid steer loader. A novel designed EHU is adopted to drive the system for technology demonstration. The energy savings capacity of the EHA is investigated in comparison to the baseline measurements of the traditional open-center hydraulic architecture. The impressive savings from the reduction of throttling losses and energy recovery guide the possible commercialization of such EHAs in mobile hydraulic applications. The controller design of the implemented EHA system is investigated with the aim of improving the dynamic performance, e.g., reducing damping oscillation. Basic power management strategies are also studied to integrate EHA with the power train of current hydraulic machines. Regarding future work, based on this research but not within the scope of this study, the proposed EHA system can be adopted with different types of prime movers, such as axial piston machines as the hydraulic part of an EHU. Furthermore, the design approach proposed in this study can help resize the EHA system for other applications with different loading conditions and power requirements, and the energy savings capability can be further investigated. With this, a comprehensive market analysis will be performed for the commercialization of EHA. </p>

The recent electrification trend in the off-road market has incentivized research towards the proposal of compact, cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions for hydraulic actuators. As a result, increased attention has been given to electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA) architectures. The paper offers a study performed on a novel closed-circuit EHA architecture with the goal to maximize the overall system efficiency while meeting or exceeding traditional off-road applications performance, thereby enabling further electrification of off-road applications. Both numerical and experimental approaches are utilized to validate the functionality of the proposed EHA circuital configuration in four quadrants. Moreover, the actuator functionality at both high and low velocities are considered, which has never been explored in the past due to the limitations on the hydraulic machine driving speed. The good match between the experimental data and the simulation results confirms the potential of the simulation model for sizing such EHA architecture for different actuator sizes, duty cycles, and performance levels.

In this paper, electrification of hydraulic systems is proposed using high-efficiency permanent magnet (PM) motors and wide bandgap power electronic drives. Direct driven hydraulics (DDH) is selected because of its higher efficiency compared to other conventional technologies such as valve-controlled systems. The DDH is directly driven by a servomotor. The ratings and design guidelines for a servomotor used in DDH applications are provided in this paper. Specifically, a surface permanent magnet synchronous machine (SPMSM) is designed. Finally, a state-of-the-art inverter using silicon carbide wide bandgap devices are designed for high performance operation.

The work presented in this paper aims at developing a hydraulic actuation system for an ankle exoskeleton that is able to deliver a peak power of 250 W, with a maximum torque of 90 N.m and maximum speed of 320 deg/s. After justifying the choice of a servo hydraulic actuator (SHA) over an electro hydrostatic actuator (EHA) for the targeted application, some test results of a first functional prototype are presented. The closed-loop unloaded displacement frequency response of the prototype shows a bandwidth ranging from 5 Hz to 8 Hz for displacement amplitudes between +/-5mm and +/- 20mm, thus demonstrating adequate dynamic performance for normal walking speed. Then, a detailed design is proposed as a combination of commercially available components (in particular a miniature servo valve and a membrane accumulator) and a custom aluminium manifold that incorporates the hydraulic cylinder. The actuator design achieves a total weight of 1.0 kg worn at the ankle.

В данной работе были рассмотрены различные испытательные машины, изучен принцип и особенности работы разрывной машины для статических испытаний металлов Р-10. Проведены расчеты геометрических параметров гидроцилиндров (основного рабочего и захватов), прочностной и расчет на устойчивость. Также, исходя из перечисленных расчетов подобран рабочий насос и среда – масло. Смоделированы детали модели в пакете программ SolidWorks, а в пакете MATLAB Simscape составлена сборка разрывной машины и добавлена система с гидроприводом. В результате исследования была получена имитационная модель статической разрывной машины для металлов, при помощи которой было проведено моделирование испытания на растяжение. Для этого был выбран образец стали известной марки с заранее определенными геометрическими параметрами. После чего к образцу были приложены различные усилия, и сняты показания удлинения образца. На основе этого был получен график. Затем с помощью данных усилие/перемещение и начальных геометрических параметров были рассчитаны пределы пропорциональности, текучести, прочности на основании которых и был определен материал образца. Данный пример демонстрирует правильность разработки подобных моделей в системе MATLAB, которые могут позволить провести детальные исследования процессов работы механизмов машины во время испытаний, в том числе оценить характеристики гидравлической системы разрывной испытательной машины. / In this dissertation, various testing machines were considered, the principle and features of the operation of a tensile testing machine for static testing of metals R-10 were studied. Calculations of the geometrical parameters of hydraulic cylinders (main working and grippers), strength and stability calculations were carried out. Also, based on the above calculations, a working pump and a medium - oil were selected. The details of the model were modeled in SolidWorks, and the tensile testing machine assembly was assembled in MATLAB Simscape and the hydraulic actuator system was added. As a result of the study, a simulation model of a static tensile testing machine for metals was obtained, with the help of which a simulation of a tensile test was carried out. For this, a sample of well-known brand steel with predetermined geometric parameters was selected. After that, various forces were applied to the sample, and indications of the elongation of the sample were taken. Based on this, a graph was obtained. Then, using the force / displacement data and the initial geometric parameters, the limits of proportionality, yield, strength were calculated, on the basis of which the sample material was determined. This example demonstrates the correctness of developing such models in MATLAB. They can make it possible to conduct detailed studies of the operation of the machine mechanisms during testing, including the evaluation of the characteristics of the hydraulic system of the tensile testing machine.