22.
Integration of Engine & Hydraulic Controls for Best Operation
Gary LaFayette, Stephan Gruettert, Michael Gandrud
ABSTRACT
In 2012, the Tier 4 interim / stage IIIB emissions
regulations will mandate that new Diesel engines emit
significantly lower levels of NOx (nitrogen-oxygen
compounds) and PM (particulate matter). Diesel engines
with power ratings below 56 kW will have less stringent
mandates to reach. This paper describes software that,
in combination with an electronically controlled engine
and an electro-hydraulic system, enables the vehicle
designer to mitigate the impact of these requirements by
allowing the engine in many machines to be downsized
below the 56 kW threshold while maintaining
productivity. Even in applications where engine
downsizing is not possible, the methods taught in this
paper have additional benefits, including reduced fuel
consumption.
The methods in this paper which are collectively termed
Work Function Control (WFC), provide engine anti-stall
capability, flow sharing among the machines hydraulic
functions, and intelligent engine speed control for
optimal engine efficiency and fuel savings. This
software solution enables efficiency and productivity
improvement in applications that have a work function
focused power demand, such as excavators, aerial lifts,
telehandlers, log loaders, forwarders, truck mounted
cranes and backhoe loaders. Validation testing of these
methods was performed on a backhoe loader. These
tests revealed a 19% fuel savings, and a potential to
downsize the engine by 18%.
INTRODUCTION
Upcoming emissions legislation and the risk of rising fuel
prices have forced vehicle designers to consider new
ways of improving machine efficiency while maintaining
or improving productivity. Since the electronic control of
Diesel engines is becoming much more common in the
off-highway market due to upcoming emissions
regulations, vehicle designers should consider new
opportunities that the combination of electro-hydraulic
systems and electronically controlled engines open up to
optimize machine efficiency and productivity.
Work Function Control (WFC) is Subsystem Application
software for use with Sauer-Danfoss PLUS+1
microcontrollers and associated hydraulic and electronic
Sauer-Danfoss (US) Company
Boris Laudenbach, Dieter Koenemann
Sauer-Danfoss GmbH & Co. OHG
products. This software provides three advanced
functions to improve the productivity and fuel efficiency
of the working hydraulics. These three core functions
are anti-stall, flow sharing, and intelligent engine speed
control. The anti-stall function limits the power
consumed by the working hydraulics under heavy engine
loads to prevent engine stalling. The flow sharing
optimally allocates flow to each function when the flow
demand exceeds the flow supply. The intelligent engine
speed control sets the engine speed to the most efficient
operating point given the flow demand from the hydraulic
system. In addition to these advanced functions, WFC
also provides the basic functionality expected in an
electro-hydraulic control system such as joystick shaping
profiles, input smoothing, and fault monitoring and
handling.
WFC HYDRAULIC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS An
electro-hydraulic work function system is required to
enable WFC. An overview of the components that may
be included in such a system is given below.
PLUS+1 microcontroller
Electronic Human Machine Interfaces
- (Joysticks, Steering Wheels, Pedals, Displays, etc)
Load Independent Electro-Hydraulic Valves
Electro-Hydraulic Steering
Variable Displacement Load Sensing Pump
Electronically Controlled Engine
Hydrostatic Propel
- Only when intelligent engine speed control is used while
propelling the machine
SOFTWARE ALGORITHM
This section first discusses the structure of the WFC
software, then how the three core components of anti-
stall, flow sharing, and intelligent engine speed control
are connected. Finally, the functionality and benefits of
each of the core components is discussed in detail.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION Figure 1 shows a simplified
block diagram of a system with WFC. In comparison to
a conventional system, a system with WFC is more
integrated into the vehicle power train and enables
advanced functionality. In the conventional system, the
flow from each valve section is proportional to the
joystick input and the engine throttle is manually set at a
fixed position during the work cycle.
With WFC, the software uses the joystick input along
with feedback from the engine and a pump displacement
sensor to find the optimal valve section flow to provide
flow sharing and anti-stall. Additionally, the joystick input
and pump displacement are used to dynamically set the
optimal engine speed during the work cycle.
The valve output block in Figure 1 performs the typical
processes of an electro-hydraulic control such as
joystick shaping profiles, input smoothing, and fault
monitoring and handling. It also uses the output from
the flow sharing and anti-stall blocks to provide the
additional functionality of WFC.
Joystick
Inputs
Flow
Sharing
Anti-
Intelligent
Stall
Speed
Speed Setpoint
Control
Speed
Engine Pump
Torque
CAN Messages
Engine Load Feedback
Engine Speed Feedback
Pump Displacement Feedback (Optional)
Figure 1: WFC Block Diagram
The pump displacement feedback as shown in Figure 1
is an optional signal in the control system. The
displacement feedback is only required for machines
that frequently operate at the pumps pressure
compensator limit. For example, machines used for
excavation frequently operate at maximum breakout
force (pump compensator limit) whereas machines
primarily used for material handling do not frequently
operate at the pump pressure limit.
The flow sharing and intelligent engine speed control
portions of the WFC algorithm require knowledge of the
total flow output from the hydraulic system to function
properly. In applications that do not frequently operate
at the pump compensator limit, the precise flow control
of Sauer-Danfoss PVG valves allows the total flow to be
accurately calculated from the valve input command and
spool flow profile. In applications that frequently operate
at the pump compensator limit, the valve command
cannot be used as an estimate of the total output flow
because the pumps pressure compensator is
modulating output flow to maintain the maximum
pressure setting. In these situations, the pump
displacement sensor is used to augment the joystick
input and calculate the total flow output from the
hydraulic system.
It is possible to implement WFC on machines that are
not fully electro-hydraulic. For example, on a backhoe
loader with a torque converter transmission, it is possible
for the intelligent engine speed control to only be active
when the transmission is in neutral and the machine is
being used as a backhoe. Also, if a limited number of
work functions are not electro-hydraulic (steering for
example); WFC can assume a minimum reserve flow
and speed for that function or compensate for the
missing feedback with the pump displacement sensor.
When the vehicle is fully electro-hydraulic (including
hydrostatic propel), work function control can be
integrated into a complete vehicle power management
solution that includes both the work hydraulics and the
propel hydraulics.
ANTI-STALL The anti-stall portion of WFC monitors
the difference between the engine speed set point and
the actual engine speed as well as the load signal from
the engine controller. When the algorithm detects a
situation that could lead to engine stall, the command to
Valve the flow control valves is reduced to lower the power
Output
demand from the hydraulic system.
Fault Checking To Work
Functions It is common for engines to be sized such that there is
Flow sufficient power to allow the hydraulic pump to operate
Valve
Pressure at maximum pressure and maximum flow simultaneously
(hydraulic corner power). This is done because
Load Sense
Signal
equipment operators find it very undesirable for the
engine to stall. With the anti-stall provided by WFC,
machines do not need engines sized to the hydraulic
corner power (a condition that typically represents less
than 10% of the duty cycle) because the risk of engine
stall can be mitigated with software rather than excess
engine capacity. For a given machine, this means it is
possible to increase the hydraulic pump size for
increased productivity or reduce the engine power for
improved efficiency and lower cost.
The anti-stall function only reduces hydraulic power
consumption when needed, especially useful in
applications with multiple power demands from the
engine. With hydro-mechanical torque limiting pump
controls, the torque limit must be set at a level that will
not stall the engine with all power demands active. With
anti-stall, hydraulic output is only reduced when the total
demand on the engine exceeds its load capacity. If the
hydraulic system is the only active power demand the
WFC system can provide a greater hydraulic output than
the competitive hydro-mechanical torque limiter.
The anti-stall function also allows for a priority scheme to
be applied to the reduction in hydraulic output. Such an
option is not available with the hydro-mechanical torque
limiting pump control without the additional expense of
priority valves.
FLOW SHARING Electronic flow sharing is particularly
useful with pre-compensated flow control valves (such
as PVG32 valves) since these valves do not provide flow
sharing functionality on their own. Even with post-
compensated flow sharing valves (such as PVG100
valves), electronic flow sharing offers additional
functionality and benefits not provided by the post-
compensated valve alone.
When the flow demand exceeds the flow supply in a
system with pre-compensated valves, the valve section
with the lowest load pressure receives flow first. Once
that valve section's requirements are met, the remaining
flow goes to the valve section with the next highest load
pressure; continuing until the available flow is
consumed. In some cases the highest pressure function
can come to a complete stop (stall) because the
available flow is exhausted. This characteristic is
undesirable in applications that frequently operate
multiple functions simultaneously.
The flow sharing portion of WFC monitors the joystick
input, engine speed and pump displacement to
determine when the flow demand exceeds the flow
available from the pump at the current engine speed and
maximum displacement. If the demand exceeds the
available supply, the commands to the work functions
are reduced such that the commanded flow matches the
available flow. The commands to the active functions
can be reduced proportionally or according to a priority
scheme. This prevents the stalling described in the
previous paragraph.
Since flow sharing is able to divide the available flow to
the active work functions, the pump does not need to be
sized to provide full flow to each function simultaneously
(a rare situation in most applications). This may enable
the use of a smaller, lower cost, pump that will operate
closer to its maximum displacement on average,
resulting in improved pump efficiency.
Since WFC implements flow sharing electronically, it is
able to provide several features not available with post-
compensated flow sharing valves. A list of these
benefits is provided below.
With WFC, some functions can be configured to
receive priority during flow limited situations without
the need for additional valves. With the hydraulic
flow sharing in conventional post-compensated
valves, only a proportional reduction is possible.
With WFC and pre-compensated valves, it is
possible to have independent load sense pressure
relief valves on each work port; an option not
available on post-compensated valves due to their
design.
WFC provides flow sharing using the real-time
joystick input rather than reacting to a flow limited
situation as with post-compensated valves.
Eliminating this lag removes a potential source of
instability in the hydraulic system.
With WFC, flow sharing can be toggled on or off with
an operator selectable switch. This is useful
because some experienced operators prefer the feel
of individually reducing commands during flow
limited situations rather than having it occur
automatically.
INTELLIGENT ENGINE SPEED CONTROL The
intelligent engine speed control in WFC monitors the
joystick inputs and pump displacement feedback to
calculate the minimum engine speed required to meet
the flow demand at maximum pump displacement. The
engine speed set point is dynamically adjusted to meet
the flow demands while operating the engine most
efficiently. This generally means operating the engine at
the lowest speed possible to meet the hydraulic flow
requirements. This is contrasted to the typical mode of
operation where the operator sets the engine to a fixed
speed and the variable displacement pump adjusts its
output to meet the flow demands. During this typical
mode of operation, the operator sets the engine speed to
meet his peak flow requirement, however, most of the
time the engine speed is significantly higher than
necessary.
The intelligent engine speed control offers a significant
improvement over auto-idle systems that are currently
available in the market. These systems reduce the
engine speed to low idle after a brief period of time with
no operator input. In addition to saving fuel while no
work is being done, intelligent engine speed control can
also save fuel when the machine is operating at low
power levels. During most work cycles, the hydraulic
flow requirement fluctuates significantly while working.
This is especially true in material handling applications
where large inertial loads must be smoothly accelerated
and decelerated to maintain vehicle stability. With
intelligent engine speed control it is possible to reduce
fuel consumption up to 20% during work cycles that
have widely variable flow requirements.
With the intelligent engine speed control tuned for
maximum efficiency, the maximum rate that the
hydraulic pump flow can be increased is limited to the
maximum acceleration of the engine speed. During
work cycles requiring precise commands and smooth
increases and decreases in flow, this rate limit is
unnoticeable. During work cycles with jerky operator
input where rapid increases in flow output are expected,
the rate limit due to the engine may become noticeable.
The rate limit posed by engine acceleration is partially
mitigated with anti-stall. When the system receives a
step input in demanded flow, the anti-stall function
senses the difference between desired speed and actual
speed and limits the rate at which the hydraulic output
increases. By limiting how quickly the hydraulic load is
applied to the engine, excess torque is available to the
engine for acceleration. By balancing these competing
demands, the flow response (a function of both pump
displacement AND engine speed) can be maximized.
Most machines are operated in work cycles that are a
mix of smooth precise movements and quick, rapidly
changing movements. The intelligent engine speed
control can be adjusted dynamically to account for the
differences in required flow response. It may be
desirable to provide the operator with a toggle switch to
select a Normal Mode / Maximum Eco-Mode of
operation. To provide added responsiveness in the
Normal Mode of operation, the engine speed would be
set to a margin of several hundred rpm above the speed
which is required to provide the commanded flow. This
added speed margin will reduce the fuel savings that are
possible, but allows more rapid response to flow
commands since the pump is able to increase its
displacement more quickly than the engine is able to
accelerate. In the Maximum Eco-Mode setting, the
engine speed would be set to more closely match the
speed that is required for the pump to produce the
commanded flow with little or no additional engine speed
margin.
The change in modes may also be handled
automatically with an adaptive control that monitors
joystick inputs and determines how aggressively the
machine is being operated. When the operator inputs
are smooth with relatively slow changes in pump flow,
the system would operate at maximum economy. When
operator inputs are jerky and rapidly changing, the
system would operate at maximum responsiveness.
WFC provides the operator the ability to operate
anywhere between maximum responsiveness and
maximum efficiency based on the requirements of the
work being completed.
TEST RESULTS
To demonstrate the benefits offered by WFC, a backhoe
loader was equipped with an electro-hydraulic system
and WFC software. A professional operator used this
backhoe loader to excavate a series of trenches across
a flat open field. Excavation with the backhoe portion of
the machine was the focus of our testing because the
machine under test was equipped with a torque
converter transmission. This precludes the use of WFC
while using the loader and propelling the machine. As
mentioned in the introduction, hydrostatic propel is
required to enable intelligent engine speed control while
propelling the machine.
The total length of excavation was 140 m with an
average depth of 1.6 m and was dug over 2.7 hours.
The bucket was 0.46 m wide and the soil conditions
were primarily compacted sandy loam. The excavated
material was piled at the edge of the trench. This test
scenario was designed such that the machine would be
operated at maximum digging capacity and machine
utilization.
The machine used in this test weighs 7,000 kg and has a
4.4 m dig depth. The engine is a 4.4L turbocharged Tier
3 engine that is rated at 68 kW and was equipped with
an electro-proportional engine speed control actuator.
The hydraulic system consists of a Sauer-Danfoss 75cc
S45 open circuit pump with a pressure compensated /
load sensing (PC/LS) control and a PVG100 flow-
sharing load independent valve stack with PVED-CC
electro-hydraulic actuators that transmit information and
receive commands from the vehicle CAN bus. The
valves are controlled with Sauer-Danfoss JS6000
joysticks and a PLUS+1 MC050-10 microcontroller.
The software in the microcontroller was configured to
offer two personalities. The first personality was a
baseline personality that resulted in conventional
machine operation. The second personality enabled
WFC which was tuned to Maximum Eco-Mode. By
equipping the machine with a selectable personality, the
productivity and fuel efficiency of each personality could
be compared.
The machine was also extensively instrumented to
record hydraulic pressure and flow values, engine
speed, cylinder position, joystick and valve commands,
and engine fuel consumption flow rate. The cylinder
pressure and position measurements allowed the work
(energy) exerted by the cylinders to be calculated. The
fuel consumption was normalized to the cylinder work to
eliminate the effect of variable soil conditions on the test
results.
ENGINE DOWNSIZING The engine and hydraulic
pump on this machine are sized in the conventional way
where the corner power of the hydraulic pump matches
the maximum engine power. To demonstrate the
potential for engine downsizing on a machine with a
conventionally sized engine, Figure 2 is a quantile plot
that shows the pump power requirements during the
trenching test with the baseline personality. The y-axis
is obtained by sorting the time history of required pump
power and the x-axis is a normalized timescale that
represents the percentile of a particular operating power.
75
68 kW
Pump Power Requirement (kW)
Base Engine Size
56 kW
50
Reduced Engine Size
25
Anti-Stall Active
0
0 25 50 75 100
Normalized Time (%)
Figure 2: Pump Power Requirement While Trenching
Figure 2 clearly shows that full engine power is rarely
utilized, even during a test cycle designed to operate the
machine at maximum capacity. If the engine power
were downsized 18% to 56 kW, the small triangular area
shaded in the figure would no longer be an achievable
operating condition. If we compare the shaded area (an
indication of productivity) to the total area under the
curve, we find that productivity would only be reduced Figure 4 is a quantile plot of the actual pump output.
1.3% with an 18% reduction in engine power. The y-axis is the actual pump output flow. This curve
has a distinctly different characteristic than Figure 3.
A downsized engine will eliminate the ability to operate The pump output curve is relatively flat near maximum
in the shaded area, but it will not prevent the operator output approximately 50% of the time.
from attempting to operate the machine in that area. If
the operator attempts to operate the machine in this area 400
without anti-stall, there is a potential for engine stall.
Since operators view a machine that frequently stalls Available
very negatively, engine stall must be prevented if engine Demand
downsizing is to be feasible. If the engine was 300
downsized to 56 kW, Figure 2 shows that the engine

Flow (lpm)
would stall during approximately 10% of the work cycle
without anti-stall enabled. 200

The anti-stall function offered by WFC makes

downsizing feasible by sensing attempted operation in
the restricted area and reducing the output of the
hydraulic system to stay within a smaller engines
capabilities.
PUMP SIZING The post-compensated PVG 100
valves on the tested machine provide flow sharing
hydraulically. By examining the operator input and
comparing it to the actual pump output; we can see how
the flow sharing valves enabled a small pump to operate
at a productivity level near that of a larger pump.
On this machine, up to four functions may be
simultaneously operated while digging with the backhoe.
If all four functions were simultaneously given a full flow
command, the total flow requirement would be 500 lpm.
The maximum pump flow, however, is only 170 lpm at
full engine speed and maximum pump displacement.
Figure 3 is a quantile plot of the joystick input command
while trenching in the baseline machine configuration.
The y-axis is the operator requested flow based on the
joystick input. This plot shows that simultaneous full flow
commands to all functions would not be expected to
occur during normal digging activities.
600
Joystick Commanded Flow (lpm)
100
Flow Sharing
Active
0
0 25 50 75 100
Normalized Time (%)
Figure 4: Pump Output Flow While Trenching
The flat characteristic in the curve near maximum pump
output indicates that the operator is requesting more flow
than the pump is able to provide. With the flow sharing
valve, however, the impacts to productivity are
minimized because the available flow is proportionally
distributed to the active functions.
EFFICIENT ENGINE OPERATION The test scenario
used here contained virtually no idle time. There are,
however, many work cycles with a backhoe that do
require frequent idle time, including when a work task
requires waiting for other machine on the jobsite or when
interacting with manual labor to accomplish a task.
Figure 5 below demonstrates the significant fuel savings
that is possible by reducing engine speed to low idle
during these times.

500 16
Flow at Maximum
Simultaneous 14
400 Command
Fuel Consumption (l/hr)

12
Working Fuel
Baseline Personality

300 10 Consumption
Maximum
Pump Output
WFC Personality

200 8

6 No Load Fuel
100 Consumption
Lo Idle

4
Hi Idle

0 2
0 25 50 75 100
0
Normalized Time (%)

Figure 5: Working and Idling Fuel Consumption

Figure 3: Joystick Command While Trenching
Even when the machine is operating near maximum
capacity as in our testing, there are times when the
engine speed can be reduced with intelligent engine
speed control to improve fuel efficiency. Figure 6 shows
one dig cycle with the baseline personality. The actual
engine speed is plotted along with the minimum
calculated engine speed that would be required to
provide the commanded flow at maximum pump
displacement. With the baseline personality, the
operator used a manual engine speed lever to set the
engine at maximum speed during the work cycle.
During this work cycle, it is common for the flow
requirement to be reduced while digging and briefly
when swinging into and out of the trench. While digging,
the machine is typically at maximum break-out force and
the pump pressure compensator (set at 250 bar) is
Based on the results in Figure 6, it is possible to
estimate how much fuel savings would be provided by
dynamically adjusting engine speed during the work
cycle. At 7.2 seconds with the baseline personality
(noted with an arrow in Figure 6), the minimum required
speed is only 1310 rpm, however, the actual engine
speed is 2300 rpm. At this condition the pump requires
40 kW to meet the pressure and flow requirements.
Figure 7 demonstrates that reducing the engine speed
while maintaining the 40 kW hydraulic output would
reduce fuel consumption approximately 16%. At lower
power levels the percent savings is even more dramatic.
20
50 kW
40 kW

Fuel Consumption (l/hr)

reducing the output flow to maintain the maximum
15 16% Savings
pressure setting. While swinging into and out of the 30 kW
trench, there is a period when only the swing is active
because the bucket must be maintained above ground
level. This is one of the few times that multiple functions 20 kW
are not operating simultaneously.
10
3.0
Return
Dig Dump
2.5 to Dig
Engine Speed, rpm / 1000

2.0 1000 1400 1800 2200

Engine Speed, rpm
1.5
Figure 7: Fuel Consumption versus Speed

1.0 Figure 7 shows how fuel consumption varies with engine

speed at a constant pump power level. When engine
0.5 speed is reduced at a constant pump power level, the
Actual Speed displacement of the pump must increase to maintain the
Min Reqd Speed power output. This causes the engine and pump to
0.0 operate at a point of lower speed and higher torque
0 5 10 15 which is generally more efficient.
Time, sec
Figure 8 shows one dig cycle, similar to Figure 6 except
300 with the WFC personality. It is clear from this plot that
the intelligent engine speed control matches the actual
250 engine speed to the minimum required engine speed.
Pump Pressure, bar

With the WFC personality, a 19% reduction in fuel

200 consumption was demonstrated during the trenching
work cycle.
150
The minimum required engine speed in Figure 6 and
100 Figure 8 is a measure of the total hydraulic flow. When
we compare these two figures we see that the minimum
50 required speed (total hydraulic flow) is significantly
smoother with the WFC Personality. This means that
0 the rate of change of hydraulic flow with the WFC
0 5 Time, sec 10 15 personality is less than the baseline personality. With
the baseline personality, the rate of change of hydraulic
flow is limited only by the control response of the
Figure 6: Dig Cycle, Baseline Personality hydraulic pump control because the engine is always
operated at maximum speed. With the WFC personality,
the rate of change of hydraulic flow is also limited by the CONCLUSION
rate of change in engine speed.
This paper proposes new thoughts on how to execute
3.0 vehicle designs in order to meet the future emissions
regulations. The idea of matching the actual work with
Return the hydraulic power is discussed. With the pressure on
Dig Dump
2.5 to Dig
overall vehicle cost, total cost of ownership, Tier 4
Engine Speed, rpm / 1000

regulations and the availability of processor controlled

2.0 communication between engine and the hydraulic
system; the challenge can be managed with electro-
hydraulic systems with Work Function Control software.
1.5
The three functions of the Work Function Control (WFC)
1.0 software that are presented in this paper allow operator
feel, productivity, and fuel efficiency to be maintained or
0.5 improved, even after a downsized engine is installed in a
Actual Speed machine. Due to the key 56 kW engine power threshold
Min Reqd Speed within the Tier 4 engine emissions regulations, the
0.0 engine power rating in many machines will be downsized
0 5 10 15 to this power level. Even for machines which must use
Time, sec an engine with a power rating above this threshold, the
anti-stall, flow sharing, and intelligent engine speed
300 control functions of the WFC software offer many
benefits.
250
Pump Pressure, bar

The WFC software and resulting fuel savings of 19%

200 was demonstrated with tests on a backhoe loader
machine.
150
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
100
Gary LaFayette is a Senior Engineer in the Advanced
50 Systems Engineering team for Sauer-Danfoss at the
Ames, IA location. He has worked at Sauer-Danfoss for
0 8 years. Gary graduated from Iowa State University with
0 5 Time, sec 10 15 a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He may be
contacted at glafayette@sauer-danfoss.com.

Figure 8: Dig Cycle, WFC Personality Boris Laudenbach is an System Application Engineer in
the SAE team for Sauer-Danfoss at the Offenbach
During this testing, the WFC personality was tuned to location in Germany. He has worked at Sauer-Danfoss
provide maximum fuel savings. This meant having the for 4 years. Boris graduated from the University of
actual engine speed follow the minimum require engine Applied Science in Fulda with a degree in Electrical
speed as closely as possible. The result was a slight Engineering, Robotics and Controls. He may be
reduction in flow response that was noticeable to the contacted at BLaudenbach@sauer-danfoss.com.
operator, but not detrimental to productivity. The
advantage of WFC is that it can be adjusted by the
operator to provide maximum flow response or
maximum efficiency depending on the needs of the work
being executed.