141-23 A step beyond load sensing
hydraulics sat ca
pneumatics
Astep beyond load sensing
Christoph Latour, Bosch Rexroth AG
Thu, 2009-08-13 (All day)
Advanced hydraulic controls speed machine response, eliminate oscillations, and save energy.
Designers of mobile equipment must deal with many actuators requiring hydraulic power. Machines
may have a dozen hydraulically powered functions, with three or more operating simultaneously. And
often, due to space, weight, or cost reasons, a common pump supplies all the circuits. Thus, as an
operator uses various circuits, control valves must compensate for flow changes and disturbances. The
goal is to ensure adequate flow to all actuators, even when operating several systems simultaneously, to
avoid reducing machine performance.
Load-sensing controls
To ensure that flow matches demand, system designers specify control valves with pressure
compensators that control flow rates or distribution. Two designs predominate. One, load sensing (LS),
uses an upstream pressure compensator. The other, flow sharing (LUDV, from the German term
Lastdruck Unabhngige Durchfluss Verteilung), has a downstream pressure compensator.
In both, the pump operates as a hydromechanical (HM) closed-loop pressure control that ensures
supply pressure exceeds the highest load pressure by a constant differential pressure (AP). Because
supply pressure constantly adjusts to the highest load pressure, hydromechanical load sensing (HM-LS)
and hydromechanical flow sharing (HM-LUDV) controls save energy compared to open-center controls,
that divert some flow to the reservoir. Plus, load-sensing technology has advanced to the point where
machines ean generally operate with one pump without compromising performance.
Flow management
Despite the benefits of hydromechanical load sensing and hydromechanical flow sharing controls, there
is room for improvement in terms of system response and energy efficiency. To raise performance,
engineers first need to examine how pumps supply control valves, so that the working hydraulics
quickly provides highly stable flow, without appreciable interaction between subsystems, and with
minimal energy losses. Here is a closer look at some key parameters.
Energy efficiency — Again, pump supply
pressure in HM-LS and HM-LUDV systems
exceeds the highest load pressure by a fixed
AP. The excess pressure is set so the pump
can transport oil to the valve across all flow
resistances under the worst conditions —
such as cold oil or maximum flow rate.
However, the AP is too high under certain
conditions and unnecessarily wastes energy.
A better approach does not use a preset AP,
but instead compensates for pressure losses
between the pump and valve independent of
hydrautespreumatis com prin/200/TechZone/HydraulicValves/Arcle./TechZone-HydrauliValves ws141-23 A step beyond load sensing
the maximum operating pressure.
Electrohydraulic flow matching
Dynamic stability — LS pumps operate ina
closed-loop pressure control mode where the
highest load pressure can change significantly
— depending on operating conditions and the
task at hand. Every time load pressure
changes, a pressure signal in the LS line
instructs the pump to adjust the flow and
establish a new AP.
Many factors affect this pressure-control
loop, such as changing oil temperatures and
natural frequencies and damping levels of the
operating equipment. Therefore, a fixed
setting of the pump’s control parameters
must be a compromise across all operating
conditions. Unfortunately, some operating
conditions approach or exceed the stability
limit of the closed-loop controls.
In HM-LUDV systems, controlvalve pressure
compensators interact with the pump’s
pressure controller via the LS line. This can
increase the hy draulic system’s tendency to
oscillate under certain operating conditions.
Electrohydraulic flow matching circuit shows an A preferred method would supply oil
electrohydraulically controlled proportional pump —_according to flow demand.
supplying flow at the same time as the valve opens,
improving response over loadsensing and flow sharing Response behavior — Some machine
circuits. funetions require extremely fast response;
that is, the working hydraulics must react
quickly to operator commands at the
joystick. HM-LS and HM-LUVD systems frequently satisfy these demands, but not always. That's
because a sequence of operations must take place between command and response. Simplified, the list
includes
Joystick generates pilot pressure.
The valve activates and displaces.
The highest load-pressure signal travels through the LS line to the pump.
. Pump displaces and generates flow.
. Hydraulic pressure increases between the pump and valve.
1
2.
3
4
‘The time sequences and individual processes that take place after actuating the joystick show the pump
can only respond after the valve spool moves and a load signal has been sent to the LS line. Improving
response means at least a part of the sequential processes must run in parallel. Therefore, the pump and
valve should react simultaneously to operator commands.
Electrohydraulic flow matching
Electrohydraulic flow matching (EFM) can improve machine hydraulics’ efficiency, stability, and
dynamic response. EFM systems replace the pressure-controlled pump in HM-LS and HM-LUDV
cireuits with an electrically controlled, swivel-angleadjusted pump that supplies required flow at the
same time the valve opens.
hydrautespreumatis com prin/200/TechZone/HydraulicValves/Arcle./TechZone-HydrauliValves 2rere Aste beyond load sensing
The following improvements result:
+ The proportional pump modulates flow, letting excess pressure between pump and valve be set
independent of the system's maximum load pressure. In certain cases, EFM’s P is lower than the
predetermined P for LS and LUDV systems, which saves energy.
+ The pump in an EFM system does not operate as a pressure controller but as an electroproportional
variable pump in an open control loop. Thus, the pump no longer responds to changes in load pressure
and, instead, operates independently without interacting with the pressure compensators.
+ The pump and valve are controlled almost synchronously. Therefore, EFM eliminates delays between
joystick inputs and the LS signal arriving at the pump. This, in turn, improves system response, and it
increases stability with respect to disturbance variables. That is, the working hydraulics are more agile
and less susceptible to oscillations.
+ Another benefit is that EFM can use well-established components, such as variable pumps with
electrohydraulic load-sensing valves. Thus, development work is limited to functional interactions
between components in specific applications.
EFM in practice
To evaluate the energy consumption of EFM systems, we reviewed a municipal shoulder mower. The
application is unusual because the mower requires continuous and high flow rates at medium pressure,
but obstacles frequently interrupt mowing, Then, the entire drive must stop and be lifted over the
obstruction.
Comparing HM-LS and EFM-LS systems shows the latter consumes about 5% less energy. Energy
efficiency heavily depends on operating flows and pressures, but, in general, the lower the average
hydraulic power (P Q), the greater the energy savings of EFM.
Current results with EFM solutions are quite encouraging. It simplifies the working hydraulics,
improves stability with respect to disturbance variables, speeds response to command variables, and
enhances energy efficiency — all while using proven electrical and hydraulic components.
Christoph Latour isVice President of Engincering at Bosch Rexroth AG, Lahr am Main, Germany.
For more information, call Bosch Rexroth in the US at (330) 263-3317 or visit
www.boschrexrothus.com.
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