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Failures in hydraulic systems in offshore wind turbines represent an enormous challenge for manufacturers and operators, as the pitch system statistically is one of the subsystems contributing the most to the downtime of the turbines, which is the case for both electrical and hydraulic pitch systems. However, the complex failure mechanisms of the various different hydraulic components mean that, typically, the critical components of hydraulic systems must be tested to better understand the failure mechanisms. Nonetheless, conventional testing procedures are lengthy and costly. Accelerated testing plays a critical role as it can mimic hydraulic system failure mechanisms in a shorter period. However, the lack of standardized test methods and detailed knowledge about the failure-accelerating effects complicates the process. Therefore, this paper offers a comprehensive examination of approaches applicable to conducting accelerated tests on hydraulic systems. It identifies and discusses five primary component types or sub-components related to the acceleration of testing in hydraulic systems: pumps, cylinders, seals, valves, and hoses. Each section references studies that delve into accelerated testing methodologies for these individual components. Furthermore, within each component, a concise overview of the current techniques is provided, followed by a discussion and summary based on the state of the art.

When a hydraulic cylinder connects two chambers directly to one or two hydraulic pumps driven by electric servo motors without any control valve in between, it can be called a motor-controlled hydraulic cylinder (MCC). Unlike valve-controlled cylinders, MCCs have no valve throttling, which significantly increases the energy efficiency. Among different MCC topologies, the two-motor-two-pump (2M2P) MCC has several advantages, such as cylinder pressure control and no mode switch oscillations. However, due to state coupling when controlling both piston position and minimum cylinder chamber pressure, the 2M2P MCC is a multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system that usually requires advanced MIMO controller analysis and design. This paper presents a control algorithm for a 2M2P MCC with the minimum cylinder pressure control and passive load-holding function. This control algorithm is tested on a single-boom crane characterized by overrunning loads. It is designed based on the analysis of the system characteristics, requiring no MIMO controller analysis and design. A non-linear model of a single-boom crane driven by the proposed 2M2P MCC is created in MATLAB/Simulink and experimentally validated. Feedback controllers are designed and verified via simulations to realize position control, minimum cylinder pressure control, and load-holding under standstill command. For a given load and speed profile, the hydraulic system efficiency during pumping and motoring mode is 55-60% and 20-25%, respectively. The system's overall efficiency can be enhanced with electrical regenerative drives, which feeds the generated power from potential energy to the grid or battery and reused in the next working cycle. The experimental results presented in this paper verifies the efficacy of the proposed control algorithm and demonstrates its superior performance in achieving the desired system response under various operating conditions.