Applied Control Strategies for a Pump Controlled Open Circuit Solution

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 For the purpose of saving energy the constant pressure pumps have, in the past, often been replaced by load-sensing pumps and load-sensing valves.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