Development of technologies for energy-saving drives of mobile machinery
Research Task/Objectives
Drive system of the demonstrator wheel loader
Continuously rising fuel prizes and the obligation to reduce CO2 emissions are mayor impulses for the development of new, energy efficient drive technology. Aim of the research activities is to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of mobile machinery by development of energy-saving drive systems based on efficient subsystem solutions. Besides efficiency improvements of the individual subsystems, the optimization of their interaction by means of innovative control strategies offers significant improvement potential. Using the example of a 200 kW wheel loader and a mining excavator such integrally optimized drive system solutions are designed, tested and evaluated.
Approach/Results
Evaluation of fuel savings under realistic operating conditions
For both example applications, the different subsystems‘ interaction is analyzed and evaluated based on detailed simulation models. Subsequently, control strategies are derived which offer good handling characteristics and high system efficiency at the same time. For the wheel loader, the developed drive and control concepts are realized in a demonstrator machine. A Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) test rig supports the software development process. Tuning and testing of the vehicle under realistic operating conditions in a gravel pit proves functionality and performance of the developed solutions. In a typical short loading cycle, the prototype wheel loader shows more than 10 % fuel savings compared to a state-of-the-art series machine.
| The research and development project “TEAM” is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the Framework Concept ”Research for Tomorrow’s Production” and managed by the Project Management Agency Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Production and Manufacturing Technologies Division (PTKA-PFT). |