Load-Sensing Hydraulic Path Switching to Cut Compensation Losses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic systems experience significant compensation losses due to the mismatch between hydraulic consumers with varying load pressures and volume flows, particularly when consumers with low volume flow and high load pressure are combined with those having high volume flow and low load pressure.
Innovation Solution
An allocation unit is introduced between the hydraulic pump and consumers, which selectively adapts hydraulic paths based on the current state of consumers, using a controller to determine control signals for switching states, allowing for dynamic allocation of consumers to load-sensing valves and pumps to optimize pressure distribution and reduce losses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single hydraulic pump supplies multiple hydraulic consumers with varying load pressures, then the system structure is simplified, but compensation losses increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the hydraulic supply by introducing an allocation unit that divides the single pump's output into multiple selectable hydraulic paths, each leading to different consumers or groups of consumers. This segmentation allows the pump to serve multiple consumers without directly connecting all of them, thereby reducing compensation losses while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The allocation unit is made dynamic through switching mechanisms that can reconfigure hydraulic paths in real-time based on consumer states. The controller dynamically adjusts which consumers are supplied by the pump at any given moment, optimizing energy distribution and minimizing compensation losses while keeping the overall system structure relatively simple.
2Stress or pressure
If hydraulic pressure is reduced for consumers with lower load pressure requirements, then pressure matching is achieved, but capacity is lost in the form of compensation losses
Solution Approach 1:
The allocation unit extracts consumers with lower load pressure requirements from the main hydraulic path and directs them through alternative paths or isolates them during pump operation. This extraction prevents the need to reduce pressure for these consumers, thereby eliminating the associated compensation losses while maintaining proper pressure matching for those who require it.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller performs preliminary assessment of consumer states and proactively configures the allocation unit to group consumers by similar pressure requirements before the pump operates. This preliminary action ensures that consumers with mismatched pressure requirements are not simultaneously supplied, preventing the need for pressure reduction and associated energy losses.
3Loss of energy
If consumers are grouped by similar load pressure requirements, then compensation losses are reduced, but system adaptability to changing states decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The allocation unit incorporates dynamic switching capabilities that allow the system to continuously adapt consumer groupings based on real-time states. The controller monitors consumer requirements and dynamically reconfigures hydraulic paths, ensuring that consumers are always grouped optimally to minimize compensation losses while maintaining high adaptability to changing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the controller continuously monitors consumer states and uses this information to adjust the allocation unit's configuration. This feedback loop ensures that the system maintains optimal groupings that minimize compensation losses while adapting to changing consumer requirements, thereby resolving the contradiction between energy efficiency and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic system having a hydraulic pump, having a plurality of hydraulic loads and having a plurality of load-sensing valves for adjusting the pump performance of the hydraulic pump. An association unit is arranged between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic loads and in a first switched state defines a first hydraulic path between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic loads and in a second switched state defines a second hydraulic path between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic loads. The system comprises a controller, which processes a state value of a hydraulic load as an input variable and which determines a control signal for the switched state of the association unit. The invention also relates to a method for controlling a hydraulic system.