System Design and Control Methodologies for Electro-Hydraulic Variable-Speed Drive Networks

Variable speed drive networks is a new approach to the design of drive systems for hydraulic multi-actuator systems. The concept relies solely on electro-hydraulic drives consisting of an electric drive with a variable speed hydraulic unit on the same shaft - no control valves are implemented.

This project seeks to develop the concept around variable speed drive networks by laying the mathematical foundation for how to identify and distinguish networks, developing methods to identify the optimal network for a given application, and by investigating the controllability of such systems.

Variable speed drives are inherently much more efficient than todays standards with valve controlled systems since there are very few losses associated with electro-hydraulic drives as compared to the throttling losses associated with valve control. Further, by arranging the variable speed drives in a network, initial research shows that there may be a large potential to downscale the size of the drive system.
Hence, if the approach is successfully implemented, it is expected to increase the system efficiency while decreasing the size of the drive system, enabling a shift to electrification of heavy machinery.