CCEFP Industry-University Partnership Builds Hydraulic Dynamometer with Electrical Regeneration Capabilities

The Milwaukee School of Engineering, in partnership with the fluid power industry and the NSF-funded Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), an Engineering Research Center headquartered at the University of Minnesota, recently completed the design, development, construction, and commissioning of a 200 HP hydraulic dynamometer.  This test stand will be used to develop energy-efficient hydraulic fluids for use in a prototype hybrid car and mini-excavator that is being constructed by the CCEFP.  The system uses a constant-torque AC motor to provide the load required to evaluate fluid-related torque and leakage losses within a hydraulic circuit.  Using twin Rockwell variable frequency drives, the AC power that is generated by the load motor is converted to DC power and then synchronized with the electric pump drive in a regenerative loop.  This reduces electrical energy usage and cooling water consumption while providing precise low-speed high-torque hydraulic motor control.  This new facility, the first low-speed high-torque regeneration system in the academic world, serves both research and educational missions. In research, it makes possible the testing and development of energy-efficient hydraulic fluid chemistries for fluid power propelled vehicles.  Since passenger car motor oils are formulated for energy conservation, extension of this technology to hydraulic fluids seems plausible. In education, this research has helped students to gain hands-on fluid power engineering experience in the areas of circuit design, component procurement, assembly, instrumentation, and control.

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Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP)

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