Digital Hydraulics for Green Hydraulic Fluid Power Machines

Hydraulic fluid power is used in a variety of sectors that are important to the UK, including robotics, transportation, oil & gas, and machinery for industry, construction and agriculture. The popularity of hydraulic fluid power stems from its advantages over electrical and mechanical transmission technologies, which include high power density, compactness, low weight, fast response and very good controllability. The hydraulic global market continues to grow and is projected to reach US$90 billion by 2025.However, the current approach of hydraulic control simply involves using valves to throttle flow, reduce pressure and control the speed and force of the load. While this approach is simple to operate, it is highly inefficient and it is common for over 50% of energy used to be wasted as heat.

This project aims to significantly improve the energy efficiency, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of future hydraulic fluid power machines by the design and development of new digital hydraulic systems. The research outcomes will benefit a wide range of sectors using fluid power in the UK and internationally and revolutionise the sector by delivering innovative digital hydraulics that consume only a fraction of energy used by the current state-of-the-art fluid power technologies. The outcomes will have significant academic, economic and societal impacts of developing innovative technologies, boosting the fluid power market and contributing to green environment and sustainable energy development.

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Min Pan ([Email Address Removed]).