Energy Efficiency and Dynamic Analysis of a Novel Hydraulic System with Double Actuator

At present, increased attention has been given to energy efficiency promotion and energy saving of manufacturing equipment and systems. Hydraulic system is widely used in engineering machinery industries; however, the high energy consumption and low energy efficiency of which limit its development and application. On the basis of previous research on hydraulic system, an energy-efficient hydraulic system with double actuator is proposed in this study. This hydraulic system can reduce the energy consumption by reusing the potential energy loss of the system. In this novel hydraulic system, the chambers of two actuators are connected with rod by pipes and valves. During the operating processes, the falling operation of one cylinder and the returning operation of the other are synchronized. That is, one actuator remains at the top point performing the demanded operation, whereas the other one remains at the bottom performing the corresponding operation. System models are developed to address the energy consumption and dynamic performance of the proposed hydraulic system. This hydraulic system is applied into a press to study its energy-saving mechanism and dynamic performance during transient under various working conditions. On the basis of the simulation and experimental results, energy and production efficiency are compared and discussed. Results show that in comparison with the energy and time consumption of the original 630 kN hydraulic press, the energy-saving potential has reached 17.34%, and the production efficiency can be improved by 18.85%.