Simulation Study on Variable Pressure Margin Energy Recovery of Electric Loader Actuator

Abstract

The conventional electric loader uses a motor instead of an engine, which aligns with the current energy-saving and emission-reduction trend. However, the motor’s speed control performance and overload capacity are under-utilized, and the actuator suffers from the potential energy waste problem of the boom arm. This study proposes a variable pressure margin energy recovery system for the electric loader actuator. It uses a combination of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and a quantitative pump. It can achieve variable pressure margin control and energy recovery through the pressure feedback closed-loop control. AMESim is used to build the simulation model based on the system control strategy, actuator, supercapacitor, and PMSM mathematical mode. Under typical working conditions, the simulation study is conducted on a 50-type wheel loader to obtain cylinder displacement, system energy recovery, and energy-saving performance. The simulation results show that the system is feasible and can effectively reduce energy consumption. Its energy recovery efficiency is 65.4%. The PMSM energy supply is reduced by 28.6% with the variable pressure margin control. It has high energy-saving performance, and the energy-saving efficiency is 38.5%. It provides a reference for research on energy-saving systems for electric construction machinery.