Greater hydraulic efficiency may reduce excavator battery requirements

New research suggests combining an electric motor with a Digital Displacement pump in an excavator is the most efficient way to turn battery energy into hydraulic work.

This can possibly reduce the energy required, and therefore the battery size, for an eight-hour shift by 24.8%.

The analysis published by Danfoss, paves the way to smaller batteries and longer duty cycles for hard to decarbonize off-highway machines.

The study was supported by the U.K. Advanced Propulsion Centre, which developed a simulation model of a 16-ton tracked excavator and calculated the energy requirements for an eight-hour shift.

It compared a base case of an electric machine equipped with a traditional swash plate pump versus an excavator with a Danfoss Digital Displacement system and electric drive.

The results show, depending on system complexity and the duty cycle, a reduction in energy requirement of up to 24.8% is possible.

The improved system would require a 314 kilowatt-hour (kWh) capacity battery for an eight-hour shift compared to a 418 kWh battery in the base case.

This research will support the move away from diesel.

To learn more, download the paper, “Danfoss Digital Displacement & Editron: An efficient electro-hydraulic system for mobile applications.”