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At this year's Conexpo/IFPE show, more than 100,000 visitors will get an up-close look at hundreds of new and forward-thinking construction and mining machines, as well as the latest products and systems from fluid power component manufacturers large and small. To better understand the future of the mobile equipment industry and how it will impact the fluid power industry, here are five cutting-edge industry trends attendees should be exploring.

Hybrid hydraulic-electric equipment 

Battery-powered construction equipment may have been a novelty a few years ago, but growth in the industry has been steadily increasing and is a key theme at Conexpo 2023. Many OEMs aiming to achieve sustainability goals or meet carbon reduction regulations will be showcasing new prototypes, commercial products and expanding "fossil fuel-free" fleets.

Volvo L25 Electric Loader

Just a few examples: Volvo Construction Equipment will offer two large electric machine operating yards on its stand, including compact excavator and loader models, the new 23-ton EC230 electric medium excavator and the DD25 electric asphalt compactor. Caterpillar announced four battery-electric machine prototypes, including small and medium excavators, compact wheel loaders and medium wheel loaders. All include on-board AC chargers, and the company also plans to offer an off-board DC fast-charging option.

Caterpillar Electric Excavators and Loaders

The models being introduced by LiuGong include two new all-electric machines. Wicknortham is showing a range of zero-emission excavators, wheel loaders and paving equipment. Manitou is launching a range of electric telescopic boom forklifts: two rotary units and a compact telescopic boom forklift. Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas will showcase the ZX55U-6EB electric compact excavator, new to the North American market.

LiuGong 856H-E MAX Pure Electric Loader

Manitou electric telescopic boom forklift trucks

The question for mechanical designers and fluid power engineers is, are the internal combustion engines on these units simply being swapped out for electric motors and battery packs, while the traditional hydraulic systems remain the same? Or are OEMs and system suppliers retrofitting hydraulic systems with high-efficiency components, state-of-the-art controls, and innovative circuit designs that improve performance and extend runtime between battery charges?

Pure electric equipment

In contrast to electric-hydraulic machines, some companies are making waves with motors that do away with hydraulics altogether, relying instead on electric actuators and electric traction drives. Can these vehicles match the performance of hydrodynamic-based designs, stand up to the rigors of the construction site, and not be too expensive?

Last year, Bobcat introduced the world's first all-electric compact loader, the T7X, which offers the benefits of eliminating hydraulics, emissions and vibration while providing cleaner, quieter operation, according to company officials. They say the unit offers higher torque and more power than similar diesel-fueled track loaders and is ideal for enclosed job sites because it emits no exhaust fumes. The T7X can reportedly work continuously for up to four hours and run a full day of normal operation during intermittent use. Electric actuators are said to be very durable devices for harsh industrial applications.

Bobcat All-Electric Compact Loader T7X

However, some experts questioned the viability and performance of the machines. Issues include the elimination of compatible hydraulics that can transmit large shock loads through the system, compromising reliability and operator safety. Ball screws are also susceptible to dirt and contamination issues and make energy recovery challenging. While the T7X loader will cost nearly 90 percent less to operate, it is roughly three times as expensive as a comparable diesel engine.

Moog Construction, which partnered with Bobcat, is another Conexpo exhibitor focused on accelerated electrification and zero emissions. The company has previously electrified and automated flight simulators, space launch vehicles and material handling machinery, and is now bringing motion control technology expertise to the construction industry.

It has teamed up with Komatsu to once again build an all-electric compact wheel loader without hydraulics (which will be on display at the show). Instead, the system includes electric cylinders for lifting, tilting and steering functions, electric traction motors in place of transmissions and a variety of software-generated gear ratios approximating the operator's traditional driving feel. It allows Komatsu to integrate automation elements more seamlessly into machine operations.

self-driving machine

It's no secret that the construction and mining industries, as well as equipment manufacturers, face some daunting problems. Among them is a shortage of skilled workers that will become increasingly acute as experienced operators and technicians reach retirement age. There are concerns that this shortage, and the hiring of untrained and inexperienced workers to replace them, will jeopardize productivity and safety.

To address these concerns, many original equipment manufacturers are developing semi-autonomous and self-driving devices to help operators perform precise, repetitive, and boring tasks, or to replace drivers altogether. This may require adding "smart" hydraulic actuators, sensors, electronic control valves and pumps, and complex control systems to various machines.

Perhaps the most dramatic application to date is the automated mining haul trucks from Caterpillar and Komatsu. They have been operating successfully for more than a decade, with each company reporting more than 2 billion tons of surface material moved by hundreds of unmanned operator vehicles. With its experience with fully automated mining trucks, Cat is now targeting self-driving jobs in the construction industry.The Cat Command System has primarily been used to remotely control mining and quarrying machinery, but is being expanded to include hydraulic excavators and bulldozers.

Komatsu Intelligent Machine Control was first introduced about 10 years ago and is said to significantly improve safety, precision and efficiency across construction sites. Factory-installed on bulldozers and excavators, the so-called "smart" bulldozers can perform everything from rough bulldozing to high-precision surface leveling in automatic mode. Add-ons for machine control typically include cab-top GNSS antennas, enhanced inertial measurement units and stroke-sensing hydraulic cylinders. Machines equipped with intelligent machine control are said to increase productivity by up to 30 percent.

Volvo has established the Autonomous Driving Solutions business unit to commercialize its self-driving transport business. Initial applications are in quarries that use autonomous and electrically powered TA15 loaders with clearly defined loading and unloading positions over often short distances. Automation systems for driverless machines use GPS, LIDAR, radar and multiple sensors, as well as more traditional actuators for hydraulic functions. The company is currently exploring the use of autonomous construction machinery in underground mining and large earthmoving projects.

Volvo Electric TA15 Carrier

Among other companies entering the field, Teleo is developing autonomous technology to retrofit contractors' existing heavy equipment and transform it into semi-automated robots. Operators can control multiple machines from their desks, which will increase productivity, safety and operator satisfaction.

Develon (formerly Doosan Infracore) aims to innovate the construction machinery industry and enhance customer value through digital transformation.The Concept-X project will maximize jobsite productivity using autonomous equipment and field analytics, including artificial intelligence.The Concept-X equipment provides an unmanned/automated solution that analyzes captured data to enable accurate and fast work, monitor component status, enable efficient operations and reduce costs. Autonomous technology will be well suited for tasks in inaccessible or hazardous areas.

A company called Build Robotics hopes to solve labor issues across the industry by developing software and sensors that can transform off-the-shelf excavators into machines that can autonomously dig for hours without interruption. They've taken the latest sensors from self-driving cars, adapted them to proven equipment on construction sites, and developed autonomous software designed specifically for construction and earthmoving requirements. Going one step further than teleoperated vehicles, the built-in robotic system is designed to be autonomous - transforming any excavator into an autonomous trenching robot. In addition, the system is compatible with medium-sized equipment from all leading manufacturers. Installation is said to take only a few hours and is fully reversible.

Build Robotics on Cat Excavator

Build Robotics on Cat Ex

With the growth and increasing acceptance of battery electric equipment, the efficiency of hydraulic systems has become critical. In traditional diesel-powered machines, where most of the combustion energy is wasted as heat or exhaust gases, inefficient hydraulic systems have not received in-depth attention. In electric vehicles, this is a big deal. Among other things, poorly performing hydraulics mean that equipment runs for a short time before it must be recharged. Battery packs have to be bigger, which adds significantly to the cost, adds weight, and hurts payload and overall performance.

An overriding question therefore arises: will IFPE's hydraulic suppliers push the limits of technology with new innovative products? For example, look for hydraulic hoses and connectors designed to reduce system losses; 3D-printed valve bodies to simplify flow paths [i Frontier] Q30: System Interpretation丨Metal 3D Printing Technology in Hydraulic Components. 2023/1-Feb issue of Hydrostatic Magazine's Liquid World's Greatest Column featured an article analyzing in detail the application of 3D printing technology in the hydraulic industry.

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Hydraulic fluids customized for operational efficiency; electronic control valves that skillfully manage pressure and flow [i Frontier] Q53: Still PKing pure hardware? eOC opens a new track of software-defined functionality; innovative, high-efficiency pumps such as floating-cup [i Frontier] Q34: Perfecting the details: Reflections from the Floating-Cup Pump Improvement Program, Digital Displacement [i Frontier] Q38: How digital pumps (DDPs) enable Displacement control and low-wear internal gear design; and low-friction dynamic seals for improved cylinder performance.

Beyond this, system concepts can intelligently combine these building blocks and greatly increase efficiency. Some examples are single-pressure common rail and multi-pressure common rail systems, distributed drive actuators, valveless systems and multi-pressure chamber actuators, to name a few.

Another issue that OEMs may address is the recovery of energy that is typically wasted, such as when an excavator lowers its bucket. companies such as Cat and Volvo have developed hydraulic hybrid excavators that capture and reuse energy from the vehicle's oscillating function; others are recovering and storing energy in supercapacitors.

Sennebogen has successfully built material-handling machines that store previously wasted energy when lowering a moving arm in the form of a high-pressure fluid in an accumulator bank. In the company's innovative Green Hybrid system, this accumulated energy is then supplied on the next stroke, reducing energy consumption by up to 30 percent.

Savvy visitors should take an "in-depth look" at the latest machines on display and the latest hydraulics and controls to see where high-efficiency systems are heading, who's leading the way and who's maintaining the status quo.

Battery Replacement

As noted above, the push for battery-electric construction equipment is strong. However, without major breakthroughs in battery technology, the future of electric motors appears to be largely limited to small and medium-sized equipment.

Although emission-free, a major issue with battery-powered machines is energy density. In terms of MJ/liter, diesel fuel has about 18 times the energy density of today's best lithium-ion batteries. This means that electric vehicles must carry less payload, have lower performance, or stop to "refuel" more often than the diesel equivalent.

As a result, many OEMs and engine manufacturers are feverishly researching sustainable alternatives to diesel internal combustion engines. Successful implementation can reduce the need for ultra-efficient hydraulic systems and help extend the life of many contemporary fluid power designs. The widespread use of diesel-powered machinery today makes it likely that no single alternative fuel will replace diesel in the future. Possible options include:

Biodiesel fuels from sustainably produced organic feedstocks allow for a largely closed carbon dioxide cycle. Compared to fossil fuels, biofuels largely compensate for the greenhouse gas effects of CO2 emissions from combustion in standard engines.

Hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) is a renewable diesel fuel that can be produced from a variety of vegetable oils and fats. Overall, it has similar chemical properties to fossil diesel, although it has a lower energy content than fossil diesel.

E-fuels are synthetic fuels (gas or liquid) made from water and carbon dioxide. The electrolysis of water, powered by renewable electricity generation, produces oxygen and hydrogen, which then reacts with CO2 to form a synthesized gas. Energy density is much higher than current batteries.

Hydrogen from renewable energy sources based on the electrolysis of water is being tested as a fuel for internal combustion engines and fuel cells. Fuel cells operate without emissions, although they have not yet been proven for use in construction machinery operating in harsh environments.

Green ammonia production typically uses the traditional Haber-Bosch process, but relies on the

Bosch process, but relies on water electrolysis and alternative energy sources. Some manufacturers are investigating it as a high-energy-density alternative to diesel fuel.

As a result, OEMs and engine manufacturers are investigating options for combining the sustainability benefits of pure electric drives with traditional diesel power. For example, Cummins will showcase its new "fuel-agnostic" engine platform at Conexpo. 15-liter next-generation engines feature a common base engine and fuel systems tailored for hydrogen, natural gas and biofuels, including HVO.

Kubota is paving the way for carbon neutrality, led by the groundbreaking 3.8-liter hydrogen engine and other new engine developments purportedly utilizing carbon-free fuels.

Liebherr is exploring a variety of potential fuels for mobile devices, including hydrogen, ammonia, e-fuels, methanol, hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and biodiesel, as well as electric power. Company officials are interested in pursuing an approach that is neutral to all technologies, as choosing the most practical and potentially zero-emission solution depends on a variety of factors, including device size, mobility, duty cycle and available infrastructure.

Content source: Mobile Hydraulic Tips; C&C Equipment

Editor: Jing Hydraulic

Reprinted from: hydrostatic (https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ySQdCyAjM_numju6LNpFUg)