SBIR Phase I: Development of a Fuel-Efficient Hybrid Hydraulic Refuse Truck

SBIR 第一阶段：开发省油的混合动力液压垃圾车

• 批准号: 2026167
• 负责人: Melinda Sims
• 金额: $ 25.59万
• 依托单位: V1 ENGINEERING LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2026167&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Development; Fuel; Efficient

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to increase fuel efficiency in vehicles across every segment of transportation by integrating hybrid hydraulic technology. Hybrid hydraulic vehicles have better fuel economy than traditional vehicles, and so the commercial value proposition is drastic savings on fuel. The initial target market is refuse trucks, because they are heavy and have frequent stops and starts, and therefore waste haulers can see immediate savings in operational costs. Since many municipal trash hauling contracts have integrated fuel surcharges, reduced fuel use will also result in immediate savings to cities and communities. The same hybrid hydraulic design can then be adapted to other vehicle classes, such as delivery vehicles, mail trucks, taxis, semi trucks, and construction equipment. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a fuel-efficient hybrid hydraulic refuse truck. Hybrid hydraulic technology is not yet commercially successful because of 1) the noise/vibration/harshness, and 2) the poor driving characteristics of the vehicle. These problems are caused by the hydraulic motor pump (currently quite noisy) and the transmission plus control strategy (which exacerbate poor vehicle handling). The proposed R&D will use a new motor specifically engineered to be quieter, develop a new transmission to reduce friction, and design a control system to improve driving quality. A newly available “floating cup” hydraulic motor may finally solve stubborn noise and whining issues, while still maintaining performance and enabling fuel efficiency, but it has never been validated. The R&D plan is to first test the new components, focusing on the floating cup hydraulic motor. Then, modeling of the tested components will confirm the expected efficiency gains on a typical refuse truck collection route. Finally, a tailored control system and detailed design of the mechanical system will validate the driving characteristics and economic value proposition.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛影响和商业潜力在于，通过整合混合液压技术，提高交通运输各个环节车辆的燃油效率。混合动力液压车辆比传统车辆具有更好的燃油经济性，因此其商业价值主张是大幅节省燃油。最初的目标市场是垃圾车，因为它们很重，需要频繁的停车和启动，因此垃圾车可以立即节省运营成本。由于许多市政垃圾运输合同都包含燃料附加费，因此减少燃料使用也将为城市和社区带来直接节省。同样的混合液压设计也可以适用于其他车辆，如送货车辆、邮车、出租车、半挂车和建筑设备。这个SBIR第一期项目建议开发一辆燃油效率高的混合动力液压垃圾车。混合液压技术还没有在商业上取得成功，因为1)噪音/振动/粗糙，2)车辆的驾驶特性差。这些问题是由液压马达泵（目前噪音很大）和变速器加控制策略（加剧了车辆的操控性差）引起的。拟议的研发将使用一种专门设计的更安静的新电机，开发一种新的变速器来减少摩擦，并设计一种控制系统来提高驾驶质量。一种新出现的“浮杯”液压马达可能最终解决顽固的噪音和啸叫问题，同时仍保持性能和燃油效率，但尚未得到验证。研发计划是首先测试新组件，重点是浮杯液压马达。然后，测试组件的建模将确认在典型垃圾车收集路线上的预期效率增益。最后，量身定制的控制系统和机械系统的详细设计将验证驱动特性和经济价值主张。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。