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

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过整合混合动力液压技术来提高交通运输各个环节的车辆燃油效率。混合动力汽车比传统汽车具有更好的燃油经济性，因此商业价值主张是大幅节省燃料。最初的目标市场是垃圾卡车，因为它们很重，而且经常停靠和启动，因此废物运输商可以立即节省运营成本。由于许多市政垃圾运输合同都纳入了燃油附加费，减少燃油使用量也将立即为城市和社区带来节省。然后，相同的混合动力液压设计可以适用于其他车辆类别，如送货车辆、邮车、出租车、半自动卡车和建筑设备。这个SBIR第一期项目计划开发一种节油的混合动力液压垃圾车。混合动力液压技术尚未在商业上取得成功，原因是1)噪音/振动/刺激性，以及2)车辆的驾驶性能差。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(这加剧了车辆操纵性差)造成的。拟议的研发将使用一种专门设计成更安静的新电机，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。一种新的“浮杯”液压马达可能最终解决了顽固的噪音和牢骚问题，同时仍然保持性能和燃油效率，但它从未得到验证。研发计划是首先测试新部件，重点是浮杯液压马达。然后，对测试的组件进行建模，将确认典型垃圾车收集路线的预期效率收益。最后，量身定制的控制系统和机械系统的详细设计将验证驾驶特性和经济价值主张。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.