Digital Hydraulic Fluid Power Technologies for Decarbonising Off-road Vehicles

气候变化是我们这个时代最紧迫的环境挑战。2020年，交通运输部门是英国温室气体排放（GHG）的最大贡献者，总排放量为24%。虽然汽车、公共汽车和卡车等公路交通工具的脱碳正在通过采用电动替代品进行，但越野车的重要部门在技术上远远落后，是温室气体排放的主要来源。2018年，英国越野车的温室气体排放总量为1104.3千吨，相当于燃烧12.2千兆磅煤的温室气体排放，或140万户家庭的年能源使用量。液压传动广泛应用于非公路车辆，如工程机械和农业机械。目前最先进的液压流体动力组件和控制技术仍然是高能耗和低成本的，并且产生大量的二氧化碳排放，因为速度和力是通过使用计量阀来控制流量和控制液压的。这是一种简单但效率极低的方法，因为能量通过孔板消散，从而以热量的形式损失；超过50%的输入功率以这种方式被浪费是很常见的。最近的一项研究表明，流体动力系统的平均能源效率仅为21%，效率提高5%可节省0.51千万亿英热单位的能源，相当于节省101亿美元，减少二氧化碳排放超过3395万吨。因此，迫切需要创造新技术来显著提高液压能源效率，以实现越野车的高效脱碳和电气化，实现净零排放。为了将液压流体动力效率显著提高到90%以上，我将通过开发新的增材制造高性能数字液压阀（WP1）和新型数字液压转换器（WP2），为下一代数字液压元件和控制技术提供革命性的变化，以减少液压和能量损失。我将创建高保真分析建模工具，以了解复杂流体动力部件和系统的基础科学，并为节能数字阀门和转换器建立新的基于增材制造的设计和方法。将开发一个智能控制平台（WP3），该平台将集成基于模型和机器学习的控制算法，以控制数字阀门和转换器，以实现其最佳性能和最高效率。这些革命性的新兴技术将作为技术演示和案例研究（WP4）应用于越野车（如挖掘机、升降平台），以生产未来的数字液压流体动力产品和零净解决方案（WP5）。我将在第一阶段和第二阶段进行范围界定研究，以确定新的研究方向，发表具有高影响力的出版物，并开展具有影响力的活动。研究成果将产生重大的学术、经济和社会影响。他们将确保英国在数字流体动力及其未来应用方面拥有独特的世界领先的研究活动。总部位于英国的公司将获得竞争优势，可以利用该奖学金的成果，并显著影响数字液压流体动力在市场上的应用潜力，这可能拥有广泛的客户。研究成果将为人们的生活提供长期的零碳机器，并提高他们的生活质量。2020年英国温室气体排放，最终数据。国家统计局。英国商业、能源和工业战略部。2022. b[2]。英国国家大气排放清单数据。2022.[3]。温室气体当量计算器，美国环境保护署。2022。

Climate change is the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. The transport sector was the largest contributor to UK greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2020, with an overall contribution of 24% [1]. While decarbonisation of on-road transportation, such as cars, buses and trucks, is well underway by employing electric alternatives, the important sector of off-road vehicles is technologically far behind and represents a major contributor to GHG emissions. In 2018, the total GHGs emission of UK off-road vehicles was 11,043 kilotonnes [2], which is equivalent to the GHGs emission from 12.2 Giga pounds of coal burned, or the annual energy use of 1.4m homes' [3]. Hydraulic fluid power transmission is widely used in off-road vehicles, such as construction and agricultural machinery. Current state-of-the-art hydraulic fluid power components and control technologies continue to be highly energy- and cost-inefficient and generate significant CO2 emissions, as speed and force are controlled by using metering valves to throttle the flow and control the hydraulic pressure. This is a simple but extremely inefficient method because the energy is dissipated through an orifice and consequently lost as heat; it is common for more than 50% of the input power to be wasted in this way. A recent study showed that the average energy power efficiency of fluid power systems is only 21%, and a 5% improvement in efficiency can save 0.51 quadrillion Btu of energy, which relates to a saving of US$10.1 billion and a reduction in CO2 emissions of over 33.95 million tonnes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to create new technologies to significantly improve hydraulic energy efficiency to enable efficient decarbonisation and electrification of off-road vehicles and achieve Net Zero. To significantly improve hydraulic fluid power efficiency to over 90%, I will provide a transformative change in next-generation digital hydraulic components and control technologies by developing new additively manufactured high-performance digital hydraulic valves (WP1) and novel digital hydraulic converters (WP2) to reduce hydraulic pressure and energy losses. I will create high-fidelity analytical modelling tools to understand the underlying science of complex fluid power components and systems and establish new additive manufacturing-based designs and methodologies for energy-efficient digital valves and converters. An intelligent control platform (WP3) which will integrate model- and machine-learning-based control algorithms, will be developed to control the digital valves and converters to achieve their optimum performance and maximum efficiencies. These transformative and emerging technologies will be implemented on off-road vehicles (e.g. excavators, elevating platforms) as technology demonstrations and case studies (WP4) in order to produce future digital hydraulic fluid power products and solutions for Net Zero (WP5). I will conduct scoping studies in Phases 1 and 2 to define new research directions, deliver high-impact publications and conduct the pathways to impact activities.The research outcomes will generate significant academic, economic and societal impact. They will ensure the UK has a unique world-leading research activity in digital fluid power and its future applications. UK-based companies will receive a competitive advantage in exploiting the deliverables from the Fellowship and in significantly influencing the application potential of digital hydraulic fluid power in the market, which can have an immense range of customers. The research outcomes will provide long-term zero-carbon machines for people living and improving their quality of life.[1]. 2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Final Figures. National Statistics. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. 2022.[2]. National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory UK Data. 2022.[3]. Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, the US Environmental Protection Agency. 2022.