• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.9-19
• /
• 2024

Many modern hydraulic excavators now use EPPRVs (Electronic Proportional Pressure Reducing Valves) in their pilot systems to control the spool displacement of the main hydraulic system. However, the performance of these systems is often limited by factors such as magnetic hysteresis, mechanical wear, and transient responses influenced by operating conditions and component installation. This paper presents a pressure feedback controller for excavator pilot systems that utilize EPPRVs. This controller significantly reduces steady-state pressure control errors and mitigates the hysteresis effects commonly seen in traditional open-loop systems. To achieve this, we integrated EPPRVs with the main hydraulic valve and injected a chirp signal into the solenoid current. By doing so, we were able to measure the frequency response of the pilot system across different operating pressures and estimate the system dynamics model. Using these models, we designed a set of PI pressure feedback controllers that are guaranteed to be stable. These controllers were then integrated with a gain scheduler based on a lookup table. Experimental results demonstrate that when the developed pressure feedback controller is incorporated into the conventional open-loop controller, it effectively reduces steady-state pressure control errors and mitigates hysteresis.

• Transactions of The Korea Fluid Power Systems Society
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.32-37
• /
• 2008

For the bucket tip position control of the excavator, a traditional hydraulic excavator system was exchanged into an electro-hydraulic one. EPPR valves are attached to the traditional MCV and hydraulic joysticks are replaced by electronic ones to develop the electro-hydraulic system. To control the electronic pump with a good performance, the control logic for the pump is deduced from the AMESim simulation and the experimental method on the test bench. To get a good position control performance of the excavator bucket tip, PI+AntiWindup controller is selected as a position controller. The experimental results showed the good controllability for the electro-hydraulic excavator system on the test bench.