WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. engineers say they've found a way to cut fuel consumption and dramatically improve hydraulic pump and motor efficiency in heavy construction equipment.
Purdue University engineers achieved the goals by implementing two innovations: They eliminate valves now needed to direct the flow of hydraulic fluid in heavy equipment, and they also incorporate textured "microstructured" surfaces inside the pumps to improve performance.
Research has shown the "valveless" design alone could reduce fuel consumption by 40 percent, said Professor Monika Ivantysynova of Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering. Further savings could be realized by combining the valveless design with the advanced microstructured surface concept that dramatically reduces power losses due to friction caused by hydraulic fluid.
The findings were detailed in several technical papers presented earlier this summer in Krakow, Poland, during the Fifth Fluid Power Net International Symposium.
