Energy-saving analysis of the independent metering system with pressure compensation for excavator’s manipulator

This article studies the energy-saving performances of the independent metering system with pressure compensation for excavator’s manipulator. Compared to the electro-hydraulic pressure compensation method, the hydro-mechanical pressure compensation method is commonly applied in the conventional load-sensing systems as it reacts directly and rapidly. Independent metering system has more controllability, because meter-in and meter-out orifices are decoupled. In this study, the hydro-mechanical pressure compensation method is adopted in the designing of independent metering system for excavator’s manipulator. According to the demand forces and velocities of the cylinders in the excavator’s manipulator part, the pressure compensation independent metering control blocks of boom, arm, and bucket are completely designed. The most energy-efficient manner of opening the meter-in and meter-out orifices for proportional output velocity has been obtained by quasi-static behaviors’ analysis. The excavator’s manipulator virtual prototype model, the conventional load-sensing system model, and pressure compensation independent metering system model are built. The system parameters are kept as consistent values, and the energy consumptions of the two systems are compared in the simulations. The comparison results indicated that the pressure compensation independent metering system offers more significant energy savings than the conventional load-sensing system when the system is steady.