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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mech. Eng.
Sec. Mechatronics
Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmech.2025.1535120
This article is part of the Research Topic Efficient energy utilization in hydraulic systems View all 3 articles

Experimental Assessment of Energy Consumption: A Comparative Study Between Motor-Controlled and Valve-Controlled Cylinders in Knuckle Boom Crane Operations

Provisionally accepted
Wei Zhao Wei Zhao 1*Morten Kjeld Ebbesen Morten Kjeld Ebbesen 1Michael Rygaard Hansen Michael Rygaard Hansen 1Torben Ole Andersen Torben Ole Andersen 2
  • 1 University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
  • 2 Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper experimentally assess the energy consumption of a laboratory knuckle boom crane utilizing two proposed two-motor-two-pump (2M2P) motor controlled hydraulic cylinders (MCC) in comparison to two conventional valve controlled hydraulic cylinders (VCC). Experimental results demonstrate that using the motor-controlled crane instead of the valve-controlled crane results in 60% to 64% total energy savings. In conclusion, this study highlights the practical suitability of the 2M2P MCCs for real-world applications, showcasing their enhanced energy efficiency compared to conventional VCCs.

    Keywords: motor-controlled hydraulic cylinder, Knuckle boom crane, valve-controlled hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic energy transmission, Energy Consumption

    Received: 26 Nov 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Ebbesen, Hansen and Andersen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Zhao, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.