Review of Early Work on Digital Displacement® Hydrostatic Transmission Systems

Abstract

The paper describes the work done by the author (1) from 1999 to 2006 to develop the Digital Displacement Pump (DDP) and Pump/Motor (DDPM) and demonstrate the feasibility of off-highway vehicle applications. The link between DDPM capacity and the solenoid valve performance was identified. Magnetic geometry was improved by parametric FEA, then time-domain behavior was improved with a hybrid FEA/lumped-parameter model. Software improvements allowed variable speed and bidirectional operation, enabling the demonstration of the first Digital Displacement Transmission (DDT) systems on a vehicle, one featuring a load-sensing DDP and secondary control by DDPM displacement, and one featuring primary control by DDP displacement and a conventional axial motor. A time-domain simulation was created of the primary-controlled vehicle, which yielded good comparison to experimental results. The deterministic nature of the DDP lends itself to model-based system design methods, which have since been used to develop larger commercial systems. The first detailed analysis of DDP efficiency characteristics revealed profound differences to conventional variable displacement pumps, including exceptional part-load efficiency and the dominant effect of fluid compressibility. A peak overall efficiency of 97% was recorded for a DDP after analysis of loss sources prompted design improvement.