Influence of Hydraulic Accumulator Performance on the Hydraulic Hybrid Powertrain

Owing to its high power density, hydraulic hybrid is considered as an effective approach to reducing the fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. A gas-charged hydraulic accumulator serves as the power buffer, storing and releasing hydraulic power through gas. An accurate hydraulic accumulator model is crucial to predict its actual performance. There are two widely used accumulator models: isothermal and adiabatic models. Neither of these models are practical to reflect its real performance in the hydraulic hybrid system. Therefore, the influence of an accumulator model considering thermal hysteresis on a hydraulic hybrid wheel loader has been studied in this paper. The difference of three accumulator models (isothermal, adiabatic and energy balance) has been identified. A dynamic simulation model of the hydraulic hybrid wheel loader has been developed. The fuel consumptions of the hydraulic hybrid wheel loader with three accumulator models has been compared. The influence of heat transfer coefficient of the accumulator housing has also been studied.