Bosch Rexroth AG One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives | MOBILE 2017 143

Chapter 3: Automation

One step ahead Electronic torque control

for hydrostatic travel drives

Abstract
With the electronic torque control, Rexroth increases the degree of freedom
for manufacturers of mobile working machines to design the characteristics of
hydrostatic travel drives by the use of software. For this purpose, the new actuation
concept decouples the wheel torque from the diesel engine speed and assigns
the hydraulic functions to their own layer in the control unit. Thereby, the dynamic
characteristics of the vehicle are separated from the dynamic characteristics of
the components. Hybrid technologies can easily be created using the standardized
torque interface. Thus, the vehicle manufacturer can focus on the parametrization of
the desired driving characteristics without having to deal with the technical details
of the hydrostatic drive. The control layers can be adjusted to other machine sizes
by only a few parameter changes. The solution offers high flexibility for the drive and
for the use of various technologies. By means of just one driving strategy software,
OEMs can control hydrostatic travel drives as well as electric solutions.

Diego Cornolti
Sales and Industry Sector Management Telehandler

Dr. Steffen Mutschler

Systems Integration

Automation
144 MOBILE 2017 | One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives
Market driver differentiation
OEMs want to set themselves apart from competitors
through the technology of their machine concepts. This dif-
ferentiation does not only concern certain machine series,
but also the adjustment within series to different markets,
different operating modes, or even end customer needs
for a machine. In order to implement these variances in an
economic manner, mobile work machine manufacturers are
looking for intelligent solutions to keep the cost and effort
for design, programming, and optimization of control func-
tions as low as possible. A short development time is also
an important criterion in competition.
Status quo of electrohydraulic control units
The currently used and largely matured concepts for hy-
drostatic travel drives are based on speed control algo-
rithms. They control the operating points of the hydraulic
pump and hydraulic motor depending on the diesel engine
speed, the gas pedal position, and the vehicle speed. All
drive functions, such as reversing, load limiting control, or
overspeed protection are integrated into this control chain
through impacting the electrohydraulic control currents.
Thus, expert knowledge regarding the control of hydrostat-
ic travel drives is required in order to develop such vehicle
functions. At the same time, the complexity and mainte-
nance requirements of the software increase overpropor-
tionally with each additional function (Fig. 1).
Classic Control:
Torque is shaped via engine speed and current signals
Engine speed Engine
Pedal request speed
Diesel
engine
Fig. 1: Typical speed-based control: control functions for diesel engine, pump, and vehicle are not separated
Bosch Rexroth AG
New torque control actuation concept
With a new system approach, Bosch Rexroth supports
OEMs in advancing functional integration into vehicles
while at the same time significantly simplifying the control
architecture in their machines. For this purpose, the actua-
tion strategy for the components and the driving strategy
are strictly separated from each other. The pedal position is
interpreted as desired tractive effort and is transferred to
the hydrostatic transmission as target torque. The control
strategy of the hydrostatic transmission realizes the desired
torque considering a limited input power. This power limita-
tion prevents overloading the diesel engine and further
more enables a flexible division of the available power
between the drive hydraulics and implement hydraulics.
The power limitation, based on torque control, works highly
dynamically and thus enables a particularly high reduction
in the diesel engine speed without the diesel engine cutting
out due to load peaks. This happens demand-oriented via
the generic interface to the power management and leads
to decreased consumption combined with top productivity.
New possibilities for the design of functions also open up
in the development: a more harmonious driving behavior as
is common today can easily be realized through the torque
characteristic.
Pump Pump
current current
e.g. reversing
engine load limit &
over speed protection
Bosch Rexroth AG One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives | MOBILE 2017 145

The centerpiece of this solution is the axial piston pump
A4VG series 35 with electronic pressure control via an RC
control unit from the BODAS modular system, in combina-
tion with fixed or variable displacement motors. The pump
is controlled in all four quadrants to the desired pressure
value and thus enables machine control via the interface
based on target torque.
Thereby, the torque at the wheels is completely decoupled
from the diesel engine speed. This also improves the re-
sponse behavior to pedal actuation. Based on many years
of experience with pressure control, Rexroth has optimized
the softwares algorithms. They guarantee stable operation
under all operating conditions. A precondition for this is a
highly dynamic pump that is sufficiently fast to meet the re-
quirements in the large signal as well as in the small signal
response behavior.
In contrast to prior control concepts, the software thus has
clearly divided layers for the vehicle and for the hydraulics
control. The operator does not determine the diesel speed
through the gas pedal any longer, but rather the desired
tractive effort. The driving strategy determines the needed
torque to be created. Based on that, the hydraulics con-
trol calculates the required differential pressure p and
controls the pump and the hydraulic motors accordingly.
Drive functions such as accelerating, braking, reversing, as
well as load limiting control and overspeed protection are
comfortably defined and realized in the driving strategy and
the power manager via target torque and the power limita-
tion, while the intelligent hydrostatic transmission handles
the realization of said target values. Since the diesel engine
is no longer part of the control chain, the electronic torque
control responds considerably quicker to driving commands
(Fig. 2).
OEMs can combine the new drive control concept with any
type of mechanical gearbox such as Shift on Fly synchro-
nous gearboxes or the summation gearboxes 2+1 and 2+3.
With the help of torque control, gears can be shifted even
more smoothly than in the past, since the tractive effort is
the same beyond the shifting process. A torque summation
and limitation at the wheels supports new functions such
as ABS or the integration of hybrid systems.

Torque Control:
Torque is directly commanded

Torque p Pump

Automation
Pedal request request current
Drive strategy Hydrostat Pump
with e.g. reversing control control

Power Power
request limit
Engine speed
request
Power manager with
Diesel
engine load limit &
engine
overspeed protection

Fig. 2: Torque control: consistent separation of functional levels of the vehicle, diesel engine, and hydraulic components
146 MOBILE 2017 | One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives
The system topology of the electronic torque control largely
corresponds to the topology of currently common speed
controlled systems. On the hardware side, the two PR4
pressure sensors of the A4VG series 35 are used. Addi-
tional sensors are not necessary. The system continues to
run even in case of sensor failure, since the control unit
enables operation by means of stored pump and motor
characteristics (Fig. 3).
Advantages of electronic torque control
In the driving strategy, the operational behavior is de-
scribed in relation to the drivers desire for all speed and
traction requirements. For this level, no knowledge regard-
ing the details of the hydrostatic travel drive is required,
since the driving strategy only requests the needed torque
from the component control that is necessary to execute
the driving commands. This solution opens new degrees of
freedom for the engineering of drives and enables new and
improved vehicle functions, by means of which manufactur-
ers can clearly set themselves apart.
RC Controller
Series 30/31
2 PR4
Pressure sensor
A4VG
Series 35
Fig. 3: System topology of the torque controlled travel drive
Bosch Rexroth AG
Advantages of separating the driving strategy from the
component control
OEMs can focus completely on the driving strategy. The
function of the hydrostatic component control to realize
the drive torque is taken care of by Rexroth.
The two control levels can be adjusted to other machine
sizes by a few parameter changes. The parameters are
derived physically and can easily be mastered.
The solution offers high flexibility for the drive and for
the use of different technologies. By means of just one
driving strategy software, OEMs can control hydrostatic
travel drives with fixed or variable displacement motors,
as well as electric solutions.
The electronic torque control concept supports different
E/E architectures a central control unit or distributed
control units for each subsystem.
Separation of functions creates new degrees
offreedom
In the common solutions seen today, the diesel engine is an
integral part of the control logic. In the electronic torque
control by Rexroth, however, all domains are clearly sepa-
rated from each other.
DSM
Speed sensor
A6VM
Series 71
Bosch Rexroth AG One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives | MOBILE 2017
The diesel engine only serves as a source of power. Thus,
OEMs can decrease the diesel speeds in the area of the
lowest consumption without any negative effects on the
driving behavior and can dynamically increase it again when
needed. They can also realize concepts with constant diesel
speeds, because the system solution completely decouples
the torque at the drive wheels from the diesel engine
speed. Functions providing a demand-oriented speed in-
crease, for example for faster lifting, can easily be realized
and work reliably in all driving situations without the need
to create elaborate compensation functions.
Flexibility in the creation of driving
characteristics and power management
integration
OEMs define the driving characteristics of their mobile
work machines in the driving strategy of the control unit
without having to consider the hydrostatic travel drive or
apply hydrostatic component knowledge. By means of sim-
ple parametrization, fundamentally different driving charac-
teristics can be set within a matter of minutes. In addition
to mere hydrostat characteristics, developers can also
HMI Power Manager
Display
HMI Vehicle layer
HMI
Diesel
HMI
Driving strategy
Driving
HMI
Working strategy
Working
...
Fig. 4: Control architecture for future work machines considering torque control and power management
147
reproduce other drive technologies. The spectrum ranges
from an extremely smooth hydrodynamic torque converter
mode to an aggressive, precise speed control behavior.
OEMs increasingly use power management in their vehicles.
In doing so, they achieve an operational management of the
diesel engine in line with demand and optimized for low
consumption. Furthermore, they can integrate hybrid sys-
tems and design the power flow within the machines. Con-
ventional hydrostatic travel drives based on speed control
can only be integrated in modern power manager systems
with high effort. The torque control, on the other hand, was
specifically developed to communicate with power manage-
ment concepts via its open physical interfaces. The match-
ing of the requested power with the available input power
enables the decreasing of the diesel engine speed in most
operational situations. The variable power distribution,
for example the speed reduction of drive and implement
hydraulics in case of an overload, can be designed flexibly
in the power management strategy (Fig. 4).
System layer
Diesel engine
Diesel engine control
system
Automation
Component control Drive
travel drive system
Component control Implement hydraulics
implement hydraulics system
Other
...
systems
148 MOBILE 2017 | One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives Bosch Rexroth AG

Testing the prototype the machine becomes easier thanks to the power manage-
ment via the power manager, since the inch pedal becomes
The torque control is realized as a prototype on a wheeled obsolete during loading operations. Since the diesel engine
loader with 105 kW nominal power and 10 tons machine speed is always based on the real power and speed require-
weight. The driving strategy in the control unit reproduces ments, the engine speed control in line with demand is not
different driving characteristics. The component control re- considered disturbing, but as a perfect fit for the applica-
alizes the desired torque from the driving strategy and com- tion. Overall, this means lower noise levels for the driver
municates with the power manager regarding the power de- which, together with the simplified controllability of the
mand and power release. Different control concepts for the machine leads to reduced fatigue throughout the work day
diesel engine enable the reproduction of a traditional diesel and consequently increased productivity (Fig.5).
engine control via the drive pedal, driving at a constant
diesel engine speed, or speed control for optimum con-
sumption via the power manager. The diesel engine speed
is changed via power and speed requests of the implement
hydraulics without any effect on the driving operation in or-
der to be able to achieve the desired lifting speed without
changing the driving pedal position. The driver can switch
between the modes via the integrated DI4 display and can
adjust the driving behavior to the machine use. The feed-
back from test drivers is unanimous: Thanks to the torque
control, the wheeled loader achieves a new dimension of
controllability. The combination of harmonious driving be-
havior and direct response to the driving pedal actuation is
particularly pointed out. At the same time, the operation of

Fig. 5: : Prototype with electronic torque control

Bosch Rexroth AG One step ahead Electronic torque control for hydrostatic travel drives | MOBILE 2017 149

Summary
The torque-controlled hydrostatic travel drive is the basis
for the next vehicle generation with improved driving char-
acteristics. The control of the drive system is completely
separated from the driving strategy, much as in electric
drives. Desired torque and power limitations are communi-
cated via generic physical interfaces. As a result, the hydro-
static travel drive is compatible with all established vehicle
systems, power managers, and future hybrid approaches.
In addition, the new system solution enables a summation
and distribution of the torques at the wheels. OEMs can
implement completely different driving characteristics on
one machine by means of software. For this purpose, they
either set up different driving modes or offer the driver
extensive configuration options.

Automation