ELECTRICAL VERSES HYDRAULICS AND IMPROVING HYDRAULIC SYSTEM EFFICIENCY

LYLE RUBLE
I decided to address carwash hydraulic system efficiency after recently seeing more and more OEMs advertising systems that utilize electric drives in lieu of hydraulic drives to power tunnel conveyors and function actuators. The advertisements focus on two primary weaknesses of hydraulics; first and foremost, hydraulics represents a hazard with a potential for leakage and catastrophic hose failure; second, traditional hydraulic systems do not normally meet contemporary e pectations for energy efficiency. One other weakness of hydraulic systems, not stated in the advertising, is that traditional mineral oil !ased hydraulic fluid is flamma!le. "lthough rarely does one hear of carwashes catching fire, it does happen. The carwash systems that have !een designed to utilize electric conveyors and actuators are not simple, !ut use sophisticated electronics and hardware to achieve the advertised energy efficiencies. The claims of higher energy efficiency and the elimination of the pro!lems that hydraulics causes are, in fact, true. #y eliminating hydraulics from the system, hydraulic leaks are no longer a pro!lem as are the contamination to water reclaim systems. The energy efficiency in the tunnel conveyor is gained from com!ining an inverter driven electric motor with a reduction gear unit driving the conveyor. $ince the only power needed is to drive the conveyor rather than an entire hydraulic system of %& hp or larger, the electric drive doesn't have to !e much larger than ( hp to ) hp. To avoid the massive inrush currents that are normally associated with electric motors, the inverter drive *soft starts+ the motor and increases and decreases speed only on demand. " common form of inverter is the varia!le fre,uency drive. The speed changes as the electric fre,uency changes. -owever, the electric carwash system presents some design challenges. The greatest challenges are to !e found in power density and size, electric.electronic protection, power usage issues, and maintenance.

is at least %&0%. The electric drive has to !e much !igger to get the same amount of power. The practical consideration in design is placement and footprint. $ince the electric motor is larger and heavier, then the e,uipment must !e designed to accommodate the larger size and support the greater weight. This is why it is common to mount the electric motor on a right angle gear !o . If one didn't do this then the drive unit would stick out an e tended distance and cause even more design pro!lems. 1ight angle drives are more e pensive and less efficient than a straight reduction drive. Even with the right angle drive the space re,uired for the drive unit is much larger and presents a larger foot print. 2or e ample; in the carwash tunnel conveyor, the unit has to !e designed in such a way as to !e placed !elow the level of the floor surface. This usually doesn't present much of a pro!lem in new construction !ut could prove to !e difficult to overcome in converting hydraulic driven conveyors to electric driven conveyors.

E!e"tri" & E!e"troni" Prote"tion & Ot#er Iss$es

"ll electrical and electronics must !e protected from the environment. /ommon contaminants are dust and dirt, fluids and humidity, and in some cases vapors. To prevent damage to electrical components re,uires ade,uate mechanical protection. This is usually accomplished with the enclosure or case. "lso, not only must the environment !e kept out; !ut the heat generated !y the e,uipment must !e transferred away. Therefore, there are three essential pro!lems; ingression, cooling, and safety from electric shock. $imply stated; to ade,uately protect the electrical and electronic components the mechanical protection may make it more difficult to cool the e,uipment. 34ote0 -igh heat levels significantly contri!ute to electrical degradation failures.5 /arwashes represent a uni,ue challenge to the designer. Electric devices located in the wash areas must !e of the type that they can withstand the water and chemicals present. 4ormally in wet areas the designer will chose a device enclosure or case that is rated 4EM" 6 or 67 3IE/ ratings I8 99, I8 9:, or I8 9;5. To provide that type of ingress protection, then often the enclosures will have to !e either oversized, fan cooled, or !oth. "nother issue with electrical and electronic devices is that they fail catastrophically. -ydraulic devices slowly degrade until they lose enough efficiency that they need to !e either repaired or changed. $eldom do hydraulic devices catastrophically fail. -ydraulic systems can !e monitored and replaced on a planned !asis; whereas, electrical e,uipment are usually changed only after an unplanned catastrophic

Power Density & Si e

One of the shortcomings with all electric motors when compared to hydraulic motors is what is called power density. In short, how much power can !e achieved out of what size package. /omparing a ) hp electric motor to a ) hp hydraulic motor; the difference in size

failure. Therefore, planned maintenance is more difficult to perform. "nother issue is that of electric !rush and soft clothes drives. 2or the most part electric motors utilized in the tunnels have a shortened service life in comparison to electric motors used elsewhere and compara!le hydraulic motors. Industry e pectations for hydraulic motors and pumps are !etween ;,&&& to %&,&&& hours, which is difficult if not impossi!le for electric carwash motors to achieve. If an electric motor or device fails during operation, the system must !e shutdown and the device replaced immediately, accumulating costly down time. $ince hydraulics rarely catastrophically fail, they are less likely to cause costly downtime from failures. "lthough hydraulics are electrically controlled, usually %< or <6 volt which the 4E/ considers to !e intrinsically safe; carwash electric motors use a much higher line voltages, %<&, <(&, or 69& volt in a wet environment. These voltages can !e deadly if humans should accidently come into contact. =et another issue with electric drives when compared to compara!le hydraulic drives is if the load were to e ceed the power capa!ility, stalling the drive, the electric drive's power demand would ,uickly e ceed the trip limit of the motor starter or circuit interrupting device 3fuses or circuit !reakers5. This condition can possi!ly damage electrical devices and motors depending on how ,uickly the system trips. -ydraulic drives, on the other hand, when encountering the same situation will cause the system to simply go into !ypass. Thus, when the load is reduced the hydraulic system automatically goes out of !ypass and continues to operate without damaging any of the e,uipment. This is a valua!le !enefit with tunnel conveyors if they were to go into a stalled state. $ince electrical devices are not well suited for linear positioning, some other type of power is needed for these functions. 4ormally this is accomplished with pneumatics. Of all power sources pneumatics is the least energy efficient. >epending on the pneumatic devices positioning downstream from the compressor; efficiency ranges from )&? to %)?. The final point is that carwash motors are single speed motors and are of lower hp ratings; typically @, A, %, or < hp. $ince the ratings are small they are controlled with starter.motor technology. Bhen the motor circuit is engaged the motor is su!Cected to full inrush currents. This is highly energy inefficient and uses a great deal of power during normal operation.

to replace wiring, motor controllers, positioning switches, and inverter drives. Even some industrial electricians are not ,ualified to trou!leshoot and work on inverters, since they have highly sophisticated electronics. 2ield maintenance cannot normally !e performed on inverters and re,uire changing the unit and sending them to !e repaired at authorized factory service centers. Bithout an inverter the entire system is down. 1eplacement inverters are not normally inventoried locally and replacement must wait until one is ac,uired, usually from the factory. -ydraulic components on the other hand are usually locally availa!le, thus reducing e pensive downtime. The operating savings that the inverter drive conveyor system can provide is ,uickly lost when e pensive maintenance is re,uired. -ydraulic system maintenance usually doesn't re,uire a highly skilled professional. Most reasona!ly competent and e perienced maintenance personnel can easily perform maintenance; from trou!leshooting to repair and replacement. $ince most hydraulic systems in carwash operations are fairly simple and straightforward; is easily accomplished. Monitoring of hydraulic systems is simple in comparison to electric systems. -ydraulic system health, !eing easily monitored, is facilitated and works well with a 8lanned Maintenance 8rogram.

U&'%tin( Hy'r%$!i" Syste)s

/arwash hydraulic system's design hasn't changed much since it first started !eing used around ) decades ago. It is a simple open circuit system driven !y an electric prime mover. 8umps have varied from vane pumps to gear pumps to piston pumps. "ll pumps are positive fi ed displacement devices. The hydraulic system has !een designed to power tunnel conveyors; !rush and soft clothe drives, and linear actuators for e,uipment positioning. #ecause of design simplicity, relative low cost, and ease of maintenance; the traditional hydraulic systems for carwashes has survived, while in other industries this same technology was left !ehind decades ago. >esign simplicity is one of the system's greatest strengths; !ut, it is also the system's greatest weaknesses. This old design has not kept up with the changes in energy conservation and efficiencies. In other hydraulic applications efficiency pro!lems have !een solved with the use of varia!le displacement pumps, motors and proportional valve technology. The greatest savings are found in the use of varia!le displacement pumps and the demand on the prime mover. -owever, this technology hasn't found its way into carwash hydraulic systems !ecause of the high capital costs involved to achieve what was considered relative small savings. -owever, this was !efore the rapid escalation of the cost of energy and the growing awareness of negative environmental impacts.

M%inten%n"e
"s previously mentioned electric systems can !e more difficult to maintain; in as much as, any sophisticated maintenance cannot !e performed !y non professionals. Industrial electricians are re,uired

Bith the ever increasing energy costs and the costs of environmental regulations; the simple hydraulic system design can and should !e made more efficient. #efore addressing the efficiency issues I want to address the environmental issues.

So!*in( t#e Hy'r%$!i" S&i!!%(e Pro,!e)s

Le%+%(e

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Electric conveyor drives, !rush drives, and soft clothe drives have gained a foothold !ecause of the pro!lems traditional hydraulics has caused. Most hydraulic systems in carwashes have used traditional petroleum !ased mineral oils as hydraulic fluids. Bhenever these fluids leaked or a spill occurred it wreaked havoc. Mineral oil must !e hand washed from the vehicle surface, !rushes and soft clothe must !e thoroughly cleaned or replaced, and free mineral oil can harm the water reclaim system. "lso mineral oils are flamma!le and re,uire hazardous storage. Darger spills may necessitate -"EM"T clean up. Mineral oil is not !iodegrada!le and any spillage that winds up in the effluent may result in significant fines. -owever, the negative effects of mineral oil !ased hydraulic fluids can and have !een rectified !y using water !ased carwash hydraulic lu!ricants such as M1D -ydraulics' E4FI1OGH1EE4 III. 4ow, I am ready to discuss efficiency.

#ecause of the capital costs involved, a not often used solution of conveyor drive is the utilization of a D$-T 3Dow $peed -igh Tor,ue5 direct drive motor. The traditional solution has !een to drive the conveyor from a small D$-T motor through a multiG stage reduction gear mechanism. "lthough the traditional solution is less capital intensive it is less efficient than the direct drive motor. "s force is transferred from stage to stage, a few percent of efficiency is lost. 2or e ample; (? to )? is lost per stage and a three stage speed reducer will lose appro imately K to %) percent in efficiency. Therefore the addition of a direct drive D$-T conveyor drive could provide as much as %)? !etter efficiency. The estimated cost of the change is appro imately J%)&&.&&.

V%ri%,!e Dis&!%"e)ent Hy'r%$!i" P$)&

Many would consider the utilization a varia!le displacement hydraulic pump in such a simple system as overkill; *using a cannon to kill a fly+. -owever, with such high energy costs this may !e a more via!le solution. Bhether using a varia!le displacement pump or an inverter driven motor; efficiency is attained from limiting input power to the demand power re,uirement. Faria!le displacement pumps are now the preferred solution in other hydraulic applications, especially in mo!ile applications where efficiency, weight and size is so critical. In the carwash the varia!le displacement pump would still have to !e driven !y a full load prime mover. Bhat this means is if the system under full load re,uires << hp, then the electric motor must !e rated at <) hp. Efficiency is attained when full load isn't needed and power demand is reduced. This change would re,uire the use of fluid power professionals to size the unit and install it. The estimated cost of the change is appro imately J(&&&.&&.

-#%t C%n ,e Done to M%+e Hy'r%$!i" Syste)s Ener(y E..i"ient

There are a num!er of steps that can !e taken to improve hydraulic system efficiencies and improve performance. Be need to look at where changes can !e made and the impact that they will have on energy efficiencies.

By&%ss/ Un!o%'in(/ D$)& V%!*es

The traditional carwash hydraulic system usually doesn't have a !ypass valve installed. Bhen the system is running without load, the system pressure will increase to the preset value of the pressure relief valve. The system will then dump across the relief valve at full system pressure. This is not only energy inefficient !ut it also rapidly creates heat. 8lacement of a 4ormally Open 34O5 solenoid <B<8 valve will eliminate this pro!lem. This valve is wired into the load circuit so that as load is demanded the valve is closed allowing full system pressure to flow to the load. This step not only improves system energy efficiency !ut also reduces system heat generation while in stand!y. The estimated total cost of the change is appro imately J(&&.&&.

In*erter Dri*en Hy'r%$!i" P$)&

"dding an inverter to control the hydraulic power unit prime mover is an e cellent solution to achieve the ma imum energy efficiency without significant system changes. Lust as with the electric inverter driven conveyor, the hydraulic unit inverter driven motor closely matches the supply power to the demand power. This savings for the hydraulic system can easily e,ual <&?. #y maintaining a constant pressure and varying the speed of the fi ed displacement pump, the system speed will meet the system demand. Most hydraulic systems uses a cascade logic where conveyor functions is constantly on during the wash and positioning devices, !rushes, and soft clothe functions cascade off and on. This provides for ma imum load limits and power re,uirements. Therefore, in a constant speed

C%rw%s# Con*eyor Motors

hydraulic system; ma imum load power must !e delivered at all times the system is running. #y eliminating the need to run at ma imum load, energy efficiencies are increased. 2or e ample in the previous section the system had a <) hp electric prime mover and the system full load was << hp; !y factoring in the cascade re,uirements the ma imum power re,uirement is now %: hp. Therefore, the prime mover can !e changed from a <) hp to <& hp. This will still provide a cushion factor that will help compensate as components wear and efficiency is lost. If the conveyor drive were changed to a direct drive D$-T motor then it would !e possi!le to go from a <) hp to %) hp electric motor and still meet the system power re,uirements. The use of an inverter allows the power to !e more closely matched to the actual demand; thus, saving energy. The installation of an inverter re,uires the use of an inline pressure sensor to deliver a signal !ack to the inverter. "s the pressure changes due to functions coming on and off line, the inverter will speed up or slow down the prime mover, speeding up and slowing the pump, to compensate for the pressure drop. Therefore, supply power follows demand with a minimum of lag. Other than the installation of unloading valve this is one of the simplest actions to gain ma imum !enefit. "lso, driving the hydraulic power unit prime mover with an inverter rather than an inverter driven electric conveyor; takes the inverter out of the more hazardous and severe environment of the tunnel. It will also not re,uire changing the !asic hydraulic conveyor footprint and tunnel architecture. "lso, the inverter driven power units also e tends energy savings to the other hydraulic devices such as !rush, soft clothe drives and e,uipment positioning cylinders. "lthough the initial capital investment is estimated to !e appro imately J)%&&.&&, reasona!le pay!acks can !e e pected.

already installed systems where the hydraulics is #ased on a <) hp hydraulic power unit 8ower usage per month N J%&&&.&& /ost of installation of inverter O <& hp motor N J)%&&.&& 8ower saving per month N <)? 3J<)&.&&5 8ay!ack0 )%&& <)& N <&.6 months

pulled out and replaced with electrics. The conversion can !e done with local fluid power and inverter drive professionals. The higher the local energy costs are the more imperative it !ecomes to make the transition.

#ased on a <) hp hydraulic power unit 8ower usage per month N J%&&&.&& /ost of installation of inverter O <& hp motor N J)%&&.&& /ost of installation of D$-T direct drive conveyor motor N J%)&&.&& Total conversion cost N J99&&.&& 8ower saving per month N (&? 3J(&&.&&5 8ay!ack0 99&& (&& N << months

Dyle 1u!le is the 8resident of 1u!le /onsulting $ervices in Milwaukee, BI.

E ample M% E ample M<

"s the e amples represent; the pay!ack period is not unreasona!le. If the system upgrade is coupled with a change to water !ased hydraulic fluid, such as E4FI1OGH1EE4 III; the standard hydraulic carwash system !ecomes more energy efficient and ecoG friendly. This !ecomes much more attractive to