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Evaluation of hybrid concepts of drivelines for forest machines

Reference number
Coordinator Skogstekniska klustret ek för
Funding from Vinnova SEK 530 000
Project duration October 2021 - October 2022
Status Completed
Venture Fossilfria Arbetsmaskiner - FFI
Call Fossil-free mobile work machines - spring 2021
End-of-project report 2021-01800sv.pdf(pdf, 873 kB) (In Swedish)

Important results from the project

The purpose of this project has been to study different hybrid concepts on a scientific basis to get an idea of what is possible and what could be a good solution for the forestry industry. The simulation results presented in this project show that hybrid solutions are worth considering as a solution to minimize fuel consumption of forest machines.

Expected long term effects

The project presents a comparison in fuel consumption when using the hydrostatic transmission, the series hybrid and the parallel hybrid. Simulation results show a great potential to reduce fuel consumption of forest machines by 40% if hybrid solutions are considered. The objectives of this project were successfully achieved, and the results provide guidelines for future work towards forest machine with significantly lower carbon footprint combined with the same high productivity.

Approach and implementation

The project was carried out through quasistatic simulations, where a driving profile for forest machines was created. The models have been developed and simulated in Matlab/Simulink. Three concepts have been evaluated and compared; hydrostatic transmission, series hybrid and parallel hybrid. During the evaluation, all elements have been kept the same for all simulations and models, i.e. the same internal combustion engine, the same electric motor and the same battery.

The project description has been provided by the project members themselves and the text has not been looked at by our editors.

Last updated 1 December 2022

Reference number 2021-01800