Ecomechatronics is an engineering approach to developing and applying mechatronical technology in order to reduce the

ecological impact Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

and

total cost of ownership Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or service. It is a management accounting concept that can be used in full cost accounting or even eco ...

of machines. It builds upon the integrative approach of

mechatronics Mechatronics engineering, also called mechatronics, is the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems employing mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering and computer engineering, and also ...

, but not with the aim of only improving the functionality of a machine. Mechatronics is the multidisciplinary field of science and engineering that merges mechanics, electronics,

control theory Control theory is a field of control engineering and applied mathematics that deals with the control system, control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the applic ...

, and computer science to improve and optimize

product design Product design is the process of creating new Product (business), products for businesses to sell to their customers. It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products ...

and manufacturing. In ecomechatronics, additionally, functionality should go hand in hand with an efficient use and limited impact on resources. Machine improvements are targeted in 3 key areas:

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a rat ...

, performance and user comfort (

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

vibration Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the os ...

s).

Description

Among policy makers and manufacturing industries there is a growing awareness of the scarcity of resources and the need for

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. This results in new regulations with respect to the design of machines (e.g.

European Ecodesign Directive The Ecodesign Directive (Directive 2009/125/EC) of the European Union establishes a framework to set mandatory ecological requirements for energy-using and energy-related products sold in all 27 member states. Its scope currently covers more than ...

2009/125/EC) and to a paradigm shift in the global machines market: "instead of maximum profit from minimum capital, maximum added value must be generated from minimal resources". Manufacturing industries increasingly require high performance machines that use resources (energy, consumables) economically in a human-centered production. Machine building companies and original equipment manufacturers are thus urged to respond to this market demand with a new generation of high performance machines with higher energy efficiency and user comfort. Evolution of crude oil price

A reduction of the

energy consumption Energy consumption is the amount of energy used. Biology In the body, energy consumption is part of energy homeostasis. It derived from food energy. Energy consumption in the body is a product of the basal metabolic rate and the physical acti ...

lowers energy costs and reduces environmental impact. Typically more than 80% of the total-life-cycle impact of a machine is attributed to its energy consumption during the use phase. Therefore, improving a machine's energy efficiency is the most effective way of reducing its environmental impact. Performance quantifies how well a machine executes its function and is typically related to productivity, precision and availability. User comfort is related to the exposure of operators and the environment to noise & vibrations due to machine operation. Since energy efficiency, performance and noise & vibrations are coupled in a machine they need to be addressed in an integrated way in the design phase. Example of the interrelation between the 3 key areas: with increasing machine speed typically the machine's productivity increases, but energy consumption will increase as well and machine vibrations may grow such that machine accuracy (e.g. positioning accuracy) and availability (due to downtime and maintenance) decrease. Ecomechatronical design deals with the trade-off between these key areas.

Approach

Ecomechatronics impacts the way mechatronical systems and machines are being designed and implemented. Therefore, the transformation to a new generation of machines concerns knowledge institutes, original equipment manufacturers, CAE software suppliers, machine builders and industrial machine owners. The fact that about 80% of the environmental impact of a machine is determined by its design puts emphasis on making the right technological design choices. A model-based, multidisciplinary design approach is required in order to address the energy efficiency, performance and user comfort of a machine in an integrated way. The key enabling technologies can be categorized in machine components, machine design methods & tools, and machine control. A few examples are listed below per category.

Machine components

* Energy efficient electrical motors: cf. energy efficiency classes of electric motors
ecodesign requirements for electric motors
*

Variable frequency drive A variable-frequency drive (VFD, or adjustable-frequency drive, adjustable-speed drive, variable-speed drive, AC drive, micro drive, inverter drive, variable voltage variable frequency drive, or drive) is a type of AC motor drive (system inco ...

s: variable motor speed enables energy reduction with respect to fixed speed applications * Variable

hydraulic pump A hydraulic pump is a mechanical source of power that converts mechanical power into hydraulic energy ( hydrostatic energy i.e. flow, pressure). Hydraulic pumps are used in hydraulic drive systems and can be hydrostatic or hydrodynamic. They gen ...

s: energy reduction by adapting to required pressure and flow (e.g. variable displacement pump, load sensing pump) *

Energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an Accumulator (energy), accumulator or Batte ...

technologies: electrical (battery, capacitor,

supercapacitor alt=Supercapacitor, upright=1.5, Schematic illustration of a supercapacitor upright=1.5, A diagram that shows a hierarchical classification of supercapacitors and capacitors of related types A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, ...

), hydraulical (accumulator), kinetic energy (

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device that uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy, a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, a ...

), pneumatic, magnetic ( superconducting magnetic energy storage)

Design methods & tools

* Energetic simulations: using energetic machine models and empirical data (e.g.

maps) to estimate the machine's energy consumption in the design phase * Energy demand optimization: e.g. load leveling in order to avoid peaks in power demand * Hybridization: applying at least one other, intermediate energy form in order to reduce primary power source consumption e.g. in vehicles with internal combustion engines (see

hybrid vehicle drivetrain Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power, and can come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but swi ...

) * Vibro-acoustic analysis: study of the noise & vibrations signature of a machine in order to localize and differentiate between their root causes * Multibody modeling: simulation of the interaction forces and displacements of coupled rigid bodies, e.g. to assess the effect of vibration dampers on a mechanical structure * Active

vibration damping In classical mechanics, a harmonic oscillator is a system that, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force ''F'' proportional to the displacement ''x'': \vec F = -k \vec x, where ''k'' is a positive constan ...

: e.g. use of

piezoelectric Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied stress (mechanics), mechanical s ...

bearings for active control of machine vibrations * Rapid control prototyping: provides a fast and inexpensive way for control and signal processing engineers to verify designs early and evaluate design tradeoffs

Machine control

* Energy consumption minimization: control signals are optimized for minimum energy consumption * Energy management of energy storage systems: controlling the power flows and state-of-charge of an energy storage system with the aim of achieving maximum energy benefit and maximum system lifespan * Model-based control: taking advantage of system models to improve the outcome (accuracy, reaction time, ...) of the controlled system * (Self-)learning control: control self-adapting to the system and its changing environment, reducing the need for control parameter tuning and adaptation by the control engineer * Optimal machine control: the control of the system is regarded as an

optimization problem In mathematics, engineering, computer science and economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goo ...

to which the control rules are considered the optimal solution (see

Optimal control Optimal control theory is a branch of control theory that deals with finding a control for a dynamical system over a period of time such that an objective function is optimized. It has numerous applications in science, engineering and operations ...

)

Applications

Some examples of ecomechatronical system applications are: * Komatsu PC200-8 Hybrid: the world's first hybrid excavator has an energy storage system based on

s. The energy recuperation in the hydraulic drive line during braking results in a significant improvement of fuel economy. * Hybrid bus: different hybrid bus types have been commercialized (e.g. ExquiCity bus by

Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...

), using

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

s or a diesel engine as a primary energy source and batteries and/or supercapacitors as energy storage systems. * Hybrid tram vehicle: hybridization in tram vehicles enables energy recuperation as well as mobility without overhead lines, as applied in e.g. some of the Combino Supra tram vehicles by Siemens Transportation Systems. The system uses a combination of traction batteries and supercapacitors.

References

"Energy related life cycle impact and cost reduction opportunities in machine design: the laser cutting case,"
T. Devoldere et al., Proceedings of the 15th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, 2008
"More efficient machines through model-based design,"
W. Symens, Presentation at the Model-Driven Development Day, May 9, 2012, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
"Towards a mechatronic compiler,"
{Dead link, date=August 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes H. Van Brussel, Presentation at ACCM Workshop on Mechatronic Design 2012, November 30, 2012, Linz, Austria
Learning control of production machines
Embedded systems Energy conservation Industrial ecology