Highly Efficient Electro-motor Pumps Working with Virtually All Aircraft Power Buses
Liebherr, with more than 25 years of experience in the development and production of hydraulic and electronic components and systems, has developed and tested an innovative Electro-motor Pump which is now ready for serial applications.
Prototype of Motor Pump Unit
Hydraulic power generation systems of future aircraft will have a more decentralized hydraulic system architecture. Electro-motor Pumps will play an important role in these new designs as they enable an optimized energy management on aircraft level and make way for many other opportunities.
The new Electro-motor Pump unit developed and manufactured by Liebherr combines advanced hydraulic system aspects with advanced electrical drive technologies and comprises the following features:
- Power class 20 kW, 44 l/min at up to 207 bar digital controlled pressure
- High integration of electric motor and pump for maximum power density
- High efficient motor cooling using hydraulic flow
- Flexible adaption of characteristics and specific add-on features (e. g. control of power consumption) through software controlled electrical drive
Motor Pump Unit installed in Endurance Test Rig
Vibration Test Setup of the Motor Pump unit at Liebherr-Elektronik GmbH in Lindau (Germany)
Thermal Evaluation of Motor Control Electronic during Load Test
Motor Pump Unit during Icing Test
Conceptual design of a Hydraulic Power Pack with a high degree of integration
An intensive development and robustness test program performed on several prototype units confirmed the key benefits of the Liebherr Electro Motor Pump compared to state-of-the-art designs:
- High energy efficiency, low noise and low pressure pulsation
- On demand system pressure reduction to enhance life of the hydraulic system
- Constant pressure supply up to full flow (no soft cut off)
- Improved maintenance due to advanced built-in test, failure and health monitoring capabilities
- Flexible adaption to virtually all aircraft power buses (28 VDC, 115 VAC, 230 VAC, HVDC) by integrated or external power electronics
Liebherr will continue its development on Electro-motor Pumps for higher benefits on aircraft level. Focus will be put on a higher degree of integration of the electronics with the Electro-motor Pump unit to save weight, space envelope and costs. Furthermore, the Electro-motor Pumps will be used in local hydraulic systems (i.e. in Hydraulic Power Packages) which will be key elements in future more electric aircraft.
Funding of this research project
This project has received funding from the Cleans Sky 2 Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 807081.The results in this publication represent only the author´s view. Clean Sky Joint Undertaking is not responsible for any use that may be made of the contained information.
This project was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag.
