Comment notre concept novateur « UNIDRUM » façonnera la conception des futurs compacteurs

Chez Volvo, nous aimons dire que l'innovation fait partie de notre ADN : elle est au cœur de tout ce que nous faisons, des concepts explorés dans notre Volvo Concept Lab plus structuré à la conception des produits actuels, en passant par les idées novatrices à fort potentiel qui se frayent un chemin jusqu'au marché.

Au fil des ans, nous avons développé plusieurs concepts avant-gardistes, et la logique principale demeure toujours la même : Qu'est-ce qui est possible ? De quoi l'avenir pourrait-il avoir l'air ? Comment pouvons-nous continuer à réinventer nos machines pour accroître la productivité et l'efficacité de nos clients ?

Je suis certain qu'il est stimulant pour nos clients de voir de nouveaux concepts et d'apprendre que nous continuons à chercher des moyens d'améliorer nos gammes de produits, mais d'un point de vue plus pratique, il est tout aussi passionnant et motivant pour nos ingénieurs d'explorer de nouvelles idées et technologies qu'ils n'auraient peut-être pas l'occasion d'étudier dans des contextes de développement habituels.

Ces concepts mènent à des échanges qui se transforment souvent en d'autres idées, ou certains éléments de ces concepts peuvent être intégrés à la conception de futurs produits. C'est précisément le cas de notre concept de compacteur CX01, que nous appelons à l'interne le « unidrum ». Des années de recherche et développement ont mené à un modèle conceptuel impressionnant dont la commercialisation n'est finalement pas prévue, mais bon nombre des apprentissages tirés de cette initiative mèneront à l'avenir à une meilleure conception des compacteurs d'asphalte.

COMMENT FONCTIONNE LE CONCEPT DE ROULEAU COMPACTEUR VOLVO CX01 ?

Le concept CX01 a débuté comme l'une de ces idées novatrices mentionnées précédemment qui ont généré un concept basé sur « et si... ? ». À partir de là, l'idée a fait son propre chemin. Plusieurs collègues souhaitaient résoudre des problèmes à l'aide d'approches uniques, et c'est devenu un défi personnel pour les personnes impliquées : voir si c'était réalisable.

With the CX01 concept, you have one vibratory asphalt compactor drum that’s actually two independent halves (which we call a split-drum), and it has a control system to self-balance. The unit has a hybrid power train with a small diesel engine and electric motor/battery combo. It can be operated in hybrid or full electric modes. The space for mounting batteries is limited, so for a concept like this to be even remotely viable, it requires an onboard power source to recharge the batteries — thus the diesel engine.

Operation of the unit has been built around remote control, and the larger vision is that autonomous operation would also be available.

The CX01 concept would offer paving contractors multiple benefits:

• It can operate via remote control or autonomous.
• It lowers fuel consumption and emissions because of the hybrid powertrain.
• It can be “teamed” with multiple CX units to accomplish a job (the units would create a site communication network).
• Units could communicate with trucks and the asphalt plant to coordinate delivery of material, plus jobsite personnel regarding compaction status.
• It utilizes a low-water drum coating to reduce water consumption and asphalt sticking.

A few areas of need that can be explored with this concept are improving the conditions for an operator and increasing productivity. With the CX01 concept, you now remove the operator directly from the unit, so there’s no longer exposure to vibration, noise, dust and other associated environmental conditions. Operators would now essentially play the role of autonomously controlling a fleet of CX units to compact asphalt surfaces.

On the efficiency side, the theory is that a fleet of these units could be deployed on larger jobs where they work together and communicate not only to each CX unit, but to other pieces of equipment on the site. You now have units that can survey the jobsite, report on the conditions of the mat (density, temperature, passes, etc.), and determine when and where to compact.

A LOOK INSIDE THE VOLVO CX01 R&D PROCESS

Everything started with a proof of concept where a drum was hydraulically powered via a remote power source to determine the feasibility of movement and stability. This information was used to refine a design and then construct a physical unit. The physical unit has gone through several design and build iterations to reach its current state.

The initial idea was generated in the U.S., but it was transferred around the globe and back again. We’ve had personnel from the U.S. and E.U. (specifically, Poland and Sweden) involved in the design, build and testing phases.

The design was really based on open communication. In the beginning, there was discussion around what could be done. From that point forward, it became more about connecting those with the abilities and desires to develop the technologies with those that had brainstormed the original ideas. Testing and software refinement is a challenge in and of itself, but that’s more of a digital exercise. The unit either behaves the way that you expect it to or not — and then you iterate.

The other challenging portion of bringing something like this to life was to make it aesthetically presentable. Our industrial design department developed renderings based on the ideas, but these don’t consider all the required cables and small components associated with a working concept. In the end we took a one-off concept unit that was more about function than form and had to deconstruct it, move and modify areas, and then put the pieces back together again.

With a concept like this — developing a system that hasn’t been applied to compaction equipment before — there are always technical challenges to overcome. But this is the nature of this type of work, and it’s something our engineers really enjoy. We want them to feel challenged to look beyond the conventional solutions, to continue learning and to question their own perceptions. Perhaps our biggest obstacle, though, has been available time. This is a project that’s not addressing a direct customer need now, so we’ve had to balance working on this with other priorities that may require an urgent solution.

The CX01 endeavor was purely an exploration. Some of the learnings could be applied to future products, but there was no expectation that the unit would be more than a one-off investigation.

The reason is because the unit is not practical in its current form. When we develop one-off concept units such as the CX01, we may be using components, mounting locations or design solutions that are different from those that we would use for mass production. Visionary solutions such as the water reduction coating show great potential, but there are no current solutions available in our industry. These are design challenges that can be solved, but ultimately when we look at new products it comes down to what helps our customers do their jobs. If our customers start asking us for solutions like the CX01, anything is possible, and it could go from a one-off concept to serial production.

So how has the CX01 concept already influenced the design of existing asphalt compactors and beyond? We could break down most of the systems on this concept and find ways that just about everything adds tangential value, but if I just pick a few examples, the remote-control system is one. While we’ve previously produced remote control compaction units, the technology continues to improve in all areas, and something like this now could become more practical in other machines. The theoretical coating on the drum shell, while more of a concept on this unit, could prove to be a huge benefit on larger machines to decrease the amount of water needed and potentially the size of the water tanks. This could lead to better sightlines and improved visibility, additional space for mounting other components/systems and more.

Another obvious one is using electric motors and batteries for products such as the L25 Electric wheel loader and ECR25 Electric excavator, even though the components are a little different, and the approach of having a diesel engine or not is different.

THE BENEFITS OF A CULTURE OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT INNOVATION

Whether or not something like this really sees the light of day isn’t necessarily the driving factor on the engineering side — just getting the opportunity to work with something that’s outside of the current status quo is a great way to exercise thoughts and creativity. We’ve had many different people from the U.S., Poland and Sweden who have contributed time and effort to this concept, and these types of endeavors are what help keep Volvo equipment at the forefront of innovation and technology, in all markets we serve.

Take a look at our Volvo Concept Lab page to read more about additional machine innovations, new technologies and advanced jobsite setups currently underway with the Volvo Group.

Written by Justin Zupanc – Head of Asphalt Compaction Development Team

Justin a débuté chez Ingersoll-Rand en 2003 et a poursuivi sa carrière chez Volvo Construction Equipment en tant qu'ingénieur électricien, occupant divers postes allant de l'ingénierie de conception et de systèmes à celui de responsable de l'ingénierie des cabines, entre autres. Justin is currently head of the asphalt compaction development team and chief project manager for the Airshed Electric Machine testing program.