Hydraulic Actuator & Controllers

Tender description

This is a tender for the supply, delivery, commissioning and user training of one 250kN hydraulic actuator and 2No controllers. This document invites Tenderers to submit a proposal that meets the University’s mandatory, compliance and technical requirements as set out below. Introduction and background The University of Southampton (University) is interested in acquiring one new 250 kN hydraulic actuator of at least the same (or nominally very similar) capability as an existing 250 kN actuator. Two new controllers are required to provide independent control to the existing and new 250 kN actuators and each of the controllers needs to be capable of two axes of simultaneous control. This new equipment will enhance the capability and capacity of the heavy structures laboratory within the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment. In the short term it will be used to permit the simultaneous testing of two experimental set ups as described in Appendix 2. The heavy structures laboratory is based within building 21. The laboratory already contains hydraulic equipment including a ring main, a power pack and distribution components. The new system needs to either be completely compatible with existing equipment that it would connect to or any new equipment needed to attach to existing equipment must be included as part of this tender. The Purpose of the equipment Initially the equipment is purchased for carrying out rail research within the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) grant “Track to the Future” (T2F for short). However, the equipment is expected to be used for a variety of research projects and the capabilities of the equipment will need to service a variety of potential uses and users. An example experiment for the equipment is detailed in Appendix 2 including photographs of the existing laboratory set up. Achieving the experiment detailed in Appendix 2 can be viewed as a minimum capability for the new equipment. Tenderers are also invited to visit the existing heavy structures laboratory to assist them in preparing a suitable tender. Primary Items of equipment Supply 1No. 250 kN hydraulic actuator. For the current work the actuator needs to be capable of carrying out fatigues tests to millions of load cycles where the load may be cycled in either position or load control over a short stroke length at up to 10 Hz. If in load control a typical load increment maybe 100 kN. However, for future possible experimental arrangements the maximum load is required to be 250 kN and the full range stroke length must be of the order of +/- 100 mm. The actuator needs to be connected to the existing hydraulic system within the laboratory and any additional equipment needed to accomplish this must be detailed within this tender. The actuator must also be connected to an overhead beam using a swivel joint connection; any additional bracketing needed to achieve this must also be included...