Proceedings of the ASME/BATH 2013 Symposium on Fluid Power & Motion Control
FPMC2013
October 6-9, 2013, Sarasota, Florida, USA
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HYDRAULIC,
PNEUMATIC, AND ELECTRIC MOTORS
Yutaka Tanaka
Hosei University
Chiyodaku, Tokyo 102-8160, Japan
Kazuo Nakano
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Nagatsuda, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
ABSTRACT
Hydraulic or pneumatic motors are replacing electro-
magnetic servomotors in many applications. It is important for
engineers and designers to select adequate actuators in given
servo applications. In a previous paper, Nakano had predicted
the performance of future electric or hydraulic motors after that
there have been many advances in actuators. In this paper the
performance of hydraulic and pneumatic motors, and electric
AC servo and DC motors has been calculated, surveyed, and
evaluated on the basis of specifications listed for them in current
catalogs and nonpublic data. We selected 765 different kinds of
electric motors and 404 different kinds of fluid power motors
available in the market. Power density, torque–inertia ratio,
power rate, and power rate density were selected as the
performance indexes for comparison. Rated power and torque
were found to be nearly proportional to motor mass and
moment of inertia, respectively. The electromagnetic motors
have developed high performance with large rated torque and a
smaller moment of inertia. The newly developed small-size
hydraulic motor was also included in the performance index, and
its characteristics were plotted. The compact size of fluid power
actuators has great potential for power rating or quick response.
INTRODUCTION
Fluid power actuators provide high power and rapid
response. The most common use of fluid power is in linear
motion, and the most important factor in planning linear motion
systems is sizing the actuator cylinders. From the viewpoint of
size, weight, power, and response, hydraulic motors are superior
to electromagnetic servomotors. But electromagnetic
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FPMC2013-4459
Sayako Sakama
Hosei University
Chiyodaku, Tokyo 102-8160, Japan
Hiroshi Kosodo
Takako Industries, Inc.
Souraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0240, Japan
servomotors are now being substituted for hydraulic motors in
many applications, possibly because of their economic
competitiveness, lower maintenance, contamination-free design,
applicability for light loads, and the recent developments in the
dynamic characteristics of electromagnetic servomotors. It is
important for engineers and designers to select adequate
actuators in given servo applications.
The choice of using electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic
motion systems is a fundamental decision that affects
performance, cost, maintenance, safety, ease of use, flexibility,
and reliability. Many researchers and vendors have studied and
suggested how to select and/or how to evaluate electric,
hydraulic, and pneumatic actuators [1–7].
In a previous paper [8], Nakano had predicted the
performance of future electric or hydraulic motors. After that,
there have been many advances in electric, hydraulic, and
pneumatic motors. The performance gains of electromagnetic
motors have been made possible by the application of better
mechanical and electromagnetic design techniques, power
semiconductor devices, and control technologies [10, 11].
In this paper the performance of hydraulic and pneumatic
motors, and electric AC servo and DC motors has been
calculated, surveyed, and evaluated on the basis of specifications
listed for them in current catalogs and nonpublic data. Power
density, torque–inertia ratio, power rate, and power rate density
were selected as the performance indexes for comparison.
Electromagnetic motors have developed high performance, with
high torque ratings and smaller moments of inertia. The newly
developed small-size hydraulic motor [9] is also calculated as
part of the performance index. The compact size of fluid power
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 motors has great potential to improve power ratings or quick
response. Q
Qd  (4)
NOMENCLATURE
m
Jm : Polar moment of inertia of motor [kg m2]
In this study, we confine the subject of investigation to the
m : Mass of motor [kg]
survey of common AC servomotors and DC motors, and
Pd : Power density [W/kg]
hydraulic and pneumatic piston motors under review. For the
Pr : Rated output power of motor [W]
AC servo motors, we selected 417 different kinds of AC
Q : Power rate [W/s]
servomotors from five companies in Japan. For the DC motors,
Qd : Power rate density [W/(kg s)]
142 different kinds of DC motors were selected from two
Tj : Torque–inertia ratio [rad/s2]
Japanese companies.
Tr : Rated torque of motor [N m]
We surveyed the catalogs and materials from 12 hydraulic
and pneumatic equipment manufacturers, which include foreign
PERFORMANCE INDEXES
manufacturers. For the hydraulic motors, we selected 260
Fluid power motors and electromagnetic motors differ in
different kinds of piston motors from seven companies. For the
their actuation principles. In this paper we introduce four
pneumatic motors, 476 different kinds of piston- or vane-type
indexes for the motors to compare and evaluate their
pneumatic motors were selected from five companies.
performance on an equal footing.
Unfortunately, data on the moment of inertia for the pneumatic
The first index, power density, is a measurement of the
piston motors has not been published in the current catalogs.
actual performance of any motor. The power density or the
power-to-mass ratio Pd is defined by the ratio of the rated
output power Pr to the mass m as in Eq. (1): SMALL AXIAL PISTON MOTOR
Kosodo developed and manufactured a series of small axial
piston pumps/motors with a spherical valve plate using an
Pr original design and precision processing technology [9]. Figure
Pd  (1)
m 1 shows the latest micro pump/motor series. The rated
specifications are also listed in Table 1. The micro pump/motor
The second index, torque–inertia ratio Tj, is defined by the has lower total weight and polar moment of inertia. The micro-
ratio of the rated torque Tr to the polar moment of inertia Jm as HST series for vehicle applications was developed by using the
in Eq. (2): base frame of the small piston pumps/motors. The HST is

Tr
Tj  (2) 80
Jm 115

30
The third index, power rate Q, is defined by the ratio of the 80 65
square of the rated torque Tr to the moment of inertia Jm as 30
shown in Eq. (3): 5 4 3 2 1

Tr2
Q (3)
Jm
Figure 1. Appearance and rotary parts of the
micropump/motor series
Electric AC and DC motors are generally connected to
reduction gear trains and operate at their output torques. On the Table 1. Specifications of the micro pump/motor series
other hand, hydraulic motors are directly connected to loads.
The torque–inertia ratio of the electric motor with a reduction Type
Displacement Pressure Speed Weight Moment of inertia Size
gear train is different from the torque–inertia ratio of only the 3
[cm /rev] [MPa] [rpm] [g] 2
[kg cm ] [mm]
motor as in Eq. (2). The actual torque–inertia ratio of the 1 0.4 14 2000 295 9.38 x 10-3 30 x 65
electric motor changes according to the reduction gear ratio. -2
2 0.8 21 3000 457 3.19 x 10 40 x 80
The power rate in Eq. (3) represents the flow rate of the power
and has no relation to the reduction gear ratio between the
-2
3 1.6 21 3000 755 9.31 x 10 60 x 90
electric motor and the load. The fourth index, power rate 4 3.15 21 3000 1960 2.08 x 10
-1
80 x 110
density Qd, is defined by the ratio of the power rate Q to the -1
5 6.3 21 3000 2000 5.83 x 10 80 x 115
mass m as shown in Eq. (4):

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 applied to traction motors of agricultural rotary tillers and snow
blowers by taking advantage of hydraulic actuators [9].
COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF MOTORS
Performance of old and new electric motors
Figure 2 compares the performance of old and new electric
AC and DC motors. The data plotted for the old motors were
previously used in our paper [8] in 1997. For the new motors
the data were selected from the current catalogs of the same
companies that produced the old motors.
The relation between motor mass m, rated power Pr,
moment of inertia Jm, and rated torque Tr for both old and new
motors is plotted in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b), respectively. AC
servomotors have evolved toward high performance, with high
power and output torque with the same size. The former DC
motors in servo applications have been replaced by AC
servomotors in light of the development of high-power
semiconductors and rotational-type sensors.
Rated torque and mass
Figure 3 shows the relationship between motor mass m and
rated torque Tr. The rated torque is nearly proportional to the
motor mass. The DC motors are found to have a small range of

Tr [N・m]
Pr[W]
1.0E+03
1.0E+05

1.0E+02
1.0E+04

1.0E+01
1.0E+03

1.0E+02 1.0E+00
AC-old AC-old
DC-old DC-old
1.0E+01 1.0E-01
AC-new
AC-new
DC-new
DC-new
1.0E+00 1.0E-02
1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E-07 1.0E-06 1.0E-05 1.0E-04 1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00
m [kg] Jm [kg・m²]
(a) Mass versus rated power (b) Moment of inertia versus rated torque
Figure 2. Comparison between old and new electric motors

Tr [N・m]
1.0E+07

1.0E+06

1.0E+05

1.0E+04

1.0E+03

1.0E+02 Tr AC
1.0E+07
1.0E+01 [N・AC direct drive
1.0E+05
m]
1.0E+00 DC
1.0E+03
Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+01
1.0E-01
Oil bent axis piston
1.0E-01
1.0E-02 Oil radial piston
1.0E-03
1.0E-03 Oil small axial piston
1.0E-05
Air vane
1.0E-04
Air radial piston
1.0E-05
1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E+04 1.0E+05
m [kg]
Figure 3. Correlation between rated torque and mass

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 mass, from 1 g to 100 g. The AC motors are found in the middle
or large range of mass, i.e., from 100 g to 500 kg. The
pneumatic motors are plotted in the same range as the DC and
the AC motors. In contrast, the conventional hydraulic motors
have high rated torque and are distributed in the large or huge
range of mass, from 2 kg to 10,000 kg. The newly developed
small axial piston motors are found in the middle range of mass,
i.e., from 300 g to 2 kg.
Power density
Figure 4 shows the relationship between mass m and rated
power Pr for all the motors. The rated power is nearly
proportional to the motor mass. The rated power of the
hydraulic motors is larger than that of the electric and pneumatic
motors. The newly developed small axial piston motors are
plotted over the conventional hydraulic motors.
The relation between mass m and power density Pd
calculated by Eq. (1) is shown in Fig. 5. The power density of
the hydraulic motors is distributed from 100 W/kg to 20 kW/kg.
On the other hand, the power density of the AC and DC motors
is broadly distributed from 2 W/kg to 500 W/kg. The power
density of the hydraulic motors is tenfold that of the electric and
pneumatic motors. Direct drive AC servomotors are plotted in
another area of the AC servomotors. Pneumatic motors compete
with AC servomotors with respect to power density. In our
previous study [8], the power density of hydraulic motors is
given by Eq. (5), and the relation between rated power and mass
array is along equal power density lines.
Pr
 const. (5)
m

Pr [W]
1.0E+07

1.0E+06

1.0E+05

1.0E+04 Tr AC
1.0E+07
[N・AC direct drive
1.0E+03 1.0E+05
m]
DC
1.0E+03
1.0E+02 Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+01
Oil bent axis piston
1.0E+01 1.0E-01
Oil radial piston
1.0E-03
1.0E+00 Oil small axial piston
1.0E-05
Air vane
1.0E-01
Air radial piston
1.0E-02
1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E+04 1.0E+05
m [kg]
Figure 4. Correlation between rated power and mass

Pd [W/kg]
1.0E+05

1.0E+04

1.0E+03

1.0E+02 TrAC
1.0E+07
AC direct drive
[N・DC
1.0E+03
m]Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+01 Oil bent axis piston
1.0E-01
Oil radial piston
Oil small axial piston
1.0E-05
Air vane
Air radial piston
1.0E+00
1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E+04 1.0E+05
m [kg]
Figure 5. Correlation between power density and mass

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 The power density of radial-piston-type hydraulic motors is
plotted for huge mass, which is outside the range applicable to
Eq. (5). These motors may be designed to maintain constant
rated power to a huge mass as shown in Fig. 5.
Torque–inertia ratio
The relationship between moment of inertia Jm and torque–
inertia ratio Tj calculated by Eq. (2) for all motors is plotted in
Fig. 6. The symbols for the DC motors, the AC motors, and the
hydraulic motors are redundantly plotted for torque–inertia
ratio. The newly developed small axial piston motors have
extremely large torque–inertia ratios and are plotted over the
conventional hydraulic motors. The hydraulic motors have a
larger potential for quick response than do the electric motors.
Power rate and power rate density
Figure 7 shows the relationship between motor mass m and
power rate Q calculated by Eq. (3) for all motors. The relation
between motor mass m and power rate density Qd calculated by
Eq. (4) is also plotted in Fig. 8. The broken lines in Fig. 7 are
the equal power rate density lines. The slope of the broken lines
represents the power rate density. The power rate of the
hydraulic motors and the AC motors is nearly proportional to
the motor mass. The power rate density of the hydraulic motors
is tenfold or hundredfold that of the electric AC servo motors.
The compact size of the hydraulic motor has great potential for
improved power rating or quick response. As shown in Fig. 8,
the power rate density of pneumatic motors decreases as the
motor mass and corresponding size increase.

Tj [rad/s2]
1.0E+06
TrAC
1.0E+07
AC direct drive
[N・DC
1.0E+03
m]Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+05 Oil bent axis piston
1.0E-01
Oil radial piston
Oil small axial piston
1.0E-05
Air vane

1.0E+04

1.0E+03

1.0E+02
1.0E-09 1.0E-07 1.0E-05 1.0E-03 1.0E-01 1.0E+01 1.0E+03
Jm [kg・m²]
Figure 6. Correlation between torque–inertia ratio and moment of inertia

Q [kW/s]
1.0E+07
1.0E+06
1.0E+05
1.0E+04
1.0E+03
1.0E+02
AC
1.0E+07
Tr
1.0E+01 AC direct drive
[N・
1.0E+04
1.0E+00 DC
m]
1.0E-01 Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+01
Oil bent axis piston
1.0E-02
1.0E-02
Oil radial piston
1.0E-03 Oil small axial piston
1.0E-05
1.0E-04 Air vane
1.0E-05
1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E+04 1.0E+05
m [kg]
Figure 7. Correlation between power rate and mass

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 Qd[kW/(kg・s)]
1.0E+04

1.0E+03

1.0E+02

1.0E+01
TrAC
1.0E+07
[N・AC direct drive
1.0E+05
1.0E+00 m]DC
1.0E+03
Oil swash plate piston
1.0E+01
1.0E-01 Oil bent axis piston
1.0E-01
Oil radial piston
1.0E-03
1.0E-02 1.0E-05
Oil small axial piston
Air vane
1.0E-03
1.0E-03 1.0E-02 1.0E-01 1.0E+00 1.0E+01 1.0E+02 1.0E+03 1.0E+04 1.0E+05
m [kg]

Figure 8. Correlation between power rate density and mass

[3] Rose, D.P. and Jones, N., 1985, “Hydraulic, electrical,

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper the performance of hydraulic and pneumatic
motors, and electric AC servo and DC motors has been
calculated, surveyed, and evaluated on the basis of specifications
listed for them in current catalogs and nonpublic data. Power
density, torque–inertia ratio, power rate, and power rate density
were selected as the performance indexes to compare all motors.
Rated power and rated torque are nearly proportional to motor
mass and moment of inertia, respectively. The power density of
the hydraulic motors is tenfold that of the electric and pneumatic
motor types. Moreover, the power rate density of the hydraulic
motors is tenfold or hundredfold that of the electric AC servo
motors. Newly developed small axial piston motors have high
performance beyond the specification of the conventional
hydraulic motors. These small motors have great potential for
power rating or quick response. Valuable information for
designers is presented to aid adequate actuator selection in given
servo applications.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank many hydraulic and pneumatic
companies in Japan for their valuable support in providing the
nonpublic data.
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