Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

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Automation in Construction
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon

Design and control performance optimization of dual-mode hydraulic

steering system for wheel loader
Yuqi Wang, Xinhui Liu, Jinshi Chen *, Wei Chen, Chunshuang Li, Dongyang Huo
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, 130022 Jilin, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords:
Fluid transmission and control
Articulated vehicle
Joystick control steering system
Steering manipulation characteristic
The traditional wheel loader performs the steering operation by the rotation of the steering wheel, which
significantly increases the complexity and fatigue of the operator. This paper presents a dual-mode steering
system to solve the afore-mentioned problems, where a pilot control valve with a joystick is connected in parallel
with the redirector to control the hydraulic steering system. The steering speed and angle of the loader can be
controlled by the swing angle and time of the joystick. Based on the simulation and experimental results, the
proposed system has the same trend of pressure variation and good steering performance compared with the
traditional steering system. The hydraulic damping diameter matching the steering system is obtained by
simulating and optimizing the equivalent model. The experimental results show that the effective control swing
angle of the joystick increased from 12.5◦ to 19.7◦ , which improves the control accuracy of the steering system.

1. Introduction
Wheel loaders have the characteristics of high efficiency and good
maneuverability. They are mainly used to load and unload materials and
shovel work within a certain range. Also, long-term and high-density
steering operations are required in their working conditions [1,2].
Comprehensive studies have been conducted on steering systems for
articulated vehicles using numerical analysis and simulations [3–5].
More accurate steering performance and the main parameters affecting
the performance have been obtained. Presently, the convenience of
steering operation and agility of response have also become a focus of
research [6].
Recent studies have improved the steering system performance from
several aspects. Skurjat [7] analyzed the influence of geometrical pa­
rameters and cylinders on the hydrostatic stiffness of the steering sys­
tem. In terms of mechanical structure, the NSGA-II algorithm was used
to optimize the steering system to reduce the pressure impact and energy
loss during steering operation and improve the system's performance
further [8–12]. Other studies [13–15] investigated the steering trajec­
tories of the wheel loader in a repeated loading cycle. They established
the dynamic steering model, combined with the operator's experience,
then put forward the optimal steering control strategy to improve the
loader performance.
At present, the full hydraulic power steering system controlled by
traditional steering wheel is widely used in wheel loaders in the market,
which can no longer meet the requirements of working environment
comfort and accurate and efficient application in the workplace. The
steering system operation of wheel loaders requires highly repetitive
movements, continuous low-level muscle activity, a limited range of
motion in a narrow workspace and a long-term fixed working posture,
which can easily cause muscle and bone damage to the operator
[16–18]. Studies have shown that muscle and bone diseases caused by
the working environment are the main cause of the loss of health-related
productivity (including economic and social impacts). It is estimated
that work-related musculoskeletal diseases in EU countries cost up to 2%
of their gross domestic product (GDP), resulting in a decline in the
quality of life of 67% of workers [19]. Epidemiological statistics show
that within 12 months of work, the prevalence of upper limb muscle and
bone diseases among heavy vehicle drivers is as high as 50–55%
[20–22]. Although suggestions on improving the muscle activity and
working posture of heavy vehicle drivers have been put forward in some
countries and regions, and the upper limit of continuous work
throughout the day has been put forward, it is difficult to fully imple­
ment it [23,24]. Therefore, starting with the steering system control
mode, some technologies such as auxiliary steering, spinner, micro
steering wheel, hydraulic joystick, and electronic joystick are put for­
ward to reduce the operator's labor intensity. Joystick steering tech­
nology has attracted particular attention in the vehicle sector because it

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: spreading@jlu.edu.cn (J. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2022.104539
Received 26 November 2021; Received in revised form 10 August 2022; Accepted 18 August 2022
Available online 2 September 2022
0926-5805/© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Y. Wang et al.
is well established in other transportation sectors, such as aviation [25].
A new steering system was developed to improve the driving per­
formance during low-speed steering [26]. Haggag et al. [27] presented a
new steer-by-wire system and control strategy, which provides an idea
for optimizing the steering system. One of the most obvious changes
ergonomics has brought in construction machines is the replacement of
the steering wheels with joysticks [28,29]. It may help further optimize
cabin space utilization, reduce the risk of injury to drivers in collisions,
and integrate sophisticated vehicle dynamic control functions [30,31].
Joystick steering is mainly used in excavators and bulldozers. In terms of
wheel loader, Komatsu, John Deere, Bobcat, and Caterpillar replaced the
steering wheel with the electronic joystick as the standard equipment for
steering at low speeds [32]. The advanced joystick steering system
eliminates the steering wheel to improve forward visibility and operator
comfort while allowing the machine to operate at full speed [33,34].
Sauer-Danfoss developed a pilot-operated steering valve-type electro-
hydraulic power steering (EHPS). The basic system comprises a pilot
steering unit as the signal source and an EHPS valve block that controls
oil flow to the steering cylinders proportional to the pilot flow. None­
theless, the above research ignored the traditional hydraulic steering
system and proposed a new electronically controlled steering system,
which increased the research and manufacturing cost of the steering
system and extended the product development cycle. Presently, the
basic steering systems commonly used in loaders include flow amplifi­
cation (FA), load-sensing (LS) [35], and steer-by-wire (SBW) steering
systems [36,37], which are difficult to be replaced in a short time.
Therefore, the optimization design based on the traditional steering
system has great research value and application prospects at this stage.
The three-way proportional pressure-reducing valve was used to control
the flow amplifier valve and the electric steering wheel subsystem to
adjust the steering sensitivity in real-time [38]. Wang et al. [39] pro­
posed a wheel loader steering system with fault-tolerant capability,
which mainly comprises a quantitative pump controlled by a servo
motor in parallel with the traditional load-sensing steering system.
Eaton developed the SBX steering valve, which can be installed in
electro-hydraulic and SBW steering systems without making major
changes to the original architectural system [40].
As reviewed above, the traditional mechanical structure steering
device consumes a lot of physical strength and time of the operator,
which increases the risk of illness or injury. In order to solve these
problems, it is very important to put forward a new steering system
operation mode. Due to the complex and changeable working conditions
of the loader, the sensitivity requirements of the steering system are
different at different vehicle speeds and working conditions, and there
are specific performance limitations and safety hazards. The new
steering operating system requires both safety and convenient opera­
tion. The specific application scenarios and steering performance of the
joystick steering system need to be further explored. Since the tradi­
tional steering wheel structure has been used for more than a century, it
is difficult to change loader operators' driving habits and dependence on
the steering wheel. Moreover, the previous researches on joystick
steering system are mostly based on simulation driving or test bench,
and a few involve actual vehicle test. To better verify and compare the
similarities and differences between the joystick control steering system
and the traditional steering system, and taking the driving habits and
safety of operators into account, a dual-mode wheel loader steering
system controlled by a steering wheel and hydraulic pilot joystick with
fault tolerance is presented. The spool displacement of the flow amplifier
valve is controlled by adjusting the swing angle of the joystick to control
the flow rate for the steering operation. To enhance the safety and
reliability of the steering operation, the dual-mode steering system re­
tains the original steering system structure and prioritizes the steering
wheel control (SWC). When the joystick control (JC) steering system is
out of order, or the operator turns the steering wheel, the SWC steering
system is automatically switched on through solenoid valves.
The remainder of this article is organized as follows. Section 2
2
Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539
introduces the working principle of the dual-mode steering system and
establishes a mathematical model. Next, Section 3 describes the hy­
draulic equivalent simulation model of the system, which is established
to verify the performance. Afterward, the simulation results are
analyzed, and the system is optimized. The performances of the steering
system are compared before and after optimization. Furthermore, a field
experiment of the dual-mode steering system is described in Section 4,
and the effectiveness of the system is evaluated based on the experi­
ments. Finally, Section 5 concludes the article.
2. Working principle and mathematical model
2.1. Traditional FA steering system
The traditional FA steering system comprises a steering wheel, diesel
engine, hydraulic pump, oil supply valve, redirector, flow amplifier
valve (main valve), and steering cylinder. Fig. 1(a) is the diagram of the
traditional FA steering system, namely, the SWC steering system. When
the wheel loader turns left, the operator turns the steering wheel to the
left, and the redirector valve spool moves to the left position. The pilot
oil from the oil supply valve enters port a of the flow amplifier valve
through the redirector, and the oil passes through the metering holes on
the main valve spool to produce pressure loss in port b. The pressure
difference between ports a and b move the main valve spool to the right;
the valve is in the left working position. The output oil of the steering
pump enters the steering cylinder through the main valve, the left cyl­
inder retracts, and the right cylinder extends to complete the left turn
operation. The operating principle of the right turn is the same. When
turning the steering wheel at a slow speed, the system causes overweight
steering under the underflow condition. Heavy steering also occurs
when turning the steering wheel quickly due to the too-fast steering
speed and limited flow capacity of the redirector. The operator operates
the steering wheel frequently for a long time under this condition, which
is labor-intensive and causes irreversible damage to the body.
2.2. Dual-mode steering system
To improve the efficiency and maneuverability of the wheel loader
steering system, a dual-mode steering system with fault tolerance is
proposed herein, as shown in Fig. 1(b).
A pilot control valve with a joystick, solenoid directional valves, and
controller in the double-dotted line frame are added to the traditional
SWC steering system. When the operator controls the steering using the
joystick, the oil supply valve outputs pilot oil to control the flow
amplifier valve spool displacement through the pilot valve, and the
steering speed becomes proportional to the joystick swing angle. The
control mode conversion of the steering wheel and joystick is performed
through solenoid directional valves. Generally, the pilot oil from the
redirector is connected to the main valve, and the steering wheel con­
trols the steering operation. When the joystick switch is triggered, the
solenoid directional valves switch to the left position, the control oil
circuit of the steering wheel is cut off, and the joystick controls the
steering operation. If the JC steering system works improperly, the so­
lenoid directional valves switch to the initial position; the SWC steering
system completes the steering operation. The steering mode improves
the reliability of the wheel loader steering system.
Fig. 2 shows the control principle and simplification strategy of the
dual-mode steering system. The control signals U1 and U2 of the solenoid
directional valve, which are obtained by collecting the pressure of the
steering pumppP, the pressure of the oil source valvepc, the steering
wheel angular accelerationω, and the voltage of the pilot control valveU.
pP and pcare used to judge whether the steering system is faulty or not. If
the joystick switch is triggered and the steering wheel angular accel­
erationω = 0 in the steering process, the control signals U1 = 1, U2 = 1,
that the directional valve is in the left position. If the joystick switch
loses power or the steering wheel angular accelerationω > 0, the control
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

xU Steering cylinder x U
xL xR

Steering cylinder

P U pA pB
PU
pA pB
a b Flow amplifier
valve
Flow amplifier
valve LS
Redirector
bs as a b U2
U1
Throttle Redirector
valve as bs
p A xL xR p B
Pilot control U bj PALEIN
aj
T valve
HE202B
v
Z pc p p T
U
PU
pc Joystick control Z Z
Oil supply
valve pp Oil supply pp
valve PU

E
(a) (b)

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the steering system.

(a) SWC steering system; (b) dual-mode steering system.

Steering system
Control system
Steering system
Y
Z!0
N
Y Pc 0
Steering Joystick
wheel N
Y
T Z \ Pp 0
Wheel loader
Pp N
Y
Pc U 0
PALEIN HE202B N
Qp
Flow amplifier U1 1 U1 0
valve Pump
U2 1 U2 0
Physical
CODE signal
Selector Steering
SYS valve digital Joystick
wheel
Control desk signal

Fig. 2. Control principle of the dual-mode steering system.

signals U1 = 0, U2 = 0, that the directional valve switches to the right
position. The SWC steering system continuously completes the steering
operation.
Operators can use the steering wheel to drive the vehicle. While
driving, they can switch to the ergonomic joystick equipment for digging
or performing tasks that require frequent and repetitive steering. The
operator can switch from one steering mode to the other at the touch of a
button.
2.3. Analyses of dual-mode steering system and components
When analyzing the steering process of the dual-mode steering sys­
tem, it is essential to grasp the fluid flow of the steering system. By
studying Fig. 1(b), the equivalent diagram of the hydraulic system when
left steering is shown in Fig. 3.
R1 and R2are the equivalent damping of the inlet and outlet of the
metering motor. R6is the equivalent damping orifice of the redirector
outlet controlled by the steering wheel. The flow rate of the fluid
through two damping orifices are Q1 and Q2− a. The pressures are p1 and
p2− a, respectively. R3 is the equivalent damping of the pilot control
valve, which is controlled by the joystick. Q3− a and p3− a are fluid pa­
rameters through the pilot control valve. R4 and R5are equivalent
damping orifices of the flow amplifier valve communicating with cyl­
inders. R8 is the equivalent damping between the two pilot control
stages of the flow amplifier valve, and Qa− b is the flow rate through the
damping. pA and QAare the fluid parameters of the rod-side and piston-

3
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

Steering system ⎛ t
∫ ∫t
⎞
FL FR d⎝ Q2 ⎠ ( )
xz == ωf dt − 2π dt = xz ωf , (3)
2 Dm
Qin , pin Qout , pout 0 0

R4 R8 R5
Qa , pa Q0 , p0 where ωf is the angular velocity of the spring wheel andDm is the motor
Qp , p p Qb , pb displacement.
Qa b , pa b
2.3.2. Pilot control valve
Q3 a , p3 a The pilot control valve used herein is a pressure-reducing valve, its
Q2  a , p2  a structure and function can be found in Ref. [42]. The joystick can swing
R2 in the left and right directions to push the contact movement to make the
R3 R7 R6
spool move down. When the spool is pushed, the corresponding working
R1 port outputs oil to provide a certain pressure for the controlled com­
Q1 , p1 Steering
wheel ponents. The following equation describes the dynamic characteristics
Joystick Qc , pc of the pilot control valve:
Control system πdc2
Mc Ẍ c = p3− a − k(X0 + Xc ) − ks Xc − Bs Ẋ c − Bj Ẋ c , (4)
Fig. 3. Schematic of the equivalent damping. 4

where Mc is the mass of the pilot control valve spool, dc is the diameter of
side chambers of the left and right cylinders. pB and QBare the fluid the valve spool, k is the spring elastic coefficient, ks is the steady-state
parameters of the rod-side and piston-side chambers of the right and left hydrodynamic coefficient, Bs is the transient hydrodynamic coeffi­
cylinders. p0 and Q0 are the fluid parameters of the outlet of R5. pc and Qc cient, Bj is the damping force coefficient, x0 is the spring precompression
are the fluid parameters of the control flow path. pp and Qp are the fluid length, and xc is the displacement of the valve spool.
parameters of the main flow path. Due to the connection of each The flow rate equation of the pilot control valve is as follows:
chamber in the hydraulic steering system, the pressure is related to the √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
flow rate, which can be given as follows: 2
Q3− a = Cq A3 (xc ) (pc − p3− a ), (5)
ρ
⎧ p1 = p 2
⎪
⎪ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ 2 where A3(xc) is the equivalent opening area of the pilot control valve.
⎪
⎪ Q1 = Q2 = Q2− a = Cq A2 (xz ) (p − p2− a )
⎪
⎪
⎪ ρ 2
⎪
⎨ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ 2.3.3. Flow amplifier valve
2 (1) The flow amplifier valve is the main valve of the steering system. Its
⎪
⎪ Q = Q = C A (x ) (p − p2− a )
⎪ A p q 4 m
ρ 2
⎪
⎪
⎪ structure and working principle can be found in Ref. [43]. The following
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ equation describes the dynamic characteristics of the left movement of
⎪ 2
⎩
QB = Q0 = Cq A5 (xm ) (p2 − p2− a ) the main valve spool:
ρ
Mm Ẍ m = (pA − pB )Am − km (Xm0 + Xm ) − kms Xm − Bms Ẋ − Bmc Ẋ (6)
According to Fig. 3, the system is divided into four parts: redirector,
pilot control valve, flow amplifier valve, and steering cylinder. where Mmis the mass of flow amplifier valve spool, Amis the equivalent
force area of the valve spool, kmis the spring elastic coefficient, kms is the
2.3.1. Redirector steady-state hydrodynamic coefficient, Bmsis the transient hydrody­
The system uses a closed spool nonreactive redirector, its structure namic coefficient, Bmcis the damping force coefficient, xm0 is the spring
and working principle can be found in Ref. [41]. The redirector is in the precompression length, and xm is the displacement of the valve spool.
initial position when the steering wheel is unturned. When the steering The relationship between the equivalent area of metering hole and
wheel rotates, the oil distribution relationship of the steering system is the displacement of the main valve spool is given as:
realized by the closed oil cavity of the metering motor and the structure ⎧
1 2 r − xm
of the rotary valve. The factors that minimally influence the steering ⎪
⎪
⎨ r (θ − sinθ) (xm ≤ r) θ = 2arccos
performance, such as pipeline loss, internal leakage of redirector, fric­ 2 r
Ao (xm ) = (7)
⎪
tion, and hydraulic force, are ignored. The relationship between the flow ⎩ 1r2 (2π − θ + sinθ) (xm > r) θ = 2arccosxm − r
⎪
rate and pressure of the redirector can be transformed into: 2 r
( )
ρQ22 1 1 1 Tl θm where r is the radius of the metering hole, θ is the central angle corre­
p2− a = pc − + + − , (2) sponding to the coverage amount of the metering hole.
2Cq2 (A1 (xZ ) )2 (A2 (xZ ) )2 (A9 (xZ ) )2 θ̇m
The equations describing the pressure and flow rate of the slide valve
are as follows:
where Cq is the flow coefficient and ρ is the fluid density, Tl is the friction
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
torque of the motor, θm is the corner of the motor, A1(xZ), A2(xZ), and
2
A9(xZ) are opening areas of the inlet, working, and return modules of the Qa = Cq A0 (xm ) (pa − pb ), (8)
ρ
redirector, respectively, xz is the valve-opening area in which the spool
and sleeve of the redirector are expanded into a flat structure according
to their axial direction:

4
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
2( ) steering cylinder displacements， FR and FL are the right and left
QA = Cq A4 (xm ) pp − pA , (9) steering cylinder load forces, respectively.
ρ
Ignoring the cylinder leak, the flow and pressure of cylinders are
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ given as:
2
QB = Cq A5 (xm ) (pB − p0 ), (10) Ah XR Ar XR
ρ QA = QA− R + QA− L = (Ah − Ar )Ẋ R + ṗ + (Ah − Ar )Ẋ L + ṗ (14)
β A β A

Ar XR Ah XL
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ QB = QB− R + QB− L = (Ah − Ar )Ẋ R − ṗ + (Ah − Ar )Ẋ L − ṗ (15)
√ ( ) β B β B
√ ( )
√k x0 + √QA̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
+ √0.43Q ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A ̅ pp − pA
√
ρ( p A) ρ( p A) where β is the bulk modulus of hydraulic fluid due to its finite stiffness.
Cq Ȧ4 (xm ) 2 p − p Cq 2 p − p
QA Ȧ0 (xm ) √
Qa = √(̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅)̅ ,
Ȧ4 (xm ) pp − pA A4 (xm ) According to the minimum steering energy consumption and virtual
displacement principle, the static resistance moment of the static
(11) steering process can be obtained when the articulated vehicle turns in
place.
where A4(xm) and A5(xm) are opening areas of the inlet and outlet of the
flow amplifier valve.

( ) ( )( )
1 kcosγ 1 kcosγ
M= nμGr T + fGr B √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ + nμGf T + fGf B + kLFsinγ 1 − √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ (16)
2 1 − k2 sinγ2 2 1 − k2 sinγ2

2.3.4. Steering cylinder where, Tis the tire width, G1 and G2 are the front and rear axle loads, n is
The nonlinear dynamic model of the cylinder is considered, the coefficient, f is the rolling resistance coefficient,B is the wheel dis­
including the fluid compressibility. Considering the motion of the tance of the vehicle, γ is the steering angle, k = Lf/L,Lf is the distance
piston-rod-load, assuming that they are rigidly connected. Newton's between the front axle and hinge point, and L is the installation distance
second law was used to describe the force–motion relationships of the between the front and rear axles.
right extension motion and the left contraction motion of the cylinder
and the load: 3. Simulation method and matching strategy

Mcy Ẍ R = pA Ah − pB Ar − FR , (12)
3.1. Simulation method

Mcy Ẍ L = pA Ar − pB Ah − FL , (13) Research efficiency can be greatly improved through a simulation

model to verify the experiment [44]. Fig. 4 shows the simulation model
where Mcy is the steering cylinder moving mass, Ap and Ar are the piston-
of the dual-mode steering system. According to the mechanical
side and rod-side cross-sectional areas，xR and xL are the right and left

Fig. 4. Simulation model of dual-mode steering system.

5
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

80 12 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14

A1 ( xz ) A0 ( xm )

Opening area (mm²)

70

Opening area (mm²)

A2 ( xz ) 10
60
A9 ( xz ) 8
50
40 6
30 4
20
10 2
0 0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)

Fig. 5. Opening areas of components.

and cylinder parameters in the model are determined by the actual

Table 1
structure of the wheel loader. The equivalent load mass is equal to the
Important parameters of the simulation model.
cylinder driving mass. The equivalent load force is mainly the steering
Definition Item Value resistance, the equivalent stiffness is mainly determined by the tire
Pump Displacement (L/rev) 0.08 stiffness. The specific values were calculated from the relevant Equa­
Steering wheel signal Input 0.001675× tions of the theoretical analysis in Section 2. From the theoretical
Joystick signal Input 0–9.5 analysis of Section 2, it could be seen that the flow rate and pressure
Redirector Spool diameter (mm) 10
Rod diameter(mm) 5
changes in the system are closely related to the components opening
Mass 1 (kg) 0.284 areas.
Mass 2 (kg) 0.301 To improve the model precision, the physical structures of the pilot
Metering motor Mass 0 (kg) 0.6 control and flow amplifier valves were split, and measurements were
Piston diameter (mm) 79.6
performed. The curve of the relationship between the valve spool
Fluid Density (kg/m3) 850
Working module H- Underlap corresponding to zero − 0.58 displacement and the opening area of each component was obtained
R/L displacement (mm) according to Eqs. (3) and (7), as shown in Fig. 5, and the values were
Return module R/L-T − 0.72 assigned to the simulation model. The action of the joystick is simulated
Inlet module P-C − 0.89 by a signal source, and the swing angle of the joystick is equivalent to the
Pilot control valve Spool diameter (mm) 6
Hole diameter (mm) 3
input displacement. According to the components and equivalent ori­
Mass (kg) 0.035 fices, position, and flow rates relationship of the system deduced in
Flow amplifier valve Spool diameter (mm) 32 Section 2, the key model parameters are shown in Table 1. The
Rod diameter (mm) 15 remaining unlisted parameters have the default model values.
Number of slots 6
Wide of a slot (mm) 1.5
Depth of a slot (mm) 5.6 3.2. Simulation model verification
Stiffness (N/mm) 28.3
Cylinder Piston diameter (mm) 80
Rod diameter (mm) 45
To verify whether the simulation model can accurately reflect the
Length of stroke (mm) 390 performance of an actual system structure, the properties of the dual-
Equivalent load G:x position (m) 0.14 mode steering system under different conditions were studied.
x position (m) 0.785 Fig. 6 shows the simulation results of the SWC steering system under
y position (m)
different steering wheel speeds from 0 to 70 r/min, the red line repre­
±0.25
Mass (kg) 0–5000 kg
sents the relationship between the main valve outlet flow rate and
steering wheel speed, and the blue line represents the relationship be­
tween the main valve spool displacement and steering wheel speed. The
120 simulation curves reveal that when the steering wheel speed exceeds a
Flow rate (L/min)

100 certain value, oil enters the pilot stage of the flow amplifier valve
80 through the redirector. The main valve spool moves due to the pressure
60 difference. The main valve is in a working position. The spool
40 displacement and outlet flow rate of the main valve positively correlate
20
0 3.0
Displacement (mm)

Simulation Sample
10 20 30 40 50 60 Pearson Corr. 1 0.99183
3 Steering wheel speed Simulation __
2.5 Sig. 0
Pressure (MPa)

(r/min) Pearson Corr. 0.99183 1

6 Simple
Sig. __
0
9 2.0
12 1.5
15
1.0
Fig. 6. Simulation results of the SWC steering system following characteristics. Simulation
0.5 Simple curve

equilibrium relationship of Eqs. (4), (5), (12), (13), and (16), the 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
simulation models of pilot control valve, flow amplifier valve, and Displacement (mm)
equivalent load were built. The models of the pump, pipelines, and oil
supply valve are simplified to a certain extent. The hinge point position Fig. 7. Pilot control valve pressure characteristic curve.

6
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

Pilot flow rate

10

Pilot flow rate

16

(L/min)
8

(L/min)
6 12
4 8
Main valve spool 2 Steering wheel Main valve spool 4 Pilot valve spool
displacement (mm) speed (r/min) displacement (mm) displacement (r/min)
14 12 10 8 6 4 2 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 2 4 6 8 10
20 20
40 40

Flow rate

Flow rate
(L/min)

(L/min)
60 60
80 80
100 100

Fig. 8. Simulation results of the dual-mode steering system.

(a) SWC steering system; (b) JC steering system.

with the steering wheel speed. The simulation results show that the
hydraulic steering system model has good tracking performance when
the steering wheel speed changes.
Fig. 7 displays the displacement–outlet pressure curve of the pilot
control valve under certain input signals. The curve reveals that the
valve spool moves under the action of the displacement signal, but the
valve is still in the dead zone within a certain distance. The valve
opening increases as the displacement and outlet pressure increase
proportionally. When the opening area reaches the maximum, the outlet
pressure reaches the maximum and remains constant. The Pearson

Fig. 9. Simulation results of the two schemes. (a) The relationship between main valve spool displacement-joystick swing angle-damping orifices diameter regulated
by double-damping orifice system; (b) The relationship between main valve spool displacement-joystick swing angle-damping orifice diameter regulated by single-
damping orifice system; (c) The relationship between steady motion speed of the cylinder-joystick swing angle-damping orifices diameter regulated by double-
damping orifice system; (d) The relationship between steady motion speed of the cylinder-joystick swing angle-damping orifice diameter regulated by single-
damping orifice system.

7
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

correlation between the simulation model and the simple curve data is
0.99183, indicating that the simulation model of the pilot control valve
can better reflect the physical structural performance.
Based on the simulation results, the model completely represents the
actual structure of each component in the hydraulic system, which re­
flects the working principle excellently and obtains good tracking
characteristics.
Fig. 8 shows the simulation results of the dual-mode steering system.
Fig. 8(a) shows that the pilot flow rate and the main valve spool
displacement increase as the steering wheel rotation speed increases.
The corresponding steering system outlet flow rate increases. The valve-
controlled area (yellow area) is the steering speed area controlled by the
SWC system through a redirector, and the flow rate has a nearly linear
relationship with the steering wheel speed. Fig. 8(b) displays the
working performance change curves of the JC steering system as the
pilot control valve spool displacement changes. The pilot valve opening
area and outlet flow rate increase as the valve spool displacement in­
creases. The pilot oil pushes the main valve spool to move further, and
the outlet flow rate of the steering system increases accordingly. The
valve-controlled area (yellow area) is the steering speed area controlled
by the pilot control valve, and the flow rate corresponds to the pilot
control valve spool displacement one after the other. When the pilot
valve spool displacement is 5.23 mm, the main valve opening area
culminates and the flow rate magnification ratio remains constant. The
pump control area (green area) is the actively regulated flow rate area of
the load-sensing pump, and the system performance becomes unaffected
by the pilot control valve. The valve control area is minimal, and the
utilization rate of the pilot control valve is reduced, which does not form
a corresponding good relationship with the SWC steering system
performance.
The joystick swing angle range of the pilot control valve is ±22◦ .
According to the simulation results in Fig. 8, the maximum effective
swing angle of the joystick is 12.5◦ . A large margin exists in the range of
the joystick swing angle, and the over-sensitivity phenomenon occurs.
According to the analysis in Section 2, a damping orifice is added to the
pilot control oil circuit to improve the operational sensitivity of the JC
steering system.
3.3. Hydraulic damping scheme design
For the position where the hydraulic damping orifice is added to the
system, this study proposes two schemes to change the steering sensi­
tivity of the JC steering system. A single-damping orifice is added at the
oil inlet pc of the pilot control valve, or same-diameter damping orifices
are added at the two working ports a and b of the pilot control valve,
respectively. The displacement signal of the pilot control valve is used to
simulate the swing angle of the joystick. The angle adjustment range is
5◦ –22◦ , and the corresponding displacement control range is 2–9.5 mm.
According to the actual system pipeline constraints, the diameter range
of the damping orifice is set to 1.5–6 mm. The two schemes are simu­
lated and analyzed, respectively. The performance index of the steering
system under different diameters of damping orifices and control swing
sensitivity of the system is higher. Hence, this study investigates the
sensitivity of using a double-damping orifice system to adjust loader
steering operation.
3.4. Matching strategy of pilot control valve and hydraulic damping
In the research field of engineering vehicles, the maximum steering
speed is a weighted goal, and most goals are centered around improving
the steering efficiency of the vehicles. Hence, as an extensive inertia load
system, the minimum pressure overshoot and fluctuation of the articu­
lated wheel loader are taken as another optimization objective to mea­
sure the steering performance, which can be reflected in the model as the
peak value and variance of the cylinder speed. The influence of
increasing the damping on the steering system's response and pressure
fluctuation is challenging to obtain from calculations. Thus, an appro­
priate optimization algorithm is selected to find the optimal damping
orifice diameter. Genetic algorithm (GA) is an optimization method for
simulating natural selection and genetic mechanisms in the biological
world. This method has a solid global search ability for mechanism
design, high computational efficiency, and accuracy, and is suitable for
research of construction machinery. The multi-objective optimization of
the double damping orifices structure in the red dashed part of the
simulation model in Fig. 4 is performed.
The establishment of optimization objectives is expressed as:
⎧
⎨ maxE(v)
minD(v) , (17)
⎩
minPeak(v)
Obj = min(W1 E(v) + W2 D(v) + W3 Peak(v) ), (18)
{∑ }
D(v) = E [vi − E(v) ]2 , (19)
where Obj represents the system's comprehensive performance indica­
tor，E(v) represents the expected speed value，D(v) represents the
speed fluctuation range indicator，Peak(v) represents the impact peak
of the speed，and W1,W2,W3 are the weight coefficients.
Limited by the inlet and outlet areas of the components and the
pipeline, the boundary constraints of the steering system are as follows:
k = 0.007, (20)
1.5 ≤ do ≤ 6, (21)
0.06 ≤ v ≤ 0.1. (22)
Based on the mathematical model of each part of the steering system,
the objective is to minimize the comprehensive performance index of the
hydraulic steering system. The design variables and matching objectives
are set in the simulation model, and GA is used to optimize the hydraulic
system function. The population size is 100, the reproduction rate is
Pilot flow rate

10
angles of the joystick shown in Fig. 9 is obtained. Double-damping and
(L/min)

8
single-damping orifices regulate the relationship between the main
6
valve spool displacement-joystick swing angle-damping orifices diam­
eter in Fig. 9(a) and (b). Under the same conditions, the lower limit of 4
the adjustable range of the double-damping orifice system is 4.2 mm, Main valve spool 2 Pilot valve spool
displacement (mm) displacement (r/min)
which exceeds that of the single-damping orifice system. The gradient
change is slower, and the system has a higher sensitivity. Double- 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
20
2 4 6 8 10
damping and single-damping orifices regulate the relationship be­
Flow rate

40
tween the steady motion speed of the cylinder-joystick swing angle-
(L/min)

60
damping orifices diameter in Fig. 9(c) and (d), respectively. The speed
regulation range of the cylinder motion of the double-damping orifice 80
system is more extensive than that of the single-damping orifice system. 100
According to the projection area contrast of the equal gradient line, the
velocity gradient of the double-damping orifice system is slower, and the Fig. 10. Simulation results of JC steering system with damping orifices.

8
Y. Wang et al.
Fig. 11. Dual-mode steering system prototype of the field experiment. 1.Wheel loader; 2. Steering wheel; 3. Joystick; 4. Pressure sensors; 5. Load; 6. Displacement
sensor; 7. Date acquisition instrument.
90%, the maximum generation is 10, the mutation probability is 10%,
and the mutation amplitude is 0.2.
3.5. Matching result analysis
After 1000 iterations, the simulation model converges, and the
optimal damping orifice diameter is 2.1 mm. The numerical values ob­
tained from the simulation analysis are assigned to the model for the
operation. Fig. 10 shows the simulation results of the JC steering system
with damping orifices. Compared with Fig. 8(b), the effective pilot valve
spool displacement increases from 5.23 to 8.46 mm, with an increment
rate of 61.75%. The joystick can control the steering system in a more
extensive and effective swing range. To some extent, the JC steering
system forms a corresponding good relationship with the SWC steering
system and has good steering performance.
4. Field experiment
4.1. Experiment system
Although the simulation model was set according to the actual
structural parameters, the pipeline influence was ignored. Therefore, it
was necessary to experimentally verify the correctness of the JC steering
system and model. According to the principle proposed in Fig. 1(b), the
steering system of a 5000 kg-articulated wheel loader was modified, and
field experiments were performed to obtain the vehicle response and
verify the feasibility. The experimental layout of the prototype, the
detailed descriptions of the data acquisition systems and sensors are
Table 2
Main parameters and size of the field experiment.
Definition Parameters
Pump Displacement: 80 mL/rev
Max. rotation speed: 2350 r/min
Data acquisition Signal: 1–5 V, Accuracy: 0.02%, Channels: 32
Pressure sensor Range: 0–10/40 MPa, Accuracy: 0.1%, Voltage: 12 VDC
Angle transducer Range: ±180◦ , Accuracy: 0.25%, Voltage: 5 VDC
Tachometer Range: 0–3000 r/min, Accuracy: 1%
9
Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539
shown in Fig. 11. In the experiment, the angular velocity of the steering
wheel was measured using OMRON E6B2. The outlet pressures of the
hydraulic pump and flow amplifier valve were measured using pressure
sensors with a range of 0–40 MPa. The pressures of the solenoid direc­
tional valves and oil supply valve outlets were measured by pressure
sensors with a range of 0–10 MPa. The accuracy of the pressure sensor is
0.1%. The angle transducer was used to collect the joystick swing angle.
The sensed data were transmitted to the DEWE 501 data acquisition
device with a sampling frequency of 200 Hz, and then a computer was
used to store, display, and playback the collected data. HE202B was used
as the controller to output the control signals U1 and U2 of the solenoid
valve. Table 2 presents the detailed parameters of the experimental
instruments.
There are two steering processes in the articulated vehicle: static and
driving steering processes. The friction resistance between the tire and
the ground in the static steering process is two to three times higher than
that in the driving steering process [39]. The static steering process
mode was studied herein. There were limited conditions at the site, the
experiment was conducted on the cement pavement. The working de­
vice of the wheel loader was kept in the transport position. The joystick
and steering wheel were operated by professional operators. The oper­
ator controlled the vehicle to turn from the left limit position to the
center position at a constant speed and continue to turn to the right to
the limit position, staying at the limit position for about 3 s each time.
The operator also controlled the cycle steering operation.
4.2. Experimental results
The performance of the dual-mode steering system was tested and
analyzed under three steering conditions with different control modes,
engine speeds (1000, 1500, and 2200 r/min), and steering loads (0,
2500, and 5000 kg). The analysis was performed after 30-limit steering
operations under each group of working conditions. Fig. 12 shows the
experimental results of a 7 s limit steering of the SWC and JC steering
systems under different test conditions, corresponding to the turning
from the left to the right limit position in the experiment. The pps and ppj
curves in each figure were compared respectively. With the function of
the SWC steering system as standard, the pressure variation trend of the
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

p ps p pj Ds Dj

20 700 20 700 20 700

16 600 16 600 16 600
12 12 12
8 500 8 500 8 500
4 400 4 400 4 400

Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)
Pressure (MPa)

Pressure (MPa)

Pressure (MPa)
20 700 20 700 20 700
16 600 16 600 16 600
12 12 12
8 500 8 500 8 500
4 400 4 400 4 400
20 700 20 700 20 700
16 600 16 600 16 600
12 12 12
8 500 8 500 8 500
4 400 4 400 4 400
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time (s) (a) Time (s) (b) Time (s) (c)

Fig. 12. Experimental results of the dual-mode steering system. ppsis the left cylinder piston chamber pressure of SWC steering system; ppjis the left cylinder piston
chamber pressure of JC steering system with damping orifices; Dsis the left cylinder displacement of SWC steering system; Djis the left cylinder displacement of JC
steering system with damping orifices. The steering load of the first line is No-load, the second line is 2500 kg, and the third is 5000 kg. (a) engine speed is 1000 r/
min; (b) engine speed is 1500 r/min; (c) engine speed is 2200 r/min.

Table 3
Part of the experimental results.
Engine speed (r/ Steering load Control Δpc Peak pressure fluctuation ofppj Control Δpc Peak pressure fluctuation ofpps pps − ppj
min) (kg) mode (MPa) (MPa) mode (MPa) (MPa) pps
(%)

1000 0 Joystick 0.29 10.85 Steering 0.32 15.30 29.1

2500 0.29 12.03 wheel 0.33 11.98 − 0.4
5000 0.29 12.25 0.32 12.23 − 0.2
1500 0 0.29 10.82 0.30 19.03 43.1
2500 0.29 11.80 0.28 18.85 37.4
5000 0.29 12.02 0.28 12.93 7.0
2200 0 0.30 11.98 0.31 16.53 27.5
2500 0.30 12.23 0.28 18.85 35.1
5000 0.29 12.05 0.29 12.25 − 1.6

JC steering system is the same, showing satisfactory following charac­
teristics. Fig. 12 shows that during the steering process, the pressure
fluctuation range of the JC steering system is also small. Table 3 presents
the data analysis of the experimental results. When the steering speed is
constant, the pressure difference between the two ends of the main valve
Δpc is roughly the same, which is basically unaffected by the engine
speed and load. The main valve-opening area is fixed, and the different
loads obviously affect the pressure overshoot change of the hydraulic
steering pump. In general, the JC steering system pressure overshoot is
lower than the SWC steering system. According to the ratio of the dif­
ference between the peak pressure fluctuation of the two control modes
to the peak pressure fluctuation of the steering wheel in the last column
of Table 3, it can be inferred that the steering stability of the joystick
system is stronger, and the difference of pressure fluctuation decreases
with the increase of load.
Fig. 13(a)~(d) shows the experimental results of the JC steering
system under no load and full load with an engine speed of 800 r/min
when the loader completed three turn cycles within 48 and 24 s. The
pressures pp, pA, and pBin the low steering speed condition are more
obvious than those in the high steering speed condition because the
joystick swing angle in the high steering speed process exceeds that in
the low steering speed process. A significant positive correlation exists
between the joystick swing angle and the pilot pressure differenceΔpc,
which increases the flow rate through the main valve and the pressure
fluctuation of ports A and B. The pressure value of the system improves
significantly as the steering speed increases.
Fig. 13(c)~(f) illustrates the experimental results of the JC and the
SWC steering systems during high-speed steering under no load and full
load, respectively. Compared with Fig. 13(c) and (d), Fig. 13(e) and (f),
different loads have little effect on the differential pressure between the
pump and the hydraulic cylinder in the steering process. pP,pAand pB
have higher peak pressure fluctuations during steering with a full load.
Through the comparison of Fig. 13(c) and (e), Fig. 13(d) and (f), the
pressure change trends of JC steering system and SWC steering system
are almost the same, and pP,pAand pB show good following character­
istics. The pressure fluctuation range of JC steering system is smaller
than that of SWC steering system. The peak pressure fluctuation of pAor
pB can be reduced from 11.3 MPa to 10.7 MPa during steering under no
load, and from 13.8 MPa to 11.3 MPa during steering with a full load. It
shows that JC steering system has better operational stability.
Fig. 14(a) shows the experimental results of the JC steering system
with and without damping orifices under full load with an engine speed
of 2200 r/min. The horizontal coordinate is the joystick swing angle,
and the vertical coordinate is the movement velocity of the left cylinder.
The two curves show that the effective swing angle range of the joystick
increases from 6.5◦ –12.5◦ to 8.5◦ –19.7◦ , and the joystick can control the
steering system in a larger swing range. The starting angle of the joystick
of the effective control increases from 6.5◦ to 8.5◦ as the damping
structure increases, which appropriately reduces the response speed of
the steering system. The shadow part is the optimized range of the swing

10
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

Fig. 13. Experimental results of JC steering sys­

xL xR pA pB pp xL xR pA pB pp
24 750 24 750 tem with damping orifices and SWC steering
system. (a) ~ (d) JC steering system: (a) No load

Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)
20 700 20 700
and low steering speed; (b) Full load and low
Pressure(MPa)

Pressure(MPa)
650 650
16 16 steering speed; (c) No load and high steering
600 600
speed; (d) Full load and high steering speed; (e)
12 550 12 550 ~ (f) SWC steering system: (e) No load and high
8 500 8 500 steering speed; (f) Full load and high steering
450 450 speed. xLis the measured value of the left cylinder
4 400 4 400 displacement; xRis the measured value of the right
350 350 cylinder displacement.
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48
Time (s) (a) Time (s) (b)
xL xR p A p B p p xL xR p A p B p p
24 750 24 750
700 700
Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)
20 20
Pressure(MPa)

Pressure(MPa)
650 650
16 16 600
600
12 550 12 550
500 8 500
8
450 450
4 4
400 400
350 350
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Time (s) (c) Time (s) (d)
xL xR p A p B p p xL xR p A p B p p
24 750 24 750
700 700
Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)
20 20
Pressure(MPa)

Pressure(MPa)

650 650
16 16 600
600
12 550 12 550
500 8 500
8
450 450
4 4
400 400
350 350
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Time (s) (e) Time (s) (f)

Without damping orifice

Acceleration (m/s²)

With damping orifices 0.10

0.10 0.08 Mean MSE Min Med Max
0.09 0.06 0.0077 0.0040 0.0010 0.0069 0.0266
0.08 0.04
Velocity (m/s)

0.07 0.02
0.06 Optimized 0
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0.05 range Swing angle (°) (b)
0.04
Acceleration (m/s²)

0.03 0.10
0.08 Mean MSE Min Med Max
0.02
0.06 0.0147 0.0157 0.0011 0.0094 0.0899
0.01 0.04
0 0.02
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Swing angle (°) (a)
7 8 9 10 11 12
Swing angle (°) (c)

Fig. 14. Experimental results of JC steering system with damping orifices and without damping orifices in full load conditions.

angle to control the cylinder movement velocity before and after the SWC steering system continuously completes the steering process. In the
system optimization. Fig. 14(b) and (c) show acceleration curves of mode switching process, the pilot oil of the SWC steering system is
cylinder motion within the effective joystick swing range of the two provided to the flow amplifier valve through the redirector. The pilot
system architectures. The acceleration MSE decreases from 0.0157 to pressure difference at both ends of the flow amplifier valve drops
0.004 m/s2, which means the operation stability of JC steering system is significantly initially and stabilizes after a short fluctuation. The system
less discretized and the steering system performance is more stable. pressure first experiences short and large fluctuations, and then returns
Fig. 15 shows the fault tolerance of the dual-mode steering system in to the normal pressure trend, the whole process was completed in ~1. 3
switching between the SWC and JC steering systems. Fig. 15(a) shows s. During the rotation of the steering wheel, the operation of the steering
that the joystick initially controls the steering operation, when t = 0.9 s, system is unaffected by swinging the joystick. In Fig. 15(b), the steering
the steering wheel is rotated. The controller detects the angular velocity wheel initially controls the steering operation, when t = 1.6 s, the
and output signals U1, U2 = 0 to the solenoid directional valves. steering wheel stops turning, and the joystick swings. The controller
Simultaneously, solenoid valves are set in the initial position, and the detects the angular velocity and output signals U1, U2 = 1 to the solenoid

11
Y. Wang et al. Automation in Construction 143 (2022) 104539

Joystick Steering wheel Steering wheel Joystick

Pilot pressure difference (MPa)

Pilot pressure difference (MPa)

0.5 20 700 24 0.5 20 700 24
650 650

Displacement (mm)
20

Displacement (mm)
0.4 16 0.4 16 20

Pressure (MPa)

Pressure (MPa)
Swing angle (°)

Swing angle (°)

600 600
12 16 12 16
0.3 550 0.3 550
8 12 12
0.2 500 8 500
0.2
8 8
4 450 4 450
0.1 4 0.1 4
400 400
0 0
0 350 0 0 350 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
pp xL 'pc \ Time (s) (a) pp xL 'pc \ Time (s) (b)

Fig. 15. Experimental results of switching between the SWC and JC steering systems.

directional valves. The solenoid valves are reversed, and the JC steering industrialization of JC steering system technology. Future work will
system continuously completes the steering process. When the SWC focus on matching the maneuverability of the steering system with the
steering system switches to the JC system, the pressure of the system can vehicle speed to achieve variable control of sensitivity and further
be restored and stabilizes after a brief adjustment of 0.5 s. The experi­ improve the performance of the JC steering system.
mental results show that the switching function of the dual-mode
steering system can reliably realize the SWC steering system priority Declaration of Competing Interest
and good redundant steering function.
We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative in­
5. Conclusions terest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work
submitted.
The main purpose of this paper is to reform the maneuverability of
the wheel loader steering system. A dual-mode steering system Data availability
controlled by a joystick and a steering wheel has been proposed, which
can be divided into the JC and SWC steering systems. A complete No data was used for the research described in the article.
equivalent model of static steering hydraulic system is established,
which focuses on the steering sensitivity adjustment of JC steering sys­ Acknowledgments
tem, and the equivalent damping matching strategy of hydraulic pilot
circuit is proposed based on the liquid resistance theory. The main This research was supported by National Key Research and Devel­
conclusions are drawn as follows: opment Program of China (No. 2018YFB2000900).

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