How To Prevent Combustion In Hydraulic Cylinders

hydraulic cylinder failureI was recently engaged by a client to conduct failure analysis on a large (and expensive) hydraulic cylinder off an excavator. This hydraulic cylinder had been changed-out due to leaking rod seals after achieving only half of its expected service life.

Inspection revealed that apart from the rod seals, which had failed as a result of ‘dieseling’, the other parts … Read more

When Higher Hydraulic Pressure Means Higher Maintenance Costs

Hydraulic Pressure IncreaseIn most hydraulic applications there are essentially two ways to get the required power output: high flow at (relatively) low pressure; and low flow at high pressure. This is because power is a product of flow and pressure; increase pressure and you can reduce flow proportionately but still get the same power output. For example, 100 liters/min at 200 bar … Read more

6 Silent Killers of Hydraulic Machines

Hydraulic Maint Handbook

1. Abrasive wear is the scuffing and scoring of a lubricated surface. It can be further divided into two-body abrasion and three-body abrasion. Two-body abrasion occurs when two lubricated surfaces come into direct contact with each other–usually as a result of loss of the lubricating oil film. Three-body abrasion occurs when the clearance between two lubricated surfaces is bridged by … Read more