Based on my experience at least, electrostatic discharge in hydraulic systems is not a widespread problem. But for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, it may be on the increase, so it’s definitely something you need to be aware of.
As you probably remember from school science experiments, electrostatic charge is generated whenever there is friction between two bodies moving … Read more
A recent client asked me to investigate and solve a recurring problem on a diving bell launch and recovery system. The system comprised a hydraulic power unit, a bell winch, an umbilical winch and a guide-wire winch.
To launch the bell, the guide-wire winch is used to lower a clump weight to the seabed. The guide wires prevent the bell … Read more
I 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