Is future of hydraulics in water with lower weight of components?
Anže Dolinar, dipl. inž. str., doc. dr. Franc Majdič, univ. dipl. inž; oba Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za strojništvo
Abstract:
Over time, the hydraulic component industry for oil hydraulics has gained a monopoly in development. Only components for oil hydraulics have been developed. Compared with oil, water as a hydraulic fluid has a better ecological effect, because it does not pollute the environment. Ecology has restarted the development of water hydraulics, which was used in the early days of hydraulics. The development of water hydraulics is progressing, but can it compete with oil hydraulics? That is the main question in this dissertation. We used a directional control valve, originally developed for oil hydraulics, in water hydraulics. We studied the performance of control spools made of different materials. These materials were steel, aluminium and two different polymers. We repeated the tests with oil hydraulics and compared the results. We designed an oil and water test station for seating valve EVC-34. The response of the control spool was measured with a high-speed camera and a pressure sensor. The measurements were repeated at different pressures.
Key worlds:
water hydraulics, oil hydraulics, seating valve, control spool, polymers, high-speed camera, pressure sensor