Hydraulic Fluid

Purpose & Properties

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 Explain the properties of hydraulic oil as
a working fluid

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 Introduction
Fluids used in mobile and stationary
machinery must be effective in the
transmission of power from the source
to provide consistent and reliable
response, safe operation, and optimum
efficiency.

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 Purposes
Compressibility
Lubrication
Sealing
Cooling

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 Compressibility
Figure 3-2
Ensures responsiveness of actuation or “stiffness” in a hydraulic circuit,
even under high pressure.
With the dynamics of loads in industrial machinery, slight decompression
or compression can occur and affect actuation slightly.
Properly maintained hydraulic systems are extremely responsive and
reliable.
Petroleum-based fluids are virtually incompressible, for example.
0.4% at 1000 psi and up
to 1.1% at 3000 psi operating pressure
At a constant operating pressure
the oil remains compressed at a given value.

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 Lubrication
All hydraulic systems have components with
moving parts that have the potential to come in
contact with each other

Components need a lubricant to prevent excess

wear and the production of excess heat

Some lubrication condition

Full-film
Boundary
Enhanced (Additives)
Anti-Wear

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 Full-Film Lubrication
This prevent metal to metal contact and the protect
metal surfaces

The lubrication film flows between the metal parts

while keep the metals completely apart

This is the best

lubrication condition
for a hydraulic
system

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 Boundary Lubrication
When high pressure is needed, the clearances
between the moving components should be reduce
to limit leakage

The lubrication film flows between two metal parts,

now the metal parts can touch each other

Disadvantages:
Excessive wear
Severe heat

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 Enhanced Lubrication
To enhance boundary lubrication conditions
additives are required such as anti-wear (AW) and
extreme pressure (EP)

Anti-wear additives
prevent metal to metal
contact

Additive is usually a
zinc compound

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 Sealing
Internal leakage is caused by clearances inside hydraulic components,
affecting the efficiency of systems
Internal leakage also has the potential to create excess heat
The fluid in the system is relied upon to minimize leakage across the
clearances to improve efficiencies and to reduce the production of
heat.
The leakage rate is determined by the physical size of clearances,
pressure drop across the clearances, and the operating viscosity of the
fluid.

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 Cooling
Any fluid used in hydraulic machinery absorbs and carries heat away
from heat generating components such as cylinders and pumps.
Some system designs may not allow sufficient transfer of fluid to the
reservoir,
causing a build up of heat and oxidized fluid in an isolated segment of a
circuit
and resulting in the destruction of the fluid and components
Provisions should be made in machine design for the ability to “flush”
these segments regularly to prevent cumulative damage to component
and to the fluid.
Some devices designed to maintain fluid quality and ensure long
trouble free operation:
Baffled reservoirs
Coolers
Strainers

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 Fluid Properties
The fluids used in hydraulic systems must posses specific desirable
characteristics
It is sometimes necessary to compromise some properties in favor of
others that may be more important for a specific application
requirement; not all fluids have all the attributes in equal strength.
These properties include:
Viscosity and Viscosity Index
Pour Point
Lubricating Ability
Oxidation
Additives and Inhibitors
Rust and corrosion protection
Demulsibility
Fire resistance

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 Viscosity

Viscosity: Measure of the oil’s resistance

to flow.
Viscosity affects the fluid’s ability to be
pumped, transmitted through the
system, carry a load and maintain
separation between moving surfaces.

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 Viscosity too high (fluid is too thick)
(Problems)
High resistance to flow
Increased energy consumption due to increased friction,
increased input torque requirement at the pump
High temp. created by power loss to friction
Increased pressure drops due to increased resistance to
flow
Slow or sluggish operation/actuation
Inefficient separation of air from the oil in the reservoir
Pump cavitations

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 Viscosity to low (fluid is too thin)
Increased internal leakage
Excess wear, seizure, particularly of pumps, could
occur under heavy load because of a breakdown in
lubrication film between clearances of moving parts
Decreased pump effiency due to increased leakage &
possible cylinder blow-by. This could cause increased
cycle times or slower machine operation.
Internal leakage causing an increase in operating
temperatures.
Most hydraulic systems run with oil (150 – 300 SUS
or SSU) with the typical ISO viscosity grade (22 – 68)

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 Viscosity
Coefficient of viscosity, dynamic viscosity, absolute
viscosity, or simply the viscosity of the fluid.
(Same)
viscosity: resistance encountered when moving one
layer of liquid over another
μ = τ(Δy/Δυ) μ = (N*S)/m2 or Pa*s
Cgs system: use centipoise = poise/100
=0.001Pa*s
Usually given

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 Kinematic Viscosity
K.V. is the most common way of measuring
viscosity. It is measured by the amount of
time needed for a fixed volume of oil to flow
through a capillary tube.
ν = μ/ρ ν = m2/s or ft2/sec

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 Viscosity Index
Viscosity index is an arbitrary number that
characterizes the variation of viscosity of a
fluid with variations of temperature.
fluid with a high viscosity index
exhibits a small change in
viscosity with temp.
fluid with a low viscosity index
exhibits a large change in
viscosity with temperature
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 Viscosity & Temperature

Hydraulic oils is directly and sometimes

adversely affected by changes in temp.
For this reason, machinery should not
be put into high speed or heavily loaded
operation until the system fluid is
warmed up to operating temperatures
to provide adequate lubrication.

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 Rust & Corrosion Protection
Corrosion is a chemical reaction between a metal and a chemical –
typically an acid
Extremely difficult to keep air and moisture out of hydraulic systems
Both rust & corrosion contaminate the system & increase component
wear. Increase internal leakage past the affected parts causing high
temp. Cause components to seize through heat & closure or running
clearances with debris
Particular care: Operating & cleaning
equipment to prevent the contamination
of the hydraulic system with water or
cleaning solvents

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 Rust & Corrosion inhibitors
Rust inhibitors typically coat metal parts so natural air &
moisture do not interact with the metal to form oxide
compounds
Corrosive elements are often created through oxidation.
Care must be exercised whenever the hydraulic system is
exposed to atm. To min. the introduction of incompatible
elements that may react with the fluid chemistry
Some materials such as alloys containing magnesium,
lead and zinc are very oxidize Should be avoided in
hydraulic systems

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 Pour Point
The pour point is:
lowest temperature at which an oil is
observed to flow

5°F (3°C) above the temperature at which

the oil in a test vessel shows no movement
when the container is held horizontally for
five seconds
Test Method ASTM D 97 (American Society for
Testing Materials)

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 Lubricating Ability
Lubricity is the ability of an oil to
lubricate hydraulic components with
adequate clearance to run a
substantial lubrication film.

Full-film lubrication and boundary

lubrication

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 Oxidation
Oxidation occurs when oxygen attacks the
fluid.
Accelerated by heat, light, metal catalysts and the
presence of water, acids, or solid contaminants
Susceptible oil to oxidation:
Petroleum and vegetable
Operation temperature is very important.
Temps <140ºF, petroleum oxidizes very slow
Oxidation double for every 18ºF increased in operation
above 140ºF

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 Additives and Inhibitors
An additive is a chemical substance added to
fluid to improve certain properties.

An inhibitor is any substance that slows or

prevents chemical reactions, such as
corrosion or oxidation.

Some common additives and inhibitors:

anti-wear additives, antifoam agent, corrosion
inhibitor, demulsifier, EP additive, oxidation
inhibitor, pour point depressant, rust inhibitor

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 Anti-Wear
Three types of anti-wear
additives
Anti-wear (AW)
form a protective film on the
metal surface when exposed to
low frictional heat

Wear resistant (WR)

protects the rubbing surfaces
against wear, particularly from
scuffing

Extreme pressure (EP)

Either prevent surfaces from
coming into contact with one
another or prevent surfaces
from welding to one another
when expose to high frictional
heat
Use when operating at
pressures >3000psig

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 Demulsibility
Demulsibility is the ability of a fluid to separate out or
reject water.
Demulsifiers are additives that aid the fluid in the
rejection of water.
Rejected water contained in reservoirs should be
removed periodically to prevent re-emulsification
and/or reaction with the fluid chemistry.
If not removed, the water in the bottom of the reservoir
could freeze in cold weather and cause a potential for
cavitation of the pump on startup.

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 Fire Resistance
Fluid used in hydraulic systems must have fire resistant
properties.
Most fluids can be ignited under the right conditions
Fire resistant fluid will not sustain combustion when an ignition
source is removed
Fire resistant fluid will not allow flame to flash back to the ignition
source
It is important to analyze the working environment of the
specific application to determine fire hazards.
Flash Point – temporary ignition point
Fire point – the temperature the fluid must attain for continuous
burning
Some fluids may continue to burn after the ignition source is
removed

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 Fire Resistance
All fluids used in hydraulic systems contain a variety of additives to
improve or augment the performance of the fluid under various
conditions.
The fluid supplier must understand the nature of the fluid application.
Environment
Types of components and their manufacture’s specifications relative to
fluids
Duty cycles
Loads (pressure)
Storage ability
Temperature extremes
Any unusual or special considerations in the operation of the machinery that
could affect the life of the fluid or its performance

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 Fire Resistant Hydraulic Fluids
Designed to resist ignition
Provide lubrication
Prevent corrosion
Applications:
Steel industries
Automotive manufacture
Offshore industry
On aircraft and ships

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 Test Methods
Pour point ~ ASTM D 97
The procedure for cooling oil until it will not pour out of
vessel
Oxidation ~ ASTM D 943
A controlled flow of oxygen is bubbled through a water, oil,
and copper and iron catalysts mixture at 95ºC until the acid
number reaches 2.0 mg KOH
Results are given in hours. For example, a hydraulic oil with
moderate oxidation resistance could be 1,000 hours
Anti-wear ~ Four Ball Wear Test
puts one rotating ball against three fixed balls under specific
conditions of pressure, temperature, revolutions per minute
and duration
evaluate the friction and wear control ability of liquid
lubricants in sliding contact
ASTM D 5138 (Coefficient of Friction)

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 Four Ball Wear Test

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 Typical Test Methods

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 Reference

Vickers Industrial Hydraulics Manual 4Th

Edition
Applied Fluid Mechanics (5 Edition)
Fluid Mechanics for Engineering
Technology (3 Edition)

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