Paper:
Bubble Elimination from Working Oil for Environmentally Friendly Hydraulic System Design
Yutaka Tanaka*, Sayako Sakama*, and Ryushi Suzuki**
*Hosei University, 2-17-1 Fujimi, Chiyodaku, Tokyo 102-8160, Japan
**Opus System Inc., 3-18-7 Asagayaminami, Suginamiku, Tokyo 166-0004, Japan
With a view to environmental compatibility, energy saving, cost reduction, and high performance and efficiency, one trend in hydraulic systems, particularly in mobile markets, is to design them to be more compact, require less hydraulic fluid in the reservoir, and use their working hydraulic fluid longer. Air bubbles entrained in working hydraulic fluids have greatly detrimental effects on the function and lifetime of hydraulic fluids, components, and systems. A bubble eliminator using a swirl flow that can eliminate air bubbles from working hydraulic fluid has been proposed and developed by our smart and clean hydraulic project. This paper focuses on technical issues related to air bubbles, the aging process of hydraulic oil, and a field test of the performance of the bubble eliminator.
- [1] G. E. Totten and B. Sun, “Hydraulic Fluids: Foaming, Air Entrainment, and Air Release – A Review,” SAE Technical Paper No.972789, 1997.
- [2] W. Backe, and P. Lipphardt, “Influence of Dispersed Air on the Pressure Medium,” Proc. IMechE., C97/76, pp. 77-84, 1976.
- [3] I. von Linsingen and V. J. De Negri, “Handbook of Hydraulic Fluid Technology, 2nd Edition, Chapter 1 – Fundamentals of Hydraulic Systems and Components –,” CRC Press, p. 48, 2011.
- [4] R. Suzuki and S. Yokota, “Bubble Elimination by Use of Swirl Flow,” IFAC Int. Workshop on Trends in Hydraulic and Pneumatic Components and Systems, Poster Paper 2., 1994.
- [5] R. Suzuki, Y. Tanaka, and S. Yokota, “Reduction of Oil Temperature Rise by Use of a Bubble Elimination Device in Hydraulic Systems,” J. Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, 54-3, pp. 23-27, 1998.
- [6] R. Suzuki, Y. Tanaka, K. Arai, and S. Yokota, “Bubble Elimination in Oil for Fluid Power Systems,” SAE Trans., J. of Commercial Vehicles, Section 2, 107, pp. 381-386, 1998.
- [7] Y. Tanaka, R. Suzuki, K. Arai, K. Iwamoto, and K. Kawazura, “Visualization of Flow Fields in a Bubble Eliminator,” J. Visualization, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 81-90, 2001.
- [8] S. Ohkawa, A. Konishi, H. Hatano, and D. Voss, “Piston Pump Failures In Various Type Hydraulic Fluids,” Hydraulic Failure Analysis: Fluids, Components, and System Effects ASTM STP 1339, G. Totten (Ed.), American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, PA, 2001.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.