IMPROVING RELIABILITY BY MAINTAINING SYSTEM CLEANLINESS UNDER REAL WORLD OPERATING CONDITIONS

摘要

Particulate contamination in a hydraulic system fluid is generally considered the most important factor governing the reliability and life of the fluid components. Improvements in system design, contamination management and filter performance have resulted in contamination levels falling considerably over the past 30 years. However, users continue to demand cleaner fluid and better filtration performance, and this drives filter manufacturers to continuously make developments and improvements to their products. This paper gives guidelines for establishing target cleanliness levels for hydraulic systems, as well as selecting filters to achieve the desired levels. The paper presents a newly developed filter test, which is designed to study the effect of cyclic flow on various aspects of element performance throughout its life. It also introduces a new method of rating filter performance that enables users to clearly distinguish between filters that can withstand the cyclic stress and those that cannot.