Endurance Pump Tests With Fresh and Purified MIL-PRF-83282 Hydraulic Fluid

摘要

Recently the US Armed Forces began using portable external purifiers to clean used hydraulic fluid to permit its continued use in aircraft systems and to reduce the hydraulic fluid waste stream. Two endurance pump tests were conducted with F-16 aircraft hydraulic pumps, using both fresh and purified MIL- PRF-83282 hydraulic fluid, to determine if fluid purification had any adverse effect on pump life. The first test was conducted using fresh MIL-PRF-83282 hydraulic fluid. The second test was conducted with hydraulic fluid that was circulated for 75 minutes through a fluid purifier after every 300 hours of pump testing. The failure modes were similar for both the tests. In the first test, the barrel-bearing failed after 1343 hours whereas, in the second test, both the shaft-bearing and the barrel-bearing failed after 1513 hours. The difference in the bearing lives from the two tests is not significant. Rolling element bearings, made out of AISI 52100 steel, seem to be the weak link in the F-16 main hydraulic pump. The pump life may be considerably increased by the use of better bearing material such as M50 steel. There was no significant difference in pump performance. The fluid purification did not adversely affect the pump life.