STAUFF Accumulators

Knowledge and Safety

www.stauff.com
Accumulators - Overview
Accumulators add efficiency, smooth operation and even allow unpowered In all cases it is preferred that the
functions to operate in hydraulic circuits every day, in hundreds of different bladder, diaphragm or piston does not
applications. reach the bottom of the accumulator
during normal operation; as this would
The gas-charged accumulator provides a safe and efficient manner of removing result in the bladder, in the case of a
unwanted and damaging pulsating pressures, storing energy for supplying flow to bladder accumulator, nearly filling the
a system when power is unavailable, supplementing hydraulic pump flow to meet volume of the chamber. When a surge
surge demands, thus reducing running power and providing a hydraulic spring to in pressure occurs in a hydraulic system,
act as a suspension medium in a variety of applications. perhaps due to rapid closure of a
valve or a suddenly applied load,
When properly installed and maintained, the accumulator does its work without damage can occur due to the
human intervention, and the machine operator need not even be aware of its pressure spike exceeding
presence. But what is it and are there regulations that govern the use of Hydraulic equipment ratings.
Accumulators..? Additional damage may be
caused by fatigue effects
The Hydraulic Accumulator is available in three distinct types, yet the operating of spikes occurring
principle remains the same in every occasion. A chamber, usually cylindrical, repeatedly over long
is exposed at one end to the hydraulic system, allowing hydraulic fluid to enter periods of time.
the chamber. The opposite end of the chamber is filled with Nitrogen gas, and a Spike pressures can be relieved by a
barrier is provided to prevent the Hydraulic fluid and Nitrogen gas from intermixing. hydraulic accumulator.
The barrier is flexible such as the bladder in a bladder accumulator or the piston
plunger in the case of a piston accumulator. The principle relies on the inherent As the hydraulic fluid pressure rapidly increases in the accumulator chamber,
incompressibility of hydraulic fluid, also the fact that any gas can be compressed it compresses the gas in the chamber which contracts in volume according to
and thus vary its volume with pressure. the Boyle–Mariotte law of P1.V1 = P2.V2 this reduction in volume consumed by
the gas, produces room for additional hydraulic fluid to enter the chamber, thus
In a bladder and diaphragm gas-charged accumulator, the gas is pre-charged increasing the available volume for fluid and absorbing the pressure spike. As
to a value which is lower than the system operating pressure, which is generally the hydraulic fluid pressure returns to normal levels the gas expands to again
80% - 90% for Storage and Shock applications and ~60% for Pulsation Dampener consume most of the volume of the chamber thus returning hydraulic fluid to the
applications. As an example, a normal hydraulic system pressure varies from system and the accumulator is ready to absorb the next pressure spike.
100 Bar to 150 bar; thus accumulator gas should be pre charged to 80 to 90 bar.
Where a Piston gas-charged accumulator is used in storage applications, the pre-
charge pressure is normally set to -5 to -10 bar of minimum operating pressure.

Safety Standards
Hydraulic accumulators are pressure vessels, and in many cases, may be subject
to regulatory control. So, what is a pressure vessel? A simple definition offered
by Australia’s WorkCover Plant Division is that “if it holds pressure, then it is a
pressure vessel”. Any pressure vessel represents a potential hazard; however the
size of the hazard may be determined by the volume of the vessel, the pressure it
holds and the medium that is used in the vessel.
Note that a pressure vessel of Hazard level D or greater should be stamped with
the design code, the Australian design registration number, its design pressure
and temperature and its latest test date. Also the plant owner should be in
possession of a Manufacturer’s Data Report (MDR) and a copy of the registration
certificate for every vessel of hazard level D or greater.

The Australian standard AS4343 defines levels of hazard into 5 categories.

According to a table and simple formula these hazard levels escalate from E
through to A, with hazard level E being the least dangerous level and not subject
to regulatory control. Any vessel of hazard level D through to A must be of a
design registered with Work Cover in the relevant state and subject to regular in-
service inspections by an approved inspector.

A simple formula for a gas-charged accumulator which is used with a non-

hazardous fluid and a non-hazardous gas is to take the volume of the chamber in
litres and multiply by the design pressure in Megapascals. If the answer is a value
of thirty or greater, the vessel represents a hazard greater than level E and must
be of a design registered with Work Cover in the relevant State or Territory. This is
an important feature to remember with gas-charged accumulators because these
devices are frequently fitted on imported machinery and not properly reviewed for
compliance with Australian law upon the machinery’s purchase from overseas.
Construction
The construction method of gas accumulator falls into three basic types:

Bladder type Hydraulic Accumulators
As its name would suggest this type of accumulator
uses a rubber bladder to contain the gas charge.
These vessels are available in sizes ranging from
1 Litre through to 55 litres. They are a repairable
device, as the bladder is easily removed and
replaced in the event off failure. The bladder
accumulator uses large orifice openings in the fluid
port for rapid discharge and, as a result, remains
virtually insensitive to debris. Due to the free
movement of the bladder they do not suffer from
hysteresis and are very fast to react.
It is preferred that bladder accumulators are
operated in the vertical plane, however in low flow
and low cycle applications they may be mounted in
the horizontal position – however a slight reduction in
stored volume may be experienced as a result.
Piston type Hydraulic Accumulators
This device is essentially a hydraulic cylinder without
a rod.
On one side of the Piston is charged gas, whilst
hydraulic fluid is admitted to the opposite end. The
piston accumulator is repairable by simply replacing
the Piston seals. Because they do not use a bladder,
distortion problems do not occur. They can be
operated at very high compression ratios, which
are often limited only by the design pressure of the
vessel. These accumulators are sensitive to debris
because of the sliding contact nature of the dynamic
piston seals, and they also suffer from hysteresis,
due to the friction action of these seals. As such,
piston accumulators are not generally used in
applications where a fast response is required such
as a valve closure or as pulsation dampers.
Diaphragm type Hydraulic Accumulators
Diaphragm accumulators are normally restricted to
the smaller sizes of 0.07 through to 3.5 litres. These
vessels are not repairable. Their design employs a
diaphragm to separate the gas and fluid chambers.
They are virtually insensitive to debris and are very
responsive to quick changes in pressures as they are
hysteresis free.
The diaphragm is not distorted to the same level
as the bladder in bladder type accumulators in
operation, and as such, diaphragm accumulators may
be exposed to compression ratios of up to 8:1.
They may be mounted in both the horizontal and
vertical position.

The bladder type accumulator is generally limited High flow rates and piston speed velocity should also
to a 4:1 ratio of maximum pressure to gas-charged be considered. In general, the piston speed velocity
pressure, which is necessary to protect the bladder should be limited and can vary between 1 m/s to <4 m/s
from excessive distortion stresses. - depending on the piston accumulator brand used.

Thermodynamics
Hydraulic accumulators rely on the compressibility of gas in order to store potential this can be somewhere between an isothermal and adiabatic condition. To
energy for their operation. The potential energy either when being stored in the understand the effect of this, more information is required regarding the system
accumulator or when discharging may be subject to the phenomena of adiabatic - in particular the charging and discharging times of the accumulator, and the
compression / expansion. Anyone who has pumped up their bicycle tyres very ambient temperatures.
quickly and then touched the tyre valve will know that it gets very hot; this is due
to adiabatic compression. Similarly anyone who has opened the drain valve on Accumulators may be used as energy storage devices, pulsation dampeners,
their compressor receiver and observed that it becomes frosty cold, even frozen, and hydraulic springs or as a means of supplementing pump flow during peak
has experienced adiabatic expansion. Adiabatic simply means that the gas has demands.
been compressed or allowed to expand so quickly that the normal transfer of heat
to the surrounding atmosphere cannot occur. When a hydraulic accumulator is
caused to charge adiabatically the compressed gas gets hot and, as a result, tries
to expand. Similarly when the accumulator is discharged quickly the gas gets cold
and, as a result, tends to contract. This phenomena means that under adiabatic
Summary
conditions, an accumulator delivers less hydraulic fluid because the contraction
In summary, the gas-charged hydraulic accumulator offers a safe and convenient
and expansion of the gas is limited.
method of enhancing the performance of fluid power systems. The purchaser
should consider the type of accumulator that best suits the application and allows
A slower rate of expansion or contraction, where the heat transfer can occur,
for an appropriate size for the anticipated charging discharging cycle rates. And
is known as an Isothermal change. Therefore most sizing charts and formulae
the purchaser should also ensure that they receive the necessary Manufacturer’s
resolve to a larger accumulator for adiabatic conditions than for isothermal
Data Report and proof of design registration where appropriate.
conditions – where very little potential energy is lost due to the effects of change in
temperature. In reality, most applications never achieve an isothermal or adiabatic Author: Ted Thomas - STAUFF National Engineering Manager
condition but are said to be in a Polytropic state. Depending on the application, accumulators@stauff.com.au
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WP/STAUS/ACCUM/03.2015.2