FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW 7799 Introduction Oil hydraulics-the science of transmitting and controlling energy through the medium of pressurised oil has several advantages over other methods of energy control. Oil hydraulic systems: - pack high power in small light components, — have flat load (torque)-speed characteristics, — can operate continuously under stall conditions safely, ~ provide stepless variation of speeds and - have longer life due to the lubricating properties of the working medium and can withstand heavy duty cycles without undue heating of the medium. More important, oil hydraulic systems can be easily built, using readily available standard elements together with electrical or/and pneumatic interface to perform any complicated sequence of operations. These merits, far outweighing the disadvantages of contaminant sensitivity and noisy operation, have influenced the machine tool designer to employ oil hydraulics for not only the basic tool and work piece movements but also for auxiliary functions such as tool indexing and clamping, loading/unloading of workpieces, etc. They have found applications to varying degrees in grinding, honing, broaching, shaping and planing machines. The use of copying attachments on lathes and milling machines is well established. The innovation of electrohydraulic servovalve which could conveniently interface with electrical measuring and signalling devices has led to the popular use of electrohydraulic servodrives in tracer controlled machines, numerically controlled machines, electrodischarge and electrochemical machines. The latest is the application of electrohydraulic stepping motors-electric stepping motors with hydraulic torque amplifiers for feed drives in an open loop configuration. HYDRAULIC FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW Hydraulic fluids meant primarily to effect energy transmission also help in: - lubricating the elements, — carrying away the heat generated in the system, — sealing of moving parts and - inhibiting rust and corrosion.780 FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW Paraffin based mineral oils are generally used in machine tool hydraulics. These are more stable and have a higher viscosity index compared to aromatic or naphthanic based oils. However, where high temperature and fire hazardous conditions prevail these oils are not suitable. Under such conditions, invert emulsions (water-in-oil), water glycols, phosphate esters and silicones are used. . Properties VISCOSITY Viscosity is the most important property of the oil. Viscosity of the oil selected should be such as to yield optimum pump perfor- mance, due consideration being given to the type of pump, its operating speed and pressure. Use of an oil with too low a viscosity increases leakage and may affect the life of the components because of inadequate lubrication, while that with too high a viscosity can cause inefficient operation due to large pressure drops and viscous drag with subsequent overheating. Pressure losses may be so high as to result in cavitation in pumps. Viscosity changes with temperature and pressure. The effect of pressure on viscosity can be neglected in machine tool hydraulics. The effect of temperature on the oil is indicated by its viscosity index. An oil with higher viscosity index exhibits less change in viscosity for unit temperature change and is hence preferred. The viscosity index of mineral oils is improved by certain additives. BULK MODULUS/COMPRESSIBILITY Bulk modulus which is the reciprocal of compressibility is de- fined as change in pressure required to cause unit volumetric strain. It is an important parameter in the system design, figuring in calcu- lations of pump output, decompression volumes, pressure surges due to sudden valve operations and drive stiffness resonance. Two values of bulk moduli-the isothermal and the isentropic-are admissible. Isothermal bulk modulus refers to the value at constant temperature. The isentropic bulk modulus is ap- plicable when pressure changes are rapid allowing no time for entropy change and is also referred to as the dynamic bulk modulus. These values are further defined as tangent and secant bulk moduli. The isentropic tangent bulk modulus (Bsr) at pressure p and temperature T is given by the relation: Bs:= -V (dpidV)sFLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW 781 The isentropic secant bulk modulus (Bss) at pressure p and temperature T is given by -(_-# a= Gi } where dV change in volume, dp change in pressure, Vo initial volume at atmospheric pressure, and subscript s refers to constant entropy. At low pressures, the difference between the two values can be ignored. The isentropic bulk modulus of oil under ideal conditions may be as high as 20,000 kgficm?. However, presence of even small quantities of free air and flexing of hoses, tubes and containers, etc., will considerably reduce the value. For general engineering calcula- tions, a value of 7000 kgficm? is reckoned practical. RESISTANCE TO FOAMING Hydraulic oil contains about 8% of dissolved air by volume. The dissolved air by itself has no harmful effect on the system. However, Presence of air in free state does considerably reduce the bulk modulus. The effect is less pronounced at high working pressures, since the free air tends to dissolve in oil at high ,Pressures. On reduction of pressure, the dissolved air is released, promoting the formation of bubbles which may result in loss of drive control as well possible breakdown of pump due to cavitation. Antifoam agents are added to oils for increasing the rate of cottapse of the bubbles. RESISTANCE TO OXIDATION Hydraulic fluids being composed of hydrocarbons tend to ox- idise. The rate of oxidation increases with high operating tempera- ture, ingress of water and metallic particles which act as catalysts. The products of oxidation which are acidic in nature can be either soluble or insoluble in oil. Soluble oxidation products tend to thic- ken the oil while the insoluble ones, generally known as sludge, may clog lines, orifices and filters. The oil rapidly degrades with oxidation leading to total breakdown. The extent of oxidation in a fluid sample is assessed by measuring its neutralization number which is the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide needed to neutralise one gram of oil sample. The rate of increase of neutralisa- tion number is a good measure of the Progress of oxidation. A _ neutralisation number of 1 (a value of 1 mg Kou/gm) is considered as the point for changing/reconditioning of oil. Certain inhibitors added to the oil improve the oil resistance’ to oxidation.782 FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW Some of the properties of fluids used in machine tools are listed in Table 343 Table 343 Properties of hydraulic oils used in machine tools Properties Base oil Specific gravity at 15°C Kinematic viscosity at 40°C Viscosity index Flash point (closed) Pour point Thermal conductivity at 40°C Specific heat at 40°C Neutralization number Aniline point Average isentropic tangent bulk modulus at presure 0-35 kgflcm? (i) at 25°C (ii) at 40°C Average isentropic secant| bulk modulus at pressure 0-35 kgflem? (i) at 25°C (ii) at 40°C °C °C Wim'c Jikgf °C mg.KOH|gm| °C keflem* kgficm? keficm* kegflem? Paraffinic 0.865- 0.88 30-65 90-95 Min. 200 (Min.) 6 0.13 1966 O14 85 Operating temperature Usually limited to 60°C to have a long life. ‘Compatibility: Bearing materials Usually compatible with all bearing materials. If Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphate is Present as antiwear additive it reacts with white metal and silver lining. Most hyd- raulic oils react with zinc, magnesium alloys and cop- per. Sealing materials Compatible with many synthetic rubbers like nit- rile. neoprene, polyacrylic, fluorocarbon rubbers etc. Not compatible with natural rubbers. Paints and insulation Oil resistant paint is re- quired.FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW 783 FLUID FLOW Fluid flow is basically governed by a set of equations called the Navier stokes equations and Equation of continuity. These are non linear partial differential equations having complex boundary conditions and hence have no general solutions. But for practical applications certain approximations have been made to reduce the complexities and make the solutions accurate enough for most of the purposes. Calculations in hydraulics are generally based on (1) Reynolds equations, (2) Hagen-Poiseuille equation for flow through capillaries and (3) Bernoulli’s equation for steady state flow. . The flow of fluid in hydraulic systems may be either laminar, being physically characterised by orderely, smooth, parallel line motion, or turbulent being irregular, erratic and eddy-like motion. The internal fluid friction (viscous) forces dominate in laminar flow, whereas the inertia forces are predominant in turbulent flow. The nature of flow is dependant on the velocity of flow (v), density of fluid (p) viscosity (4) and the characteristic dimension of the particular flow passage (J), and is expressed as a non-dimensional number called Reynolds number (R-) being equal to PvD,/ # Laminar or turbulent flow can be either steady or unsteady depending on whether the velocities of fluid particles at a section is independent or dependent on time. Generally the flow is assumed to be steady, incompressible and one dimensional. Also the cubical expansion coefficients for liquids are small and hence the effect of temperature on fluid density and flow is negligible. Based on these assumptions, equations for flow and pressure losses have been derived for different flow passages. Table 344 gives the resistance values (R) of different flow passages and the flow can be obtained from the relation- Q’= A p/R. Table 345 gives the pressure loss due to various pipe configurations for steady turbulent flow. For steady laminar flow, coefficient of loss (K) is multiplied by a correction factor b which increases with the decrease in Re. Fig 230 gives the range of Reynolds number over which the flow is laminar and turbulent and also the value of b as a function of Re. Laminar flow, though desirable in systems to minimise: the pressure losses, renders the system bulky. It prevails in leakage paths as well in capillaries used for stabilization of valves, hydro- static bearings and drive systems. A capillary is characterised by a large length to diameter ratio (I/d 2 400) of the flow passage. The capillaries are temperature sensitive and hence are unsuitable for control of flow rates in hydraulic systems. Orifices associated with784, FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW turbulent flow are commonly used for this purpose... An orifice 1s defined as an opening of short length causing sudden restriction in a flow passage. ‘Table 344 Equations for laminar flow through different configurations . | Configuration of |_| Cross sectional Resistance for flow R .| Passage cross section i kgf sec | cm* 128 1 Capillary ndg ot 4n L(a? +b?) Elliptical nab? Rectangular wh Square wash Between two parallel| plates (wv > >A) 7 [Right angled isoscel 155-5y L S* ‘angle [Concentric annular 12nL ring (¢ < eccentric annular riny 124 L nda CX(1+1.58)FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW 785 Table 345 Equations for pressure losses in pipe configurations Cross Sectional Gey Pressure loss kefiem> Straight Pipe i pKo? Entry into pipe 2 1 for right angle entry edge. 0.1 for rounded inlet edge. K Reservior inlet with a change of velocity from v to vo For values of K refer Table 346 180° For values of K refer Table 347786, FLUIDS AND FLUID FLOW Table 345 Equations for pressure losses in pipe configurations (Conetd.) Cross Sectional Pr los: flem? neal _Pressurs toss kgf