Sizing of Reservoirs The sizing of a reservoir is based on the following criteria: 1.

It must make allowance

for dirt and chips to settle and for air to escape. 2. It must be able to hold all the oil that might drain into
the reservoir from the system. 3. It must maintain the oil level high enough to prevent a whirlpool effect
at the pump inlet line opening. Otherwise, air will be drawn into the pump. 4. It should have a surface
area large enough to dissipate most of the heat gen  erated by the system. 5. It should have adequate
air space to allow for thermal expansion of the oil. A reservoir having a capacity of three times the
volume flow rate (in units of volume per minute) of the pump has been found to be adequate for most
hydraulic systems where average demands are expected. This relationship is given by (11-1) (11-1M)
Thus, a hydraulic system using a 10-gpm pump would require a 30-gal reservoir and a 0.1-m3/min pump
would require a 0.3-m3 reservoir. However, the benefits of a large reservoir are usually sacrificed for
mobile and aerospace applications due to weight and space limitations. 11.3 ACCUMULATORS Definition
of Accumulator An accumulator is a device that stores potential energy by means of either gravity,
mechanical springs, or compressed gases. The stored poten al energy in the accu  mulator is a quick
secondary source of fluid power capable of doing useful work as required by the system. reservoir size
1m3 2   3   pump flow rate 1m3 >min