Orifices in hydraulic systems are much like doorways in

crowded hallways. The higher the flow rate in people/min. or

the smaller the doorway, the more crowded it becomes at the
entrance.
With hydraulics when oil moues through a restriction (orifice)
there is work being done to the oil. In doing this work,
pressure is lost because it creates the force required to push
the oil through the restriction. For a given orifice, an increase
in pressure drop from inlet to outlet is always accompanied
by an increase in flow. The pressure

in the hydraulic cylinder. Since the load exerts a certain

amount of force in pounds, and the piston in the cylinder has
a certain area in in2• we have force over area or pressure. If
the cylinder has a piston area of one square inch, and supports
a 5000 pound load on a blocked column of fluid, then
you can see that by Pascal's Law we have a pressure in the
fluid of 5000 PSI.
If, instead of a blocked column of fluid, we connect the cylinder
to a hydraulic pump, then the 5000 PSI would be
transmitted back to the inlet of the pump. For the pump to
create a flow, it must be able to withstand this 5000 PSI
resistance:

(DThis load resists work because

it does not want to move. 0 It does this by exerting a -
force of 5000 lbs. over this

area. 0\ If we replace the pipe plug "\

wdesign piston equipment, to 4000 SUS for gear and vane
pumps,toas low as 1000 SUS for inexpensive in-line piston
designs. The optimum viscosity range for most equipment is
between 80 to 250 SUS at operating temperature. The
viscosity levels given here are only average values. it is im·
portant that you check the exact recommendations for the
pump and motors you are using.
The second determining factor on the minimum cold start-up
temperature of your system is the type of oil used. The two
oil ratings you must concern yourself with at this point is the
overall viscosity at opera ting temperature, and its viscosity
index.
VISCOSITY
RELATIVE VISCOSITY IS MEASURED IN SUS

(D A given amount of oil ... 0 is uniformly

heated
to
l00°F.
Heatingith a pump . Before going to a heat exchanger manufacturer
you will need the following information:
1. The heat in BTU/hr you wish to dissipate.
2. The amount of oil flow you will be passing
through the heat exchanger.
3. The flow rate of water (GPM) you have
available (assuming you are selecting a
water/oil model).
4. The inlet temperature of the water (or the ambient
air temperature for air/oil models) in °F.
In actual application. you will need to know the pressure
rating of the selected model. and you probably will be in·
teres ted in the pressure drop for the flow rate you prescribed.
In plumbing the unit, follow the recommendations of the
manufacturer. but remember that it will do no good at all if
hot oil can return to the reservoir without passing through
the heat exchanger. Also. if you are piping case drain lines of
pumps and ternperature,
the higher the temperature difference,and the more
heat we radiate to the ambient. To avoid complicated thermodynamic
calculations , the total wattage required can be
estimated accurately enough , for our purposes , from the
following equation :
KW = desired ambient
Tank capacity (gallons) x ( temp°F - temp°F )
800 x allowable time (hours)
The above formula estimates the kilowatts (kw) required to
achieve the desired temperature in a given amount of time.
The time allotted for heating should be at least 1 hour.
however. if possible ,3 hours is preferred :
The following conversion factors may be helpful in your
calculations:
1 HP= 254hSrB TU 746WATTS = .746 kw
or
1 WATT = 3.4 BTU/hr
CONCLUSION
In this chapter we have attempted to cover the physical
elements which must be understood to properly apply
hydraulics. It will be impor1ant for you to gain a basic understanding
of the following terms:
Energy
Force
Torque
Motion
Velocity
Load
Resistance
Inertia
Acceleration
Power
Pressure
Orifices and Pressure Drop
Flow
Series and Parallel Circuits
Head Pressure
Vacuum
Absolute Pressure
Gauge Pressure
Viscosity
Viscosity Index
Heat
With a solid foundation of the concepts presented in this
chapter. it will be relatively simple to understand the
operation and proper application of the various hydraulic
components. which will be covered, in detail, in subsequent
chapters.
- 23 -
USEFUL MECHAN ICAL FORMULAS
WORK:
W=FxD
F = force in lbs
D = Distance in inches or feet
units are expressed in
(in lbs) or (It lbs)
FORCE REQUIRED FOR LINEAR
ACCELERA TION:
F = Ma
F = force in lbs
M . h (lb ) _ . 1 - mass _ weg1 t s m s ugs
- 32_2 It/sec'
a = acceleration = It/sec'
LINEA R ACCELERA TION:
a=v
T
a = acceleration It/sec'
v = velocity It/sec
T = tim'? m seconds
ACCELERA TION DUE TO GRA VITY:
g 32.2 ft/sec'
=

HORSEPO WER:
lHP=
550 ft -lbs
sec.
TORQUE:
T=Fxr
T = torque in lb - i n :
F =motors through the heat exchanger. the model
selected must have a low pressure drop for the total com·
bined return flow. since most case drains cannot exceed 15