Reducing Hydraulic System Temperatures

Deborah Hays
Dmax Ltd.

ABSTRACT
The predictive technology team at DMAX, Ltd. consists of a mechanical technician and an electrical
technician. We primarily use the IR camera to run predictive routes on electrical panels, buss plugs, and
motors. Occasionally, we are called to the plant floor to help troubleshoot a problem. This paper discusses a
trouble call on a hydraulic system that supports one of our larger machines.

INTRODUCTION
DMAX, Ltd. builds the Duramax Diesel engine for use in General Motors heavy duty trucks. At our facility the
engine block, head, crank, and connecting rod are machined. These parts are used in our assembly area
where we build and test the engine. The problem occurred on a cylinder block line transfer machine that is
54’ x 30’ consisting of 5 cutting stations, 2 rotate stations, a gage station, check station and 5 idle stations.
Most of the cutting stations have a left and right side. Each cutting station either bores, chamfers, or mills the
cylinder block. After each station finishes a cycle, the machine then transfers the cylinder block to the next
station. Hydraulic cylinders are used to transfer the blocks as well as rotate them and clamp the part when it
is being machined. Hydraulic cylinders are also used in several stations to assist the large cutting heads as
they rise and lower. This hydraulic system has a 600 liter reservoir of hydraulic fluid. The OEM has stated
that the maximum system temperature should be no higher than 120˚F (49˚C) when running at a normal
pressure of 1200 psig. The system has a high temperature fault that is set at 117˚F (47˚C). The OEM used
yellow zinc dichromate heavy walled steel tubing to distribute the hydraulic fluid to the desired components on
the machine. There are several supply and return lines running to each station as well as to the large
cylinders used to transfer the blocks as they are machined.

PROBLEM
Electricians from the cylinder block line had been called to this operation numerous times to reset high
temperature faults on the hydraulic system. The electricians asked the mechanics to check the system for
any abnormalities. All pressures and flows were found to be within OEM specification. The electricians also
wanted to verify that the actual temperature in the hydraulic system matched the thermal couple reading. We
checked the temperature using our FLIR P65 and determined that the thermal couples where operating
correctly (Fig. 1). The electricians did not want to spend their day resetting temperature faults. We needed a
solution.

Figure 1. Thermogram/photo pair showing hydraulic system.

InfraMation 2008 Proceedings ITC 126 A 2008-05-14

TEMPORARY FIX
The electricians were advised not to adjust the temperature upper limit to eliminate the fault. Running the
hydraulic unit with excessive heat would cause the hydraulic oil to deteriorate at a rapid rate possibly causing
failures to the hydraulic pump, cylinders or valves. The machine was needed to meet production schedules
so there was little time for a formal root cause analysis. We needed a quick solution or what we like to call a
“band-aid” (Fig 2.).

Figure 2. The fastest and easiest way to cool something down, THE FAN!

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

As we analyzed the root cause it was discovered that the hydraulic system was slightly undersized for this
particular application. An additional gage station had been added to the machine which increased the load on
the system. A second contributing factor was the temperature inside the plant on this summer day. The
DMAX plant has a chiller system that is designed to keep the plant at a constant 76˚F. The cylinder block line
can reach the 90˚F mark in the middle of summer. It was decided not to spend the money to upsize the
hydraulic system that worked fine 10 months out of the year. The purchase of an additional chiller unit was
also not approved. Even the fan was not keeping the unit as cool as it needed to be and temperature faults
quickly returned. We needed an inexpensive permanent solution.

SOLUTION
We remembered our IR level I class. Instructors Bernie Lyon and Bob Rogers were telling the class about a
presentation at the 2004 InfraMation conference. An electrician from a Coors Brewing plant was having
problems with a stainless steel motor over heating. He had created an IR route to check it but found it difficult
to find the taped spot during his route. He had placed electrical tape on the motor due to the reflectivity of the
stainless steel and he decided to paint the entire motor so the routes could go faster. Much to his surprise,
this stopped the motor from over heating by allowing the heat to dissipate instead of being trapped in by the
reflective steel. We thought if it can work on a stainless steel motor it could work on yellow zinc dichromate
tubing. Remembering E+R+T=1 and low emissivity, we put electrical tape on two of the hydraulic lines and
checked the temperature difference between the taped surface and the steel surface (Fig. 3). We found a 4
degree C temperature change and we decided to paint the tubing in the hopes it would radiate enough heat to
keep the unit running below the OEM set point year round (Fig. 4).

InfraMation 2008 Proceedings ITC 126 A 2008-05-14

REFLECTIVITY

Object Parameter Value

Emissivity 0.96
Object Distance 1.9 m
Reflected Temperature 22.4 °C
Label Value
Sp1 36.9 °C
Sp2 33.1 °C
Sp3 35.0 °C
Sp4 31.8 °C
Dt1: [ana.Sp1.temp] - 3.7 °C
[ana.Sp2.temp]
Dt2: [ana.Sp3.temp] - 3.3 °C
[ana.Sp4.temp]
Figure 3. Thermogram/photo/chart showing reflectivity of steel tubing.

RESULTS

Figure 4. Photo before and after painting.

Twelve cans of flat white spray paint and a week later, we reshot the hydraulic unit. The overall system
temperature went from 117˚F to 107˚F. We were able to reduce system temperature by 10˚F, which was
enough to keep the unit running even on the hottest days (Fig. 5).

InfraMation 2008 Proceedings ITC 126 A 2008-05-14

Figure 5. Thermograms before and after painting hydraulic lines.

SUMMARY
After a week of painting, we realized this operation had several more feet of hydraulic tubing than we had first
realized. We believe this is why we were able to achieve a ten degree temperature reduction. We have since
changed the new equipment specification and require any future purchases of hydraulic systems to have the
hydraulic lines painted flat white. Ten degrees F may not sound like much, but sometimes it is just enough.

REFERENCES
Voitl, John C.; Predictive Maintenance Technician; Coors Brewing Company; 2004 InfraMation Conference;
October 2004

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Infrared Training Center and specifically instructors Bernie Lyon and Bob
Rogers. We would also like to thank DMAX Ltd. maintenance personnel and management for allowing us to
experiment with this operation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Hays is a Level II Thermographer and has been a mechanical service technician for the last 15
years. She has been assigned as a predictive technologies technician for the past 5 years. She utilizes
infrared, vibration analysis, motor circuit analysis, and ultrasound technologies at her plant.

InfraMation 2008 Proceedings ITC 126 A 2008-05-14