Hydraulic and lubrication systems are an integral part of nearly all industrial and mobile machines. The total cost of ownership (TCO) of fluid power systems can be effectively reduced by design measures.
Keeping the fluid media within temperature limits, water content and cleanliness specifications is a determinate for the condition, longevity and optimal performance of complete hydraulic and lubrication control systems. Studies have shown that the majority of hydraulic failures are caused by poor conditions, when parameters such as contamination, aging, mixture and temperature are allowed to get out of control.
These targeted problems formed the basis for the development of Betamicron 4 by HYDAC. With regard to filtration, various requirements have to be met, with the main focus being on the dirt retention capacity of the elements and the filtration efficiency defined by particle removal effectiveness.
Design
The design of the product is essential for the efficiency and longevity of the filter. To protect the sensitive filter media against direct fluid flow, the elements are provided with a solid plastic envelope. This outer envelope improves flow characteristics, mesh pack stability and protection during handling of the element when it needs to be changed.
In terms of geometry, Betamicron 4 is completely interchangeable with the present HYDAC filter element. Conversion will not be a cost to the customer. In this way, both the manufacturer and the end-user benefit.
A plus in terms of operational reliability is the patented bonding process of the media seams in the form of a longitudinal weld. The weld prevents particles from getting from the contaminated side to the clean side. The firm integration of media around the support tube ensures a high stability. This contributes to achieving prolonged filter service life and increased machine uptime under dynamic operating conditions.
The actual filtration work is performed by the multi-layer filter mesh pack. The mesh pack combines various high-quality filter medias with transition layers to ensure a high and stable particle removal efficiency over a wide differential pressure range. With optional special treatment of the filter media, even fluids with extremely low conductivity can be filtered without any discharges in the filter element. Optimized pleat and fiber bonding technologies result in a low differential pressure across the filter element resulting in a significant reduction in the energy required during the operation of the system.
The new development of filter media was achieved with regard to a set of development targets for dirt retention capacity, particle removal efficiency, Beta stability, and element clean differential pressure.
Jeff Ruth, product manager for HYDAC's Betamicron 4 explains, "the reason HYDAC chose to optimize all parameters is because when you focus on only one parameter, you're going to negatively impact one or more of the others. If you increase efficiency dramatically, you're going to make the pores smaller or increase media thickness and have much more resistance to flow. So, you need to find a blend of material to optimize for pressure drop but also improve efficiencies."
When a certain performance parameter is compared with a competitor, a specific parameter on HYDAC's may be slightly less then the competitor's, in a unique case, but when all the other parameters that work together as a system for filtration are added together, the economic total cost of ownership is reduced, while overall performance is significantly improved.
