General Application Of Biodegradable Hydraulic Fluid

Biodegradable hydraulic fluid is used to transmit power in hydraulic machines. These devices use the principle that a small force exerted is transmitted through an incompressible fluid thus resulting in a much larger force. This principle is very important as it results in creation of large mechanical advantage in a wide range of machines.

In these systems the fluid is used to transmit pressure thus resulting in production of high mechanical forces. For this creation of a large force to take place, a small force is transmitted through an incompressible liquid. This large mechanical advantage produces the large amounts of forces used to lift heavy objects where gear systems cannot be used.

During the discovery of hydraulic systems water was commonly used as the pressure transferring medium. With time oil was discovered to be much more effective and thus mineral oil became the main pressure transmitting fluid. It is important to note that for a pressure conveying system to effectively work, the fluids used in them should be incompressible. This is important as compression significantly reduces the mechanical advantage thus limiting the efficiency.

During this process, the molecules of the fluid being use are forced together thus causing a lot of intermolecular friction. This in turns generates a lot of heat that cause a system to heat up. Fluids with a high level of volatility tend to vaporize at elevated temperatures. If this occurs during transmission of larger amounts of pressure, failure may occur resulting in an accident or extensive damage of the machine.

Another advantage of these fluids is that they not only conduct heat but they pray a big role in lubrication of moving parts in the hydraulic parts. Lubrication is very important in any moving part as this reduces wear and tear. This in turns increases the life and usage of a particular machine. A big disadvantage of mineral oil based fluids is that they do not naturally decompose.

Pressure transmitting fluids play a big role in reducing corrosion as a result of their anti wear characteristics. Most of the fluids used today are mineral oil based. This is mainly because they are easily available. Despite this advantage, many environmental concerns have been raised. Mineral oil based fluids do not naturally decompose thus tend to build up in the environment and thus resulting in pollution. Water pollution is very common where hydraulic machines are used in marine environment.

Introduction of natural oil as the pressure transmitting fluid has led to the development of biodegradable fluids that are used in environment sensitive applications. Some of these areas include marine areas where the probability of an oil spill is high. It is important to note that these environmental friendly fluids help large offshore corporations reduce their fines in the event of oil spills in hydraulic lines.

Companies which use non biodegradable hydraulic fluid face the risk of paying large fines in the case of an oil spill. Well developed Eco friendly fluids have good properties which enable it to transmit pressure effectively and also have good conductivity. They also have good anti wear properties which enable them to protect the hydraulic machines and movable parts.