Pumps and Viscosity Requirements
There are three major design types of pumps used in hydraulic systems: vane, piston and
gear (internal and external), and each of these pump designs are deployed for certain
performance tasks and operations. Each pump type must be treated on a case-by-case
basis for lubricant selection.
Vane: The design of a vane pump is exactly what its name depicts. Inside the pump,
there are rotors with slots mounted to a shaft that is spinning eccentrically to a cam ring.
As the rotors and vanes spin within the ring, the vanes become worn due to the internal
contact between the two contacting surfaces. For this reason, these pumps are typically
more expensive to maintain, but they are very good at maintaining steady flow. Vane
pumps typically require a viscosity range of 14 to 160 centistokes (cSt) at operating
temperatures.
Piston: Piston pumps are your typical middle-of-the-road hydraulic pump, and are more
durable in design and operation than a vane pump; they can produce much higher
operating pressures, up to 6,000 psi. The typical viscosity range for piston pumps is 15
to 160 cSt at operating temperatures.
Gear: Gear pumps are typically the most inefficient of the three pump types, but are
more agreeable with larger amounts of contamination. Gear pumps operate by
pressurizing the fluid between the trapped air volume of the meshing teeth of a gear set
and the inside wall of the gear housing, then expelling that fluid. There are two main
types of gear pumps, internal and external.
Internal gear pumps offer a wide range of viscosity choices, the highest of which
can be up to 2,200 cSt. This type offers good efficiency and quiet operation, and
can produce pressures from 3,000 to 3,500 psi.
External gear pumps are less efficient than there counterpart, but have some
advantages. They offer ease of maintenance, steady flow, and are less expensive
to buy and repair. As with the internal gear pump, this variety can produce
pressures ranging from 3,000 to 3,500 psi, but the viscosity range is limited to
300 cSt.
Hydraulic Fluid (Oil)
The main purpose of hydraulic oil is to transmit power, but it also must lubricate the
components of the hydraulic system.
Hydraulic fluid has many roles in the smooth operation of a well-balanced and designed
system. These roles range from a heat transfer medium, a power transfer medium and a
lubrication medium. The chemical makeup of a hydraulic fluid can take many forms
when selecting it for specific applications. It can range from full synthetic (to handle
drastic temperature and pressure swings) to water-based fluids (used in applications
where there is a risk of fire).
A synthetic fluid is a manmade chain of molecules that are precisely arranged to provide
excellent fluid stability, lubricity and other performance-enhancing characteristics.
These fluids are great choices where high or low temperatures are present and/or high
pressures are required. There are some disadvantages to these fluids, including high cost,
toxicity and potential incompatibility with certain seal materials.
A petroleum fluid is a more common fluid and is made from refining crude to a desired
level to achieve better lubricant performance with the inclusion of additives, which
range from anti-wear (AW), rust and oxidation inhibitors (RO) and viscosity index (VI)
improvers. These fluids offer a lower-cost alternative to synthetics and can be very
comparable in performance when certain additive packages are included. Water-based
fluids are the least common of the fluid types. These fluids are typically needed where
there is a high probability of fire. They are more expensive than petroleum but less
expensive than synthetics. While they offer good protection for fire, they do lack on
wear protection abilities.
Figure 1. Viscosity Selection for Hydraulic Fluids
The pump and hydraulic motor are most sensitive to viscosity, so you must be sure to
only use suitable oil according to the manufacturer specifications. Other system
components are less sensitive to viscosity. If the oil is too thin (low viscosity) not only is
it hard to pump, but slippage will accrue due to leakage past clearance spaces, between
gears, vanes, piston seals and valve spools, thus effecting overall system efficiency. In
most systems the normal viscosity range is from 100 to 750 SUS/SSU.
Viscosity Index (V.I.)—Viscosity index numbers are devised on a scale of 0 to 100,
which indicates the extent of viscosity change. Thus 0 indicates an oil with the greatest
change over a certain temperature while 100 indicates an oil with the least change over a
certain temperature. All other oils fall within these extremes. With the addition of
chemical additives, the V.I. rating has been extended considerably above 100. The most
desirable hydraulic oils have the least amount of viscosity change and a V.I. rating of 95
or higher. V.I. ratings are not units of measurement; they are relative terms for
comparing variation in viscosity of one oil to another. ISO viscosity grades are often the
most commonly used when describing a hydraulic fluid’s properties.
In addition, in a cold environment, the hydraulic unit should operate at a temperature at
60° above surrounding atmospheric temperature. The oil’s viscosity and V.I are critical
for low temperature operation. It is important to monitor start-up and operating
temperatures, allowing enough time for the machine to warm up before putting it into
high speed or heavy operation.
