Fluid Power Circuits: Failure and Troubleshooting

Chapter: 17

Fluid Power Circuits: Failure and Troubleshooting

"The trouble with meet of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

- Norman Vincent Peale

"I had six honest serving men- They taught me all I knew: Their names were Where and What and When and Why and How and Who.

- Rudyard Kipling

"Knowledge, without common sense', says Lee is folly, without method, it is waste; without kindness, it is fanaticism; without religion, it is death'. But with common sense, it is wisdom; with method, it is power; with charity, it is beneficience; with religion it is virtue, and life, and peace.

- Farrar

Learning Objectives

While reading and after studying this chapter, you will be able to:

• Understand the significance of troubleshooting in fluid power circuits.

• Identify the most common faults and their common causes in hydraulic systems.

• Use tree-branching charts to quickly find faults in hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

• Explain the installation procedures for various hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

• Tabulate the various faults, probable causes, and their remedies of a hydraulic system and its compo- nents.

• Tabulate the various faults, probable causes, and their remedies of a pneumatic system and its components.

INTRODUCTION

The new applications of hydraulic and pneumatic power systems are being found and adopted every day in all fields. Also fluid power is considered as the muscle of automation because the future automated industries will largely depend on fluid power for their operations. So we cannot afford the failure of these systems. Like any other systems, fluid power systems also develop various types of faults and defects which need periodic and routine maintenance. Therefore in order to enhance the operational reliability and maintainability of the fluid power system, it is highly required to take up various maintenance and repair measures to prevent failure of components and stoppage of the system.

It is also found that the maximum trouble-free life of the fluid power systems mainly depend on the following four basic requirements:

1. Properly installed equipments,

2. Properly trained personnel,

3. Planned preventive maintenance, and

4. Efficient troubleshooting.

In this chapter, we shall describe how to troubleshoot fluid power circuits effectively, depending on the symptoms of the problem involved.