Energy and power

A hydraulic
h d li systemt isi nott a source off energy. The
Th energy source is
i the
th prime
i
mover, which drives the pump. Thus, in reality, a hydraulic system is
merely an energy transfer system.

The above figure provides a block diagram illustrating how energy is

transferred throughout a hydraulic system (contained within the dashed
lines). As shown, the prime mover (such as an electric motor or an internal
combustion
b ti engine)i ) delivers
d li i t energy to
input t a pump off the
th hydraulic
h d li systemt
via a rotating shaft. 1
 Mechanical power

Power is defined as the rate of doing work or expending energy. Thus the
rate at which the prime mover (in most cases an electric motor) adds energy
to the pump equals the power input to the hydraulic system.
system

Likewise, the rate at which the actuator delivers energy to the external load
equals
q the p
power output
p of the hydraulic
y system.
y

In case of linear motion

Power (in the English system of units) is usually measured in units of

horsepower (HP). By definition, 1 HP equals 550 ft.lb/s or 33,000 ft.lb/min.
Thus we have
Thus,
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 Mechanical power in angular motion

The amount of horsepower transmitted in rotational motion can be found

from

It is commonly called brake horsepower (BHP) because a prony brake (a

mechanical device) is used to measure the amount of horsepower
transmitted by a torque-driven rotating shaft.

The prony brake system uses a disk with a flat belt wrapped around its
periphery to measure the torque in a rotating shaft. The value of 63,000 for
the constant in the denominator is valid only when the torque T has units of
in . lb and the rotational speed N has units of rpm.
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 HYDRAULIC POWER

Consider a hydraulic cylinder as shown

The horsepower delivered by the fluid to the cylinder is called hydraulic

horsepower (HHP).

The horsepower delivered by the cylinder to the load is called output

horsepower.

Output horse-power is always less than hydraulic horsepower due to

friction and leakage losses.
losses
4
In hydraulic system calculations, there are three questions to answer:

1. How do we determine how large a piston diameter is required for the

cylinder?
2. What is the pump flow rate required to drive the cylinder through its
stroke in a specified time?
3. How much hydraulic horsepower does the fluid deliver to the cylinder?

Answer to
A t Question
Q ti 1. 1 If pressure p acts on theh area off the
h piston
i A to
produce the force required to overcome the load:
pA= Fload

Solving for the piston area A, we obtain,

The load is known from the application, and the maximum allowable
pressure is established based on the pump design.

Thus,, the above equation

q allows us to calculate the required
q piston area if
p
the friction between the piston and cylinder bore is negligibly small.
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Answer to Question 2. What is the pump flow rate required to drive the
cylinder through its stroke in a specified time?

The volumetric displacement VD of the hydraulic cylinder equals the fluid

volume swept p out byy the p
piston travelingg throughg its stroke S:
VD(ft3) = A(ft2) x S(ft)
If there is negligibly small leakage between the piston and cylinder bore,
the required pump volume flow rate Q is
Q(ft3/s) =VD(ft3) / t(s) = A(ft2) x S(ft) / t(s) = A(ft2) x v(ft/s)
where v = piston velocity. Note that the larger the piston area and velocity,
the greater must be the pump flow rate.

Answer to Question 3. How much hydraulic horsepower does the fluid

deliver to the cylinder?

Energy equals force times distance: energy = (F)(S) = (pA)(S)

Since power is the rate of doing work, we have: Power = (pA)(S)/t = p(Av)
Since Q = Av, the final result is:
hydraulic power (ft .lb/s) = p(lb/ft2) x Q(ft3/s)
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Recalling that 1 hp = 550 ft . lb/s, we obtain
hydraulic horse power = HHP = p(lb/ft2) x Q(ft3/s) /550 (ft
(ft. lb/s)

Pressure in psi (lb/in2) and flow rate in gallons per minute (gpm) are the
most common English
g units used for hydraulic
y systems.
y Thus a hydraulic
y
horsepower equation using these most common English units is developed
as follows:
HHP = p(psi) x Q(gpm) /1714

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Example
A hydraulic cylinder is to compress a car body down to bale size in 10 s. s
The operation requires a 10 ft stroke and a 8000 lb force. If a 1000 psi
pump has been selected, and assuming the cylinder is 100% efficient, find
a. The required
q piston area
p
b. The necessary pump flow rate
c. The hydraulic horsepower (HHP) delivered to the cylinder
d. The output horse power delivered by the cylinder to the load.

Solution
a. Piston area, A = Fload/p = 8000/1000 = 8 in2.

b. Pump flow rate = AV = A x S/t = (8/144 ft2) x 10 ft/10 s = 0.0556 ft3/s

= (0.0556 ft3/s) x (449 gpm/ ft3/s) = 24.9 gpm

c. HHP = p (psi) x Q (gpm)/1714 = 1000 x 24.9/1714 = 14.5 HP

dd. Output Horsepower = η x HHP = 1 x 14.5

14 5 HP [ assuming 100 %
efficient cylinder]
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Example
Solve the same p
problem assuming g a frictional force of 100 lb and a leakage
g
of 0.2 gpm. What will be the cylinder efficiency?

Solution
a. Piston area, A = (Fload + Ffriction)/p = (8000+100)/1000 = 8.10 in2.

b. Pump flow rate, theoretical,

Qth = AV = A x S/t
= (8.1/144 ft2) x 10 ft/10 s = 0.0563 ft3/s
= (0.0563 ft3/s) x (449 gpm/ ft3/s) = 25.2 gpm
Actual flow rate considering the leakage,
leakage
Qac = Qth + Qleakage = 25.2 + 0.2 = 25.4 gpm

c. HHP = p (psi) x Q (gpm)/1714 = 1000 x 25.4/1714 = 14.8 HP

d. Required Output Horsepower = F (lb) x v (ft/s)/550 = 8000x1/550 =

14.5 HP. Thus HHP of 14.8 must be delivered byy the fluid to the cylinder
y to
produce an output HP of 14.5 for driving the load. The cylinder efficiency
will be, η = OHP/HHP = 14.5/14.8 =0.98 = 98% 9
 Energy equation

The energy equation or the modified Bernoulli’s equation to take into

account the energy losses may be written as,

Where, Hp = pump head, Hm =motor head and HL = head loss.

HHP = p(psi) x Q(gpm) /1714 = γ(lb/in3) x(Hp(in) x Q(gpm) /1714

O rearrangement,
On t

Specific weight for water = 62.4 lb/ft3 = 0.0361 lb/in3

So, for water,

For other liquids, (3.29)

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Example 3.10
For the hydraulic
y system
y shown, the following g data are g
given. Pumpp
hydraulic horse power = 5 HP, Pump flow rate = 30 gpm, Pipe inside
diameter = 1 inch and Specific gravity of the oil = 0.9. Find the pressure
available at the inlet to the hydraulic motor (station 2). The pressure at
station 1 in the hydraulic tank is atmospheric (0 psig). The head loss HL due
to friction between stations 1 and 2 is 30 ft of oil.

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Solution:
Applying
pp y g the energy
gy equation
q between stations 1 and 2,,

Since there is no hydraulic motor between stations 1 and 2, Hm = 0. For the

system shown,
p1 = 0, v1 ≈ 0, HL = 30 ft, Z1 = 0, Z2 = 20 ft
S b tit ti the
Substituting th known
k values
l i the
in th energy equation,
ti we have,
h

Rearranging, (1)

Using equation (3.29) Hp = (3950

(3950*5)/(30*0.9)
5)/(30 0.9) = 732 ft
1 US galon = 231 in3 = 0.134 ft3
Pump flow rate, Q (ft3 /s) = 30 gpm = 30* 0.134 ft3 /m = 0.067 ft3 /s

Pipe cross sectional area, (ft2) = πD2/4 = 0.00546 ft2

V2 = Q/A = 0.067/0.00546 = 12.2 ft 12
 V22/2g = (12.2 ft/s)2/ (2*32.2 ft/s2) = 2.4 ft

Substituting these values in Equation (1)

p2/γ = 732 – 2.4 – 50 = 679.2 ft
Solving for p2 gives
p2= 679.2 ft x γ lb/ft3 = 679.2 x (62.4 x 0.9) lb/ft2 = 38,200 lb/ft2 = 265 psig

Example 3.17 (SI Unit)

For the hydraulic system in the previous example,
example the following data are
given. Pump hydraulic horse power = 3.73 kW, Pump flow rate = 0.001896
m3/s, Pipe inside diameter = 0.0254 m and Specific gravity of the oil = 0.9.
Find the p
pressure available at the inlet to the hydraulic
y motor ((station 2).
)
The pressure at station 1 in the hydraulic tank is atmospheric (0 Pa). The
head loss HL due to friction between stations 1 and 2 is 9.144 m of oil.

Solution:
Applying the energy equation between stations 1 and 2,

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Since there is no hydraulic motor between stations 1 and 2, Hm = 0. For the
system
y shown,,
p1 = 0, v1 ≈ 0, HL = 9.144 m, Z1 = 0, Z2 = 6.096 m
Substituting the known values in the energy equation, we have,

Rearranging, (1)

Hp = W/γQ = (3730 W)/(0.9*9800*0.001896) = 223.1 m

V2 = Q/A = 3.74
3 74 m/s

V22/2g = (3.74 m/s)2/ (2*9.81 m/s2) = 0.714 m

Substituting these values in Equation (1)

p2/γ = 223.1 – 0.714 – 15.24 = 207.1 m
g for p2 g
Solving gives
p2= 207.1 m x γ N/m3 = 1826 kPa gage
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