MECH 3451 Lecture 1

Hydraulic Cylinders

Linear Actuators Hydraulic Cylinders

convert hydraulic power produced by the pump back to mechanical power
magnitude of force depends on the resistance to movement and maximum
available system pressure
speed of movement depends on the flow rate to the cylinder and displacement

Cylinder rating and performance

manufacturers rating should include:
maximum pressure
cylinder diameter
piston rod diameter
length of stroke
note: maximum system pressure is limited by the strength of cylinder assembly and
the types of seals used for piston and piston rod; if cylinder is used in a meter out
situation at the rod end, make sure that the piston rod seals are capable of pressure
higher than system pressure

Types of cylinders:
single acting cylinders have one port and are operated hydraulically in one
direction only; two design types:
with spring return
ram piston rod and piston have the same diameter

double acting cylinders have port connections at both ends of the cylinder
differential cylinders unequal piston areas due to the attached piston rod
during extension the available force from piston is greater and the speed
is slower than during retraction
if the cap area of piston is two times that of the rod side, cylinder
referred to as having a 2 1 ratio, or 2 1 cylinder
non-differential cylinder or double rod cylinder
will provide equal force and speed in both directions

Cylinder design variations:

telescopic cylinder
can be single or double acting
provides for a much longer stroke than a standard cylinder of the same
retracting length
force is greatest when the cylinder is fully retracted (greatest area) and is the
least when the last sleeve is being extended

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relatively slow speed when starting from retracted position and faster when the
last sleeve is being extended

tandem cylinder
consists of at least two in line
attached cylinders, with the pistons
attached by a piston rod
larger forces are generated from a
small diameter cylinder
disadvantage: increased length of
the assembly
duplex cylinder
two or more cylinder bodies are joined
together, but unlike tandem cylinders,
duplex cylinders have unequal
strokes and the two pistons are not
connected
the pistons may be oriented in the
same direction, or may be oriented in
opposite directions
often used to achieve accurate
mechanical positioning

Duplex cylinder, three position Duplex cylinder, four position

Cylinder features:
Cushion
prevents mechanical shock when a piston has reached the end of the cylinder,
slowing the piston down at the end of the stroke, by restricting the flow out of
the cylinder

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hydraulic cushion often incorporated into the cylinder design; may be at one or
both ends and may be adjustable or non adjustable
a check valve positioned at the cap end bypasses the adjustable orifice at the
beginning of extension from fully retracted position; may also be position at the
rod end of the cylinder for the same purpose during retraction stroke

Stop tube
to prevent excessive piston rod/bushing and piston/cylinder wear on extra long
cylinders; prevents the piston from travelling all the way to the end of the
cylinder
Rod wiper/scraper
to facilitate the removal of contamination such as dirt, mud, ice, etc, from an
extended piston rod, as it is being retracted back into the cylinder; extremely
important to overall system cleanliness, as well as to the life of the rod seals
and bushings
encountered as a scraper/wiper arrangement in most cylinders, often
combined with the piston rod bushing
in some cases is replaced by a rubber boot that completely shields the
cylinder rod from the environment

Dynamic cylinder seals

seals the areas between:
piston and cylinder
piston rod and the rod end head
most common seals are pressure actuated; it is initially held against the
sealing surface by material springiness or elasticity; pressure inside the sealed
chamber forces the seal tighter against the sealing surface, thus an increase
in the sealed pressure increases the sealing force

Main types of pressure actuated seals:

Cast iron piston rings
are used as hydraulic cylinder piston seals
very common, due to their durability, low frictional resistance, and the ability to
withstand very high pressures

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may be replaced by elastomeric type seals to limit piston drift caused by
leakage due to groove clearance
Cup seals
used as piston seals and can withstand high pressures
the piston acts as a backing plate and a large washer clamps the cup seal in
place
single acting pistons require only one cup seal, while a double acting piston
requires two seals
U-section rings (U-cups)
used as piston or rod seals
a single endless seal is used to seal in one direction only and is installed in an
individual ring groove
on double acting pistons two rings mounted in two separate grooves will be
required
V-rings (Chevron packings)
may be used as piston rod and piston seals
they are used in sets of three or more and are suitable for very high pressures
and can be endless, or of a split design
amount of compression can be adjusted through a clamp plate or by using
adjusting shims; spring tension may be used to set the compression and to
compensate for wear
too much compression can cause premature wear and excessive frictional
losses, too little will allow leakage, especially at low pressure

Cylinder sealing problems:

Piston rod seal leaks
readily apparent; if the rod is not worn/damaged, installing a new seal will
solve the problem; condition of rod and bushing should also be checked

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any radial rod movement may reduce the seal efficiency and cause premature
seal leakage
inefficient wiper/scraper will cause premature seal, bushing, and rod wear and
also allow contaminants to enter the system
Piston to cylinder leaks
not as apparent as rod leakage; some of the symptoms may be:
piston drift or creep
pressure intensification
piston speed decrease
piston speed increase

Build simple hydraulic circuits in the lab, following the brief procedures described below, to check
for piston seal leaks and demonstrate the findings listed below:

Piston drift (creep)

lock cylinder load in the raised position; rod side of the piston is open to the reservoir, thus
the pressure difference across the piston is 1000 psi
any leakage across the piston will reduce the volume of oil underneath the piston, causing
the load to lower (drift)
a greater load on the rod will increase the pressure difference, the rate of leakage, and
piston drift

Piston drift Pressure intensification

Pressure intensification
install two check valves, one on each line; check valve in piston rod line will prevent
cylinder creep
fluid is trapped in both, the cap side and the rod side of the cylinder
if the piston seals leak, the pressure will equalize on both sides of the piston, and as a
result only the piston rod area will support the load; thus pressure will increase to 5000 psi,
versus a 1000 psi in no leak conditions

Piston speed decrease

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any leakage across the piston seals will reduce the amount of fluid available to fill the
space underneath the piston, consequently the speed will be reduced
flow rate across an orifice is proportional to area of the orifice and pressure drop across the
orifice, therefore increasing the load on the rod (pressure increase) will increase the seal
leakage, causing a reduction in speed

Piston speed increase

in the meter-out circuit shown below there is a 100 in 3/min seal leakage from the rod end
towards the cap end, due to 2000 psi pressure difference across the piston
the extension speed in the presence of seal leakage is higher than without piston leakage

note: any load on the piston will reduce the pressure difference across the piston, thus
reducing the leakage past the piston seals

No seal leakage Seal leakage present

piston speed = (500 in3/min) / 5 in2 = 100 in/min

fluid flow rate into cap end of cylinder = 100 in/min x 10 in 2 = 1000 in3/min
if the leak at the piston seal = 100 in3/min
fluid out of the rod end of cylinder = 500 in3/min + 100 in3/min = 600 in3/min
therefore piston speed increase = (600 in3/min) / 5 in2 = 120 in/min

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[References: EATONS Industrial Hydraulics Manual; J.A. Archer Industrial Hydraulics Training Manual;
D. Pease, J. Pippenger Basic Fluid Power]

Appendix

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Double-acting cylinder cut-away

Double-acting cylinders symbols and cross section views

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Double-acting telescopic cylinder cut-away with applications

Double-acting cylinder mounting

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