WEEK 14

TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO
HYDRAULIC SYSTEM
Prepared by:
Engr. Emiliano P. Heraña Jr.

Faculty CME, ME, CME

Powering the Waves: Ship Machinery with Hydraulic Systems
Part 1: Hydraulic Systems on Ships
1. Overview: Hydraulic systems on ships serve multiple functions, ranging
from steering and propulsion to cargo handling and deck machinery control.
2. Advantages: The use of hydraulic systems offers advantages such as high
power density, precise control, and overload protection, making them ideal
for marine applications where reliability and performance are paramount.
Part 2: Key Ship Machineries Utilizing Hydraulic Systems
1. Steering Gear Systems:
• Hydraulic steering systems enable the efficient control of a ship's direction,
providing the necessary force to move rudders and control surfaces.
• Components include hydraulic cylinders, valves, and pumps, which work
together to transmit hydraulic power from the helm to the rudder.
• Hydraulic steering systems offer precise control and responsiveness, crucial
for maneuvering large vessels in varying sea conditions.

2. Propulsion Systems:
• Hydraulic propulsion systems, such as controllable pitch propellers (CPP)
and azimuth thrusters, utilize hydraulic power to adjust propeller pitch or
direction, enabling precise speed and maneuverability.
• These systems are commonly found in modern vessels, including container
ships, tankers, and cruise liners, where dynamic positioning and efficient
propulsion are essential.
3. Cargo Handling Equipment:
• Hydraulic systems are integral to cargo handling equipment such as
cranes, winches, and hatch covers onboard cargo vessels.
• Hydraulic winches provide the power needed to hoist heavy loads onto
and off the ship, while hydraulic cranes facilitate the loading and unloading
of cargo containers.
• Hydraulic hatch covers ensure watertight sealing of cargo holds,
protecting the cargo from seawater ingress.
4. Deck Machinery:
• Various deck machinery, including anchor windlasses, capstans, and
mooring winches, rely on hydraulic power for their operation.
• Hydraulic systems provide the necessary force and control to handle
anchors, mooring lines, and other equipment during docking, anchoring, and
berthing procedures.
Part 3: Maintenance and Safety Considerations
1. Routine Maintenance:
• Regular inspection, lubrication, and servicing of hydraulic components are
essential to ensure optimal performance and longevity.
• Preventive maintenance measures help detect and address potential issues
before they escalate, minimizing downtime and costly repairs.
2. Safety Protocols:
• Proper training of crew members in hydraulic system operation and
maintenance is crucial to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of onboard
personnel.
• Adequate safety features, such as pressure relief valves, emergency
shutdown systems, and hydraulic fluid spill containment measures, should be
in place to mitigate risks associated with hydraulic systems.
Part 4: Future Trends and Innovations
1.Advanced Control Systems:
•Integration of advanced control algorithms and automation technologies
enhances the efficiency and reliability of hydraulic systems onboard ships.
• Remote monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities enable
proactive management of hydraulic system health, optimizing performance
and reducing downtime.

2. Hybrid and Electric Propulsion:

• The maritime industry is witnessing a shift towards hybrid and electric
propulsion systems, which may complement or replace traditional hydraulic
propulsion systems in certain vessel types.
• Hybrid solutions combining hydraulic, electric, and mechanical power
transmission offer improved fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, and
enhanced operational flexibility.
Some common types of hydraulic fluids used in ship systems:

• Mineral Oil-based Hydraulic Fluids: Traditional hydraulic systems often

use mineral oil-based fluids due to their good lubricating properties and
thermal stability. These fluids are typically petroleum-based and offer
moderate viscosity and resistance to oxidation.
• Biodegradable Hydraulic Fluids: In response to environmental concerns,
especially in sensitive marine ecosystems, biodegradable hydraulic fluids
have gained popularity. These fluids are formulated from renewable
sources such as vegetable oils and are designed to break down more
readily in the event of a spill.
• Synthetic Hydraulic Fluids: Synthetic fluids offer enhanced
performance characteristics compared to mineral oil-based fluids. They
often have superior viscosity-temperature behavior, oxidative stability,
and resistance to fire. Synthetic fluids can be based on various
compounds such as esters, polyalphaolefins (PAOs), and phosphate
esters.
• Water-based Hydraulic Fluids: Water-based hydraulic fluids are used in
certain ship applications where fire resistance is paramount, such as in
high-temperature environments or where there is a risk of ignition.
These fluids typically contain water mixed with additives to improve
lubrication and prevent corrosion.
• Fire-resistant Hydraulic Fluids: Fire-resistant hydraulic fluids are crucial
for safety in ship systems where there's a high risk of fire, like in engine
rooms or near hot machinery. These fluids are formulated to have high
ignition points and low flammability. They often fall into categories such
as water-based, phosphate ester-based, or organophosphate ester-
based fluids.
When selecting a hydraulic fluid for ship systems, considerations also
include compatibility with seals, hoses, and other system components, as
well as compliance with regulatory standards such as those set by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the American Petroleum
Institute (API). Regular maintenance and monitoring of hydraulic systems
are essential to ensure optimal performance and safety at sea.
Lecture 1:
1. Introduction to Hydraulic System

The controlled movement of parts or a controlled application of force is a

common requirement in the Ship. These operations are performed mainly by
using electrical machines or diesel, and steam engines as a prime mover. These
prime movers can provide various movements to the objects by using some
mechanical attachments like screw jack, lever, rack and pinions etc. However,
these are not the only prime movers. The enclosed fluids (liquids and gases)
can also be used as prime movers to provide controlled motion and force to
the objects or substances. The specially designed enclosed fluid systems can
provide both linear as well as rotary motion. The high magnitude controlled
force can also be applied by using these systems.
This kind of enclosed fluid based systems using pressurized incompressible
liquids as transmission media are called as hydraulic systems.

The hydraulic system works on the principle of Pascal’s law which says that
the pressure in an enclosed fluid is uniform in all the directions. The Pascal’s
law is illustrated in figure 1. The force given by fluid is given by the
multiplication of pressure and area of cross section. As the pressure is same in
all the direction, the smaller piston feels a smaller force and a large piston
feels a large force. Therefore, a large force can be generated with smaller force
input by using hydraulic systems.
 P1 = P2
F1 = F2
A1 A2

Figure 1:
Principle of
Hydraulic
System
Example 1:
F1 = 50 N A2 = R22
D1 = 100 mm = (500 mm)2
= 785,400 mm2
D2 = 1000 mm Therefore,
Find F2 F2 = F1 ( A2/A1)
Solution: = 50 N (785,400 mm2/7,854 mm2)
F2 = F1 ( A2/A1) = 5,000 N
Where: Note:
F1 = 502N
A1 = R1 R1 = D1/2 = 100 mm/2 = 50 mm
= (50 mm)2 R2 = D2/2 = 1000 mm/2 = 500 mm
= 7,854 mm2
Example 2:
A barber raises his
customer’s chair by applying
a force of 150N to a hydraulic
piston of area 0.01 m2. If the
chair is attached to a piston
of area 0.1 m2, how massive
a customer can the chair
raise? Assume the chair itself
has a mass of 5 kg.
The hydraulic systems consists of a number of parts for its proper functioning.
These include storage tank, filter, hydraulic pump, pressure regulator, control
valve, hydraulic cylinder, piston and leak proof fluid flow pipelines. The
schematic of a simple hydraulic system is shown in figure 2. It consists of:
• a movable piston connected to the output shaft in an enclosed cylinder
• storage or fluid tank
• filter
• hydraulic pump
• pressure regulator
• control valve
• leak proof closed loop piping.
Figure 2: Schematic of Hydraulic System 11 7

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The output shaft transfers the motion or force however all other parts help to
control the system. The storage/fluid tank is a reservoir for the liquid used as a
transmission media. The liquid used is generally high density incompressible oil.
It is filtered to remove dust or any other unwanted particles and then pumped
by the hydraulic pump. The capacity of pump depends on the hydraulic system
design. These pumps generally deliver constant volume in each revolution of
the pump shaft. Therefore, the fluid pressure can increase indefinitely at the
dead end of the piston until the system fails. The pressure regulator is used to
avoid such circumstances which redirect the excess fluid back to the storage
tank.

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The movement of piston is controlled by changing liquid flow from port A and
port B. The cylinder movement is controlled by using control valve which
directs the fluid flow. The fluid pressure line is connected to the port B to raise
the piston and it is connected to port A to lower down the piston. The valve
can also stop the fluid flow in any of the port. The leak proof piping is also
important due to safety, environmental hazards and economical aspects. Some
accessories such as flow control system, travel limit control, electric motor
starter and overload protection may also be used in the hydraulic systems
which are not shown in figure 2.

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2. Applications of hydraulic systems
The hydraulic systems are mainly used for precise control of larger forces. The
main applications of hydraulic system can be classified in five categories:
2.1 Industrial: Plastic processing machineries, steel making and primary metal
extraction applications, automated production lines, machine tool industries,
paper industries, loaders, crushes, textile machineries, R & D equipment and
robotic systems etc.
2.2 Mobile hydraulics: Tractors, irrigation system, earthmoving equipment,
material handling equipment, commercial vehicles, tunnel boring equipment,
rail equipment, building and construction machineries and drilling rigs etc.
2.3 Automobiles: It is used in the systems like brakes, shock absorbers,
steering system, wind shield, lift and cleaning etc.
2.4 Marine applications: It mostly covers ocean going vessels, fishing boats
and naval equipment.
2.5 Aerospace equipment: There are equipment and systems used for
rudder control, landing gear, brakes, flight control and transmission etc.
which are used in airplanes, rockets and spaceships.

3. Hydraulic Pump
The combined pumping and driving motor unit is known as hydraulic pump.
The hydraulic pump takes hydraulic fluid (mostly some oil) from the storage
tank and delivers it to the rest of the hydraulic circuit. In general, the speed
of pump is constant and the pump delivers an equal volume of oil in each
revolution. The amount and direction of fluid flow is controlled by some
external mechanisms.
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In some cases, the hydraulic pump itself is operated by a servo controlled
motor but it makes the system complex. The hydraulic pumps are
characterized by its flow rate capacity, power consumption, drive speed,
pressure delivered at the outlet and efficiency of the pump. The pumps are
not 100% efficient. The efficiency of a pump can be specified by two ways.
One is the volumetric efficiency which is the ratio of actual volume of fluid
delivered to the maximum theoretical volume possible. Second is power
efficiency which is the ratio of output hydraulic power to the input
mechanical/electrical power. The typical efficiency of pumps varies from 90-
98%.
The hydraulic pumps can be of three types:
• Centrifugal pump
• Reciprocating pump
• Rotary pump
Centrifugal pump uses rotational kinetic energy to deliver the fluid. The
rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. The fluid
enters the pump impeller along or near to the rotating axis, accelerates in the
propeller and flung out to the periphery by centrifugal force as shown in figure 3.
In centrifugal pump the delivery is not constant and varies according to the
outlet pressure. These pumps are not suitable for high pressure applications and
are generally used for low-pressure and high-volume flow applications. The
maximum pressure capacity is limited to 20-30 bars and the specific speed
ranges from 500 to 10000. Most of the centrifugal pumps are not self-priming
and the pump casing needs to be filled with liquid before the pump is started.
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The reciprocating pump is a positive plunger pump. It is also known as
positive displacement pump or piston pump. It is often used where relatively
small quantity is to be handled and the delivery pressure is quite large. The
construction of these pumps is similar to the four stroke engine as shown in
figure 4. The crank is driven by some external rotating motor. The piston of
pump reciprocates due to crank rotation. The piston moves down in one half
of crank rotation, the inlet valve opens and fluid enters into the cylinder. In
second half crank rotation the piston moves up, the outlet valve opens and
the fluid moves out from the outlet. At a time, only one valve is opened and
another is closed so there is no fluid leakage. Depending on the area of
cylinder the pump delivers constant volume of fluid in each cycle
independent to the pressure at the output port.
Figure 4:
Reciprocating or Positive
Displacement Pump
4. Pump Lift
In general, the pump is placed over the fluid storage tank as shown in
figure 5. The pump creates a negative pressure at the inlet which causes fluid
to be pushed up in the inlet pipe by atmospheric pressure. It results in the
fluid lift in the pump suction. The maximum pump lift can be determined by
atmospheric pressure and is given by pressure head as given below:
Pressure Head, P = ρgh
Theoretically, a pump lift of 8 m is possible but it is always lesser due to
undesirable effects such as cavitation. The cavitation is the formation of
vapor cavities in a liquid. The cavities can be small liquid-free zones
("bubbles" or "voids") formed due to partial vaporization of fluid (liquid).
These are usually generated when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes
of pressure and the pressure is relatively low. At higher pressure, the
voids implode and can generate an intense shockwave. Therefore, the
cavitation should always be avoided. The cavitation can be reduced by
maintaining lower flow velocity at the inlet and therefore the inlet pipes
have larger diameter than the outlet pipes in a pump. The pump lift
should be as small as possible to decrease the cavitation and to increase
the efficiency of the pump.
Figure 5:
Pump Lift
5. Pressure Regulation
The pressure regulation is the process of reduction of high source pressure
to a lower working pressure suitable for the application. It is an attempt to
maintain the outlet pressure within acceptable limits. The pressure
regulation is performed by using pressure regulator. The primary function
of a pressure regulator is to match the fluid flow with demand. At the
same time, the regulator must maintain the outlet pressure within certain
acceptable limits.
6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydraulic system

6.1 Advantages
• The hydraulic system uses incompressible fluid which results in higher
efficiency.
• It delivers consistent power output which is difficult in pneumatic or
mechanical drive systems.
• Hydraulic systems employ high density incompressible fluid. Possibility
of leakage is less in hydraulic system as compared to that in pneumatic
system. The maintenance cost is less.
• These systems perform well in hot environment conditions.
6.2 Disadvantages
• The material of storage tank, piping, cylinder and piston can be
corroded with the hydraulic fluid. Therefore one must be careful while
selecting materials and hydraulic fluid.
• The structural weight and size of the system is more which makes it
unsuitable for the smaller instruments.
• The small impurities in the hydraulic fluid can permanently damage the
complete system, therefore one should be careful and suitable filter must
be installed.
• The leakage of hydraulic fluid is also a critical issue and suitable
prevention method and seals must be adopted.
• The hydraulic fluids, if not disposed properly, can be harmful to the
environment.
HYDRAULICS

BASIC

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Objective of The Program
Understand what is hydraulic
Different components used in hydraulic
Hydraulic symbol
How to read hydraulic circuit

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 Why Hydraulics ?
Variable Speed
Reversible
Overload protection
Small Packages
Can Be Stalled
Less Noisy
The engineering science of liquid pressure and flow.
 hydraulics is used for the generation, control, and
transmission of power by the use
of pressurized liquids
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Practical Composition of the Hydraulic
Power Unit

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 Directional
valve

Hydraulic
Power
Unit
Hydraulic
Relief valve pump
Discharge
manifold
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Power
Supply
Section

Basic Hydraulic 44
 Flow control
Accumulator

External
pressure
control Directional
valve

Power
Control
Section

Basic Hydraulic 45
 Cylinder

Drive
Section

Basic Hydraulic 46
Drive
Section

Basic Hydraulic 47
 END OF SLIDES

• THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

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