An approach to optimize the design of hydraulic reservoirs

Increasing demands regarding performance, safety and environmental compatibility of hydraulic mobile machines in combination with rising cost pressures create a growing need for specialized optimization of hydraulic systems; particularly with regard to hydraulic reservoirs. In addition to the secondary function of cooling the oil, two main functions of the hydraulic reservoir are oil storage and de-aeration of the hydraulic oil. While designing hydraulic reservoirs regarding oil storage is quite simple, the design regarding de-aeration can be quite difficult. The author presents an approach to a system optimization of hydraulic reservoirs which combines experimental and numerical techniques to resolve some challenges facing hydraulic tank design. Specialized numerical tools are used in order to characterize the de-aeration performance of hydraulic tanks. Further the simulation of heat transfer is used to study the cooling function of hydraulic tank systems with particular attention to plastic tank solutions. To accompany the numerical tools, experimental test rigs have been built up to validate the simulation results and to provide additional insight into the design and optimization of hydraulic tanks which will be presented as well