Online Monitoring the Condition of Loaded Water Hydraulic Actuators

The condition of two tap-water hydraulic actuators namely, a hydraulic cylinder and a reciprocating motor, were investigated based on their vibration signatures. Piston wear of the water cylinder induced by side loading as well as lining wear and fatigue crack of the thrust plate of the water hydraulic motor were introduced to simulate the possible actual faults in water hydraulic actuators. Also, the water hydraulic actuators were introduced to the oil system and the oil hydraulic actuators were introduced to the water system in order to investigate the performance characteristics of actuators in water and oil mediums. Vibration of the healthy and faulty actuators and the flow rate of the hydraulic system were monitored online in the experiment. LabVIEW¹, the graphical programming software, was used to aid in the data acquisition, analysis and presentation.