What is a Hydraulic Accumulator?
A Hydraulic Accumulator is an important component of a hydraulic system. The hydraulic accumulator is a container where hydraulic fluid is kept under pressure, and by this storing energy for the hydraulic system.
What is a Hydraulic Accumulator used for?
Hydraulic Accumulators are for example used in industrial applications. These Hydraulic Accumulators are used mainly for two purposes. One is that they help in maintaining the consistency and continuity of the pressure of a system, even when there is extra load and fluctuation in the pressure. Secondly, it acts as a protective support for the system components. It prevents the damage caused by high hydraulic pressure waves by absorbing the fluid shock or hammer, as it is technically termed, and keeping the normal pace of the system. Hence, they act as excellent shock absorbent. They are also helpful in noise reduction.
Types of Hydraulic Accumulators
Though there are many types of these Hydraulic Accumulators, the major ones that are most commonly used are:
Raised Weight Hydraulic Accumulator
This consists of a vertical cylinder filled with fluid and a piston within, with heavy weight that gives out a downward force, which in turn activates the fluid inside the cylinder. An advantage of using this kind of hydraulic accumulator is that there is full pressure, even if there is a decrease in the amount of fluid content.
Spring Loaded Hydraulic Accumulator
In the spring loaded hydraulic accumulator, there is a spring which along with the container and a movable piston, replaces the weight used in the raised weight hydraulic accumulator. Either one or more springs may be used as per the requirement. These springs create the required pressure on the hydraulic piston to pump out fluid. The amount of pumping depends upon the compression rate of the spring. The main advantage of this type of hydraulic accumulators is that they are comparatively small in size, have a low weight and are easy to be assembled in the hydraulic system and are at the same time cost effective. They can be used as mobile hydraulic accumulators due to their lightweight.
Compressed Gas Accumulator
A compressed gas accumulator is also called “gas charged accumulator” or “hydro-pneumatic accumulator”. The compressed gas accumulator is made up of a container with twin chambers. While one chamber is filled with hydraulic fluid, the other is filled with inert gases that create sufficient pressure. Mostly dry nitrogen gas is used, as it is quite suitable for exerting the required pressure and is relative safe. These two chambers are separated by a diaphragm or a bladder.
Metal Bellows Hydraulic Accumulators
The metal bellows hydraulic accumulators are similar to the compressed gas accumulators except that the diaphragm is replaced by metal bellows. The advantages with metal bellows hydraulic accumulators are that they support varied types of fluids, provides maximum storage capacity, low spring force, and have a high and efficient performance.
Suppliers of hydraulic accumulators
There are several suppliers of hydraulic accumulators. Big hydraulic system suppliers, as well as suppliers focused only on hydraulic accumulator production. To find hydraulic accumulator suppliers look at this page: hydraulic accumulator suppliers.
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