Our Best Advice

When Failure is Not an Option, Fluid Monitoring is the Answer

2012-02-06T13:18:00.005-05:00

Ray McCann, Sales Engineer
The Hope Group

While it may be glamorous to claim that “failure is not an option,” the reality is that with regard to hydraulic and oil lubrication systems, various levels of failure are more common than we like to admit. Despite our best efforts to prevent failures, according to reported industry incidents, about 80 percent of all system failures are attributable to fluid contamination. Those tiny bits of what-not floating around in your oil can lead to slow degradation of your system, which contribute to short-lived transient failures that can suddenly erupt into catastrophic failures.

The best chance to reduce or eliminate failures in hydraulic and oil lubrication systems is to institute a monitoring system. This can range from a simple routine of scheduled sample testing all the way to installation of remote system monitoring on a continuous basis. Fluid analysis such as the Parker Par-Test™ is able to identify potential problems that cannot be detected by human senses. Each time a test sample is taken and analyzed, system operators can be assured that fluids remain within acceptable parameters. Consistent application of these tests and the correct interpretation of the findings can help prevent major hydraulic and lube oil systems failures.

In many industrial applications, such as modern gas turbine power plants, there is a need for remote operation without the need for servicing between scheduled maintenance events. Such applications which are unstaffed areas, or are significantly difficult to access, the remote capability assures any fluid degradation is detected quickly. Real-time fluid condition monitoring is also important where any failure could affect the safety of operations. With the proper trend analysis, important pre-warnings can be made to ensure that predictive corrective actions can be taken.

Recently I had a chance to work with a client that had a requirement for remote fluid monitoring and the Parker iCount particle detector system was exactly what they needed. The Hope Group and Parker can provide direction on how to properly install the detector for each application. Proper installation ensures that the unit will operate accurately. With proper analysis and planning the system can be a quiet, effective solution to ensuring against failure.

New Parker ‘Onsite Container’ Puts Hose Shop Anywhere Needed

2011-08-04T13:14:00.005-04:00

Benji Grubel, Certified Connector Specialist
The Hope Group

Parker has introduced a fully customizable and mobile containerized workspace stocked with inventory and equipment needed for quick, easy and cost-efficient hose assembly. These innovative work spaces are called “Onsite Containers” because they use the standard 20 or 40 foot dry product containers frequently seen on railcars and ships.

Each container is custom-fitted with the shelving, cabinets, work benches, material hoists and hose reels to keep tools and inventory secure and organized. A bin-label program makes product identification and restocking even easier. The units are fully insulated, wired for electricity and have an HVAC system to make the unit completely climate controlled. The units also offer sprayed-in, rubberized flooring.

On its website, the Parker Onsite Container can be configured to include whatever the user requires. For example, you can select hose assembly tables in sizes from 60 inches to 96 inches; work benches, bin cabinets, bulk racks, hose reel holder, material hoists, and e-channel tie down systems. The cost for the units varies with the final requirements. They are becoming popular around the country at construction sites, remote locations such as mines and even for customers who need a hose shop at their plant, but just don’t have the room to inside. With a container, it can be dropped anywhere on the property.

Read more about the Parker Onsite Container at its website. And if you want one, call me and I will help you configure it, stock it and get it delivered.

What Can Ice Cream Teach Us About Fluid Transfer?

2011-03-30T10:24:00.000-04:00

Tony Cantone, President
The Hope Group

Here’s an interesting challenge for you fluid control experts. If you hold an ice cream cone out the window of a moving vehicle, will the ice cream melt more quickly or more slowly than if you keep it inside the vehicle? Keep in mind the issue of insulation and you may come up with the answer. If you want to know the answer, you can skip to the bottom of this post. Or, you can read a great article that I found in Cold Facts, a publication of the Cryogenic Society.

The article addresses the issue of sweating and frosting of vacuum insulated cryogenic fluid transfer. It explains the basics of heat transfer and its effects. It also addresses the control options for heat transfer. It describes the science and theory, but it drills down to explaining practical applications. The article concludes with a review of its topics:

Forced air flow can reduce or eliminate sweating and frosting under the right environmental conditions
Both an excellent and a poor thermally performing vessel will sweat and frost under the right environmental conditions
De-humidification can reduce or eliminate sweating and frosting under the right environmental conditions.
A vessel that has decreased vacuum quality, has a thermal short circuit, or no resistance to radiation will frost or sweat in nearly all environments.
Adding foam or fiberglass insulation to a vacuum insulated vessel is usually ineffective.

And that last point brings me back to the ice cream question. So which is it? The answer is the ice cream melts more rapidly outside than inside the vehicle in slow moving air. Inside the vehicle the ice cream creates a boundary layer of cold air, insulating it from air that contains a greater amount of heat.

With that lesson learned, read the article to learn more about fluid transfer and storage. Let me know what you think.

Steam Sterilization Cycle Leads to Seal Breakdown

2010-12-09T11:09:00.000-05:00

Ron Cook, Seal Business Unit Manager
The Hope Group

From time to time I will be reporting on some of the solutions that Parker and The Hope Group provide to their customers through the application of advanced o-ring and sealing products and systems. As those within the various Life Science industries become better aware of the critical role rubber seals play in system performance and patient health, material requirements grow increasingly strict.

The so-called “FDA grade materials” are no longer sufficient in applications where the seal or fluids that contact the seal come in contact with the patient. There are several medical-industry requirements for elastomers in common use today:

USP Class VI testing is typically required for medical device applications that directly contact the patient. The extraction portion of the test is typically done at 50°C (121°F) since this exceeds the normal exposure temperature of most medical devices.
In small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturing and some medical devices, the USP Class VI extraction test is done at 121°C (250°F) to simulate a higher temperature application.
For biopharmaceutical manufacturing, the seals must also comply with USP <87> cytotoxicity requirements to ensure that the seals themselves will not kill a cell culture.

Seal Breakdown Resolved
In a recent case, Parker was faced with a problem presented by a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. The customer was experiencing seal breakdown after only a few steam sterilization cycles. The EPDM seals were breaking down, adhering to the stainless steel gland components, and shedding rubber particles into the process stream.

After review and analysis of the problem, Parker recommended compound E3609-70 for this application. In addition to meeting the USP Class VI biocompatibility requirements at multiple extraction test temperatures, this compound also meets the cytotoxicity requirements of USP <87> and has outstanding resistance to steam, cleaning sterilization agents, and process fluids.

The E3609-70 material was successfully tested to 500 steam sterilization cycles with no leakage, no significant degradation of the material, and no sticking of the rubber material to the mating stainless steel components. O-rings and sanitary gaskets could be easily removed by hand with no damage. In this case, an improved design of the O-ring glands and sanitary gaskets eliminated the shedding of particles into the process stream.

At The Hope Group, we continue to work at solving problems for our customers every day. With Parker as a partner, we are confident that we can solve your o-ring or sealing problem too.