The Importance of Performing Hydraulic Forensics on a Failed System

Since manufacturing of hydraulics in Australia has dropped off dramatically, M. B. Butterfield Hydraulic Engineers has turned its focus predominantly to repairs of failed systems. Naturally, this means that the business has seen many wild and wonderful breakdowns. The beauty of this is that, having seen and dealt with different types of failure, our engineers have the expertise to analyse the breakdown and find out what caused it.

This is where hydraulic forensics can be applied. Not only is this important for repairs, improvements, and advancements of the hydraulic systems, this is where the ‘fun’ of hydraulics begins. Hydraulic forensics is the act of analysing a failed system and sourcing the root cause of the breakdown. It requires an understanding of the mechanics of the system in order to identify what is working, and what has caused the chain of breakage.

In hydraulic forensics there are two things to look at:

• Primary failure: this is what first caused the system breakdown.
• Secondary failure: breakdown that occurs throughout the system as a result of the primary failure.

It is not uncommon that clients, after a major pump failure, will simply want it replaced so that business is not interrupted. However, despite appearances, this is not the most time-and-cost-effective solution to the problem. At M. B. Butterfield Hydraulic Engineers, hydraulic forensics becomes a big part of identifying breakdown causes and preventing them from recurring. Replacing the broken component, yet having the same issue cause multiple future breakdowns will mean a waste of parts, money, and time. Furthermore, repeated system failure can be a potential liability or legal issue. In the long-term, hydraulic forensics is the more economical option. You need to find the source of the problem.

Common sources of system failure seen over the past 60 or so years at M. B. Butterfield Hydraulic Engineers are usually to do with changes in system designs. As manufacturers in the industry make innovations to their hydraulic systems, these alterations can have unanticipated consequences for older pump models. Given the time that it can take to properly analyse a broken system, hydraulic forensics requires engineers to be smart and prove their claim about the source of failure.

A Case Study:
After performing hydraulic forensics on a failed system seen by M. B. Butterfield Hydraulic Engineers, the source of failure was shown to be due to a change in the pump design. These changes were causing stress fractures to appear in a plate. In order to prove this claim, an old plate – still in working condition after three years of use – was taken from an older system that was also in for repair. The old plate was put into the new system and then sent to the client. The system lasted for over a year, proving the claim about the source of failure.

Sometimes the source of failure can be hard to identify; for example, a tiny, almost unnoticeable hole in an orifice. Analyses like these can sometimes take over fourteen hours, with engineers pulling apart systems, testing and re-testing until they are satisfied the cause of breakdown has been located. It is the kind of process which requires continual adaptation of strategies and new approaches to making repairs.

M. B. Butterfield Hydraulic Engineers makes it our business to nurture our clientele and deliver this information at a level they can understand. Our objective, when performing hydraulic forensics, is to reassure our client that their system will not continually fail. We look for ways to ensure longevity and commerce from the product. With our history of information and product knowledge, we have the expertise to provide consistent and quality customer service. After all, if our client disappears, our source of business disappears.