Particle counter for aviation hydraulic fluids

The cleanliness control of hydraulic fluids is a typical application of optical particle counting with the aid of an Automatic Particle Counter. Hydraulic fluids are used for the transfer of energy in hydraulic systems. For smooth operation and uninterrupted maintenance of functionality, it is essential that the operating liquid is regularly controlled; a high degree of contamination could cause a malfunction within a component and may also lead to a complete system break-down.

Skydrol® is a common hydraulic fluid* used in commercial aviation. This fire resisting fluid is based on phosphate ester and additives. Besides fire resistance, Skydrol® also has another key advantage: It can be used at low temperatures in cold environments and at very high altitude. In aviation, Skydrol® is applied for the hydraulic motion of aircraft components.

Skydrol® is a highly corrosive liquid and therefore incompatible with some types of substances. To avoid corrosion, particle counters for the analysis of Skydrol® are produced with chemically stable materials recommended by the manufacturer which are noncorrosive and compatible with Skydrol®.

For the analysis of Skydrol®, PAMAS offers portable, laboratory and online particle counters: Among these, there are the models PAMAS S40, PAMAS S4031, PAMAS SBSS, PAMAS OLS50P and PAMAS OLS4031. Due to its intelligent flow path structure and its high quality component compatibility, a single PAMAS SBSS instrument can be used for both oil based fluids and for Skydrol®.

* Skydrol® produced by the US manufacturer Eastman Chemical is a trademark registered product. Besides Skydrol®, there are other hydraulic fluids existing on the Aviation market (e.g. HyJet^TM made by Exxon Mobil) that are also based on phosphate ester and additives.