UFI Cross Reference updated with more than 3.000 new matches, including also SHR filter elements series for oil-water emulsion.
This last update includes the extension of UFI Hydraulic filter elements for return line applications, SHR series, with the treatment for oil-water emulsion HFA and HFC.
What are oil-water emulsions and what are they used for?
The majority of hydraulic systems run on petroleum oil, but there are many applications, such as furnaces, forges, steel mills and welding operations, where any leak or spill could ignite with disastrous results. Fire risks limit the use of flammable hydraulic fluids in some applications. For this reason, a number of fire-resistant fluids have been developed, maintaining oil as the main fluid and adding some percentage of water into the oil (emulsified).
Other common uses of fire-resistant hydraulic fluids are less obvious. For example, many tractors use them because the engine’s exhaust manifold can become hot enough to ignite petroleum oil.
The International Standards Organization (ISO) recognizes four major groups of fire-resistant hydraulic fluids (FRHFs) and has assigned them codes based on their chemistry:
- HFA for high-water containing fluids
- HFB for invert emulsions
- HFC for water glycols
- HFD for water-free fluids, including synthetics.
The main oil water emulsion fluids used in hydraulic applications are HFA and HFC.
HFA fluids
HFA hydraulic fluids are safety hydraulic fluids with high water content (>90%). Many HFA fluids have viscosities very close to that of water and are therefore used mainly in fire hazard areas.
HFA fluids are widely used in steel mills, coal mines, and automated welding. These oil-in-water emulsions are similar to cutting oil emulsions used in metal machining.
HFC fluids
HFC fluids are the most commonly used fire-resistant hydraulic fluids. The most common examples of these aqueous polymer solutions are polyglycol-water solutions.
They can be used at fluid temperatures from –20°C to +60°C, depending on the viscosity requirements.
HFC fluids are prescribed for underground mining. They are also used wherever hydraulic fluid escaping under high pressure can ignite on contact with hot materials.
Oil-water emulsion fluids filtration
Oil-water emulsion fluids are extremely fire resistant, but they require equipment specifically designed to run with water.
Those fluids are used in very complex machines in many industries, in metalworking (both by deformation and by removal) and in other sectors – such as plastic molding presses and extruders. Since the hydraulic and lubricating oils used in machine tools must be absolutely effective in lubricating, it is important to remove particle pollution as much as possible, even more today that the processed materials have high hardness, therefore small particles (few microns in size) maximize the risk of damage to the machine, tool and the workpiece.
The right UFI filters to be used with oil-water emulsion fluids are stainless steel wire mesh filter, with single or multiple layers, in order to catch the coarse particles and the fiberglass media combination for the finest particles.
A cleaner coolant-lubricating oil allows to obtain a higher quality of the machined surface and all costs proportionally decrease to the reduction of the particle contamination.
The selection of the correct supplier for oil-water emulsion filter elements is fundamental to reach the following targets of the hydraulic system:
- Removing particulate and tramp oils
- Extending water-glycol life
- Reducing pump and component wear
- Improving machine efficiency
- Minimizing downtime
UFI Filter Hydraulic Division is a specialist of hydraulic filtration and hydraulic fluids. For this reason, UFI can provide several solutions for oil-water emulsions filtration both from its standard catalogue and from the wide range of interchangeable filter elements.
Furthermore, UFI can design specific solutions that meets exact fluid cleanliness goals.
UFI Hydraulics Cross-Reference: savings by proper contamination control
The Cross-Reference of UFI Hydraulic Division helps to identify competitor filter elements also for oil-water emulsion applications and find the correct UFI alternative to recognize manufacturer quickly and accurately (i.e. to Donaldson, Fai Filtri, Hydac, MP Filtri, Pall, Parker and others).
UFI high-quality interchange elements protect the hydraulic system, optimize maintenance in any hydraulic application and reduce costs by proper contamination control.
Every part is fully interchangeable with the original part and to perform to equivalent or superior standard.
UFI high-quality interchange filter elements are available for several applications and sectors: mining, forestry, agriculture, wind power generation, construction, material handling, steel, etc.
If you do not find the item you are searching for in our webtool, please contact our team.
Enjoy our updated UFI Cross Reference!