This course covers the basic concepts of hydraulics as they relate to the maintenance of industrial and mobile hydraulic systems. This program focuses on troubleshooting and gives students techniques to reduce equipment failure and downtime.

• Read hydraulic engineering drawings and recognize the symbols associated with various equipment components
• Recognize and explain how the main hydraulic components work
• Develop adjustment and checking procedures for the main hydraulic components
• Identify and describe the most common causes of failure in hydraulic networks and develop preventive measures
• Develop diagnostic methods

• Standard hydraulic symbol and engineering drawing reading exercises
• The fundamentals of hydraulics:
• Pressure, flow, power, volumetric and mechanical efficiency
• Description of the main hydraulic components:
• Vane, gear and piston pumps
• Accumulators
• Directional valves (available shapes, centre formats, controls and typical applications)
• Actuators – cylinders, motors
• Flow control (meter in/out)
• Pressure valves (characteristics, typical applications and operating principles)
• Safety valves
• Pressure-reducing valves
• Counterbalance valves
• Sequence valves
• Hydraulic fluids, piping systems, fittings and reservoirs
• Review of the most common causes of hydraulic failure: 
  • Contamination, cavitation, temperature
• Review of solutions to avoid the common causes of hydraulic failure in a network:
  • Filtration, maintenance and flushing
• Diagnostic methods as applied to hydraulics:
  • Relating symptoms to potential failure
  • Data acquisition methods
  • Safety requirements when working with hydraulic systems
• Hands-on labs:
• Adjustments (pump compensators, safety valves)
• Adjustment of sequence valves and pressure-reducing valves
• Adjustment of sequence valves and pressure-reducing valves
• Flow control circuit assembly
• Troubleshooting (two assembly operations, one with a fixed-displacement pump and one with a variable displacement pump)