Fuse (hydraulic)
In hydraulic systems, a fuse is a component which prevents the sudden loss of hydraulic fluid pressure. It is a safety feature, designed to allow systems to continue operating, or at least to not fail catastrophically, in the event of a system breach. It does this by stopping the flow of hydraulic fluid through itself if the flow exceeds a threshold.
The term "fuse" is used here in analogy with electrical fuses which perform a similar function.
Hydraulic systems rely on high pressures (usually over 7000 kPa) to work properly. If a hydraulic system loses fluid pressure, it will become inoperative and components such as actuators may collapse. This is an undesirable condition in life-critical systems such as aircraft or heavy machinery. Hydraulic fuses help guard against catastrophic failure of a hydraulic system (for instance, by line breakage or component failure) by automatically isolating the defective branch.
When a hydraulic system is damaged, there is generally a rapid flow of hydraulic fluid towards the breach. Most hydraulic fuses detect this flow and seal themselves if the flow exceeds a predetermined limit. There are many different fuse designs but most involve a passive spring-controlled mechanism which closes when the pressure differential across the fuse becomes excessive.
Read more about Fuse (hydraulic): Types, In Dam Spillways
Famous quotes containing the word fuse:
“The Enormous Room seems to me to be the book that has nearest approached the mood of reckless adventure in which men will reach the white heat of imagination needed to fuse the soggy disjointed complexity of the industrial life about us into seething fluid of creation. There can be no more playing safe.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)