Alfa Laval’s hydraulic control oil (HCO) filter is to undergo validation tests on a two-stroke engine.
The validation tests with the final design of the HCO will be evaluated in three installations, each to be put through 3,000 hours of testing following the 14,000 hours of concept testing on the Stena Suède.
The HCO filter has been designed for new two-stroke engines where traditional camshafts have been replaced by hydraulic control systems, which are dedicated valves fed with oil from the main system flow, finely filtered with minimal pressure drop. The solution also is able to achieve a balance of fine filtration and flow passage.
The HCO filter has previously been concept tested on the cruise oil tanker, the Stena Suède, with successful results. Thanks to the Alfa Laval Atrium technology that is utilised, the HCO can achieve filtering down to 6 μm, which is enough to protect the hydraulic control valves and increase the filtering surface without impacting the pressure drop. The special patented shape of the Atrium filter elements and the smaller and optimised flow distribution makes a flow as fine as this possible.
Additionally, because of the HCO’s ability to filter fine particles, its flow passage ability and its compact size, the filter is able to remove some of the cost and installation complexities associated with standard hydraulic control system protection.
Furthermore, the ample flow through the filter enables continual backflush, which prevents even temporary accumulation of pollutants and no increase in pressure drop. Because the backflushing is treated in a diversion chamber in the filter, it also contributes to a compact and easily installed solution. No additional tank or separator is required, nor is any air or electrical connection needed, since backflushing is driven by the hydraulic motor.
Herve Gourdon, Business Manager, Filters at Alfa Laval, commented: “The effectiveness of the Alfa Laval HCO filter and its Atrium filter technology are already clear,” says. “In fact, we see potential for the Atrium technology across multiple filter applications. Hydraulic control oil is only the beginning.”
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