“A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy.”
It is a mechanical device used in hydraulic applications. It works as an intermediate device between supply lines of hydraulic fluid from pump to required machines like hydraulic lift, hydraulic press, hydraulic cranes etc. It temporarily stores the pressurized hydraulic fluid when operating machine is at ideal condition. Some hydraulic machines require high pressure for a small period of time or we can say that only for required working period so this time hydraulic accumulator comes into the play. It stores the pressurized hydraulic fluid at ideal time and supply to the machine when it is required. Pump continuously supplies the fluid which is not required all the time. That’s why hydraulic accumulator creates a balance between the demand and supply of hydraulic fluid.
Capacity of hydraulic accumulator:
It is defined as the maximum amount of hydraulic energy stored in accumulator.
The expression for the capacity of accumulator is obtained as:
Let,
A
= Area of the sliding ram,
L
= Stroke or lift of the ram,
p
= Intensity of water pressure supplied by the pump,
W
= Weight placed on the ram
W
= Intensity of pressure × Area of ram
= p × A
The work done in lifting the ram = W × Lift of ram = WL
= p × A × L
The work done in lifting the ram is also the energy stored in the accumulator. And the energy stored is equal to the capacity of the accumulator.
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