Hydraulic fluid as a controlling factor of hydraulic system technical condition of mining machines

The main factors leading to hydraulic system failures and machine downtime are hydraulic fluid contamination and accidental failures due to high-pressure hose ruptures, which account for approximately 50% of accidental spills. Loaders, excavators, and dump trucks are the most common targets, accounting for approximately 58% of all accidental hydraulic fluid spills. Hydraulic fluid availability is determined not only by the machine's hydraulic tank capacity but also by the required amount for maintenance changes, as well as in the event of leaks and accidental spills. The results of using additional hydraulic fluid cleaning in excavator hydraulic systems using mobile filtration units are presented. This ensures high cleaning efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and prevents unexpected failures. To effectively manage the technical condition of mining machine hydraulic systems, it is proposed to include hydraulic fluid cleaning using mobile filtration units in the current maintenance procedures. The introduction of an additional mechanical filtration procedure will ensure extended machine life while minimizing the total cost of hydraulic fluid purchases, while also allowing for the replacement of any remaining hydraulic fluid (that has not yet reached the end of its service life before the scheduled replacement). This creates a reserve of mechanically purified fluid suitable for topping up minor spills or leaks, rather than requiring fresh fluid each time hydraulic system maintenance is performed on-site.

Mikhailov A. V., Repkina K. S. Hydraulic fluid as a controlling factor of hydraulic system technical condition of mining machines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(5):39-51. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_5_0_39.

A.V. Mikhailov¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Professor, e-mail: Mikhayov_AV@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0516-7737,
K.S. Repkina¹, Graduate Sudent, e-mail: s255004@stud.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0006-8639-4961, 
¹ Empress Catharine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, 199106, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

K.S. Repkina, e-mail: s255004@stud.spmi.ru.

1. Sumar Hadi Suryo, Bayuseno A. P. Study on reliability analysis of hydraulic components and excavator engine in maintenance of mine heavy equipment. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology. 2018, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 1244—1254. 

2. Kuvshinkin S. Y., Ivanova P. V. Developing a methodology for estimation of excavation techniques for given operating conditions. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019, vol. 378, no. 1, article 012121. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/378/1/012121.

3. Garashchenko Zh. M., Teremetskaya V. A., Gabov V. V. Mining of coal pillars using unified excavation modules with local faces. Russian Mining Industry Journal. 2024, no. 5S, pp. 151—157. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.30686/1609-9192-2024-5S-151-157.

4. Kholodnyakov G. A., Ligotskii D. N., Polovinko A. V. Low-waste and eco-friendly technology of mining in pits using hydraulic hammers. Journal of Mining Institute. 2009, vol. 180, pp. 15—17. [In Russ].

5. Zhukov I. A., Martyushev N. V., Zyukin D. A., Azimov A. M., Karlina A. I. Modification of hydraulic hammers used in repair of metallurgical units. Metallurgist. 2023, vol. 12, pp. 1644—1652. DOI: 10.1007/s11015-023-01480-w.

6. Władzielczyk K., Kipczak P. Ageing process of hydraulic oil in single-bucket excavators in rock mining. New Trends in Production Engineering. 2019, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 130—139. DOI: 10.2478/ntpe-2019-0014.

7. Novak N., Trajkovski A., Kalin M., Majdiˇc F. Degradation of hydraulic system due to wear particles or medium test dust. Applied Sciences. 2023, vol. 13, article 7777. DOI: 10.3390/app13137777.

8. Zhang Y., Liu Y., Wang Z., Tao Y., Yang L., Li Y. Prediction of oil contamination in aviation hydraulic system and active leakage strategy. Proceedings of the 2022 IEEE 17th Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA), Chengdu, China, 2022, pp. 578—583. DOI: 10.1109/ICIEA54703.2022.10006227.

9. Shibanov D. A., Ivanov S. L., Yemelyanov A. A., Pumpur E. V.  Evaluation of working efficiency of open pit shovels in real operating conditions. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2020, no. 10, pp. 86—94. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2020-10-0-86-94.

10. Abdelwahab Agaguena, Mikhailov A. V. Iron ore dust influence on the wear surface of quarry excavator hydraulic cylinder rods. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2023, no. 11-1, pp. 5—23. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/02 36_1493_2023_111_0_5.

11. Huirong Zhang, Zhongfu Yao Harm and control of hydraulic oil pollution in coal mine machinery. IOP Publishing Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2020, vol. 1601, no. 6, article 062002. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1601/6/062002.

12. Li S., Yang Z., Tian H., Chen C., Zhu Y., Deng F., Lu S. Failure analysis for hydraulic system of heavy-duty machine tool with incomplete failure data. Applied Sciences. 2021, vol. 11, article 1249. DOI: 10.3390/app11031249.

13. Salimov A. E., Shibanov D. A., Ivanov S. L. Failure risks of mine excavator associated with its maintenance and repair. Russian Mining Industry Journal. 2024, no. 2, pp. 97—102. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.30686/1609-9192-2024-2-97-102.

14. Ivanov S. L., Myakotnykh A. A., Knyazkina V. I. Improvement of operability of hydroficatedв mining equipment for implementation of climate-neutral peat geotechnology. Transport, mining and construction engineering: science and production. 2022, no. 16, pp. 110—116. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.26160/2658-3305-2022-16-110-116.

15. Rakhutin M. G., Giang K. Q., Krivenko A. E., Tran V. H. Evaluation of the influence of the hydraulic fluid temperature on power loss of the mining hydraulic excavator. Journal of Mining Institute. 2023, vol. 261, pp. 374—383. [In Russ].

16. Shibanov D. A., Ivanov S. L., Myakotnykh A. A. Trends in demand for hydraulic quarry excavators in Russia and monitoring the condition of their hydraulic systems. Transport, mining and construction engineering: science and production. 2022, no. 17-2, pp. 288—293. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.26160/2658-3305-2022-17-288-293. 

17. Kirillov K. G. Osnovnye neispravnosti gidroprivoda, ikh profilaktika i metody ustraneniya [Main faults of hydraulic drive, their prevention and methods of elimination]. [In Russ]. available at: http://zapchasty.tradicia k.ru/articles/osnovnye-neispravnosti-gidroprivoda-ikh-profilaktika-i-metody-ustraneniya (accessed 04.04.2025).

18. Kurganov V. M., Gryaznov M. V., Kolobanov S. V. Assessment of operational reliability of quarry excavator-dump truck complexes. Journal of Mining Institute. 2020, vol. 241, pp. 10—21. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PMI.2020.1.10.

19. Guan L., Feng X. L., Xiong G., Xie J. A. Application of dielectric spectroscopy for engine lubricating oil degradation monitoring. Sensors and Actuators, A: Physical. 2011, vol. 168, pp. 22—29. DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2011.03.033.

20. Blum K.-H., Ellenrieder K. Validated hydraulic fluids for increased hydraulic life development. Hydraulics. 2017, vol. 10, pp. 50—55. DOI: 10.1007/S41321-017-0002-Y. 

21. Ng F., Harding J. A., Glass J. Improving hydraulic excavator performance through in line hydraulic oil contamination monitoring. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2017, vol. 83, pp. 176—193. DOI: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2016.06.006.

22. Yuejing Jiang Maintenance of hydraulic system in mechanical engineering. Advances in Engineering and Applied Science Research: 2021 International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing Technology and Information Technology. 2021, vol. 11, pp. 82—84. DOI: 10.23977/IMTIT2021019.

23. Ren-cai Zhang, Xiang Yu, Yun-long Hu, Hong-jiao Zang, Wen Shu Active control of hydraulic oil contamination to extend the service life of aviation hydraulic system. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 2018, vol. 96, pp. 1693—1704. DOI: 10.1007/s00170-017-0833-9.

24. Moskvichev V. V., Kovalev M. A. Analysis of reliability indicators of basic implements of hydraulic excavators. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 7, pp. 96—112. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_7_0_96.

25. Guerin T. Root causes of fluid spills from earthmoving plant and equipment: Implications for reducing environmental and safety impacts. Engineering Failure Analysis. 2014, vol. 45, pp. 128—141. DOI: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2014.06.011.

26. Deuster S., Schmitz K. Bio-based hydraulic fluids and the influence of hydraulic oil viscosity on the efficiency of mobile machinery. Sustainability. 2021, vol. 13, article 7570. DOI: 10.3390/su13147570.

27. Kamyab B., Beims R., Chambers D. W., Bassi A. S. Sustainable production of high-performance bio-based hydraulic fluids from vegetable oils: Recent advances, current challenges, and future perspectives. Biomass & Bioenergy. 2024, vol. 183, no. 14, article 107160. DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107160. 

28. Sander K., Jespsen D., Zangl S., Schilling S. Stoffstrom- und Marktanalyse zur Sicherung der Altölentsorgung; Umweltbundesamt: Umweltbundesamt, Dessau, Germany, 15/06, 2006, 105 p. http://www.umweltbundesamt.de.

29. Fomin S. I., Ljeljen A. Output determination of open-cast mining cement raw materials deposits using surface miners SM. Mine Surveying and Subsurface Use. 2024, no. 3, pp. 122—127. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.56195/20793332_2024_3_122_127.

30. Sobczyk A., Pobędza J. Hydraulic systems safety by reducing operation and maintenance mistakes. CzOTO. 2019, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 700—707. DOI: 10.2478/czoto-2019-0089.

31. Lee J. C., Shin H. M., Tessmann R. K. An investigation of roll-off cleanliness for hydraulic systems and its application to a tractor. Biosystems Engineering. 2007, vol. 96, no. 1, pp. 19—27. DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2006.10.005.

32. Yushkov A. N. Algorithm for calculating the estimated frequency of hydraulic oil replacement. Izvestia Sankt-Peterburgskoj lesotehniceskoj akademii. 2009, no. 189, pp. 141—148. [In Russ].

33. Ochistka zhidkosti mobil'nymi fil'tratsionnymi ustanovkami. Tekhnicheskaya informatsiya. OOO «ARGIS-Inzhiniring» [Liquid treatment by mobile filtration units. Technical information. ARGIS-Engineering Ltd]. [In Russ]. available at: https://argis.ru/Texнический мониторинг%20 ПФУ.pdf (accessed 19.05.2025).

34. Goharrizi A. Y., Sepehri N. Application of fast fourier and wavelet transforms towards actuator leakage diagnosis: A comparative study. International Journal of Fluid Power. 2013, vol. 14, pp. 39—51. DOI: 10.1080/14399776.2013.10781074.

35. Sandeep Mishra, Neeraj Kumar Goyal, Arup Mukherjee Reliability analysis and life cycle cost optimization of hydraulic excavator. Journal of Reliability and Statistical Studies. 2024, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 297—328 DOI: 10.13052/jrss0974-8024.1626.