DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSAL HYDRAULIC PRESSURE BOOSTER MECHANISM FOR ENDURANCE TESTING OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEM AGGREGATES USED ON FIGHTER AIRCRAFT.

Resource Test Laboratory at AURDC, HAL, Nashik undertakes simulated service life tests for Production Quality (PQT), Life assessment and enhancement, Type Approval, Modifications and Reliability assessment of aircraft mechanical and electrical aggregates of fighter aircraft. Test setup has to be prepared to simulate actual environmental conditions for endurance (Cyclic) test to assess reliability and life of aircraft aggregate as per test schedule approved by certifying agencies. AURDC, Nashik has modified diaphragm of hydraulic accumulator of hydraulic system of fighter aircraft to overcome leakage problem. Universal hydraulic pressure booster mechanism is developed to assess the reliability and life of the modified oil charging valve testing equivalent to Total Technical Life (TTL) of 70000 endurance cycles at ambient, high and low temperatures as per procedure in test schedule. Present method of endurance testing requires high pressure hydraulic power source and electrical pressure gauges/switches to cut off pressure for intermittent pressure testing. To cater the requirements of long cyclic test with low pressure power source as per test schedule, Universal Hydraulic Pressure Booster Mechanism is developed for testing different types of hydraulic system aggregates used on fighter aircraft. The mechanism can be operated at wide testing pressure range, automatically and logically operated with use of solenoid valves, relay-timer and counter circuit. This reduces the time required for testing, avoids human error and also cost efficient.