Table of Contents
What is a Hydraulic Jack?
Before directly jumping on to Hydraulic Jack, let’s first understand ‘Jack’.
A jack is a device which is used to lift heavy loads.
A jack could be Mechanical, Electrical or Hydraulic, based on the method of force generation.
Hydraulic bottle jack
A hydraulic jack works on the basis of Pascal’s law.
A small force is applied on a smaller area of hydraulic fluid and that force generates some pressure in the fluid. That pressure is then applied to a wider area at output so that adequate force is generated to lift the load.
Hydraulic force
Also read: Working of a Hydraulic Press
Applications oh Hydraulic Jack
Following are some applications of Hydraulic jack.
- Lifting a car or any other vehicle for changing its tires
- To lift heavy loads in industries
- Cranes are fitted with Hydraulic jacks to lift load
- They are used in lifting platforms
- They are used in material handling equipment
- They are used in earth moving equipment
Advantages of Hydraulic Jack
Following are some advantages of hydraulic jack.
- It occupies less space
- They are also less likely to jam due to rust in the screw thread
- It is highly effective with heavy loads
- It lifts loads with the minimum of effort
- It is easier to use
- It is a bit lighter than screw jacks
Disadvantages of hydraulic jack
Below are some disadvantages of Hydraulic Jack.
- It is susceptible to failure if the oil seals are worn out, this can cause serious problems
- It has relatively slow speed
- Hydraulic oil can emit unpleasant odor when become too warm due to overuse
- It can overheat fairly quick
- Hydraulic oil leak can cause soil and water pollution
Below are some questions related to hydraulic jacks
What is the principle of hydraulic jack?
Hydraulic jacks work on the principle of Pascal’s law.
Who invented the hydraulic jack?
Richard Dudgeon, in 1851 was granted a patent for ‘Portable Hydraulic Press’.
Also read:
Classification of machine tools
What is powder metallurgy process?
Advantages of extrusion process
Image attributions:
Featured : By Denzel-llc – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74700891
Hydraulic force: By Darbyshmr at English Wikipedia – Own work (Original text: self-made), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4458582
Nice notes and they are easy to understand