Humidity sensors for hydraulic applications

A range of humidity sensors has been developed to serve as a preliminary warning system on any hydraulic application and to continuously monitor application oil relative humidity (rH), or moisture, and temperature.

Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group company Hytec Fluid Technology (HFT) recently launched its AquaSensor range of humidity sensors, brand-named Humidity Sensor WGM.

Designed as a solution for proactive maintenance, the sensors deliver live interaction to reduce or fix any ingress points or associated complications. In addition, the sensors can be added to offline filtration technology and transfer systems for live, accurate condition monitoring purposes.

The company asserts that the range brings versatility, functionality and ease of system integration with extreme accuracy across all industrial applications. It is particularly suitable for condition monitoring on lubrication applications and general hydraulic applications, even in heavy-duty applications.

AquaSensors with standard 4-20 mA capabilities are used for interfacing to existing Scada or programmable logic controller systems, while IO link capabilities connect to different platforms and accommodate Internet of Things functionalities. This allows it to be used as a solution for remote data gathering for analysis as well as monitoring of applications. 

Customers can add an integrated display unit should remote mounting or monitoring be problematic. The units offer full-scale accuracy and repeatability, demonstrating true data to end-users.

HFT explains the importance of monitoring oil rH and temperature, as warm oil can dissolve more water than cold oil, which means that when oil is cooled down from its operating temperature, seemingly dry oil may contain free water. Irrespective of the oil type or temperature, the WGM sensor is designed to indicate the oil’s current water saturation level and provides additional safety warnings during the normal system operations.