Insane Hydraulics
Bold and audacious blog about fluid power
Being constantly close to the industrial environment, I have heard of and, unfortunately, have witnessed quite a few accidents. But there's one type of accident that spooks me the most - the pressurized fluid injection. This type of injury is not common, and that is why many people (medical personnel included) don't make a big deal out of it, especially when you consider the fact that for the first couple of hours it looks like an insignificant skin puncture. The truth is - this type of injury is a HUGE DEAL and it can even become lethal if you wait for too long! The oil cuts through the flesh, poisoning and eating-out every bit of tissue it comes in contact with, and every minute of delay is a step towards amputation - it is THAT serious!
Thank God I've never witnessed such an accident, and I hope I never will, but I know people who aren't that lucky. Just last fall I was attending a short training seminar, and I noticed one of the guys in our group was missing a couple of fingers on his left hand. Later he told me a story of how an over-pressurized metal pipe burst as he was holding on to it, injecting a monster amount of hydraulic oil in the palm of his hand. The reason for the pressure surge was a closed ball valve, installed in the main line of a Sauer series 20 closed loop pump - a veteran unit unspoiled by built-in pressure relief valves. The only reason why he didn't lose the whole hand was him not letting the doctors chop it off - a bold but lucky move from his side.
I have seen myself more than once squeezed in most "unsqueezable" gaps of hydraulic installations, with all sorts of high, medium, and low-pressure hoses wrapped around me like a spider web around a dead fly, and I guess telling mechanics to stop putting their hands on pressurized hoses is like telling motorcycle riders to avoid white lines of zebra crossings - they all know the lines are slippery, and yet they will do it over and over anyway.
Be it as it may, I've been around high-pressure fluids long enough to know that it's dangerous, but I never realized it was THAT DEADLY till I saw a couple of shots of fluid-injected limbs and read a couple of accident reports. And this is why I want to pass it on.
Beware - the content in the links/files below is highly graphic! On the other hand - oil hydraulics is not for the weak-stomached, so I guess it's OK, at least for the IH readers...
High Pressure Injection Injury
Hydraulic Mineral Oil Injection
Hydraulic Safety - courtesy of Fluid Power Safety Institute