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Lube Oil Test Methods

&
Their Significance

By
Hiren Patel, Sr. Technical Services
Manager, MSO
Good Lubricants means
• Should have viscosity

• Viscosity Stability

• Multigrade Type

• Oxidation Stability

• Good flow property at low temperature

• Ability to separate water from Oil

• Ability to release foam from Oil

• It should not be corrosive in nature

• Act as cleaning agent for Engine Oil

• It should have high load carrying capacity


List of Test
• Colour
• Density
• Kinematic Viscosity
• Viscosity Index
• Flash Point
• Pour Point
• TAN Value
• TBN Value
• Demulsibility
• Foaming
• TOST Value
• Wear Metal Analysis
Quality Standard
Following standards are used :

• BIS stand.
• Def – stand.
• Gost stand.
• Din stand.
• JSS stand.
• MIL stand.
• JIS stand.
• IPSS stand.
• ASTM stand.
• IP stand.
Appearance/Colour
• Appearance gives visual indication of product clarity.

• As far as possible the oil should appear clean and without


suspended particles or globules to the naked eye.

• Colour of the product is no indication of the quality of the


product. It has no role in lubricant’s performance

• Generally oils become black during service.

• Some times, colours/Dye are added just for fancy like engine oils
are made red.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 1500 / IS 1448 P:12, IP 196

• This test is compulsory in all cases.


Kinematic Viscosity
• KV is measure of resistance to flow.

• Viscosity is most important characteristic for lubrication.

• For engine oils, it will be at 1000C and for industrial lubes it is at


400C.

• Original viscosity like ISO VG numbers have +/- 10 % range and


engine oils have +/- 15 % range. Automotive gear oils have +/- 35%
range.

• During service, lubricants thicken due to oxidation, nitration,


sulphation, soot loading, deposits, polymerization, insolubles,
asphaltenes, waxes, high viscosity fuel dilution additive separation
additive disintegration etc.
Kinematic Viscosity
• Fuel dilution reduces viscosity of Oil.

• Change in viscosity affects lubrication. Lower viscosity


results in lubrication failure.

• Higher viscosity results in additional and significant power


consumption.

• It may also affect lubrication as the oil may not reach the
point of lubrication. Generally the expected operating
range is 10% below the lower limit of the range and 20%
above the upper limit of the range.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 445/ IS 1448 P: 25, IP 71


• Test is critical and compulsory
Kinematic Viscosity
Flash Point (COC)

• It is the temperate at which vapour/air ratio is high


enough to support momentary combustion if the
ignition source is present.

• No significance for lubrication.

• Flash point gives indication of fuel dilution since fuels


have lower flash point than the engine oils.

• It may also indicate contamination/ cracking of the oil


in case of thermic fluids and quenching oils.
Flash Point (COC)

• For fuel and solvent, Flash point is usually determined by


Closed Cup (PMCC) while for lubricnats, the flash point is
determined by Open Cup Method (COC)

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 92 / IS 1448 P: 69, IP 36

• Test is compulsory for Engine Oil, Heat Transfer Oils and


Quenching Oils. Optional for other cases.
Pour Point
• It is the temperature at which Oil ceases to flow.

• It indicate the low temperature flow property of


Oil.

• Pour point does not have significance in


lubrication in most cases.

• The hydrocarbons of wax type dissolved in the


oils crystallize and precipitate at lower
temperature affecting flow property.
Pour Point
• This has significance in low temperature regions when the
system is kept off for few hours and restarted in the
morning. It is also important in refrigeration systems.

• The pour point can be suppressed by additives. But this


does not prevent wax precipitation- it only avoids their
aglomeration or forming mat like network. Hence pour
point deppresants are not used in refrigeration oils.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 97/ IS 1448 P: 10, IP 15

• This is optional Test done in case of problem attributed to


this property.
Total Base Number (TBN)
• It indicates alkalinity of Oils

• Indicates alkalinity of the engine oil to combat the effects of


acids produced due to combustion of fuels. Fuels contain
Hydrogen, Carbon, and small quantity of Sulphur. Air contains
Nitrogen and Oxygen. The combustion of fuel produces oxides
of Carbon, Sulphur, Nitrogen and Hydrogen which are acidic and
corrosive particularly when they combine with water.

• Engine Oil has to neutralize the acids thus possibly coming in


contact with the engine surfaces. Hence alkalinity is provided
and is measured as TBN -mg of KOH equivalent per gram of Oil.
Sulphuric acid is most corrosive. Nitrogen content in the air is
almost same. Carbonic acid is not highly corrosive. Hence
suphur content of fuel dictates the TBN requirement.
Total Base Number (TBN)
• The original TBN is generally 15 to 20 times the Sulphur %
in the fuel. Drop in TBN due to neutralization increases
TAN.

• Hence rejection limit is 50 % drop in TBN or TAN=TBN,


even if it means good TBN reserve. TBN depletion rate
depends on sump capacity(gms per KW), topping up rate,
sulphur content of the fuel & specific fuel consumption.
Initially TBN drops sharply & then stabilises.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 2896/ IS 1448 P: 86, IP 276

• This test is applicable, Critical and compulsory for engine


Oils only.
Total Base Number (TBN)
Total Acid Number (TAN)

• It indicates acidity of oil.

• All oils undergo oxidation. The oxidation rate depends on


the inherant property of the oil. It also depends on
presence of catalysts - iron, copper, water etc which are
found in every system.

• It also depends on availability of oxygen for oxidation and


the temperature.

• As the temperature increases, or the oxygen availability


increases or presence of catalysts becomes more
effective, oxidation increases rapidly almost
exponentially.
Total Acid Number (TAN)

• Antioxidants are added to retard the oil oxidation.

• Degree of resistance to oxidation required depends on the


application - maximum for the turbine oils as turbine oils
have to lubricate for 20 years or so.

• One of the oxidation compound will be organic acid which


can corrode the plain bearings. Hence the acidity of the oil
is measured to know the condition of the oil, particularly
turbine oils.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D2896 IS 1448 P: 1, IP 177


Demulsibility

• It indicates the ability of oil to separate out from water

• Generally lubricants, being hydrocarbons do not emulsify.

• Emulsification happens due to the nature of additives added


(emulsifiers/dispersants) or due to the effect of contaminants.

• The demulibility property is very important for turbine oils. It is


also important for hydraulics and gear oils depending on the
applications. Demulsibiliity of turbine oil during service gets
affected due to external contaminants.

• Additives can be added to restore the property. If additives can


not improve the demulsibility property, then oil change becomes
inevitable.
Demulsibility

• Ingress of moisture in the system and effectiveness of the centrifuge are


also important.

• Demulsibilty property has no significance if water ingress does not take


place at all.

• The demulsibility test is very severe test as 40 ml oil and 40 ml water are
churned and time taken for separation at 54C(below 100 cSt oils) or 82C
(above 100 cSt oils) is measured (max 30 minute+B36s for oils below 100
cSt & 60 minutes for above 100 cSt) Such severeness is just not seen in
practice as Water content may not exceed 2-3%.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 1401

• This test is compulsory for turbine Oils. Optional for Gear Oils, Hydraulic
Oils and does not apply to Engine Oils & Highway equipment transmission
Oils.
Demulsibility
Defoaming

• It indicate the ability of Oil to release Air/Gas from it’s surface by


way of collapsing of foam

• Test is done in 3 stages at 2 temperatures to stimulate operating


conditions.

• Foam in ml after blowing air is foaming tendency & foam


remaining after 10 minutes is stable foam. Foam is air/gas
trapped at the surface of the oil in thin layer and sarrounded by
air/gas.

• This is surface active & very sensitive property and can get
affected by contaminants. Centrifuging of the oil improves the
defoaming as it removes such contaminants. In turbine oil,
defoaming additive is not added during service as it affects air
release property (ARV).
Defoaming
• Investigation of the system would real cause for foaming -
excess air ingress/ contamination during service, choked
air ventilation, low dwell period etc.

• Stable foam height of few centimeters should not pose


problem. In the given system, for the expected air ingress,
it will be expected foam height to equate air ingress to air
release. If the foam builds up continuously or if the height
of foam is higher than observed in similar system, reasons
for the same are to be found out.

• Test METHOD: ASTM D 892/ IS 1448 P: 67

• This Test is not required unless problem of foaming is


posed.
Defoaming
Turbine Oil Oxidation Test (TOST)

• It is used to measure a Oxidation Stability of Oil

• Oil oxidation stability is a crucial consideration when


selecting an industrial lubricant as oxidation will lead to an
increase in the oil’s viscosity and will result in varnish and
sludge deposits.

• The oxidation stability of various industrial lubricants in the


presence of water is commonly evaluated by the Turbine Oil
Oxidation Stability Test (TOST).

• TOST was designed to force lubricants to fail by a specific
failure mechanism related to the extreme conditions of high
temperature, gross water contamination, and substantial air
entrainment. In other words, the test was designed to
evaluate oils under a very specific failure mode.
Turbine Oil Oxidation Test (TOST)
• During the test, each reactant and catalyst is exaggerated. 300 ml oil
is mixed with 60 ml of water, which equates to a mixture with 17
percent water, heated to 95°C (203°F), and agitated by an oxygen
flow, in the presence of iron and copper catalysts. Under these
conditions, the lubricant will oxidise or hydrolyse, increasing its
acidity or acid number (AN), which is the metric used to measure
oxidation stability.

• The life of the oil is then determined by measuring the time to reach
an acid number of 2 mgKOH/g.

• TOST is a valuable tool for indicating oil life for lubricants that are
continuously exposed to gross water contamination, high
temperatures, and air entrainment in field service
• Test METHOD: ASTM D 943
Phosphorous Content

• It indicates the EP Property of Oil

• In gear oils, sulphur phosporous additives are added


to give extreme pressure property. In fact these
additives react with the oil and the metal surface and
act as soft bristles of brush - reducing friction,
reducing power consumption and reducing wear.

• During service, the additive starts getting depleted


and the ability to give EP property gets reduced.
Hence presence of Phosporous is indirect measure of
finding EP property of the oil in service.
Phosphorous Content

• In some cases, where all other properties of gear


oil are OK, some sweetening can be done to
replenish the EP property. Generally the normal
top up rate keeps the EP additive level above
the requirement.

• TEST METHOD: ASTM D 4047/ IS 1448 P:54, IP


150

• This test is compulsory for Industrial Gear Oils


but need not be done on every time.
Wear Metals
• Despite best lubrication, wear can not be totally eliminated.

• Some fatigue wear due to mettalurgy, erosive wear due to high pressure
high velocity of lubricant and abrasive wear are possible.

• Therefore the composition of the wear metal particles will depend on


the design aspects.

• Therfore wear metal particles indicate which part is wearing out and at
what rate.

• Wear metal as ppm without relating to other aspects has no meaning.


For example, if the system remains same and the oil sump capacity is
made 4 times then the wear metal ppm will get reduced to 25%.

• This does not mean the system having larger sump capacity has lower
wear rate.
Wear Metal
• Some wear metals may remain in finely suspended form due to
excellent dispersancy property. In some cases, the wear metals
get removed by the very fine filters. These aspects if not taken in
to consideration, wear metal analyses may give wrong alarms.
Hence the equipment builder has to give expected wear rate as
ppm for different metals in his given system based on his
experience and expectations.

• Some metals detected can be wear metals as well as due to heavy


fuel contamination. Sodium, Nickel etc may come under this.
Hence while checking wear metal analyses, it is also imperative to
know such element content of fuel oils. Change in fuel oil
consignment can also influence the elemental composition.

• To be done only if manufacture insists and gives data for


evaluation.
Toluene/Benzene/Hexane Insolubles

• These indicate insolubles in the engine oils

• The sulphation/nitration/oxidation products formed


may be partly soluble in the oil. Solubility will have
limitation, beyond certain quantity, the
oxidation/nitration/sulphgation products may not
dissolve in the oil and will affect lubrication.

• They will clog the oil ducts and cut off the oil flow to
the bearings. Apart from this, the soot, dust, dirt ,
metal wear particles etc will also be forming
insolubles. Benzene (or Toluene) dissolves all oil and
it's oxidation/sulphation/nitration products
Toluene/Benzene/Hexane Insolubles

• Hexane (or pentane) dissolves only the oil. Hence the


Benzene insoluble gives external contaminants while the
difference between Benzene and Hexane insolubles gives
undissolved oil oxidation/nitration/sulphation products.

• These are not absolute insolubles but separable insolubles


under stringent conditions of very high centrfugal action,
reduced viscosity sans water and sans dispersant action
by adding coagulant The actual value can be even 10
times higher but does not matter.

• TEST METHOD : ASTM D 893

• This test is applicable, critical and compulsory for Engine


Oil only.
Thank You

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