STUDY ON A NEW OXIDATION STABILITY METHOD for Lubricating Greases by Employing the Rapid Small Scale Oxidation Test George S. Dodos ELDON’S S.A. Abstract
In recent years an accelerated oxidation test has been developed and was initially introduced as a standard ASTM method for screening the ageing reserve of fuels and biofuels. This is namely the Rapid Small Scale Oxidation Test (RSSOT) which is based on an automated and customizable oxidation tester that could be also adapted for measuring lubricating greases. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the RSSOT as a new potential method for screening the oxidation stability of lubricating greases. Different types of commercially available conventional and biobased grease samples were examined and were subjected to accelerated oxidative deterioration in the RSSOT unit under a series of testing protocols by modifying either the temperature, the oxygen pressure or the final breakpoint. By varying the test parameters, alterations in the relative oxidative characteristics of the samples were determined as well. A comparative assessment was carried out with the results obtained from the ASTM D942 method. The RSSOT can give a rapid screening of a grease’s aging resistance while the results seem to be consistent and in good agreement with the conventional test. Overall, it appears to be a promising method for the determination of the oxidation stability of lubricating greases that can be used as an alternative to conventional ones with certain advantages over the latter. Keywords: Lubricating greases, oxidation stability, test method, Rapid Small Scale Oxidation Test (RSSOT).
Introduction
The ability of a lubricant to resist to thermal and oxidative deterioration is considered a key feature for an extended useful life and an untroubled service life. This is for certain the case for lubricating greases as well. The need to control and measure the oxidative behaviour of greases, has led to the development of several standard methods that evaluate oxidation stability either under dynamic or static conditions [1-5]. Nowadays, of the so-called static accelerated oxidation stability test methods
ASTM D942 and ASTM D5483 are most commonly described in various grease specifications. The ASTM D942 is the standard method for measuring the Oxidation Stability of Lubricating Greases by the Oxygen Pressure Vessel Method (OPVM). Widely known as the “bomb” oxidation method (Norma - Hoffman), this test was originally designed to predict shelf storage life of greases in pre-packed bearings and was introduced to the ASTM in 1938 [1,6]. It determines the resistance of lubricating greases to oxidation when stored statically in an oxygen atmosphere in a sealed system at an elevated temperature. Being the only available oxidation bench test for many years, the “bomb” became an established method for assessing storage and service oxidation stability that served the industry for a long time and is still used to meet various grease specifications. During the years several modification in the procedure have been proposed (such as temperature increase or addition of metal catalyst) however none of them was ever incorporated in the official standard [4,6]. On the other hand the “bomb” method is a time-consuming test with its own limitations. It has received criticism mainly for the very poor precision it has and for the limited validity in predicting oxidation in service life. The advances in grease technology and manufacturing has motivated the search for an alternative to the ASTM D942. In the early 1990s the U.S. Army developed a new oxidation stability test for lubricating greases based on Pressure Differential Scanning Calorimetry (PDSC) [2], a technique widely used in polymer science. Eventually this was adopted as the ASTM D5482 standard method for measuring the Oxidation Induction Time of Lubricating Greases by PDSC. In general this is a considerably faster method with a good sensitivity and very small sample requirements. On the other hand the fixed and running cost is high, let alone the need for specialized staff. Also the current precision statements cannot fit to all existing makes of equipment and - similar to the “bomb” method - no correlation has been determined between test and service performance [1,7]. Additionally, some product
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