Minor Contamination in Hydraulic System may lead to major problems, as oil cleanliness is one of the most important factors for hydraulic equipments and machines. Contamination of oil may lead to failure of machines & result in costly downtime.
Click to get list of Tests conducted by the laboratory on Hydraulic Oils:
Viscosity
Kinematic Viscosity is a measurement of the resistance of the oil to flow through a capillary tube of the viscometer. It is the most fundamental property of a lubricant. Viscosity of lubricants is measured in case of fresh oils to check the Grade of the oil . in case of used oils it gives idea about change in physical properties due to oxidation, dilution or any external contamination. It is the most fundamental property for testing of any lubricant or petroleum product.
Methods Adopted by Chem-Tech for Viscosity Determination:
- ASTM D 445
- ASTM D 7042
- IS 1448 P 25
Total Acid Number
Total Acid Number determines the amount of acid present in the lubricant. Acidity of the lubricant increases due to the stresses or environmental factors affecting the lubricant. Excess amount of acid in the lubricant will lead to corrosion or failure of equipment.
Methods adopted by Chem-Tech Laboratories for Acid Number Analysis:
- ASTM D 664
- ASTM D 974
- IS 1448 P 1 Sec 1
Water Content
Water or Moisture is the most common contaminant in any lubricant or petroleum product. Monitoring the level water in sample is of prime importance to avoid malfunctioning of the equipment or machine.
Water content in petroleum products can be determined by following 4 test methods:
- Water Content by Crackle Test
- Water content by Distillation (Dean & Stark Method)
- Water Content by Karl Fischer – Volumetric Method
- Water Content by Karl Fischer – Coulometric Method
Methods Adopted by Chem-Tech for Water / Moisture Content Determination:
- Crackle – Chem-Tech Laboratories Procedure
- ASTM D 95
- ASTM D 1744
- ASTM D 6304
- ASTM D 1533
- IS 1448 P 40
Particle Count
Particle count test determines the particle size and size distribution of the contaminants or wear particles present in oil. It is a very fundamental test to determine the amount of contamination present in oil . This method measures all types of particles which includes wear, dirt , debris, fibres, bacterial growth etc. This test is mainly performed on filtered systems to monitor filter efficiency and cleanliness of oil.
The result of the test is formulated with respect to the standard test method ISO 4406, NAS 1638 or SAE.
Methods Adopted by Chem-Tech for Particle Count Determination:
Metal Content
Elemental Analysis by ICP determines the amount of Wear metals , Contaminant Metals and Additive Metals present in a Lubricant. Elemental Analysis can detect upto 24 elements in the lubricant. These includes all the particles present in oil upto 5-10 microns in size.
It gives an idea about the amount of Wear and Contamination in the Lubricant. It is one of the primary tests conducted for Trend Analysis or Predictive Maintenance of the Equipment.
Test Methods adopted by Chem-Tech for Elemental Analysis:
Sediments
This test determines the total sediments present in petroleum . This is a Chem-Tech Laboratories validated method, It is modification of ASTM D 893 for determination of Total Insoluble content in Toluene. It is a centrifugal method for determination of Insoluble content.
It determines wear metals, dirt dust and debris present in petroleum products & Lubricants.
Pour Point
Copper Strip Corrosion
Foaming Characteristics
Foaming Characteristics determines the ability of lubricant to foam . This test is performed at specific temperature and time. Compressed air is blown through the sample, which results in foam formation, this is allowed to settle and volume of foam remaining is reported with respect to the test method.
Methods adopted by Chem-Tech for Determination of Foaming Characteristics:
Emulsion Characteristics
Demulsibility Test for lubricants determines the lubricants ability to separate from water.
This test method provides a guide for determining the water separation characteristics of oils subject to water contamination and turbulence.
Methods adopted by Chem-Tech for Determination of Demulsibility:
Chem-TechTM is a leading testing laboratory providing Hydraulic Oil analysis services. Contaminated Hydraulic Oil is the root cause for more than 70% of the failures of the Hydraulic systems. To attain optimum performance and in order to extend the life and productivity of hydraulic systems, regular oil sampling and analysis is recommended to check the health of the hydraulic oil & equipment.