Humans have been using lubricants in some form or the other for thousands of years, starting with the ancient Egyptians.
They, for example, slid granite blocks used to build the pyramids on oiled lumber. They also lubricated the axels of their chariots with calcium soap evidence found dates back to 1400BC. Later the Romans used lubricants from rapeseed oil, olive oil, and animal fats.
The goal of lubricants for centuries has been to reduce friction between surfaces and the added bonus of this was surface protection from oxidation and ultimately corrosion.
Lubrication Oils Are Highly Engineered Products
Behind every bottle of lubrication oil is a story of engineering. Starting from the type of base oil used to the selection of additives that are blended into the oil to give the blended product the desired properties of viscosity over extreme temperature ranges, the list of parameters is impressive. These include total weight load, the application environment it can function in (corrosiveness, moisture, dryness, etc.), the desired surface tension, the expected system pressure, and electrical conductivity requirements.
Engineered products are designed to meet specific performance characteristics under various application variables of temperature, pressure, and humidity. Everything about the product is measured and tested, quantified, and analyzed to determine expected performance lifetime and become part of the guarantee of performance you can expect when you use this product.
Lubricating Oil Standards
Measuring lubricating oil properties is done throughout the product life cycle
Initial manufacturing measurement is performed by manufacturers and blenders of lubrication oils. These oils are generally classified by intended purpose – motor oil for the automotive market, industrial gear oil lubricants for industrial equipment and the heavy machinery market, hydraulic oils for the automotive and heavy machinery market.
The variety of lubrication oils is immense and the main classifications we see are:
- Motor Oils
- Gear Oils
- Specialty Oils – application-specific
At ASI we manufacture full suites of ASTM Standards for Lubricating Oil for manufacturers to qualify their products. Testing and measuring equipment needs calibration and validation to produce accurate values for the additives present in the blend or the wear metals and possible contaminants in used oils. There are also specific applications like measuring chlorine in cutting fluid.
ASI Lubricating Oil Standards
- Cover the following ASTM methods -D4628 -AAS; D4927-XRF; D6443 – XRF; D6481-ICP-OES; D7751-XRF
- Cover the range of elements to be measured in lubricating oils
- Cover the typical concentration ranges that these elements occur in
- Concentrations are randomized to meet the XRF data modeling requirement of independently varying concentrations
- Certificates of Analysis contain values for the Oxygen concentrations of each standard to be used in FP XRF methods
- They are prepared in the default 20cSt base oil unless specified otherwise
- Are good for 18 months to 2 years once opened – see CoA for details
- Can be customized to meet special needs you may have for your products
Our process is simple: Visit our shop, and we will ship your products to your location. If you don't see what you need, chat with us at sales@asistandards.com, and we will be happy to customize your product to meet your requirements.
