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Limited technical studies to speciate particulate matter (PM) emissions from gasoline fueled vehicles have indicated that the lubricating oil may play an important role. It is unclear, however, how this contribution changes with the condition of the lubricant over time. In this study, we hypothesize that the mileage accumulated on the lubricant will affect PM emissions, with a goal of identifying the point of lubricant mileage at which PM emissions are minimized or at least stabilized relative to fresh lubricant. This program tested two low-mileage Tier 2 gasoline vehicles at multiple lubricant mileage intervals ranging from zero to 5000 miles. The LA92 cycle was used for emissions testing. Non-oxygenated certification fuel and splash blended 10% and 20% ethanol blends were used as test fuels.

With the increasing use of modern, EGR-equipped, heavy-duty diesel engines and the use of lower sulfur and alternate fuels, such as biodiesel, lubricants are being exposed to a range of different compositions of acids. To complement the traditional detergent bases, todays lubricants have evolved to include a higher proportion of basic materials from amine-derived sources to aid in oxidation and soot control. This paper explores the impact of the different sources of acids, some of the issues they create and how they can be addressed, exemplified in a prototype CJ-4 lubricant formulation.

One of the key functions of lubricating oil additives in diesel engines is to control oil thickening caused by soot accumulation. Over the last several years, it has become apparent that the composition of the base oil used within the lubricant plays an extremely important role in the oil thickening phenomenon. In particular, oil thickening observed in the Mack T-8 test is significantly affected by the aromatic content of the base oil. We have found that the Mack T-8 thickening phenomenon is associated with high electrical activity, i.e., engine drain oils which exhibit high levels of viscosity increase show significantly higher conductivities. These findings suggest that electrical interactions are involved in soot-induced oil thickening.

The Nissan KA24E engine test is designated to replace the Ford Sequence VE engine test as the low temperature valve train wear requirement for ILSAC (International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee) GF-3. The KA24E (recently designated the Sequence IV A) represents much of the current world-wide material and design technology while retaining the sliding cam/follower contact found in earlier engine designs. The work presented here is the first of two reports. In this first report, the physical and chemical environment the KA24E engine presents a lubricant is characterized and compared to those of the Sequence VE engine. Valve train materials and wear modes are investigated and described. Although chemical analysis of drain oils indicate the KA24E procedure does not degrade the lubricant to the extent seen in the Sequence VE test, valve train wear appears to proceed in a similar manner in both tests.

The work presented here is the second of two papers investigating the KA24E engine test. The first paper characterized the KA24E engine in terms of the physical and chemical operating environment it presents to lubricants. The authors investigated oil degradation and wear mechanisms, and examined the differences between the KA24E and the Sequence VE engine tests. It was shown that while the KA24E does not degrade the lubricant to the extent that occurs in the Sequence VE, wear could be a serious problem if oils are poorly formulated. This second paper examines the wear response of the KA24E to formulation variables. A statistically designed matrix demonstrated that the KA24E is sensitive to levels of secondary zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDP), dispersant and calcium sulfonate detergent. This matrix also showed that the KA24E appears to have good repeatability for well formulated oils and is a reasonable replacement for the wear component of the Sequence VE.

Multigrade automotive lubricants contain polymeric viscosity modifiers which enable the oil to provide adequate hydrodynamic lubrication at high temperatures and good starting/pumping performance at low temperatures. Under operating conditions in engines, transmissions and gear boxes, polymeric additives undergo both temporary and permanent viscosity loss. The former is caused by flow orientation and the latter by molecular chain scission. Whatever the mechanism, original equipment manufacturers are interested in maintaining a minimum level of hydrodynamic viscosity from oil change to oil change. This is often expressed as a “stay-in-grade” requirement. Commercial viscosity modifiers (VM) span a wide range of chemistries and molecular architectures.

A new gas phase kinetic model using Westbrook's gas phase n-heptane model and Frenklach's soot model was constructed. This model was then used to predict the impact on PAH formation as an indices of soot formation on ethanol/diesel fuel blends. The results were then compared to soot levels measured by various researchers. The ignition delay characteristics of ethanol were validated against experimental results in the literature. In this paper the results of the model and the comparison with experimental results will be discussed along with implications on the method of incorporation of additives and alternative fuels.

The Association des Constructeurs Européen d'Automobiles (ACEA) light duty diesel engine specifications requires a kinematic viscosity measurement technique for Peugeot XUD-11 BTE drain oils. This viscosity measurement is used to define the medium temperature dispersivity of soot in the drain oil.(1) This paper discusses the use of rotational rheology methods to measure the Newtonian character of XUD-11 drain oils. The calculation of the rate index using the Hershel Bulkley model indicates the level of non-Newtonian behavior of the drain oil and directly reflects the level of soot dispersion or agglomeration. This study shows that the more non-Newtonian the drain oil the greater the difference between kinematic and rotational viscosity measurements Oscillation (dynamic) rheological techniques are used to characterize build up of soot structure.

The primary goal of the USAF JP-8+100 thermal stability additive (TSA) program is to increase the heat-sink capacity of JP-8 fuel by 50%. Current engine design is limited by a fuel nozzle temperature of 325°F (163°C); JP-8+100 has been designed to allow a 100°F increase in nozzle temperatures up to 425°F (218°C) without serious fuel degradation leading to excessive deposition. Previous studies have shown that TSA formulations increase the electrical conductivity of base jet fuel. In the present paper, further characterization of this phenomenon is described, as well as interactions of newer TSAs with combinations of SDA and other surface-active species in hydrocarbons, will be discussed.

The continued development of more powerful aviation turbine engines has demanded greater thermal stability of the fuel as a high temperature heat sink. This in turn requires better definition of the thermal stability of jet fuels. Thermal stability refers to the deposit-forming tendency of the fuel. It is generally accepted that dissolved oxygen initiates the deposition process in freshly refined fuels. While there are many tests that are designed to measure or assess thermal stability, many of these either do not display sufficient differentiation between fuels of average stability (JP-8) and intermediate stability (JP-8+100, JP-TS), or require large test equipment, large volumes of fuels and/or are costly. This paper will discuss the use of three laboratory tests as “concept thermal stability prediction” tools with aviation fuels, including Jet A-1 or JP-8, under JP8+100 test conditions.

The search for alternative energy sources, particularly renewable sources, has led to increased activity in the area of ethanol blended diesel fuel, or E diesel. E diesel offers potential benefits in reducing greenhouse gases, reducing dependence on crude oil and reducing engine out emissions of particulate matter. However, there are some concerns about the use of E diesel in the existing vehicle fleet. One of the chief concerns of the use of E diesel is the affect of the ethanol on the lubricating properties of the fuel and the potential for fuel system wear. Additive packages that are used to formulate E diesel fuels can improve fuel lubricity and prevent abnormal fuel system wear. This work studies the lubricity properties of several E diesel blends and the diesel fuels that are used to form them. In addition to a variety of bench scale lubricity tests, injector pump tests were performed as an indicator of long term durability in the field.

Historically, vehicle fluid condition has been monitored by measuring miles driven or hours operated. Many current vehicles have more sophisticated monitoring methods that use additional variables such as fuel consumption, engine temperature and engine revolutions to predict fluid condition. None of these monitoring means, however, actually measures a fluid property to determine condition, and that is about to change. New sensors and diagnostic systems are being developed that allow real time measurement of some lubricant physical and/or chemical properties and interpret the results in order to recommend oil change intervals and maximize performance. Many of these new sensors use electrochemical or acoustic wave technologies. This paper examines the use of these two technologies to determine engine oil condition and focuses on the effects of lubricant chemistry on interpreting the results.

The engine-out emissions and fuel consumption rates for a modern, heavy-duty diesel engine were compared when fueling with a conventional diesel fuel and three water-blend-fuel emulsions. Four different fuels were studied: (1) a conventional diesel fuel, (2) PuriNOx,™ a water-fuel emulsion using the same conventional diesel fuel, but having 20% water by mass, and (3,4) two other formulations of the PuriNOx™ fuel that contained proprietary chemical additives intended to improve combustion efficiency and emissions characteristics. The emissions data were acquired with three different injection-timing strategies using the AVL 8-Mode steady-state test method in a Caterpillar 3176 engine, which had a calibration that met the 1998 nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions standard.

Significant reductions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from diesel engines have been realized through fueling with water-fuel emulsions. However, the physical and chemical in-cylinder mechanisms that affect these pollutant reductions are not well understood. To address this issue, laser-based and chemiluminescence imaging experiments were performed in an optically-accessible, heavy-duty diesel engine using both a standard diesel fuel (D2) and an emulsion of 20% water, by mass (W20). A laser-based Mie-scatter diagnostic was used to measure the liquid-phase fuel penetration and showed 40-70% greater maximum liquid lengths with W20 at the operating conditions tested. At some conditions with low charge temperature or density, the liquid phase fuel may impinge directly on in-cylinder surfaces, leading to increased PM, HC, and CO emissions because of poor mixing.

A new generation of fluid technology using novel diesel fuel detergent/dispersant chemistry provides a multitude of beneficial effects to the diesel engine, especially the latest model designs. In addition to improved injector, valve and combustion chamber deposit removal, the additive restores power, fuel economy, performance and emission levels1. Positive observations have also been documented along with improved performance concerning crankcase lube viscosity, soot loading and TBN retention. An even greater added benefit is the inherent capability of the fuel additive to deal with several EGR issues now prominent with the introduction of new engines. Recent research, reported herein, has uncovered the extensive efficacy of this chemistry for piston durability and neutralization of ring corrosion phenomena. All of the beneficial additive attributes are further enhanced with increased oxidative and thermal fuel stability and no loss of filterability.

The tightening legislation in the on-road heavy-duty diesel area means that pollution control systems will soon be widely introduced on such engines. A number of different aftertreatment systems are currently being considered to meet the incoming legislation, including Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF), Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOC) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems. Relatively little is known about the interactions between lubricant-derived species and such aftertreatment systems. This paper describes the results of an experimental program carried out to investigate these interactions within DPF, DOC and SCR systems on a state-of-the-art 9 litre engine. The influence of lubricant composition and lube oil ash level was investigated on the different catalyst systems. In order to reduce costs and to speed up testing, test oil was dosed into the fuel. Tests without dosing lubricant into the fuel were also run.

City transit buses are a severe environment for an automatic transmission fluid. The fluid must endure very high operating temperatures because of the use of brake retarders, frequent stop-and-go driving, and numerous shifts. There is an increasing trend toward the use of extended-drain, synthetic-based ATFs for such severe service applications. This paper documents a field trial with both synthetic and petroleum-based ATFs at a large municipal bus fleet in Southern California. Three different commercial ATFs, made with either API Group 2, 3, or 4 base oils, respectively, were compared after roughly 80,000 km. and one year of operation. Because of different additive packages in each fluid, not all of the results can be explained by base oil effects alone. However, the base oil is certainly a dominant contributor to the finished fluid performance. The following four variables were monitored by used oil analysis: iron wear, copper wear, viscosity change, and acid number change.

Throughout the evolution of the automobile, passenger car motor oils have been developed to address issues of wear, corrosion, deposit formation, friction, and viscosity stability. As a result, the internal combustion engines are now developed with the expectation that the lubricants to be used in them will deliver certain performance attributes. Metallurgies, clearances, and built-in stresses are all chosen with certain expectations from the lubricant. A family of chemicals that has been universally used in formulating passenger car motor oils is zinc dithiophosphates (ZDPs). ZDPs are extremely effective at protecting highly stressed valve train components against wear failure, especially in engine designs with a sliding contact between cams and followers. While ZDPs' benefits on wear control are universally accepted, ZDPs have been identified as the source of phosphorus, which deactivates noble metal aftertreatment systems.

The Environmental Protection Agency will require a reduction in U.S. diesel particulate standards in 1991. To comply with this, the OEM's must modify engine design and ask petroleum refiners to reduce fuel sulfur levels to less than 0.05%. This reduction could have a dramatic impact on an engine's lubricant and possibly its performance. The durability and particulate emission stability of new engines designed to use low sulfur fuel should be related to lubricant performance and protection. Performance with low sulfur fuel must also be acceptable with equipment in service today. Laboratory evaluations of lubricant performance in current equipment were conducted with the Caterpillar 1G2 and various multicylinder diesel tests used for API CE certification. Performance differences attributable to both fuel sulfur and lubricant formulation variations have been identified and will be discussed.

Mist generated from water-soluble fluids used in machining operations represents a potentially significant contribution to worker exposure to airborne particles. Part I of this study [1], discussed polymer additives as mist suppressants for straight mineral oil metalworking fluids (MWF), which have been successfully employed at several locations. This paper focuses on recent developments in polymer mist suppressants for water-based MWF, particularly in the production environment. The polymer developed and tested in this study functions on a similar basis to that for straight oil anti-mist additives. This water soluble polymer suppresses the formation of small mist droplets and results in a distribution of larger droplet sizes. These larger droplets tend to settle out near the point of machining, resulting in a significant decrease in the total airborne mist concentration.