Foam Testing of Hydraulic Oil

Mar 27, 2012 | condition monitoring, oil analysis, preventative maintenance

Dear valued customers and friends,

Hydraulic Oil Testing and foam testing services by Techenomics International
We feel the need to inform you that your Hydraulic Oils could be causing pump cavitations or even placing your pumps at risk of failure. The importance of getting your Hydraulic oils checked for Foaming tendency and foaming stability is simply not taken serious enough. We are assuming that this must be due to a lack of knowledge, and hence the importance of sending you this information. Foam testing is also extremely important if you are filtering your oils, you need to check and ensure that you are not filtering out the foaming package and helping aeration, overheating and oxidation of the oil. Please continue reading, if you need any further information or have any questions, please let us know.

Techenomics International’s laboratories analyze hydraulic oils by ASTM D892; this is a method of quantifying foaming characteristics of lubricating oils. Foaming is a common problem in hydraulic systems and splash lubrication applications, in severe cases; the foam can leak out of the machine through breathers and dipsticks. Fluids with foaming problems have a reduced cooling capacity which may contribute to overheating issues and accelerate oil degradation. The presence of foam in the fluid can lead to excessive oxidation and cavitations, the reduction of lubricating properties of the oil and performance of hydraulic systems.

Foam tendency and foam stability can both be measured via ASTM D892, Foam tendency describes the amount of foam generated immediately after the fluid is aerated, and the foam stability quantifies the amount of foam remaining 10 minutes after stopping of aeration.

Troubleshooting Foaming issues can be a challenging process, but Techenomics can help by a process of elimination, you should be able to then identify and correct the root cause.

Many companies are experiencing problem with their Hydraulics oils due to either antioxidant depletion or foaming of the oil; these can lead to Hydraulic system failures or component failures. Antioxidants are vital to fluid integrity; a loss of antioxidants could result in sludge and deposit formation, filter blockages, oil thickening, and an increase in oil acidity. The antioxidants present in the additive package will significantly limit oil degradation from occurring but will be depleted in the process. Therefore, it is imperative to know the status of the antioxidants in oils being used in service. RULER® testing can inform you of any antioxidant depletion before it becomes a problem.

Oil aeration and foaming in the Hydraulic oil can also lead to failures, air entrapment can cause pump cavitations, erratic operations, component wear, low oil pressure, reduced viscosity and oxidation. Fluids with foaming problems have a reduced cooling capacity which may contribute to overheating issues and accelerate oil degradation. The presence of foam in the fluid can lead to excessive oxidation and cavitations, the reduction of lubricating properties of the oil and performance of hydraulic systems, it is vital to equipment health to have foaming testing preformed on hydraulic oil samples.