Techenomics proves regular top ups control foaming in oil

Testing demonstrates top ups minimise oil consumption
Total fluid management provider Techenomics advises that regular hydraulic oil top ups control foaming levels, thus minimising oil consumption and ultimately reducing costs.

Foam is a collection of small air bubbles that accumulate on or near the surface of the hydraulic oil. As foam is an efficient thermal insulator, the temperature of the oil can become difficult to control.

The presence of bubbles in the fluid can lead to excessive oxidation, cavitation and the reduction of lubricating properties of the oil with potential to result in hydraulics system failure.

Techenomics’ CEO Chris Adsett said the causes of foaming were many with most common being water contamination, solids contamination, mechanical issues causing excessive aeration of the fluid, cross contamination with the wrong lubricant, contamination with grease or too much antifoam additive, either by incorrect formulation or incorrect reconstruction of the additive package.

He said many operators facing this problem regularly filtered their hydraulic oil in a bid to extend lubricant life.

“After discovering a lot of clients were doing this, we decided to carry out testing to show how to control foaming and to see if aggressive filtration affects foaming tendencies.

The tests by Techenomics Indonesia were conducted on equipment operated by a number of clients, including Hexindo, Pama, Thiess, SIS, Madhani and Liebherr, and, he said, they demonstrated the benefits of regular top ups when the oil was out of spec.

Results so far show that a top up of 20% can reduce the foaming tendency to the normal limit of 87.5%.

The graphs below show the impact of adding extra oil when the oil is out of spec.

 Further tests will take into account variables such as unit, oil type, oil hours and operating conditions.

“The important information to take out of the testing program is that the levels of foaming in lubricants can be controlled by regular top up,” Adsett concluded.

“This minimises the volume of oil consumption and ultimately reduces the cost of care units.

“As such, regular top ups appear to be even more beneficial than aggressive filtration programs.”

For more information about Techenomics International contact Chris Adsett, c.adsett@techenomics.com; in Indonesia Freddy, freddy@techenomics.com; in South East Asia Siti, siti@techenomics.com, in Mongolia Tumee, tumee@techenomics.com, in Australia Dr Gopal Kumar, gopal.kumar@techenomics.com or for Liquid Tungsten globally Chris Adsett, c.adsett@techenomics.com.

How to control foaming in oil – download this release as a pdf file