Performance of Selected Vegetable Oils in ASTM Hydraulic Tests 952075

The initial goal of this project was to investigate the potential uses of soybean oil as an industrial hydraulic fluid. Previous test results had indicated that the concern with vegetable oil was mainly with the lack of inherent oxidative stability. In general all of the vegetable oils that had been tested, had performed well in terms of wear protection in ASTM D-2281 (100-hour) tests. The project activities included analysis of several vegetable oils in ASTM D-2271 (1000-hour) wear tests, using the 104-C Vickers vane pump. The longer test period was selected to observe changes in the viscosity [as a measure of oxidative stability] of the test oils. The results indicated that the fatty acid profiles of vegetable oils play a significant role in their oxidative stability in industrial lubricant applications. The research results should help to identify the needed genetic modification of oil seeds to produce oils more suitable for industrial applications.