Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee D02 on Petroleum Products, Liquid Fuels, and Lubricants, this test method was withdrawn in November 2021. This standard is being withdrawn without replacement.
This item was recently balloted for reapproval on Ballot D02 (21-02), Item 8. The ballot received one negative vote regarding the Precision section being inadequate because it did not specify which of the two procedures were used to determine the precision. This voter also indicated via comment they felt strongly that “this standard should be withdrawn or otherwise archived due to lack of support from industry.” No motion was made to find this negative not persuasive thus finding it persuasive and, therefore, we feel it prudent to ballot for withdrawal.
Several other comments were also received on this ballot item indicating that this standard should be balloted for withdrawal, and subsequently archived as a historical standard for various reasons as shown below:
– Lack of inclusion of the current diesel grades (standard is missing S15 grades) in this standard
– Missing any reference to the second HFRR test method D7688
– Section 5.4 states: “No absolute correlation has been determined between the two test methods” (referring to SLBOCLE and HFRR)
– Section 5.5 states: “Correlation of SLBOCLE test results with field performance of diesel fuel systems has not been determined”
– Lack of inclusion of new distillate fuel type products (FAME, synthetic diesel, hydrotreated vegetable oils)
– Very little interest in, or use of the standard (not currently listed as an approved Lubricity method in D975)
– Lack of any meaningful updates to the standard since 2004
5.1 Diesel fuel injection equipment has some reliance on lubricating properties of the diesel fuel. Shortened life of engine components, such as diesel fuel injection pumps and injectors, has sometimes been ascribed to lack of lubricity in a diesel fuel.
5.2 The trend of SLBOCLE test results to diesel injection system pump component distress due to wear has been demonstrated in pump rig tests for some fuel/hardware combinations where boundary lubrication is believed to be a factor in the operation of the component.6
5.3 The tangential friction force, as measured in the SLBOCLE test, is sensitive to contamination of the fluids and test materials, the presence of oxygen and water in the atmosphere, and the temperature of the test. Lubricity evaluations are also sensitive to trace contaminants acquired during test fuel sampling and storage.
5.4 The SLBOCLE and High-Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR, Test Method D6079) are two methods for evaluating diesel fuel lubricity. No absolute correlation has been developed between the two test methods.
5.5 The SLBOCLE may be used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of diesel fuels for preventing wear under the prescribed test conditions. If a standard SLBOCLE rating has been set, then the single-load test provides a more rapid evaluation than the incremental load test. Correlation of SLBOCLE test results with field performance of diesel fuel injection systems has not yet been determined.
5.6 This test method is designed to evaluate boundary lubrication properties. While viscosity effects on lubricity in this test method are not totally eliminated, they are minimized.
1.1 This test method covers the evaluation of the lubricity (load carrying ability) of diesel fuels using a scuffing load ball-on-cylinder lubricity evaluator (SLBOCLE).
1.2 This test method is applicable to middle distillate fuels, such as Grades Low Sulfur No. 1 D, Low Sulfur No. 2 D, No. 1 D, and No. 2 D diesel fuels, in accordance with Specification D975; and other similar petroleum-based fuels which can be used in diesel engines.
Note 1: It is not known that this test method will predict the performance of all additive/fuel combinations. Additional work is underway to further establish this correlation and future revisions of the standard may be necessary once this work is complete.
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific warning statements are given in Section 7.