Development of hydraulic pump performance standards: An overview of current activities

There is a great deal of interest in more adequately qualifying the expected performance, especially anti-wear performance, of various classes hydraulic fluids, particularly proposed alternatives to petroleum oils. This is particularly critical for biodegradable fluids including vegetable oil, polyol ester and diester based hydraulic fluids and certain other fire-resistant fluids which are being promoted as replacements for petroleum oils. Currently, this problem is being addressed by a special task force within ASTM and other national organizations, including VDMA in Germany. In most cases, the proposed hydraulic fluid performance standards include a combination of physical property determination, bench test anti-wear performance characterization and vane pump test validation. This paper will provide an overview of the work currently underway; including work within the within the ASTM D.02N Hydraulic Fluids Committee to address this issue.