1 reply to this topic

[roy2377]

Hi Everyone,

 

I recently came across something which I was reading, its about TOTAL BASE NUMBER for lubricant.  

 

I saw on various occasion some reports at my Company that some clients, using SHELL ARGINA XL 40, reported that the TBN number of the aforementioned lube tends to fluctuates.

 

My question is that, dont we have a specific range which we can monitor exactly such type of situation.

 

I also read Reproducibility and Repeatability contribute to them but according to ASTM 2896, the range is not mentioned at all.

 

Any clarity on that would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

Roy

[roy2377]

HI Everyone,

 

I noticed that there were no answers for this posting.  Well I manged to read a bit more on this TBN topic, and this is mainly "controlled" by ASTM D2896.

 

Basically Total base number can be defines as follows:

 

Total base number is a measure of reserve alkaline additives put into lubricants to neutralize acids, to retard oxidation and corrosion, enhance lubricity, improve viscosity characteristic and reduce the tendency of sludge buildup

 

If TBN number decrease then you should start to worry but if the Reproducibility and Repeatability ranges are respected it going to be fine for your lubes

 

Repeatability               ±3% of reported value (same sample, same equipment, same operator)

Reproducibility            ±7% of reported value (same sample, different equipment, different operator – different lab)

 

Hope that helps, in case I am wrong please do correct me.

 

Cheers

Roy