SOCIETY OFAUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, INC. TwoPennsylvania Plaza,NewYork,N.Y.10001 SelectionofHydraulic Fluidsfora ComplexEquipment Fleet J.S.Ferrie Chemical Research Dept.,OntarioHydro W.L.Saxon Transport andWorkEquipment Dept.,OntarioHydro NationalFarm,Construction &Industrial Machinery Meeting Milwaukee, Wis. September 13-16,1971710737 Downloaded from SAE International by University of New South Wales, Sunday, September 16, 2018710737 SelectionofHydraulic Fluidsfora ComplexEquipment Fleet J.S.Ferrie Chemical Research Dept.,OntarioHydro W.L.Saxon Transport andWorkEquipment Dept,OntarioHydro ONTARIO HYDROisthelargestelectricutilityinCanadaand thesecondlargestinNorthAmerica,withagenerating capac ityin1970of12,700MWandanetsaleof64billionKWh. Thetransportandworkequipment fleetrequiredtosupport thesegenerating facilitiesisvaluedat$52millionandincludes about3600majorhighway-operated transportunitsand1000 majoroff-highway workequipment units.Majorunitsare classedasthosehavingtotaloperatingcostsinexcessof$1000 annually,andasummaryofthemajorhydraulicequipment appearsinTable1.Theequipment isscatteredovera250,000 squaremileoperatingareaoverterrainrangingfromflatto gentlyrollinglandinthesouthtorocksandmuskeginthefar north.Althoughambienttemperatures insouthernOntario areasmildasthoseinmostnorthernAmericanstates,winter temperatures inthefarnorthmaydropto-60F.Extreme temperature variationsduringa24hrperiodarealsoexperi enced,particularly duringnorthernwinters;ononeoccasion thisvariationwas90F,rangingfromalowof-45Ftoahigh of+45F. Inmostareas,OntarioHydrohasnofacilitiesfortheindoor storageoftransportandworkequipment. Duringmild weatherthisisunlikelytocauseserioushydraulicproblems, butatsubzerotemperatures hydraulicfluidswithverygood low-temperature characteristics arerequired. Severalmethods areusedwithlimitedsuccesstoraisethe hydraulicfluidtemperature; theseincludeimmersion heatersandpropaneinfraredheaters.Insomecases,thehydraulic equipment iscompletely enclosedwithlightweight tarpaulins madeoflow-temperature plasticandkeptinflatedbyoil-fired blowerheaters.Immersion heatersareusedonlyinoilreser voirs,butinfraredheatershavebeenusedwithsomesuccess forheatingequipment suchaslinestringingpullersand tensioners whenwindbreaksareusedontwoorthreesides. Becauseofthegreatvarietyofhydraulicsystemsandthe environmental extremesunderwhichtheyoperate,atmost locationsitisimpossible tomaintainstocksofhydraulicfluids meetingalltheequipment manufacturers' recommendations. InCanada,thistaskissometimes compounded byforeign equipment suppliers(bothAmericanandEuropean), who specifyhydraulicfluidsthatarenotreadilyavailableandwho cannot,orwillnot,adequately identifythetypeofproduct required.Tominimizeinventoryrequirements andreducethe dangersofmisapplication ofhydraulic oilsincriticalequip ment,itwasnecessarytochooseasmallnumberofsuitable, readilyavailablefluidshavingtheviscosity,lubricating, anti wear,anticorrosion, andothercharacteristics requiredbythe hydraulic equipment. Sincewehadneithertheexpertisenorthefacilitiestofor mulateandblendcomplexhydraulic oils,thedecisionwas takentoevaluateavailableproductsforpossibleuseinthe manyworkandtransporthydraulicunits. In1962,afterconsiderable researchandfieldexperience, ABSTRACT Thewidespread useofhydraulically operatedsystemsin mobileworkandtransportequipment hasincreasedtheneed forcarefulevaluation bytheuserofavailablehydraulic fluids. Thisevaluation hashelpedtoreducethenumberofdifferent productsrecommended bytheequipment manufacturers toanumberthatisreasonable forfielduse.Extensive laboratory testingandfieldexperience byOntarioHydrohasshownthat twobasicoiltypesDexron®ATFandMil-H-5606B low-tem peratureaircrafthydraulicfluid,willmeetmorethan90%of hydraulicrequirements ofalargediversified fleetoperatingat temperatures aslowas-45F. Downloaded from SAE International by University of New South Wales, Sunday, September 16, 20182 numberofhydraulicfluidsrequiredforalmostalloure wasreducedtotwobasictypes.TheseweretypeAAautomatictrans