DEPENDENCE OF OXIDATION STABILITY OF STEAM-TURBINE OIL ON BASE OIL COMPOSITION

To understand the relationship between the chemical composition of the base oil and the results in standard turbine oil oxidation tests, a s et of 12 turbine base oils were characterized by mass spectrometry and studied for their oxidation stability in standard tests after fortify ing them with a rust and oxidation inhibitor (R&O) package. A simple m ultiple regression analysis of the results revealed that, for a common R&O package, RBOT and ASTM D-943 and IP 280 performance could be pred icted with a confidence level of 87-99%. An attempt was made to develo p a guideline based on chemical composition to select the correct qual ity of base oil for formulating steam turbine oils with a satisfactory service life.