development. It was agreed to proceed with the development of VGRA guidelines for the EP6CDT engine. A statistically designed test matrix was developed covering a maximum of 16 engine tests. The costs for the test program were equally shared across both industry associations. The program was completed in 2018 resulting in a VGRA Guideline allowing more flexibility for the industry. This guideline was published in the ATIEL Code of Practice Issue 21 in May 2019 and is now available for the industry.
Future Programs – Viscosity Grade read Across After the success of the first interchange program, the industry is committed to continue with the development of further guidelines. For the next VGRA program, the industry established criteria to assist in the prioritisation of the next engine test to be tackled. There is a preference for the development of guidelines for new tests rather than for any existing test as 1) no guidelines are available for a new test and 2) benefit for the industry is maximised as the entire lifetime of the test from introduction to end of life is captured. Other selection criteria include test costs, duration of the test, coverage in the ACEA Sequences (is the test used in both Light and Heavy Duty Sequences). Based on these criteria ATIEL and ATC agreed to prioritise the development of VGRA guidelines for the new Toyota Turbocharger Test.
Future Programs – Base Oil Interchange Options The development of base oil interchange guidelines is more complex as it potentially has to cover read- across within a base oil group and/or between base oils groups. To illustrate this we take the Peugeot EP6 Engine as an example. If base oil read across within Group II and III and between Group II and III is considered then a matrix design covering 3 base oil slates, 3 viscosity grades in 3 different additive technologies would result in a total of 22 tests requiring funding of €1,5 M. which can be prohibitive.
One of the options is to exclude interchange between base oil groups and only consider interchange within a group e.g. between Group III and Group III or Group II and Group II.
Another option is to take a stepwise approach designing the matrix with the ability to analyse at checkpoints, if the data shows with good statistical confidence at an earlier stage whether interchange is possible or not, then testing can be stopped. ATIEL is
currently designing a base oil interchange matrix for one of the engine tests to evaluate and understand the requirements and costs. Target is to propose a full program that is affordable and technically and statistically robust.
Industry Challenges The increased complexity poses many challenges for the industry. The development of interchange guidelines is an important option to reduce the complexity and associated costs for the industry, increasing speed to deliver new lubricants required by new vehicle, while never compromising on performance and quality standards.
Within the industry, alignment is required in the organisations and between the organisations. The costs of programs can be very high and needs to be shared amongst the beneficiaries. Funding of the programs is a key challenge and the question of how to distribute the costs is a debate that is ongoing and needs to be resolved. In addition, also the availability of test engines raises another difficulty for which alignment is required.
Ultimately, ATIEL believes that the best option is to include VGRA and BOI guideline development in the CEC test development phase. This is similar to the approach that API takes in the US, but in Europe there there are still hurdles to overcome before this can be realised.
LINK
www.atiel.org
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.153 OCTOBER 2019
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
