770916 MAC Changes in Lubricant Properties of Used Synthetic Oils Based on the Total Acid NumberChanges in Lubricant Properties

ties of Used Synthetic Oils Based on the Total Acid Number

Original Paper

Measurement and Control

Changes in Lubricant Properties of 2018, Vol. 51(3-4) 65­–72

© The Author(s) 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1177/0020294018770916
DOI: 10.1177/0020294018770916

Total Acid Number journals.sagepub.com/home/mac

Artur Wolak

Abstract
This article describes the processes of degradation of five engine oils belonging to the same SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineers) viscosity class but launched by different manufacturers. The direction and intensity of changes in the total acid
number have been analyzed. As part of the experiment, the changes in engine oils occurring during operation have been
examined. The operating conditions throughout the test can be described as “severe,” that is, frequent starting of the
engine, short distance driving, and extended engine idling. All engine oils were operated in passenger cars of a uniform
fleet of 25 vehicles. The total acid number was determined in accordance with the ASTM D664. The obtained results
have led to the development of a statistical model enabling to calculate average predictive values of the total acid number
for a given mileage. The results may facilitate decision-making regarding the service life of engine oils.

Keywords
Degradation, engine oil, lubricant properties, oil condition monitoring, reliability, Total Acid Number (TAN)

I. Introduction engine oil quality based on the total acid number (TAN)
changes have been extensively studied by many researchers.
Lubricating oils, and engine oils in particular, are adversely De Rivas et al.7 built predictive models to determine the TAN
exposed to high temperatures under operating conditions. using IR (Infrared radiation) data measured from ash-less dis-
As a result of a combined effect of oxygen from the air and persant oils developed for aviation piston engines. They used
high temperatures on the oil, it becomes oxidized, which in various techniques, including Projection Pursuit Regression,
turn leads to a partial decomposition of its components and Partial Least Square, Support Vector Machines, Liner Models,
to the polymerization and condensation of some of the prod- and Random Forest. Bassbasi et al.3 also proposed infrared
ucts. Due to the aging processes, inert substances (primarily spectroscopy for monitoring and control and for quick inspec-
alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, asphaltenes, resins) and tion of engine oils. Wang8 examined oil condition sensor and
acidic substances are formed, which cause corrosion and sensing technique. The newly designed sensors were installed
increased wear of metals. Among the acidic substances, in three vehicles and tested on the road. The test results indi-
engine oils may contain strong organic and inorganic acids cated that the degradation of engine oil may be divided into
which are both residues of in-process intermediates or inor- three stages: (1) good, (2) rapid increase of the TAN, and (3)
ganic acids from the oxidation of the components of the rapid increase of viscosity. Agoston et al.,1 in turn, focused on
operating fluid. Acidic substances, when reacting with met- the process of thermal aging in their studies. They showed
als, form salts which are responsible for the formation of that such factors as partial oil evaporation or its combustion
sludge in the lubricating oil systems. Engine oils may also have an important impact on oil aging. All these processes
contain some weak organic acids which are minor products eventually lead to the point at which lubricating oil no longer
of oxidation occurring during manufacturing processes or has the suitable properties necessary for it to perform its func-
derived from the additives used, from the oxidation of oper- tions. In his paper, Kauffman9 described the development of
ating fluid during its use and/or from microbiological pro- the rapid antioxidant capacity screening, TAN, and total base
cesses. Potential effects of an increase in the acid number number (TBN) techniques based on voltammetry. The results
include a decrease in the base number, initiation and intensi- presented in Kauffman9 demonstrate that a combined
fication of the oil degradation processes, corrosion of the
metal parts of the engine, an increase in the oil density, or
depletion of the engine oil treatment package. Department of Industrial Commodity Science, Cracow University of
According to the current state of knowledge, engine oil Economics, Kraków, Poland
quality can be determined by a number of tests that include
Corresponding author:
laboratory physicochemical evaluation as well as perfor- Artur Wolak, Department of Industrial Commodity Science, Cracow
mance evaluation after long-term and costly operational University of Economics, Kraków, Poland.
tests.1–6 The concept, the means, and methods of measuring Email: artur.wolak@uek.krakow.pl

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66 Measurement and Control 51(3-4)
Table 1.  Quality and viscosity classifications of the engine oils selected to the research.
Oil Code SAE Classification ACEA Classification API Classification
CE 5W-30 A3, C3 SH
ME 5W-30 C2/C3 SM/SN
MS 5W-30 C3 SM/SL
PE 5W-30 C2 – JASO-DL-1
PS 5W-30 A3 SM
SAE - Society of Automotive Engineers, ACEA - European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, API - American Petroleum Institute, OEM - Original
Equipment Manufacturer
Source: Own elaboration.
knowledge of the antioxidant/TAN/TBN measurements
strongly improve the evaluation of the remaining useful life
of the tested fluid, as well as the condition of the operating
equipment. The TAN is obviously an important oil condition
parameter to monitor,7,10 but an unambiguous, rapid, practi-
cal, and reliable means of measuring this parameter is still
lacking; therefore, the aim of the conducted studies was to
verify the direction and intensity of changes in the TAN of
engine oils occurring during the use. The obtained dependen-
cies allowed us to elaborate a statistical model describing
these particular ones which can be used for predicting engine
oil behavior during its use. The model may also help us to
understand the specific characteristics of engine oils and can
contribute to the development of quality monitoring systems
throughout the life cycle of the engine.
II. Research material
The research material included five engine oils of the same
viscosity grade acc. to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
and produced by different manufacturers. The oils were coded
as CE, MS, ME, PS, and PE, and the specifications of these
oils are presented in Table 1. The oils were used in cars
comprising of a uniform fleet of 25 vehicles. These cars were
equipped with petrol engines with the cubic capacity of
1332 cm2.
The vehicles in the research were divided into two groups.
The first group of 23 vehicles was used in the conditions which
can be defined as “severe,” that is, frequent starting of the
engine, short distance driving, and extended engine idling.
The second group of two cars (PS018193 and CE017977) was
operated in typical urban driving and mixed conditions. A
visual presentation of the results, with both groups of engine
oils included, can be found below. It should be noted, how-
ever, that the second group of vehicles was excluded from the
statistical analyses, since those cars did not meet the prerequi-
site of being operated under similar conditions. Both groups of
vehicles were fueled up by petrol coming from the same
source. Each of the oils was randomly applied into five cars.
Oil sampling is of significant importance in this type
of studies because all samples must be first and foremost
OEM Specifications
VW 504 00; BMW Longlife-04; MB-Approval; 229.31/
229.51; Porsche C30
BMW: Longlife 04; MB-Approval: 229.31/229.51;
Chrysler: MS-11106; Porsche: C30; Chrysler: MS-
11106; Peugeot/Citroën Automobiles: B71 2290, B71
2297; AvtoVAZ: Group “Luxe”; AAE: Standard STO
003-05, Group B6
General Motors Service Fill dexos2TM (license number
GB1A0914015); BMW Longlife 04; MB-Approval
229.31/229.51; Volkswagen (petrol) 502 00 / 505 00
VW 504.00-507.00
representative, hence, the need for correct and regular sam-
ple collection procedure as well as establishing appropriate
sampling frequency. Due to the problems with regular col-
lection of the samples after a certain number of kilometers
traveled, a specific period of time was selected at which the
sampling would be performed. For the purposes of the
study, the sampling frequency was established on the quar-
terly basis. At the start of the test, a sample of fresh oil was
tested, then the oil samples were taken after 3, 6, 9, and
12 months. In the 3rd and 6th month, there were 25 oil sam-
ples taken, whereas in the 9th and 12th month,
23 samples (due to the decommissioning of two vehicles).
In total, 96 samples were taken within 12 months. Table 2
presents the information on the number of kilometers
traveled by each of the cars tested. The sample code is a
combination of the oil code and the car code number.
III. Research methodology
The determination of the acid number (the number of milli-
grams of potassium hydroxide required to neutralize all acidic
components contained in 1 g of the test product) consisted of
titrating the solution of the weighed amount of test substance
in the solvent containing the indicator. A solution containing
toluene, isopropyl alcohol, and water was used as a solvent.
Titration was done with standard alcoholic potassium hydrox-
ide solution, potentiometrically and with indicators. The sam-
ples collected in the first quarter were measured by titration to
indicators, but with the kilometers traveled, oil color pre-
vented us from continuing with this method, and the acid
number was then determined by potentiometric titration.11
The total acid value was calculated according to the
formula
( V1 -V2 ) × c × 56.1
TAN =
m
where V1 is the volume of alcoholic potassium hydroxide
solution with c(KOH) = 0.1 mol/L, used for titration of the
product sample, mL; V2 is the volume of alcoholic
Wolak 67

Table 2. The number of kilometers traveled by each car.

The sample code Mileage at start Mileage after first Mileage after second Mileage after third Mileage after fourth
(km) quarter (km) quarter (km) quarter (km) quarter (km)
CE 17760 12,858 4401 7931 11,358 13,220
CE 17943 14,571 4215 7996 11,450 13,907
CE 17977 6033 2973 5640 8796 9975
CE 17988 14,804 874 4350 – –
CE 18716 9477 3080 6360 10,009 12,169
ME 17764 15,484 3752 8593 11,620 14,501
ME 17810 7840 3350 5183 7702 8749
ME 17973 8015 2811 5513 7579 9029
ME 18345 9753 3176 5922 8196 9234
ME 18760 15,307 4654 8641 12,018 14,573
MS 18011 13,486 2205 5199 7265 9005
MS 18128 14,571 1808 5218 8773 10,803
MS 18361 14,988 3790 7654 12,331 14,166
MS 18793 6223 818 1120 3240 6100
MS 18817 14,666 3832 8037 11,439 13,877
PE 17939 12,370 4180 8806 11,990 13,066
PE 18024 11,694 3758 5881 10,203 11,748
PE 18207 12,209 3836 7311 10,663 13,223
PE 18591 15,409 4738 8697 13,073 15,188
PE 18689 13,290 3944 8749 13,974 15,531
PS 18149 13,556 4269 8317 12,412 14,384
PS 18193 14,457 5240 10,619 14,732 18,211
PS 18597 15,361 3544 8022 – –
PS 18784 11,948 3177 7249 10,907 12,317
PS 18799 14,154 4083 8035 11,792 13,523

Source: Own elaboration.

Figure 1.  Changes in the TAN of engine oils

Source: Own elaboration.

potassium hydroxide solution with c(KOH) = 0.1 mol/L,
used for titration of the blank sample, mL; c is the molar
concentration of KOH in alcoholic potassium hydroxide
solution; 56.1 is the molecular weight of potassium
hydroxide; and m is the mass of the sample taken (analyti-
cal sample), g.
All measurements were repeated three times and the
results were statistically analyzed using the Statistica 10
software. Initially, a linear regression model estimated with
a maximum likelihood method, within the scope of a so-
called generalized method of least squares, was adjusted to
the data. The use of that method made it possible to include
68 Measurement and Control 51(3-4)
theoretically valid assumptions concerning the existence of
correlation between a number of consecutive measure-
ments of engine oil coming from the same vehicle. It was
assumed that the random component in the regression
model is subject to continuous process of the first-order
auto-regression. However, in the course of further studies
and as a result of the sensitivity analysis, it was shown that
the application of the aforementioned advanced statistical
apparatus minimally changed the analysis results in relation
to the classical model of normal linear regression.
Eventually, in order to simplify the presentation and to
facilitate the interpretation of results, the models of linear
regression were estimated with the use of classical least
squares method.
IV. Presentation and analysis of
study results
The results of TAN tests for the periods studied are pre-
sented visually in Figure 1. Each time the changes occurred,
they were of approximately linear character. The acid num-
ber, which for fresh oils ranged from 1.29 to 1.78 mg
KOH/g, increased significantly over the entire operating
period. After the first quarter with a mileage of up to
4000 km, the greatest increase in the acid number was
recorded for PE 017939 (an increase of 86%), ME 018345
(an increase of 72%), PE 018689 (an increase of 70%), and
MS 018817 (an increase of 63%).
Two out of 25 cars were operated under “milder” condi-
tions than others. One of them with the CE 017988 oil,
within the first 3 months traveled only 874 km and showed a
decrease in the acid number from 1.78 to 1.71 mg KOH/g.
The second, with the MS 018793 oil, traveled 818 km and
showed a decline from 1.35 to 1.28 mg KOH/g. Nevertheless,
in the following three quarters, these values in both cases
began to increase linearly and analogously to the others.
The second group of oils, that is, PS 018193 and CE
017977, deserve further analysis. It is clear that a modifica-
tion in operating conditions affected the changes in the
TAN. These oils maintained a lower TAN value of approxi-
mately 30% over the course of the operation compared to
the oils from group 1 of vehicles.
In the case of CE, MS, and PE oils, the acid number
increased proportionately to the mileage traveled through-
out the service life. The changes in oil groups ME and PS
were completely different. In their case, only the range
(8000–12,000 km) was observed analogous to the CE, MS,
and PE oil groups, whereas above this range, the intensifi-
cation of the changes in the acid number was noted. As a
result, with a small number of miles traveled, there is a
much higher increase in the acid number than it is in the
range of 8000–12,000 km.
The greatest increase in the acid number relative to the
initial value was observed for the following oils: MS
018361 (an increase from 1.4 to 7.1  mg KOH/g, at
14,166 km traveled), PS 018784 (an increase from 1.3 to
6.6 mg KOH/g, at 12,317 km traveled), PE 018689 (an
increase from 1.4 to 7.1 mg KOH/g, at 15,531 km traveled)
and MS 018817 (an increase from 1.4 to 6.8 mg KOH/g, at
13,877 km traveled).
Such a large change in the acid number may be due to
high operating temperatures (difficult operating condi-
tions), excessive exhaust gases to the engine crankcase, or
high sulfur content in the fuel.
Table 3 presents the descriptive specifications of tested
engine oils in particular measurement periods. The limit
value of significance was set at 0.05. Below this value, the
obtained results were deemed statistically important (these
values were highlighted in bold). P values lower than 0.01
were considered highly important (these values are in bold
and underlined).
When analyzing the individual variables listed in Table
3, it was found that after the first 3 months of operation, the
highest number of statistically significant differences
between the mean values was found for oils containing ME
(ME with MS and ME with PS). The most homogeneous
oils turned out to be CE with PE, then MS with PS, and CE
with ME. The variable analysis—vehicle mileage—does
not show any statistically significant differences.
After the second measurement period, in the case of the
acid number, there is a great similarity between the oils
tested. For the variable vehicle mileage, it was noted that
the only statistically significant (p = 0.007) differences were
in the CE and PS oil, with the average mileage in the sec-
ond study period of approximately 3500 and 4100, respec-
tively. This is a statistically significant but essentially
unimportant result. Both CE and PS oils had a very low
standard deviation (about 200 km, whereas for the other
three oils, the standard deviation was over 1000 km), which
proves a high homogeneity of the vehicles equipped with
these oils.
After the third quarter, in the case of the variable acid
number, it was observed that statistically significant differ-
ences in the mean values were found for pairs ME and PE
and ME and CE at levels 0.036 and 0.04, respectively. The
most homogeneous oils turned out to be MS with PS and
ME with MS. After the last measurement period for both
the mileage and the acid number, there were no statistically
significant differences between the arithmetic mean values.
The CE with PS oils remain at the highest level of
homogeneity.
When analyzing all four measurement periods, the atten-
tion should be drawn to the fact that in the case of some
variables (e.g. MS and PE), the comparisons almost reach
the statistical value, suggesting potential existence of
differences.
Analyzing Table 4, it can be stated that statistically
important differences between the mean values occur in oil
groups CE, PS, MS, and PE within the neighboring meas-
urement periods.
A different situation was observed in the ME oil group.
The acid number for this oil group showed statistically sig-
nificant differences between the second and the third period
and between the third and the fourth. Only the differences
in the first neighboring measurement period were not statis-
tically significant, potentially indicating an acceleration of
the upward trend for the mean values of these parameters.
 Wolak

Table 3. The mean values, standard deviations, and pa values after specific periods of measurement.

[In total] [CE] [ME] [MS] [PE] [PS] CE vs CE vs CE vs CE vs ME vs ME vs ME vs MS vs MS vs PE vs

ME MS PE PS MS PE PS PE PS PS
x (s) p
I quarter N = 28 N = 5 N = 6 N = 6 N = 6 N = 5  
Mileage (km) 2796 (1646) 2514 (1986) 2957 (1580) 2076 (1549) 3409 (1707) 3015 (1740) 0.698 0.699 0.451 0.683 0.352 0.644 0.956 0.187 0.376 0.715
TAN 2.02 (0.46) 2.15 (0.50) 2.38 (0.45) 1.66 (0.34) 2.11 (0.41) 1.79 (0.30) 0.450 0.102 0.889 0.211 0.012 0.308 0.031 0.067 0.512 0.174
II quarter N = 23 N = 4 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5 N = 4  
Mileage (km) 3500 (1047) 3517 (206) 3222 (1187) 2955 (1552) 3798 (1077) 4138 (233) 0.612 0.466 0.596 0.007 0.768 0.445 0.161 0.351 0.164 0.527
TAN 3.25 (0.53) 3.35 (0.54) 3.39 (0.31) 2.68 (0.76) 3.54 (0.25) 3.31 (0.22) 0.901 0.165 0.558 0.897 0.106 0.437 0.664 0.063 0.139 0.192
III quarter N = 21 N = 3 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5 N = 3  
Mileage (km) 3409 (865) 3510 (121) 2653 (541) 3164 (1095) 4092 (835) 3837 (229) 0.022 0.521 0.196 0.116 0.386 0.015 0.006 0.173 0.247 0.548
TAN 4.94 (0.84) 5.62 (0.51) 4.52 (0.59) 4.67 (1.30) 5.42 (0.54) 4.63 (0.16) 0.040 0.197 0.632 0.068 0.829 0.036 0.707 0.279 0.958 0.028
IV quarter N = 21 N = 3 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5 N = 3  
Mileage (km) 1920 (564) 2160 (298) 1794 (867) 2181 (465) 1771 (575) 1704 (282) 0.426 0.941 0.255 0.127 0.413 0.961 0.839 0.251 0.122 0.835
TAN 6.31 (0.92) 6.26 (0.55) 6.78 (0.51) 5.67 (1.62) 6.57 (0.46) 6.23 (0.36) 0.262 0.488 0.475 0.929 0.209 0.515 0.127 0.293 0.498 0.295

Source: Own elaboration.

N: the number of samples tested; x : arithmetic average; s: standard deviation; p: p value; TAN: total acid number.
ap value resulting from the application of Student’s t test for independent samples.
69
70 Measurement and Control 51(3-4)

Table 4. The mean values, standard deviations, and pa values for the TAN.

Oil group [Quarter 1] [Quarter 2] [Quarter 2] [Quarter 3] [Quarter 3] [Quarter 4]  

N = 5 N = 4 N = 4 N = 3 N = 3 N = 3  

x (s) p x (s) p x (s) p

CE 2.15 (0.50) 3.35 (0.54) 0.047 3.35 (0.54) 5.62 (0.51) 0.009 5.62 (0.51) 6.26 (0.55) 0.004
PS 1.79 (0.30) 3.31 (0.22) 0.002 3.31 (0.22) 4.63 (0.16) 0.017 4.63 (0.16) 6.23 (0.36) 0.006
 
  N = 6 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5 N = 5  
  x (s) p x (s) p x (s) p
ME 2.38 (0.45) 3.39 (0.31) 0.013 3.39 (0.31) 4.52 (0.59) 0.004 4.52 (0.59) 6.78 (0.51) 0.000
MS 1.66 (0.34) 2.68 (0.76) 0.010 2.68 (0.76) 4.67 (1.30) 0.003 4.67 (1.30) 5.67 (1.62) 0.003
PE 2.11 (0.41) 3.54 (0.25) 0.000 3.54 (0.25) 5.42 (0.54) 0.001 5.42 (0.54) 6.57 (0.46) 0.000

Source: Own elaboration.

TAN: total acid number; N: the number of samples tested; x : arithmetic average; s: standard deviation; p: p value.
ap value resulting from the application of Student’s t test for independent samples.

Table 5. The results of the estimation of linear regression model for TAN.

A B p Se
CE
1.154 0.382 0.000 0.527
ME
1.228 0.400 0.000 0.847
MS
0.797 0.427 0.000 0.530
PE
0.783 0.392 0.000 0.591
PS
0.614 0.373 0.000 0.546

Source: Own elaboration.

TAN: total acid number; A: absolute term values; B: slope coefficients; p: probability test for the hypotheses proclaiming slope coefficients’ value
equal to 0; Se: residual standard deviations.

V. Modeling changes in the values
of engine oil parameters
At the first stage of modeling the changes in TAN, the
acceptable limit value was determined;12,13 then, for each
oil, on the basis of the collected empirical material, a visual
evaluation of the relationships between the mileage and the
changes in oil parameters was performed. It was assumed
that the linear relationship was adequate.
The results of all estimations are presented in Table 5,
which specifies the absolute term values (A), slope coeffi-
cients (B), probability test for the hypotheses proclaiming
slope coefficients’ value equal to 0 (p), and the residual
standard deviations (Se).
It can be noticed that each of the ratings of slope coeffi-
cients was significantly different from zero (all p < 0.05).
The slope coefficient indicates the expected (average)
change of a given parameter with an increase in the mileage
of 1000 km. Therefore, the positive slope coefficient indi-
cates a positive relationship between the mileage and aver-
age parameter values, whereas the negative slope coefficient
indicates a negative relationship between the mileage and
average parameter values.
The estimated regression equation in the form of
Y = A + B × X enables to calculate average predictive values
for parameters (Y) and given mileage (X). The A and B val-
ues are presented in Table 5. These predictions are burdened
with the lowest error within the observed mileage values,
whereas the extrapolation, that is, performing a prediction
for mileages much larger or smaller than these observed,
can be burdened with a larger standard error since the form
of the relation between the mileage and the tested parameter
outside the field of data is not necessarily in the same form.
Empirical data and point prediction for the range of
0–16,000 km (central blue line) is presented in Figure 2.
Point prediction, like any other estimate based on empiri-
cal data, is burdened with a standard error. The curves
defining the limits of 95% of the prediction intervals (Pd
and Pg curves) are also included in the graphs to quantify
the estimated error rate. The graphs also show black dotted
horizontal lines, which are the accepted limit values (G).
At the point of intersection of the line P with line G, one
can read the value of the mileage for which the average
value of the parameter exceeds the threshold; it is the so-
called reverse predicate. The mileage read as intersections
of the straight line G with the Pd and Pg curves define the
Wolak 71
Figure 2.  Empirical data and single point predictions of mileage in the range 0–16,000 km (TAN)
Source: Own elaboration.
95% confidence interval (also called the calibration inter-
val) for the mileage value at which the threshold value for
the hypothetical individual measurement of the parameter
is exceeded. When analyzing the nature of the changes in
the acid number based on the collected empirical data and
point prediction (Figure 2), attention was drawn to the
rapid increase in the acid number in relation to the number
of kilometers traveled. Limit values were exceeded at
12,000 km for ME and MS oils and at 13,000 km for CE
and PE oils. Acceptable levels of the acid number were
longest retained by the engine oils from the PS group.
From the beginning of the test, regular increases in the acid
number were recorded, and as a result, predictions for
greater mileages than those examined in the study canhave
a relatively low standard error (except for the ME oils for
which the prediction range is the widest).
VI. Final conclusions
This study focuses primarily on the description of changes
in the TAN of engine oils during operation. The results of
the research conducted on the fleet of vehicles under real
operating conditions might be helpful in making rational
decisions regarding the life and use of engine oils. The
main conclusions of this study are as follows:
All analyzed oil groups showed a similar upward trend
in the TAN from the start of the test. In the case of CE, MS,
and PE oils, the TAN rose in proportion to the kilometers
traveled throughout the operating period. Similar results
were observed in the oil groups ME and PS, up to the mile-
age range of 8000–12,000 km; however, above this range,
the TAN changes intensified.
The acid value after 12 months of operation rose four-
fold when compared with the fresh oil (max values exceed
7 mg KOH/g). Wang2 reported significantly lower TAN—
5 mg KOH/g, after 12,000 km of operation. The difference
in the obtained results confirms the negative effect of the
“severe” operating conditions on the degradation of engine
oils. The limit values have been exceeded on average after
approximately 13,000 km—at the latest for the PS group of
oils (approximately 14,000 km). The statistical analysis
allowed to confirm the high homogeneity of the tested
oils—especially in pairs containing the MS oil (MS with
CE, MS with PE, and MS with PS)—in all four measuring
periods.
The obtained data allowed us to develop a statistical
model with the use of linear function. The model based on
the changes in the TAN of in-service engine oils can be
used to predict the behavior of oil during operation.
It should be noted, however, that in order to obtain more
complete information on the changes occurring in the oil, it
is advisable to analyze the acid number together with kin-
ematic viscosity measured at 100°C14 and also consider the
degree of oxidation.
72 Measurement and Control 51(3-4)
Acknowledgements
All laboratory tests for this study were conducted at the Oil and
Gas Institute in Kraków–the National Research Institute. The
author wishes to thank the Director of the Oil and Gas Institute
Prof. Maria Ciechanowska, PhD. Eng., and acting as Deputy
Director for Oil Technology Wiesława Urzędowska, MSc, for the
opportunity to perform the tests.
Funding
The publication was funded by appropriations of the Faculty of
Commodity Science, Cracow University of Economics, within the
framework of grants to maintain the research potential.
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