The first ASTM international standard for Kunlun Lubricants has been officially released.

Recently, the ASTM international standard “D8503-23 Standard Test Method for Determining the Scuffing Temperature Limit of Lubricating Oils Using the SRV Test Machine,” led and drafted by Kunlun Lubricants, was officially approved and published. This is the first ASTM international standard developed by Kunlun Lubricants and the first original ASTM standard test method developed by PetroChina, achieving a breakthrough from having no ASTM standards to developing one.
The drafting team for this standard has been engaged in research on simulated test methods for the friction and wear performance of lubricants, as well as the development and revision of standards, and has accumulated extensive experience and expertise in simulation testing. After years of exploration and professional technical accumulation, with the support of PetroChina’s International Standards Cultivation and Research Platform of the Science and Technology Department, Kunlun Lubricants proposed the development of an ASTM standard in 2019. At the ASTM annual meeting presentation in December of the same year, the proposal received recognition from the chair of the D02 subcommittee’s SRV working group. From the selection and evaluation of test-piece materials, examination of test conditions, and verification of method application to the determination of precision among laboratories worldwide, the standard was ultimately successfully published after nearly five years of method research and standardization work.
With increasingly stringent energy-saving and environmental protection emissions regulations, the use of fuel direct-injection and turbocharged engine technologies, and the increase in the thrust-to-weight ratio of aviation turbine gas engines, industrial equipment is also developing toward higher rotational speeds and heavier loads. The service temperature of lubricating oils is gradually increasing. Under relatively high operating temperatures, severe conditions such as high temperature, high speed, and heavy load can cause the oil film to rupture, resulting in scuffing failure of the equipment’s friction pairs. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a test method for determining the scuffing temperature limit of lubricating oils. Existing ASTM methods, such as the FZG gear test machine, four-ball machine, and Timken test, are all used to evaluate the scuffing resistance of lubricants as the load increases. Unlike traditional test methods, this standard method is used to evaluate the scuffing resistance of lubricants as the temperature gradient increases, with the test temperature reaching as high as 300℃. This standard represents a new development in performance evaluation in the field of tribology. It provides a corresponding test method for determining changes in the friction coefficient of lubricating oils with temperature and their scuffing temperature limits. It is of great significance for evaluating the effect of lubricating oil temperature on tribological performance and fills a gap in original international test methods for lubricants.
As the main branch of ASTM International, Technical Committee D02 in the field of petroleum products has more than 600 members from major oil companies, instrument manufacturers, and research institutions. The development and promulgation of each standard is a process of balancing the interests of all parties, while also providing global petrochemical enterprises with an opportunity to compete on the same platform. The first international standard in the lubricant field developed by Kunlun Lubricants filled a gap in the relevant standards, demonstrated Kunlun Lubricants’ research capabilities on the international stage for the first time, enhanced the international influence of China’s lubricant evaluation technology, and achieved a new breakthrough in the international standardization of lubricant test methods in China.