Smoothing The Way

[Music] we live today in the age of Industry in a world of machines countless machines of every kind that refine and process and manufacture the necessities and luxuries of modern living from massive plates of Steel to the sheerest of miracle synthetic fibers machines that process and pack our food and drink make furniture for homes and offices weave textiles for a thousand daily uses and the age of machinery is the age of oil [Music] petroleum provides not only heat and power but almost a hundred percent of the lubricants which guard our huge industrial investment against friction corrosion and wear without oil to smooth the way the wheels of Industry would grind to a halt how can L prevent such costly wear here's a simple analogy it takes a lot of energy to pull this boat against the force of friction the combined resistance of millions of tiny grains of sand drag the boat foreigner and the bottom would be worn away by the float the water acts as a lubricant by separating the resisting surfaces friction is reduced less power does more work and wear is eliminated it's the same in machinery every moving part must be launched upon its own sea of oil for friction is a costly power consuming heat creating we're producing destroyer of machinery the battle against this industrial enemy begins with petroleum research from the world-famous s/o Research Center have come many of the most important developments in oil refining startling discoveries in petroleum chemistry and outstanding contributions to better lubrication for every phase of industry mining processing manufacturing construction Road building railroading and utilities to name but a few millions of dollars have been spent on problems of lubrication problems ranging from theoretical research to constant year-in and year-out testing of all kinds of oils and greases in actual use in magnificently equipped engine test laboratories every characteristic of any lubricant can be scientifically analyzed in actual performance so let's spend a few minutes here in the world's leading petroleum research laboratories and see how scientific research creates the amazing lubricants that protect our modern industrial world all right let's start right at the beginning with crude oil crude oil petroleum was created by Nature perhaps millions of years ago usually buried deep down on the earth it's only within the last hundred years that oil men have learned how to find it and bring it up to the service today we transport it sometimes thousands of miles by tankers and pipelines to great Esso refineries where it's made into hundreds of products including oils and greases that keep the wheels of Industry turning a refinery like this is a big industrial city in itself its skyline dominated by giant cat crackers rows of futuristic looking stills graceful alkylation towers and tanks of every shape and size of the ten crude oils which flow into this refinery from different fields only the finest are chosen to make lubricants but all crude oils are extremely complex raw materials so the first step in refining is to break them up into more simple fractions this is done in big pipe stills like this these units look tremendously complex and they are but here in the laboratory with a simple cutaway model we can get a clearer idea of how a distillation Tower works we'll have to imagine that the crude oil has been heated to 800 degrees Fahrenheit released in the bottom of the distillation Tower it instantly vaporizes and starts to rise the tower is divided by many horizontal trays illustrated by only four trays in our model the hot oil vapour bubbles up through these trays cooling as it goes part of the vapor condenses back to liquid form in each tray heavier parts in the lower trays of the tower lighter parts in these cooler trays higher up from the top of the tower about a hundred degrees Fahrenheit the lightest fractions are drawn off to be processed into gasoline farther down at a higher temperature a heavier liquid condenses and is drawn off this one suitable for making kerosene below at a still higher temperature a heavier component is drawn off to be made into heating oil and in the lower part of the tower where the temperature may be 600 to 700 degrees we draw the lubricating oil fraction the remainder called bottoms goes on to be made into heavy oils asphalt or other products now the separation of this lube oil stock from the crude is just the first of many steps in making finished lubricating oils next comes another important step called solvent extra action a principle of separation entirely different from distillation the clear Floyd in the bottom of the flask is phenol a selective solvent when we pour the partly refined lube oil stock carefully on top of the phenol the two liquids remain separated as you can see this action is the key to the process as we'll see in a moment because even after the tube is closed and the oil and solvent are thoroughly shaken together they refuse to mix but immediately begin to separate from each other again but during the brief time that they are together an amazing change takes place the phenol has a little effect on the desirable parts of the oil but it selectively dissolves impurities and undesirable parts of the oil as the oil and solvents separate again you can see that the oil rising to the top is much lighter in color while the solvent settling to the bottom turns black with impurities dissolved from the oil in the refinery huge solvent extraction plants like this eats treat thousands of barrels of oil every day in a continuous process oil flowing endlessly upward through the treating towers is met and purified by solvent flowing downward from the top finally every trace of solvent is removed from the oil while the phenol itself is purified and used again a description of all the many steps and methods used in refining oil would fill the library so let's demonstrate just one more interesting step called clay finishing specially prepared powdered clay is thoroughly mixed with oil heated to high temperature the clay absorbs the last traces of discoloration and impurities from the oil when the action is complete the spent clay is filtered out of the oil in the refinery giant treating and filtering plants multiply what we see here by millions of times but the result is the same the clay retains the color particles and impurities picked up from the oil while the finished oil comes through the filter of bright amber color clear as crystal of course this is a sample of just one oil from different Croods with variations and refining we can create any number of oils each with an individuality all its own two oils may look alike yet be different in many ways one way being in body or viscosity the ability of the oil to flow for example this oil has a heavy body at room temperature we say it has high viscosity for some uses the body of this oil might be just right for other uses it might be much too thick or viscous in contrast here's a much lighter oil one of lure viscosity this oil is perfect for some uses but too light for others but by blending oils of different viscosities together it's possible to create the right body or viscosity for any given job for example to lubricate a particular machine at a certain temperature or satisfy a set of engineering specifications the results of this blending experiment or easy to see all we have to do is take equal amounts of each oil the heavier the lighter and a mixture of the two then we'll pour the three oils together down an inclined plane what happens is just what we'd expect the lighter oil flows easily the heavier oil is relatively sluggish the blend of the two is in-between this illustrates clearly the simple principle of blending to control and oils viscosity but of course an actual refining it's not so simple first of all we must know exactly the flow characteristics of every different lot of oil that's made the viscosity must be measured with scientific accuracy and instrument universally use is the say bolt viscometer or viscosity meter the oil to be tested is heated to a predetermined temperature usually 100 degrees or 210 degrees Fahrenheit then a stopper is pulled and a split-second timer is started the oil drains from the bottom of the reservoir through a standard sized opening into a flask which holds exactly 60 cubic centimeters when filled to the marking line the time in seconds which the oil takes to reach the line is called the viscosity of the oil in seybolt Universal seconds at the given temperature when this particular oil reaches the mark and the timer is stopped it shows the viscosity for this oil to be 50 7.1 seybolt seconds here in the research laboratories we use more intricate equipment and methods for determining viscosity these you Bilotti viscous emitters can run several different oils at a time with even greater accuracy but all of us know that in some machines the same oil has to work in both heat and cold obviously we can't change oil every time the temperature changes so we had to find some way to make oils that could lubricate properly under a wide range of temperatures a tough job because oil as nature made it gets thicker as it gets colder finally it won't even pour as we can see with this oil which has been chilled to zero degrees Fahrenheit when the same oil is heated the hotter it gets the thinner it gets until it's lubricating film gets so thin that it can't possibly give full protection to the moving parts of machines but today with years of intensive research behind us we can greatly improve this natural behavior of oil here we take the same oil and blend into it a small portion of an additive which we call a poor depressant now let's chill the oil not just to zero as before but to 20 degrees below zero after allowing time for the oil to chill let's see what effect the additive has the same oil which before was completely congealed at zero now flows freely at 20 degrees below zero in a similar way we can use other additives to give the same oil more body when hot this control of viscosity is vital because an oil to do a good job under a wide range of temperatures must flow freely when cold and at the other end of the temperature scale it must also have good body when hot how well the oil fills both these demands is expressed in terms of viscosity index or VI an oil with a narrow temperature range of good performance we call an oil with low VI an oil with a wide temperature range of good performance we say has high VI and other qualities being equal the higher the VI the better the oil but the problem goes even further many times liquid lubricants of any viscosity just won't stay on the job the answer is lubricants which are locked Floyd in a word greases in the early days of refining grease making was an art which depended on the personal skill and experience of the grease maker basically grease is a blend of oil and soap heated and stirred together as you can see demonstrated by one of our experts on grease research in actual refining scores of different kinds of greases call for many and varied ingredients scientifically determined by careful research laboratory equipment is replaced by many giant grease kettles that cook and mix thousands of pounds at a time what we see here is the top of such a kettle two stories high inside the kettle paddles driven by a powerful motor stir the ingredients until the perfectly blended grease is made the kind of soap as well as the kind of oil makes a big difference in how a grease behaves most greases are made with either lime base or soda based soap here's a simple experiment which shows which of these two is the more resistant to heat a sample of each is put on a hot plate the lime based grease starts to break down almost immediately as you can see while the soda base grease displays an astonishing resistance to breakdown at exactly the same temperature when it comes to moisture it's a different story let's put similar samples of lime base and soda base grease in a water bath when we flow a stream of water over both samples it takes a relatively short time for the soda base grease to break down and wash away there are other bases to aluminum lithium many kinds of mixed bases each of which provides the answer to some specific lubrication problem here in the grease laboratories every grease gets an exhaustive workout and new greases are under constant development speaking of water everybody knows that straight mineral oil and water are traditional enemies they just don't want to mix if you put them together even shake them up together the oil immediately separates and floats to the top again but when it comes to industrial machinery oil and water often have to work together in the early days of the oil industry chemists discovered that some fatty materials and other agents compounded with oil would act as emulsifiers let's see what happens when this compounded oil gets together with water a complete emulsion is made and the twinkling of an eye compounded oils are used for many industrial purposes such as cutting oils for machining operations where a combined lubricating and cooling effect is needed today petroleum research chemists have developed and perfected scores of new substances to give lubricating oils and greases amazing new performance characteristics for example oil must often do far more than just lubricate it must carry away heat it should flush out and carry away dust dirt in carbon these functions are so important that additives have been developed to help oil do a better job let's see how one of these additives works into two bottles of oil one with detergent additive one without we put powdered carbon similar to the deposits formed in the combustion chamber of an engine we stopper the bottles and shake them to make a thorough suspension of the carbon particles just as occurs in the crankcase let's see what happens almost immediately the particles in the oil without additive began to fall out begin to settle to the bottom just as they would in a crankcase but the additive in the other sample prevents settling it holds the carbon completely in suspension after several minutes the carbon still remain suspended in the oil containing the additive while in the other oil it has completely settled out as we can see the oil without the additive can be poured off almost as clean as it was at the start while the carbon remains as a thick deposit clinging to the bottom of the bottle with the oil containing the additive it's exactly the reverse the carbon held in suspension is carried away in the oil leaving no free carbon behind when the oil is poured off the same thing happens in a bearing or an engine as thousands of actual tests have shown here's a piston from a diesel engine run on a high-quality oil without a detergent additive there are a hard carbon and heavy varnish like formations in the ring zone which caused added friction loss of power and deficiency resulting in a ventral layup of equipment for cleaning and overhaul in contrast this piston was run in the same engine under exactly the same operating conditions but the oil contained a detergent additive the oil kept all the deposits in suspension leaving the ring zone clean and the Rings free we still have full compression power and deficiency to the operator of hard-working heavy-duty equipment this means uninterrupted service minimum maintenance and contracts completed on time it's no wonder that detergent type oils have become almost universal in such service here's another problem the formation of foam by blowing compressed air into a graduate of oil we can simulate what may happen in gearboxes and other fast moving machine elements where oil may be mixed with air and beaten into form too much foam is bad it speeds up oxidation deterioration and sludging of the oil and may cause overflow creating a safety hazard but again research chemists have come up with the answer another additive only a dropper - and the foam is knocked down as if by magic afterward norm out of agitation will again build up the foam in service oil is bound to come in contact with air this means that the oil can combine with oxygen in the air to form oxidation products usually sludge and acid which may be corrosive to machine parts particularly certain types of burying alloys to resist oxidation oil can be protected by other additives oxidation inhibitors this scientific test equipment shows what happens to various oils in the presence of oxygen here's a tube of high-quality straight mineral oil containing no additive it has been given an accelerated test for oxidation now it's dark in color badly sludged and contaminated by the oxidation products certainly the worse for wear and look at the test coil of metal which has been submerged in the oil the straight mineral oil has not protected it from corrosion imagine this happening two bearings or machine parts now let's look at a tube of the same oil with the addition of oxidation and corrosion inhibitors after exactly the same test the oiled is almost as clear and pure as it was at the start and this oil condition will continue for a period many many times longer than the original test the metal in the tube is bright and clean completely protected by the action of the additives in the oil the benefits of this protection are tremendous especially to the operators of such equipment as big power turbines the failure of a bearing of this turbine or its generator would be serious and costly here we have conditions of extremely high speed and high temperature the oil which both lubricates and cools the bearings is circulated rapidly as we can see when the oil return is opened for inspection the constant circulation of the oil involving contact with the air makes high stability resistance to oxidation one of its most important qualities at the time these pictures were taken the deressa loyal we see here had been in this turbine for more than 135,000 hours over 15 years of service samples of the oil are taken at regular intervals and tested to be sure that it's condition remains satisfactory each sample of course is carefully sealed against contamination and correctly tagged for identification let's go back to the laboratories and take a look at just one more of the many lubrication qualities improved by additives the mode carrying ability of a loyal its capacity to stand up under pressure in this SAE extreme pressure gear lubricant ester the oil lubricates test pieces which run in contact at different speeds now the operator starts an automatic device which will gradually build up pressure on the rubbing surfaces until the protective lubricating film breaks down we're now running on a high quality gear oil but without any additive to improve its load-carrying ability as the pressure increases the test pieces get hot and the oil begins to smoke [Music] as the lubricating film breaks down the operator stops the machine at 170 on the scale and here's the result heavily scored and badly damaged services new test pieces have been installed and we're ready for another run again we're putting in the same oil but this time a load carrying additive has been blended into it after a short run in period the buildup of pressure begins [Music] as before the load on the test pieces is rapidly built up [Music] [Applause] [Music] 200 [Music] 250 already we're far beyond the breakdown point of the oil without panicking again the oil begins to smoke from heat created by the pressure but it still maintains a lubricating film as shown by the smoothly running machine when the operator must finally stop the machine the dial reads 440 but the rubbing surfaces are still in almost perfect condition this ability to withstand high loads and pressure is absolutely vital in many machines and operations such as this bearing in a sugar mill which carries a load of 2 tonnes to the square inch or in a steel rolling mill where lubricants must stand up under tremendous pressure high temperature and shock the breakdown of a bearing here would shut down the mill and cost many many thousands of dollars in repairs and lost production time a high price to pay for lubrication failure and so it goes throughout the realm of Industry countless machines and combinations of operating conditions create an endless variety of lubrication problems for example the heat and pressure of a rubber mill are vastly different from conditions in the subterranean tunnels of a mine or in the complex processes of giant chemical plants it's a long way from the high speeds and the exacting cleanliness of a spinning mill to the shock and abrasion of a rock crusher or a heavy conveyor system a single operation may call for several lubricants and the methods of applying lubricants are almost as varied as the machines that use them different plants may have widely different problems and that brings us to some of the most important lubrication duties of all those performed by lubrication engineers we find these experts ready to help wherever the advice of a trained and experienced lubrication specialist is needed they wage an on-the-job battle against friction corrosion and wear today thousands of industrial plants have dozens often hundreds of machines many of them intricate and highly specialized the lubrication engineer is trained in analyzing a plant's requirements here smoothing the way begins let's join this Esso lubrication engineer while he himself tells us a little about what he does well no two plants are the same but the managers problem is always the same to run his plant economically that means preventing where and breakdowns our job is to help him we know from experience that we can often get the best results and most economy only by surveying the whole plant and recommending a complete lubrication plan this is a big cement plant this plant has many different kinds of machines and has lubrication problems peculiar to this kind of operation lubrication requirements are important to a plant like this and we can often save the management money by reducing the number of different lubricants and delivering in larger volume an effective lubrication sir they takes close cooperation between the plant management and us it's important that everyone understands just what the survey is for how long it will take when it should be done and how much help from plant personnel may be needed here a survey was agreed on and as a first step the plant superintendent gave me a quick run through the plant so that I could plan the survey and estimate the time required we usually start at the raw material end of the plant and fall right through to the final product this cement plant is unusual in that the principal raw material is oyster shells these are brought up River by barge and into the plant on conveyor belts whose rollers are lubricated through grease fittings the material is often wet so the grease must be water-resistant I recommended s10 as it must be heavy enough and applied frequently enough to prevent hard abrasive shell particles from working into the fittings or bearings inside the plant the shells are first broken up by a hammer mill on this mill we have conditions of high speed fairly high temperature and shock the oil we specify must carry a high load and have good body when hot it should be an inhibited type to prevent oxidation and give long life another conveyor system carries the partly crushed material to the raw mills these are big ball mills that present an entirely different set of conditions the huge revolving cylinders are loaded with hundreds of solid steel balls like these which pulverized the raw material into a fine powder obviously the loaded mill is a tremendous weight but the supporting bearings have very large surface area and they operate at moderate speed and are water cooled under these conditions a high quality mineral oil with a viscosity of about 85 seconds at 210 degrees Fahrenheit such as Teressa 85 will give excellent service combined with the greatest economy the power is transmitted through a jack shaft and pinion which drives a big enclosed girth gear and circling the mill here we have a lot of pressure and a tendency of the lubricant to fly off to keep a proper lubricating film between the teeth under these conditions we need an adhesive gear shield type lubricant such as surrett where the viscosity of about 1,500 seconds at 210 degrees Fahrenheit the big kills that dry the product after the ingredients are mixed present another tough lubrication problem the hot end of the kill goes up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and a lot of heat is transmitted to the bearings and gears that support and turn the big steel cylinders oil is carried to the bearings by a chain and Buckett device and the bearings themselves are water-cooled so the lubricant requirement is different at this point but on the big girth gear fastened directly to the kill itself the temperature is up around 350 degrees Fahrenheit this calls for an adhesive gear shield compound of around 3000 seconds seybolt viscosity at 210 degrees and so it goes when I make the actual survey I'll have to analyze each separate machine and set of operating conditions and recommend the best SLE lubricant for both efficiency and economy what you can see in these few scenes just gives you a small idea of the work involved there are many more machines including the big shakers where the clinkers from The Kills are cooled and a big compressor installation to furnish air for transmitting the finished cement by a pipeline the actual survey of this plant took me six days to complete but such time is well spent when it results in improved lubrication and a reduction in maintenance cost when completed this particular survey was organized into four separate sections each covering a major part of the plant when the plant manager accepts the survey my real service to him has only begun part of the job is organizing the use of lubricants and setting up a convenient schedule in each department where it can easily be referred to and followed then storage and handling facilities are checked and suggestions given for the right location and conditions for storage including proper dispensing equipment containers or pumps to ensure clean lubricants and prevent mixture or contamination safety precautions are important too so is temperature greases especially should always be kept away from heat and always used on a first in first out basis to limit their storage time a properly kept inventory prevents shortage and helps organize stock control for economical buying well I guess that gives you a little idea of what a lubrication engineer does yes and it's a big job in every type of Industry in thousands of plants lubrication engineers are smoothing the way to more efficient money-saving operation behind them petroleum Research is playing a vital part in the growth of Industry solving more and more lubrication problems from the simple machines of yesteryear to the huge and complex industrial plants of today and the newer and tougher problems of the dawning age of jet propulsion and atomic power [Music]