Petroleum-Based Hydraulic Fluids and Flammability

Abstract

Hydraulic fluids for the most part are considered to be much less flammable than middle distillate fuels. Petroleum-based hydraulic fluids have high flash points, while water-based hydraulic fluids (because of their high water content) are definitely nonflammable. The major problem with water-based hydraulic fluids is corrosion. Petroleum-based fluids are much less corrosive and thus equipment lifetime is considerably increased. However, some petroleum-based hydraulic fluids have been observed to be a fire safety hazard in situations where high-pressure leaks can result in aerosol formation. These fire hazards cannot be adequately explained based solely on flash point considerations of the hydraulic fluids alone.

A High-Performance Multifunctional Lubricant Additive for Water–Glycol Hydraulic Fluid

“…Due to their extremely low compressibility, excellent lubricity, proper viscosities, good viscositytemperature properties, and remarkable antirust performance, petroleum oils have long been used as commercial hydraulic fluids. However, their high flammability prevents their application in some hydraulic systems that are subject to extremely high temperature or fire [2]. For example, in coal mining and metal-working processes, leaking petroleum oil-based hydraulic fluids from hydraulic systems have been the main source of fire and are potentially hazardous.…”

Effect of droplet size on the film formation of O/W emulsion

“…In past studies, the demand for desired characteristics of lubricants has included not only good tribological properties but also environmental friendliness, renewability, sustainability and economic considerations (Reeves et al , 2019; Syahir et al , 2017; Holmberg and Erdemir, 2017). However, the low flash point, high flammability (Mushrush et al , 2006) and poor thermal conductivity of oil-based lubricants make them unsuitable for certain fire and explosion hazard situations (Wang et al , 2011). Therefore, water-based lubricants (Meng et al , 2020; Xiao et al , 2017; Xiao et al , 2019; Espinosa et al , 2014; Cen et al , 2019) have been widely concerned by researchers.…”