An Accelerated Testing Approach for Lubricant Oil Consumption Reduction on an EMD 710 Diesel Engine

Real-Time Da Vinci Lubricant Oil Consumption (DALOC™) measurements were made on a 2,942 kW (4,000 hp) EMD 16-710G3 locomotive diesel engine, as part of a program to evaluate prototype cylinder kits that hold the potential to reduce lubricating oil consumption and hence reduce exhaust particulate matter emissions towards meeting EPA Tier 0+ locomotive emissions certification. The DALOC technique uses sulfur dioxide (SO₂) measured in the exhaust gas stream as a tracer for oil consumption. The engine was operated on an ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (3 ppm by weight) and commercially available SAE grade 20W40 mineral-based lubricating oil (4,865 ppm by weight). Knowing the SO₂ concentration in the exhaust, the air and fuel flow rates, and the lubricating oil consumption rate can be calculated in real-time, i.e. on a second-to-second basis. Use of this measurement technique on the locomotive engine application has proven to be a cost- and time-reducing tool for mapping steady-state lubricating oil consumption rate. Numerous prior publications describe the evolution of this technique over time as well as the prior art in the area of lubricant impact on emissions [1–12]. As part of this project, the lubricant oil consumption of 4 different cylinder kits were accurately quantified at 4 steady-state operating conditions typical of North American freight locomotive operation within less than 40 hours of actual engine running. Applying this measurement technique, a reduction of lubricant oil consumption of 75%+ in comparison to the baseline cylinder kits were documented.