Evaluation Of Commercial, Biodegradable, Synthetic Or Biosourced Hydraulic Fluid For Use In Military Combat/Tactical Vehicles

The U.S. Army has been involved in the development of biodegradable hydraulic products since the 1990's. Such products concentrated primarily on industrial type hydraulic fluids. Current work is targeted at the development of biodegradable, bio-based hydraulic fluids that can be used in tactical/combat systems. This evaluation is being conducted in three phases. The first two phases have been completed which were laboratory evaluations wherein the fluids underwent laboratory testing by the Fuels and Lubricants Technology Team (FLTT) of the U. S. Army Tank - Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). A market survey was conducted which identified companies manufacturing biodegradable products from biomass feedstock. Products were requested from these companies and sixteen candidate fluids were received for evaluation. The sixteen candidate fluids were evaluated in Phase I, which screened the products for basic properties they were required to meet. These properties included but not limited to viscosity, freeze point, and flash point. The candidate fluids passing the screening tests will be fully evaluated in the laboratories during Phase II. Products that pass Phase II will continue to Phase III, a scheduled field demonstration where the candidate fluid(s) will be placed in military tactical and combat vehicles for a period of one year. The results obtained so far for Phases I and II are being reported in this paper.