Characterization of E-Fluids from Laboratory Analysis to Test Bench and Test Stands

The trend in the automotive industry towards e-drive results in new challenges for the lubricants and fluids used. Due to the limited amount of industry standards, many characterization methods and processes for e- fluids have been developed by OEMs, the oil and additive industry and independent laboratories during the last years. In addition, national and international committees start to implement new test standards with defined precisions for this rapidly changing application. A combination of different laboratory tests to screen a fluid regarding specific attributes can be conducted. This can reduce the number of testing candidates significantly, before committing to more expensive and time-consuming engine or field trial tests. This paper gives a brief overview over the most used tests in the industry for these purposes.