"We will select a new turbine oil for steam turbines. Can a.k.a.RBOT，ASTMD2272 test the anti-oxidation capacity of two different lubricants?"

This is a common misconception about the test. In the test, lubricant, distilled water and copper catalyst are placed in a glass container, recharge it with oxygen pressure, put into the oil bath of a certain temperature and keep it rotating. The test records when oxygen reaches a certain pressure drop to measure the oxidation stability of lubricant under these test conditions.

However, since the actual using conditions of turbine oil is greatly different from the conditions of the said test. The test value and service life against oxidation might not be related. For example, the test value of some oil sample is 1,000 minutes, the other is only 700 minutes.

However, due to actual pressure conditions and formulation factors, the lubricant with a relatively low test value may be oxidized more slowly. Therefore, the lubricant with a high test value has a better stability against oxidation. In other words, formulation factors (base oil and additives) have different performances under different pressure conditions. In this example, new lubricant is a better choice for the lubricant with a relatively low test value that requires a long time of resistance to oxidation. In sum, for turbine oil, generally it's not recommended to select lubricant with a test value lower than 600 minutes, while for lubricant with a test value over 1,000 minutes, it is also considered to exceed the sensitivity of test.

Similarly, it should be noted that for measuring the oxidation degree of in-use turbine oil, it is a very good method to compare the test value of in-use oil and new oil.