Low sulphur diesel field test study in Thailand

A study of one of the first batches of local low sulphur diesel fuels was conducted in order to determine the fuel's lubricity effects on VE rotary pump performance. This study involved a 30,000 km accumulation field test. Two types of fuels were used. Both were not additised with lubricity improvers. The first fuel, with HFRR WSD value of 358 μm, was used on three test vehicles, each fitted with new VE rotary pumps. The other fuel (HFRR value of 467 μm) was used with the other three test vehicles, each fitted with new pumps that were evaluated prior to field use. Camplate, cam-roller, pins and flyweight were evaluated after completing 30,000 km. No evidence of abnormal wear was found for all six pumps. However, slight but noticeable differences were found between pumps running on Test Fuels 1 and 2. These differences were found in flyweight stroke and axial wears. Despite these differences, the pumps were considered to be capable of further use.