This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: D6786 − 15 (Reapproved 2023)

Standard Test Method for

Particle Count in Mineral Insulating Oil Using Automatic
Optical Particle Counters1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D6786; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope 3. Terminology
1.1 This test method covers the determination of particle 3.1 Definitions:
concentration and particle size distribution in mineral insulat- 3.1.1 coincidence, n—the presence of more than one particle
ing oil. It is suitable for testing oils having a viscosity of in the sensing zone of a particle analyzer at the same time,
6 mm2/s to 20 mm2/s at 40 °C. The test method is specific to causing mis-sizing and mis-counting of the particle present; the
liquid automatic particle analyzers that use the light extinction coincidence limit of the counter is determined by the maximum
principle. acceptable concentration of particles in the sensing zone and is
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as supplied by the instrument manufacturer.
standard. No other units of measurement are included in this 3.1.2 concentration limit, n—a direct function of coinci-
standard. dence and electronic saturation; the concentration limit of the
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the system is determined by the maximum acceptable concentra-
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the tion of particles in the given sample and is supplied by the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- instrument manufacturer.

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priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter- 3.1.3 electronic saturation level, n—particle concentration
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. at which the electronic circuitry of the analyzer ceases to
1.4 This international standard was developed in accor- function properly due to excessive counting rates.
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- 3.1.4 light extinction, n—the reduction in intensity of a light
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the beam passing through the sensing zone of a particle analyzer,
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom- caused by the absorption and/or scattering of the light by
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical particles; synonyms: light obscuration, light interruption, light
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. blockage.

2. Referenced Documents 4. Summary of Test Method

2.1 ASTM Standards:2 4.1 Samples are taken in particle-clean bottles that are
D923 Practices for Sampling Electrical Insulating Liquids suitable for particle analysis. The sample bottle is agitated to
redistribute particles in the oil, then the oil is placed in an
2.2 ISO Standards:3
automatic particle counter, where the number of particles and
4406:1999 Hydraulic Fluid Power—Fluids—Method for
their size distribution are determined by the light extinction
Coding the Level of Contamination by Solid Particles
principle.
11171:2010 Hydraulic Fluid Power—Calibration of Auto-
matic Particle Counters for Liquids 4.2 As particles pass through the sensing zone of the
instrument, the quantity of light reaching the detector is
obscured. This signal is translated to an equivalent projected
1
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D27 on area diameter based on calibration with a NIST-traceable fluid
Electrical Insulating Liquids and Gases and is the direct responsibility of Subcom- (ISO Medium Test Dust suspension).
mittee D27.07 on Physical Test.
Current edition approved Dec. 1, 2023. Published January 2024. Originally 5. Significance and Use
approved in 2002. Last previous edition approved in 2015 as D6786 – 15. DOI:
10.1520/D6786-15R23. 5.1 Particles in insulating oil can have a detrimental effect
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or on the dielectric properties of the fluid, depending on the size,
contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM concentration, and nature of the particles. The source of these
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
the ASTM website.
particles can be external contaminants, oil degradation by-
3
Available from American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St., products, or internal materials such as metals, carbon, or
4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org. cellulose fibers.

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 D6786 − 15 (2023)
5.2 Particle counts provide a general degree of contamina- directly from NIST4 (SRM 2806) or a secondary sample
tion level and may be useful in assessing the condition of prepared in accordance to ISO 11171 and traceable to NIST.
specific types of electrical equipment. Particle counts can also 8.4 Dilution Oil, insulating oil that has been filtered to
be used to determine filtering effectiveness when processing contain fewer than 1 % of the total particles expected in the
oil. cleanest sample.
5.3 If more specific knowledge of the nature of the particles
is needed, other tests such as metals analysis or fiber identifi- 9. Sampling
cation and counting must be performed. 9.1 Proper sampling is crucial to particulate analysis. Obtain
6. Interferences a sample of the liquid to be tested in accordance with Practice
D923.
6.1 Dirty environmental conditions and poor handling tech-
niques can easily contaminate the sample and/or test specimen. 10. Calibration
Care must be taken to ensure test results are not biased by 10.1 Calibration of the instrument shall be with a NIST-
introduced particles. traceable calibration fluid in accordance with ISO 11171.
6.2 Air bubbles in the oil may be counted as particles giving 10.2 Calibrate the instrument annually, unless experience
false positive readings. Mixing or agitating the sample intro- justifies longer or shorter intervals.
duces bubbles into the oil. These are dissipated using vacuum
or ultrasonic bath. 10.3 Interim calibration checks should be made regularly by
using a particle count standard fluid prepared using the
6.3 Suspended or free water in the oil will interfere with procedures of ISO 11171. If the average number of counts is at
particle counts. least 100, the check values should be within 20 % of the
6.4 Excessive concentrations of particles in the oil will standard values.
cause coincidence or electronic saturation errors, or both.
Limits are determined by ISO 11171 and are generally supplied 11. Procedure
by the instrument manufacturer. These errors may be avoided 11.1 If necessary, wipe the outside of the sample bottle with
by diluting the sample with particle-clean dilution oil or a clean lint-free towel.
particle-clean solvent.
11.2 If other tests are to be run on the same sample, shake
6.5 Odd-shaped particles and fibers may be improperly the sample bottle as described in 11.3 and transfer a specimen
analyzed, depending on their orientation as they pass through for particle count to another particle-clean bottle. Do this
the sensing zone of the instrument. before running any other tests in order to avoid contamination.
7. Apparatus 11.3 Ultrasonically disperse for 30 s to 40 s then agitate the
7.1 Automatic Particle Counter, liquid optical particle coun- sample bottle vigorously for 30 s to 60 s to redistribute
ter based on the light extinction principle. The instrument shall particles, the length of time depending on the effectiveness of
be capable of recording the size and number of particles as they the method of agitation. Preferably use a mechanical shaker.
pass across the detector. The particle counter shall include a Do not use a magnetic stir bar or any other device that comes
bottle sampling apparatus that automatically delivers a prede- in contact with the oil.
termined volume of specimen at a controlled flow rate to the 11.4 Apply vacuum to the bottle, or use the ultrasonic bath,
sensing zone of the analyzer. or both, until bubbles dissipate.
7.2 Mechanical Shaker, paint shaker, table shaker, or other 11.5 Immediately analyze the sample with the automatic
mechanical device to vigorously agitate sample bottles. particle counter according to the manufacturer’s operating
7.3 Ultrasonic Bath, with a power density of 3000 W to instructions. Usually the analyzer is flushed with a specimen of
10 000 W per m2 of bottom area. the oil prior to testing. After the initial flush, 2 to 3 runs on each
sample are recommended.
8. Materials 11.6 When particle count runs are finished, flush the instru-
8.1 Particle-clean Bottles, recommended sample containers ment with particle-clean solvent or particle-clean oil in accor-
are cylindrical bottles made of polypropylene, polystyrene, dance with the instrument manufacturer’s recommendations.
PET, or glass with flat bottoms, fitted with a suitable non-
shedding threaded cap. Bottles should be at least 100 mL 12. Report
capacity. The bottles shall meet the cleanliness criteria of 12.1 Report the average of the particle count runs as the
contributing less than 1 % of the total particles expected in the cumulative number of particles per mL ≥4 µm, ≥6 µm, ≥10 µm,
cleanest sample. ≥14 µm, ≥21 µm, ≥38 µm, and ≥70 µm (c). The “(c)” after the
8.2 Particle-clean Solvent, petroleum spirits, hexane, size indicates that the particle counter was calibrated using ISO
kerosene, or other suitable solvent, filtered through a 0.45 µm 11171. These particle sizes correspond approximately to
membrane filter.
8.3 Calibration Fluid, suspension of ISO Medium Test Dust 4
Available from National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau
in oil or hydraulic fluid, either a primary sample obtained Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
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 D6786 − 15 (2023)
>2 µm, >5 µm, >10 µm, >15 µm, >25 µm, >50 µm, and 13. Precision and Bias
>100 µm for particle counters that were calibrated with the old 13.1 A round robin is planned to determine the precision
ISO 4402 calibration standard. If only one particle count run is and bias of this test method.
analyzed, report the results of the single run.
12.2 Optionally, also report the ISO solid contaminant code 14. Keywords
corresponding to the number of particles per mL ≥4 µm, 6 µm, 14.1 optical particle counter; particle count; particulate
and 14 µm (c), as prescribed in ISO 4406:1999. contamination

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