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Carburants, Lubrifiants & Fluides pour le Transport

Activities

Presentation

The GFC is constituted by four technical committees:

TO BE UPDATED

Technical Committee of Transmission Lubricants (CTLT)

The CTLT, Technical Committee Transmissions Lubricants, is the French equivalent of the former TLTC (Transmission Lubricants Technical Committee) of the CEC. It was created from 1967 and is interested in lubricants necessary for the transmissions of the ground vehicles (automobiles, heavy trucks, tractors, machines of construction site); It is worth to notice that it works also on greases.

Technical Committee of Engine Lubricants (CTLM)

The objectives of the CTLM are to identify needs, at the French level, in tests procedures for the evaluation of the performances of engine lubricants, to develop, to publish, to spread these procedures and to insure the follow-up. The CTLM is the French equivalent of the former ELTC (Engine Lubricants Technical Committee) of the CEC and he insures the connection with the works realized by the other standardization groups (CEC, BNPé).

Technical Committee of Engine Fuels (CTCM)

The CTCM, Technical Committee of Engine Fuels is, within the GFC, the forum of discussions and study of the questions relative to fuels and to engines of every types. Constituted by French experts in these technical domains, the CTCM has for essential missions the European and national sharing of the experiences as well as the piloting of the working subgroups connected with it.

Technical Committee of the Other Fluids (CTAF)

The Technical Committee of the Other Fluids ( CTAF) was created in 1991 to be integrated(joined) into the CEC at first as FSG (Fluids Special Group) in 1996 within the framework of CEC's committees (ECTC Engine Coolants Technical Committee). Further to the meeting of April 20th, 2001 in Paris, it becomes again a technical committee of the GFC (CTFA: Technical Committee of the Automobile(Automotive) Fluids) with the same active members: French, Italian, Spanish, English and German.

Technical Committee of Transmission Lubricants

Introduction TO BE UPDATED

Technical committee of Transmission Lubricants ( CTLT) The CTLT, Technical Committee Transmissions Lubricants, is the French equivalent of the former TLTC (Transmission Lubricants Technical Committee) of the CEC. It was created from 1967 and is interested in lubricants necessary for the transmissions of the ground vehicles (automobiles, heavy trucks, tractors, machines of construction site); It is worth to notice that it works also on greases.

Technical Committee of Engine Lubricants

Presentation TO BE UPDATED

Le CTLM

The CTLM, Technical Committee of Engine Lubricants, is one of the four Technical Committees of the GFC, the activity of which focuses on the evaluation of the performances of the lubricants for internal combustion engines.

The history of the CTLM dates back to the origins of the GFC in 1963.

The GFC was the French equivalent of the CEC-ELTC (Engine Lubricant Technical Committee) until the profound reorganization of the CEC in 2001.

CTLM members

The CTLM brings together GFC member companies and has 18 members in 2018.

  • Automotive and equipment industry
  • Oil companies, lubricating industry and additives manufacturers
  • Testing laboratories, Engine or petroleum product users

The main missions of the CTLM

  • Allow technical exchanges between manufacturers, the oil industry, additive manufacturers and users
  • Identify the need for test procedures for the evaluation of the performances of engine lubricants and for the characterization of engine lubricants
  • Develop, publish, distribute and monitor these procedures
  • Promote validated test methods to standardization bodies (AFNOR, BNA, …)
  • Provide technical support for engine ratings

The organization of the CTLM

Chairman of CTLM : Jean-Claude FORT (FEV)

Deputy Chairman of CTLM : Laurent TIQUET (IESPM)

Activities

The activities of the CTLM - The main working groups and the test methods

Evaluation of the performances of the lubricants
  • SG2-95 Detergency with the Micro Coking Test
    Pilote: Perle BOYEKA / GROUPE RENAULT
    Reference: GFC-LU-27-A-13 version3
    Description: MICROCOKING TEST FOR AUTOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS
  • SG3-10 Panel Coker Test (dispersivity and coking)
    Pilote: Laurent DALIX / TOTAL
    Reference: GFC-LU-29-A-15
    Description: PANEL COKER TEST - Coking Test on sloping plate
  • SG5-13 Dispersivity of oils using the spot test
    Pilote: Christophe LODE / GROUPE PSA
  • SG9-15 Aging of engine oils in laboratory
    Pilote: Arnaud LANGLAIS / GROUPE PSA
    Reference: GFC-LU-43-A-11-ind3
    Description: Diesel motor oils ageing by oxidation in the presence of bio-fuel Characterization of the lubricants
Caractérisation des lubrifiants
  • SG7-10 Impact of biodiesel on PAI (by FTIR)

    Pilote: Laurent TIQUET / IESPM
    Reference: GFC-LU-44-T-15
    Description: Determination of the Oxidation of Used Lubricants by FTIR using Peak Area Increase Calculation
Technical support activity
  • Rating of engines

    Pilote: Jean-Claude FORT / FEV

METHODS

See methods

Technical Committee of Engine Fuels

Presentation

Composition OF CTCM

Fuel engines Technical Committee brings together members of the GFC:

  • Automanufacturers and equipment suppliers,
  • Oil companies,
  • Additives suppliers
  • Resting laboratories
  • Users

THE objectiVEs OF CTCM

The CTCM - Committee Technique of fuel engines--is within the GFC, a forum of discussions and study of issues relating to properties and characterization of fuels for internal combustion engines.

Composed of experts in the relevant technical areas (analysis, use, development...), the CTCM has for essential missions the sharing of experiences at national and European levelas well as piloting the sub-groups whose studies focus on assessment and monitoring of evaluation methods.

OrganiZation

Chairman of CTCM : Alain QUIGNARD (IFPEN)

The Member companies of the CTCM are as follows:

  • AFTON, BASF, FEV, IESPM, IFPEN,
  • INNOSPEC, LUBRIZOL, MOTUL, NYCO, groupe PSA, RATP, RENAULT,
  • ROBERT BOSCH, SGS, SNCF, TOTAL, VOLVO

Activities

THE USEFULLNESS OF  CTCM

The CTCM tests methods created by the CTCM are tools reliable and regularly used by the industry to evaluate the performance of fuels for internal combustion engines.

They were created in the continuing effort to offer to the end user - the motorist - quality products, validated by a set of tests standardized, relevant, reliable and recognized by all the oil and automobile industry.

The main methods used to evaluate the influence of the quality of fuels or additives on the performance of the engines. So the GFC-CTCM catalogue offers test methods aimed at reproducing the following phenomena:

  • clogging of injectors and other components,
  • oxidation phenomena,
  • wear of some mechanical parts ( injection pump…),
  • driveability, cold or hot, of gasoline or diesel vehicles.

THE BIRTH OF A TEST METHOD

The creation of a test method is primarily motivated by the aim of reproducing - at a lower cost-, a phenomenon identified or potential on engine in service. This may be necessary as a result of a problem observed in use, or during the development of new engine technologies, which we want to assess the sensitivity to the properties and the quality of fuels.

A working group, said investigative, can therefore be established to document the problem, make a synthesis and assess the need for the creation of a specific test method. Where this need would be clearly established,  When the test method is no longer used or becomes obsolete, it loses the official recognition of the GFC. The group becomes a project group, which is entrusted with the role of development of the test method to reproduce the phenomenon.

The final product of the Working Group is a ready to use test method, validated by inter-laboratory tests, which have demonstrated the statistical validity (discrimination, repeatability, reproducibility) of the results obtained.

After validation of this method, the Group becomes a monitoring group, and is responsible for the organization of regular round robin tests, in order to follow closely, during the lifetime of the method, its characteristics of accuracy and relevance.

It is also this monitoring group that can organize campaigns of exploitation of the method e.g. operating to characterize a market or to decide on the obsolescence of a method and its withdrawal (availability of parts, loss of representativeness…).

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TEST METHOD

When the first version of the test method is finalized and the circular test campaign is ready to be engaged, the method is known as experimental, and it receives the "X" status. When this campaign is concluded and if the results were good in quality and acceptable in precision, the method is said Tentative, and receives the "T". The status 'A', as approved, is obtained only after circular tests showing a good reproducibility, defined with the participation of statisticians from the GFC.

When the test method is no longer used or becomes obsolete, it loses the official recognition of the GFC.

Methods

The most recent work of the CTCM focused on the following themes:

  • Diesel fuels lubricity: Applicability and reproducibility of the HFRR method.
  • Characterization of the stability of present diesel fuels at low temperature: Forum for the exchange of customer complaints and changes observed in terms of fuel quality. A study on long term storage is launched.
  • Guide to good practices for the control and treatment of contamination by microorganisms: The document is issued as GFC-CA-46-A-15 and available (see « methods » in the website)
  • Characterization of the effectiveness of anti oxidants additives: A new methodology for determining the position of an anti oxidant additive compared to another and to BHT additive has been created ; this method GFC-CA-42-X-11  is being finalized and will be soon available.
  • Impact of the volatility of gasoline on the cold and hot driveability of vehicles: Those works were recently included in a comprehensive study (more than 250 tests vehicles on chassis dynamometer) realized with CONCAWE (CONservation of Clean Air and Water in Europe), consortium for environmental studies related to the oil industry.
  • Evaluation of the cold start of diesel vehicles: The constraints of pollutant emissions reduction associated with the necessary reduction of fuel consumption cause an increase in the problem of the cold start. A methodology related to this issue was created under reference GFC CA-39-T-13. This methodology is proposed in the European commission H2020 consortium.
  • At each meeting a place reserved to discuss market issues and fuels qualities primarily in Europe.

Technical Committee of the Other Fluids

Presentation

Chairman: interim Claude DELARUE (GFC)
Vice chairman : M. Ralf Strauss (BASF-D)

Since 1980, a working group of the GFC in the CTLM (engines lubricants technical committee), has developed methods of testing the cooling liquids. A collection was published in 1990: GFC-L-100-A-90, “coolant for Internal-Combustion engines”, containing 8 methods at the "approved" status. Their repeatability and reproducibility is perfectly defined, these methods were transmitted to the BNA (Automotive standardization office in AFNOR) and contributed greatly to the development of the first French standard on the cooling liquids: NF-R-15-601.

In 1991, the technical Committee on other fluids was created and took over the activity of the Working Group of the CTLM by expanding beyond the cooling liquids. Integrated in 1996 within the CEC as Fluids Special Group (FSG), the CTAF continued its work in the context of the ECTC (Engine Coolants Technical Committee) until 2001. Following the meeting of 20 April 2001, the ECTC had no longer enough dynamics to continue its work within the new CEC and the group returned to the GFC in retaining its European members (French, German, Belgian, Spanish, English,...).

Today, the CTAF has 15 participants, and its members meet 2-3 times a year. This number is growing since 2001, and the CTAF remains a working group with a European vocation. The CTAF activity focuses on the cooling liquids. To date, some of the methods of 1990 have already been reworked, and others will be revised soon. In addition new methods, initiated from the work of the GFC.

Activités

The CTAF has several missions within the GFC; these are mainly:

  • Create or develop, on the theme of automotive fluids (excluding oils, greases and fuels), French testing methods, which may be introduced at European level.
  • Enable, through regular contacts, technical discussions between manufacturers, chemical industries, fluid manufacturers and users.
  • Promote methods validated with the standardisation bodies (AFNOR, BNA,...).
  • Ensure the relevance and sustainability of methods validated through the monitoring committees and the periodic revisions.

The main topics are:

  • Physico-chemical determination
  • Performance Evaluation
  • Compatibility testing
  • Contribution through BNA to update the AFNOR standard NF-R-15-601 on coolants

Creation of 2 working groups in 2005

  • Washing liquid for windscreen: pilot by interim: Claude DELARUE (closed in 2019)
  • Washing product for vehicles: pilot by Emilie REY (closed in 2011)

Creation of a Working Group in 2011

  • Brake fluid - pilot by Ms. Anabelle CHARTIER (closed in 2015) ISO activity followed

Methods

There are currently 14 valid methods proposed in the section 'Methods' of this site.