Saes G 116

Engineering Standard
SAES-G-116 1 July 2019

Cleanliness Standard for Lube/Seal Oil and Fluid Power Systems
Document Responsibility: Vibration and Lubrication Standards Committee
Contents
1 Scope ................................................................ 2
2 Conflicts and Deviations ................................... 2
3 References........................................................ 2
4 General ............................................................. 3
5 Preparatory Inspection ...................................... 3
6 Flushing and Operating Oil ............................... 4
7 Chemical Cleaning and Flushing Procedures ... 4
8 Acceptance after Cleaning and Flushing .......... 4
9 Acceptance for Service ..................................... 5
Revision Summary................................................... 5
Previous Issue: 27 May 2014 Next Planned Update: 1 July 2024

Page 1 of 8
Contact: Aidarous, Mamdouh B. (aidaromb) on phone +966-13-8809718
©Saudi Aramco 2019. All rights reserved.
Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Document Responsibility: Vibration and Lubrication Standards Committee SAES-G-116
Issue Date: 1 July 2019
Next Planned Update: 1 July 2024 Cleanliness Standard for Lube/Seal Oil and Fluid Power Systems
1 Scope
This standard specifies the minimum cleanliness requirements of shop and field fabricated
and demothballed or existing Lube/Seal Oil and Fluid Power Systems. (Fluid power
systems are defined as motor driven variable speed hydraulic couplings and driven
equipment utilizing a common fluid for lubrication and power transmission).
Use applicable procedures listed in SAEP-1028 to accomplish and maintain the
minimum acceptance standard of cleanliness specified herein for all lube, seal oil, and
fluid power systems.
2 Conflicts and Deviations
2.1 Any conflicts between this document and other applicable Mandatory Saudi
Aramco Engineering Requirements (MSAERs) shall be addressed to the
EK&RD Coordinator.
2.2 Any deviation from the requirements herein shall follow internal company
procedure SAEP-302.
3 References
The selection of material and equipment and the design, construction, maintenance and
repair of equipment and facilities covered by this standard shall comply with the latest
edition of the references listed below, unless otherwise noted.
3.1 Saudi Aramco References
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures

SAEP-302 Waiver of a Mandatory Saudi Aramco Engineering
Requirement
SAEP-1028 Chemical Cleaning of Lube/Seal Oil and Fluid
Power Systems
Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard

SAES-A-008 Chemical Cleaning Requirements
3.2 Industry Codes and Standards
International Organization for Standardization

ISO 4406 Hydraulic Fluid Power - Fluids - Method for
Coding Level of Contamination by Solid Particles

©Saudi Aramco 2019. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 8

American Society for Testing and Materials

ASTM D445 Standard Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of
Transparent and Opaque Liquids (and
Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity)
ASTM D1744 Standard Test Method for Determination of Water in
Liquid Petroleum Products by Karl Fischer
Reagent
ASTM D664 Standard Test Method for Acid Number of
Petroleum Products by Potentiometric Titration
ASTM D5185 Standard Test Method for Multielement
Determination of Used and Unused Lubricating
Oils and Base Oils by Inductively Coupled Plasma
Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES)
ASTM D2272 Standard Test Method for Oxidation Stability of
Steam Turbine Oils by Rotating Pressure Vessel
4 General
Shop fabricated lube, seal oil, and fluid power systems' components may have been
cleaned, inspected and tested prior to shipment to the field. However, shipping, storage,
field inspection, and installation usually result in contamination of the previously
cleaned system. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully inspect these systems and clean
to remove any contaminants.
5 Preparatory Inspection
5.1 Prior to commencing erection of field fabricated piping and components of lube,
seal oil and fluid power systems, foreign objects such as weld slag, metal
shavings, spatter, insoluble preservatives/compounds, icicles, and burnt residue
shall be removed by mechanical and chemical cleaning at grade level.
5.2 All systems piping, manways, removable headers, filters, coolers, temporary
bypass piping, etc., shall be inspected for cleanliness prior to installation and
bolting.
5.3 All accessible welds on pipes and fittings shall be inspected for the presence of
weld slag. If slag is found, it shall be removed.
5.4 All surfaces in contact with oil shall have a uniform clean metallic color.
The surfaces, when viewed without magnification, shall be free of visible rust,
mill scale, welding slag, corrosion, oxides, paint or other foreign material.


5.5 All internal surfaces of component parts of field fabricated lube, seal oil and
fluid power systems, shall be cleaned as described in SAEP-1028, prior to
flushing with oil.
5.6 If the internal surfaces of any component parts of a shop fabricated lube, seal oil
and fluid power systems do not meet the requirements of paragraph 5.4, the
affected system shall be cleaned in accordance with SAEP-1028 before flushing
with oil.
5.7 Field fabricated tie-in piping shall be isolated and cleaned independently of shop
fabricated lube, seal oil and fluid power systems which comply with paragraph 5.4.
6 Flushing and Operating Oil
6.1 To avoid compatibility problems, the system shall be flushed with the same
operating oil. The operating oil shall be approved by the Chairman, Vibration
and Lubrication Standards Committee, Consulting Services Department.
6.2 A reference fresh oil sample of the operating oil shall be analyzed before
starting the flushing process. The following physical and chemical analyses
shall be carried out: Color, Appearance, Viscosity at 40 ̊C (ASTM D445),
Moisture content (ASTM D1744), Acid Number (ASTM D664), Spectrometric
Analyses (ASTM D5185), RPVOT (ASTM D2272) where applicable, and
Particle Count (ISO 4406).
7 Chemical Cleaning and Flushing Procedures
7.1 Chemical cleaning procedure shall be per applicable procedures of SAEP-1028.
7.2 Flushing procedure shall be as per Appendix I.
8 Acceptance after Cleaning and Flushing
After a minimum of 24 hours continuous flushing, a final cleanliness check shall be

made. The inspection screens shall be cleaned and reinstalled and the flushing oil shall
be circulated for an additional period of 12 hours. The system is clean if:
8.1 No visible accumulation of dirt/foreign material is found on the screens after

12 hours of circulation.
8.2 Moisture cannot be detected using the Lube Oil Condition Monitoring Program
Laboratories' hot plate crackle test method.
8.3 All surfaces in contact with oil shall have a uniform clean metallic color.
Accessible surfaces, when viewed without magnification, shall be free of visible

metal deposit, preservatives, welding slag, rust, corrosion, oxides, paint or other
foreign material.
8.4 The cleanliness of the system is acceptable to the Saudi Aramco proponent
organization's Operations personnel.
9 Acceptance for Service
9.1 After flushing is completed per Appendix I, fill the system with clean unused
service oil.
The same oil used for flushing can also be used for in-service if the reviewed oil
sample condition is acceptable by the Chairman, Vibration and Lubrication
Standards Committee, Consulting Services Department.
9.2 Establish normal lube, seal oil and fluid power system flows in preparation for
equipment start-up.
9.3 Circulate for two hours and collect a composite two liter sample from different
drains. Send the sample to Southern Area Laboratories Division at Abqaiq for
the chemical and physical analyses listed in paragraph 6.2. The system oil will
be considered acceptable for service, by CSD Lubrication Engineer, when:
 The particle count, in accordance with ISO 4406, is 17/15/12 or less.
If two-range ISO codes are used, the particle count shall be 15/12 or less.
 The moisture content, in accordance with ASTM D1744, is 200 PPM or less.
 The rest of physical and chemical analyses are within the acceptable levels
for new oil.
The sample bottle must be clearly labeled “Final Fill Sample for the attention of
the CSD Lubrication Engineers”.
Revision Summary
27 May 2014 Revised the Next Planned Update, reaffirmed the content of the document, and reissued as
major revision.
1 July 2019 Major revision included the following modifications:
- Added Oil Flushing Procedure in Appendix since it was removed from SAEP-1028
- Modified ISO cleanliness level to 17/15/12
- Updated reference list


Summary of Change (1 July 2019)

Paragraph Change Type
No. Technical Change
No. (New, Modification)
Allowing the use of cleaned and filtered used
1 9.1 Modification flushing oil as in service oil when meeting the
specification of new oil
2 9.3 Modification Modified ISO cleanliness level to 17/15/12
3 Addition Oil flushing procedure is added in Appendix I


Appendix I - Oil Flushing
1. After cleaning and drying the system, remove any temporary bypass connections other than
those bypassing bearings, seals and gearboxes, and leave them in place until flushing is
completed. Hand clean the areas that remain bypassed with lint-free cloths prior to system
start-up.
2. Place 100 x 100 wire mesh stainless steel (9CAT 1000284291) screens between a pair of
rubber gaskets (not asbestos), and installed flanges. Use 4 x 4 wire mesh backup screens
(9CAT 1000284291) to prevent collapse at high flow rates. Remove and install new
inspection screens in the lube and seal oil return piping at the reservoir flanges every 8 hours.
Monitor flushing of solids by inspecting these screens. Keep the old screens tagged
sequentially and with their location and removal time. If absolute filters are installed, instead
of screens examine oil samples on a glass plate every 8 hours under microscope.
3. After drying, within 2 hours start flushing the lube/seal oil and fluid power systems with oil
specified for the operating system for a period of approximately 48 hours to remove loose
material in system. Flush the system at a velocity of at least 3 m/s, or at the maximum velocity
limited by the MAOP in the larger lines. If the existing oil pumps cannot provide adequate
circulation either in series, parallel, or high-speed operation, temporary circulation pumps
shall be installed for the flushing operation. Monitor oil flushing velocity by (1) flow meters,
(2) comparing the differential pressure to the pump's head capacity curve, or (3) ammeters
on the motors.
4. When many parallel flow paths are present in the flushing circuit, selectively close off paths
to force enough flow in each path to achieve 3 m/s minimum velocity.
5. If the presence of water is detected due to incomplete drying of the system, add 5% solution
of Diethylene Glycol to scavenge the water. After circulating for 2 hours, drain the system at
the reservoir flanges.
6. When system flush is near completion, stop flushing, drain the system at the reservoir flanges
remove all valves, including block, CVs, self-actuated CVs, etc., clean manually with lint-
free cloths and replace.
7. Inspect and verify cleanliness of all temporary flushing equipment such as pumps, heat
exchangers, piping, hoses and filters, in order not to add dirt to the system. Install at the outlet
additional screens of each item of temporary flushing equipment.
8. If the system is segmented conducted the flush in a systematic manner to clean it sequentially
from inlet to outlet, preventing re-contamination a section of the system that has already been
flushed.
9. Periodically blow down drains, instrument connections and vents to remove accumulated
water in low points in each shift during the flushing.

10. Slowly and repeatedly stroke valves between the nearly closed and fully open positions to
create turbulence in the valve bonnet cavities, to flush them.
11. During flushing apply thermal, mechanical and hydraulic shock to dislodge foreign material.
12. Thermal Shock
During flushing vary the oil temperature from 38°C to about 80°C, alternately using the lube
oil cooler and the heating coil.
13. Mechanical Shock
Use a small plastic or copper hammer at weld joints, fittings and other areas that trap material
frequently during flushing cycles.
14. Hydraulic Shock
Shock the system occasionally by interrupting the flow. Shut down the pump completely and
wait for five minutes to allow for complete draining of lines. Restart the pump and restore
full flushing velocity.
15. After 24 hours of flushing, install the equipment manufacturer's specified filter or 10 micron
filter cartridges, whichever has the lower pore rating. Change filter cartridges if the
differential pressure approaches by-pass pressure. Where heavy fouling of particular
components is observed, install temporary 50 microns filters on the outlet piping of such
components before installing the 10-micron equipment filters. Flush the system for 24 hours.
Inspect the 50-micron filters and continue flushing with clean filters if necessary, until the
heavily fouled components are considered sufficiently clean to allow installation of the 10-
micron equipment system filters.


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Engineering Standard

SAES-G-116 1 July 2019

Previous Issue: 27 May 2014 Next Planned Update: 1 July 2024

©Saudi Aramco 2019. All rights reserved.

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

2 Conflicts and Deviations

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

International Organization for Standardization

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

American Society for Testing and Materials

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

6 Flushing and Operating Oil

7 Chemical Cleaning and Flushing Procedures

7.1 Chemical cleaning procedure shall be per applicable procedures of SAEP-1028.

7.2 Flushing procedure shall be as per Appendix I.

8 Acceptance after Cleaning and Flushing

After a minimum of 24 hours continuous flushing, a final cleanliness check shall be

8.1 No visible accumulation of dirt/foreign material is found on the screens after

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

9 Acceptance for Service

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Summary of Change (1 July 2019)

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Appendix I - Oil Flushing

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

Saudi Aramco: Company General Use

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