Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants

The Ideal Lube Room

While many may think it is costly or impossible to transform their current lube room, there are a few low-cost adjustments which can be made to help reduce the initiation of failure in this area.

As shown in Figure 2, these small changes can have big impacts on reducing the contaminants which get into the oils before they are added to the machines.

ideal-lube-room — Figure 2: Strategies for an Ideal Lube Room.

By implementing some of the aforementioned strategies, we can see an immediate reduction in the number of failures which occur at a facility. While many think about investing in predictive technologies which may range to the higher cost bracket, these simple adjustments to the lube room can easily solve a large percentage of the issues.

If we were to think about this in terms of the cost of the failures for gearboxes or other critical pieces of equipment, the investment in these strategies to upgrade your lube room is minimal. When investigating your next failure, perform a full root cause analysis and determine whether it’s stemming from your lube room. Chances are that you have the opportunity to prevent a lot more failures than you would expect.

Find out more in the full article, "Why Asset Failures Often Start in the Lube Room" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd

Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants

Mislabeling and Environmental Conditions in the Lube Room

Thus far, we’ve spoken about the effects of mainly physical contamination but quite a number of things also happen in the lube room. One major aspect of compromise is proper labelling of the lubricants. Many times, technicians are in a rush to get their lube route underway and will often not double check that they have the correct lubricant for the application that they are working on. In these cases, they may have picked up the wrong lubricant which is not the appropriate viscosity or suited for the application either!

This can lead to incompatible lubricants being mixed causing a series of failures. It can also lead to incorrect viscosity being applied to the equipment causing wear and tear or efficiency losses. Additionally, if the wrong type of oil is used, this can also lead to severe bleaching of the additives out of the oil.

Mislabeling and Environmental Conditions in the Lube Room

For instance, if a motor oil (which contains 30% additives) was placed in a hydraulic oil sump, this can lead to catastrophic events where the additives in the motor oil may trap water getting into the hydraulic oil making it emulsify rather than allowing the water to drop out.

As such, we need to ensure that there are adequate labeling systems in place to minimize the occurrence of a mix up with the lubricants. Colour coding can also help as this reduces the errors of “picking up” the wrong dispensing container especially when our technicians are in a hurry.

The environment has a huge role to play regarding the integrity of lubricants. If lubricants are stored outside in drums, they have the tendency to collect rainwater. They can breathe and draw in this rainwater which gets collected at the top of the drum. This breathing action occurs due to changes in temperature such as the change from a bright sunny environment to a rainstorm. This introduces water into the oil and contaminates it before it reaches the equipment. Lubricants should be stored at controlled temperatures between 0–25°C and in a sheltered area.

Find out more in the full article, "Why Asset Failures Often Start in the Lube Room" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd

Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants

Addressing Contamination in the Lube Room

When we think about the lube room, there can be a few images which come to mind. Either a pristine environment, with everything colour coded, neatly packed on the assigned shelves, dedicated storage and handling containers and a temperature-controlled environment (everyone’s dream!).

Or we can have a mix of dirty, oily rags, creatively designed dispensing containers where the welders were definitely showing off their skills and mislabeled (or no labels) on the lubricants. We can also have many images in between since there is a range of things which can be done (or not done) by those in charge of the lube rooms given their environmental conditions and constraints (budgetary or operational).

Unfortunately, the lube room is the place where many failures can begin if the conditions are not appropriate. It should ideally be the first line of defense for our assets but is often overlooked. Typically, this is the starting point of the journey for any lubricant and if it carries contaminants then we are exponentially decreasing the life of our lubricated assets before they have a chance to operate in our facility. This article explores the ways in which we can reduce these effects and some areas of improvement for any lube room.

Addressing Contamination

The ISO 4406 test is one that the industry is very familiar with as it governs the cleanliness of the oil. Typically, every system / OEM has a targeted cleanliness level. But how does the cleanliness level actually impact the lubricant and its functions? It is often said that the industry runs on a film of oil that is between 1–10 microns. Essentially, that means that any particle which is larger than this range interrupts the film and can cause damage and wear to the components.

For those not familiar with ISO 4406, this quantifies the number of particles into three categories, ≥4μm / ≥6μm / ≥14μm particles per milliliter of fluid. Each category measures the quantity of particles that fit the size bracket and then these are translated to a scaled number. As such, the numbers represented are not the actual quantity of the particles of that size.

Therefore, an ISO code of 20/15/13 represents:

20	between 5,000 – 10,000 particles larger than 4μm in one milliliter of fluid
15	between 160 – 320 particles larger than 6μm in one milliliter of fluid
13	between 40 – 80 particles larger than 14μm in one milliliter of fluid

New oil delivery in container sizes between a pail or a truck load, the cleanliness value can be excellent. Sometimes these values can be as clean as ISO 16/14/11, but can also be quite poor. A 16/14/11 score is great, but perhaps our turbines or hydraulic systems particularly those with EHC systems require something more stringent (due to their tighter clearances) such as ISO 14/12/9. The table below shows a comparison of what that actually means as it relates to the number of particles in the oil for these ratings.

As we see in Table 2, there is a major difference between the number of particles at the 4 micron level between what is being delivered to the facility as new oil versus what the turbine actually requires. When we translate that to the fact that bearings in turbines may run on a film of oil which is between 1–10 microns, and our new oil has potentially 640 particles that are bigger than 4 microns, then we can conceptualize that the oil film will most definitely be disrupted!

This ISO cleanliness level starts off from the entry of the “clean” lubricant into the plant. If we factor in drums which have been exposed to the atmosphere, dirty transfer containers which already contain contaminants or bad practices (leaving hoses open to the atmosphere), then the ISO contaminant ratings will significantly increase. This means we are literally pouring contaminants into our oils and our assets.

Thus far, we have only described the contaminants in the form of solid particles, but contaminants can also exist in the liquid form (fuel, water, other lubricants, process liquids) or gaseous form (air, process gases). These can all affect the lubricant either acting as catalysts or fouling the system.

The Unseen Failure Chain

When we think about starting from the lube room and tracing the chain of events which leads to failure, it will look similar to Figure 1 below.

In this case, contaminants start off in the lube room, and they enter the equipment, wreak havoc and then lead to failure. During many failure investigations, the analyst stops at the physical root causes and can easily blame the component. Since they did not investigate further, they missed that the source of contamination actually came from the lube room and possibly bad storage and handling practices.

Find out more in the full article, "Why Asset Failures Often Start in the Lube Room" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd

Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants

Hidden Failures in Lubrication programs: The Illusion of a Good Lubrication Program – Part 1

Typically, when lubrication programs are developed and implemented, everyone automatically believes that all lubrication issues have been solved and will never occur again. This is furthest from the truth! In this 3-part series, we will explore some of the hidden failures in lubrication programs. We will start off with dispelling the illusion of a good program then dive deeper into the failure modes which are not being monitored and finally, ways to design a resilient lubrication strategy.

How “good’ is good?

Many manufacturing plants have some form of a lubrication program in place. But many are not familiar with how to gauge this against best practices or industry standards. The following figure gives a brief description of the various stages of a lubrication program that can exist.

Figure 1: Varying levels of Maturity for Lubrication Programs

Although many plants may fall within the L2-L4 stages (and some in the L1 stage), there is still a lot of data missing on the documentation on lubrication failures and how these are being addressed (if they are being addressed at all). As such, there are no direct actionable items that link failures to strategies for preventing these in the future.

Industry standards attribute that around 33% of bearing failures are due to lubrication challenges. However, if our lubrication program is not capturing these lubrication related failures then the real root causes are not being addressed directly for these issues. As such, they are not being solved and we are adding to the overall unreliability of the plant. In these instances, our lubrication program is not adding value from a reliability perspective and is actually hiding some failures.

The real failures

Lubrication can account for a significant number of failures, but contamination also plays a crucial role. As per a study carried out by NRCC & STLE (National Research Council Canada & Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers), particle induced failures are responsible for approximately 82% of failures. This means that our equipment is majorly failing because of contamination.

In our “Defined” maturity level 3 program, contamination is not even addressed. Hence, we could be missing the opportunity to remove this from our system and by extension reduce failures associated with contamination. With our level 3 program, we also do not have alarm limits for our oil tests to help us understand if we are approaching dangerous levels or not. This will cause us to miss opportunities where we could have prevented components from failure.

Even with a moderately tiered lubrication program, we are missing a lot of opportunities for improvement of the overall reliability of our plant. This can lead to the lubrication program being viewed as unsuccessful when in fact, it just didn’t capture the right data.

Apart from capturing data, we also need to act on that data. Even if we have an oil analysis program in place, if we are not trending the data or coordinating with our maintenance teams to troubleshoot potential issues, then the lubrication program is not helping to raise the reliability of the plant. The program is in fact hiding some of these inefficiencies.

When was your last audit?

Even though we may have built a lubrication program, have we audited it? Creating a lubrication program may be an easy feat for many but implementing it is another story in itself. This is where some programs fail because they exist on paper but not in practice. If our technicians are not collecting the right data or observing proper storage and handling techniques, then the lubrication program is just another piece of paper in the drawer collecting dust.

For those who have managed to get the lubrication program off the ground and have the right people integrated into it, an audit on the program is still a good idea. Sometimes when these programs are launched, the personnel responsible are excited to implement the new strategies but complacency can easily step in. This is when the quality of the results of the program can erode.

Your program may no longer be catching your failures in advance, and this can lead to a loss in production, emergency repairs and even unplanned shutdowns. Performing annual audits on your lubrication program to ensure that it is delivering actionable results is highly recommended.

Many failures and incompetencies can hide behind a “good lubrication program” but with proper auditing and identification of where your lubrication program actually measures up, you can take actions to make it a successful program.

Stay tuned for part 2 where we will be diving deeper into the failure modes that are not being monitored.

Find out more in the full article, "Hidden Failures in Lubrication programs: The Illusion of a Good Lubrication Program Part 1" featured on LUDECA by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd

Oil Properties

What Tools Can Be Used to Monitor Additive Depletion?

There are some basic analytical tools that can be used to measure the quantity of additives in oils. The spectroscopy methods are the FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) and ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma). Another method is the RULER® test exclusively designed for antioxidants.

With FTIR and ICP methods, users obtain quantitative values for the elements present in the tested oil sample. These are usually reported in ppm and trended over time. Figure 2 shows an extract from a Turbine Sample report from Eurofins lab, where the levels of additives (and contaminants) are shown. When trending this, analysts should pay attention to the rate at which these additives decrease and whether an increase or decrease is noticed.

What Tools Can Be Used to Monitor Additive Depletion

Figure 2: Sample of Eurofins Turbine Oil Analysis Report showing the levels of additives

Another tool that can be used is the RULER® (Remaining Useful Life Evaluation Routine) test, which specifically quantifies the levels of antioxidants remaining in the oil. It trends the values, compares them against the baseline for that oil, and then determines the change as a percentage.

If the RULER value falls below 25%, the antioxidant levels have reached a critical level, and one may consider replacing the oil.

Figure 3 shows a RULER graph, which identifies the presence of different types of antioxidants (Amines) and antiwear additives (ZDDP), as well as oxidation products (Fluitec, 2022).

This is a comprehensive readout of the quantities of these additive types at the time of sampling. It is easy to get a quick snapshot of its trend over time and determine whether it is declining rapidly or reaching critical levels.

Figure 3: RULER Graph showing the presence of antioxidants

The key to using these analytical tools is to provide insight into what is happening inside the equipment, allowing us to determine whether any preventive action is needed.

By monitoring the quantities of these additives over time, we can easily establish whether oxidation is occurring, which can lead to varnish and overheating of the asset. We can also determine whether significant wear is occurring as the antiwear additives are depleted (confirmed by the presence of wear metals in the oil analysis). When monitoring your asset’s health, trending specific additive levels can also be very useful.

References

Eurofins. (2025, September 06). Annual Turbine Analysis. Retrieved from Eurofins Testoil: https://testoil.com/services/turbine-oil-analysis/annual-turbine-analysis/

Fluitec. (2022, September 29). Why is LSV Used for RULER Analysis? Retrieved from Fluitec: https://www.fluitec.com/2022/09/29/why-is-lsv-used-for-ruler-analysis/

Find out more in the full article, "Lubricant Additive Depletion as an Early Asset Health Signal" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Oil Properties

How Can Additives Deplete?

Additives can be depleted through different mechanisms. Some of these include:

Regular consumption through normal functioning of the lubricant
Antioxidant depletion during oxidation
Antiwear depletion due to high wear on the inside of the equipment
Additive depletion via a contaminant to produce a bleaching effect

As mentioned earlier, additives are sacrificial in nature. It is very normal to see additives deplete over time; if they are not depleting and increasing, this may be a cause for concern. This can mean that someone is topping up the oil frequently or perhaps topping up with an incorrect lubricant.

Since there are numerous oils on the market, the best way to monitor the depletion of your additives is to compare them against a new sample of that oil and use that as your baseline. Your lab will help you confirm when the additive limits are approaching the danger zones.

During oxidation, a free radical is formed under conditions such as heat, wear, metal catalysts, oxygen, or water. These free radicals are unstable, and antioxidants usually neutralize them.

In the process, antioxidant levels decrease. However, if the conditions still permit oxidation, more free radicals will be formed. This means that more antioxidants will be depleted as they neutralize the free radicals until they diminish and can no longer protect the base oil. This is when the free radicals begin to attack the base oil, and varnish can form.

Once the antioxidants are gone, the oil stops defending – and starts degrading.

If there are causes of high wear, such as the incorrect viscosity of the lubricant (too thin) or the machine finishing of the inner parts of a component not being done to the required standard, this can affect the levels of antiwear in the oil. Antiwear additives protect the metal surfaces inside the equipment. However, these are only activated when moderate stress exists within the equipment.

Typically, in these situations, the antiwear additive adheres to the metal surface and helps protect it by forming a layer. Once this layer is formed, the antiwear additive has officially left the oil, and this will be reflected in a decrease in its value in the oil analysis report.

The layer will not remain forever, and due to wear on the equipment, it can be worn off and replaced by a new layer, leading to further depletion of the antiwear additives until there are no more to form another layer or protect the metal surface.

Contamination can also cause some additives to become depleted. Contaminants can react with additives, causing them to form deposits that leave the oil. Therefore, their presence will not be detected by oil analysis.

Some common contaminants are water, fuel, coolant, and acids. These contaminants can also promote the formation of catalysts for degradation mechanisms such as oxidation. Dirt and solid particles can also promote additive depletion, especially when they act as catalysts.

Find out more in the full article, "Lubricant Additive Depletion as an Early Asset Health Signal" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Oil Properties

Why Do Additives Matter?

Oils are composed of base oils and additives. Typically, additives are sacrificial; they deplete first before the base oil is affected. As such, by trending their quantities over time, we can gain insight into a few of the conditions to which the oil is subjected.

By interpreting these conditions and patterns, we can correlate them with the health of the asset and plan accordingly for possible repairs or maintenance. In this article, we will do a deeper dive into ways these can be explored to add value to your asset management program.

Additives come in various ratios and chemical compositions, but when we talk about additives in oils, they really have three main functions. They can either;

Enhance the properties of the base oil, which already exist
Suppress the undesirable base oil properties or
Impart new properties to the base oil

Figure 1: Functions of additives and examples

On their own, they cannot affect anything, but when coupled with a base oil, they can impact an asset. Base oils also have specific properties, which, when combined with additives, allow assets to perform at their best.

The real performance comes from how the additives and base oil work together.

As shown in Figure 1, some additives that enhance properties include antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, anti-foam agents, and demulsifying agents. Those responsible for suppressing undesirable properties can include pour-point depressants and viscosity improvers.

Finally, those responsible for imparting new properties include extreme-pressure additives, detergents, metal deactivators, and tackiness agents.

Here are some quick descriptions for a few of these additives, which will help you to gain an appreciation of their functions:

Antioxidants: these protect the oil from oxidation. They are very common in Turbine oils but can be found in many other oils. They are the first line of defense when oxidation begins and react with free radicals to neutralize them before they attack the base oil.

Corrosion inhibitors: adsorb onto the metal surfaces to help protect them. Comprised of sodium sulphonates, alkylbenzene sulphonates, or alkylphosphoric acid partial esters.

Anti-foam agents: reduce surface tension to break up foam formation. Typically, these are silicon-based, although silicone-free defoamers also exist.

Demulsifying agents: enable water and oil to separate. These were formerly composed of barium and calcium, but modern formulations use special polyethylene glycols.

Pour point depressant: alters oil crystallization, allowing the oil to form fewer crystals at lower temperatures.

Viscosity improvers: specifically designed to ensure that the viscosity of the lubricant can be more tolerant of changes in temperature and shear.

Extreme pressure additives: used under high stress to prevent the welding of moving parts. Usually comprised of a phosphorus compound.

Antiwear additives: designed to reduce wear under moderate stress. The most famous sulphur-phosphorus compound is ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl dithiophosphate).

Detergents: keep oil soluble combustion products in suspension (especially for engine oils) and ensure they do not agglomerate. These usually contain metal additives such as Calcium and Magnesium.

Understanding the function and composition of these additives can help us to determine how they are performing in the oil. Since many of these are sacrificial, their values will decrease over time. As such, it is important to trend these values to determine whether they are remaining constant, increasing, decreasing, or decreasing at an accelerated rate.

Find out more in the full article, "Lubricant Additive Depletion as an Early Asset Health Signal" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Lubricant Degradation / Oil Properties / Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants / Used Oil Analysis

Role of Condition Monitoring, Human & Organizational Factors in Oil Failures

Choosing the right oil for the system is just one part of the puzzle. How do we know the oil is performing when it’s in the system? This is where condition monitoring can work hand in hand to help ensure that the oil does not fail the asset.

If a proper oil analysis program does not exist, operators will not know whether the oil is properly lubricating the asset. They will also not be aware of whether the oil is breaking down too quickly and failing to protect the asset. Oil analysis can also alert operators to signs of wear in the asset, so they can fix them before they turn into functional failures.

An oil analysis program that lives in a drawer protects assets about as well as no program at all.

Role of Condition Monitoring, Human & Organizational Factors in Oil Failures

There is also the possibility that an oil analysis program exists but is not top of mind, or that its results are put in a drawer. This can also cause the asset to fail even though the correct oil is being used. Apart from the aforementioned factors, if operators are not warned of the impending failure of the oil, this can result in production losses, increased downtime, and, in some extreme cases, the complete loss of the asset if it has failed beyond repair.

Incorrect sampling is another area in which the actual condition of the asset is not reported. Even with the correct oil used, if a sample is collected from a dead leg or an area that is not truly representative of the conditions inside the component, its actual condition will not be known. With incorrect data about the component, the asset can be misdiagnosed or treated for symptoms that do not exist, which can lead to its detriment.

Human and Organizational Factors

Not all failures occur at the equipment level; human and organizational factors can also cause the asset to fail even when the correct oil is used. If humans aren’t properly trained in oil sampling techniques or storage and handling practices, these can affect the asset’s functionality. We often forget that, at the heart of it all, lies the human factor, which is partially governed by the organization’s systems.

Training needs are an organizational factor that is often overlooked when considering how an asset can fail. However, if operators have not been trained in condition monitoring techniques, they will not be able to read oil analysis reports or take appropriate actions to protect the asset. Training can help bridge some competency gaps that directly impact asset performance.

It doesn’t matter what oil is in the system if no one is trained to monitor it – or motivated to care.

Culture is another factor swept under the rug. If the culture doesn’t exist to look after the assets, it doesn’t matter what type of oil is placed in the system; the asset will fail eventually. The performance of the asset does not only rely on using the correct oil. By implementing a culture of Asset ownership, where operators look after the asset and are accountable for its performance, assets are optimized to provide the functionality they should. This is one way to ensure the right oil is used to enable the assets’ performance.

Another area of concern is the documentation of maintenance procedures. If maintenance procedures are not adequately documented, someone new to the operation may not be aware of the correct practice. This, coupled with a lack of training, can spell disaster for the equipment. In these cases, even though the right oil was selected, the wrong practice or lack thereof can fail the asset.

Turning the “Right oil” into the “Right Outcome.”

As explained in this article, improper practices can jeopardize the asset’s health, even when the right oil is used. However, if all the right things align, we can have an asset that lasts for its expected lifetime or beyond.

This starts with selecting the right oil based on the application, environmental conditions, and OEM recommendations. If we follow this up with good storage and handling practices, proper condition-monitoring programs, documentation, and training, we can look toward a longer-lasting asset. The right oil enables reliability – but only disciplined practices deliver it.

Find out more in the full article, "When 'Right oil, Wrong practice' still fails assets" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Lubricant Degradation / Oil Properties / Reliability / Storage & Handling of Lubricants / Used Oil Analysis

Common Modes of Failure for Lubricants

Regardless of the oil selected, common modes of failure can occur with every lubricant. These include: contamination, improper storage and handling practices, and environmental factors as shown in Figure 4.

Contamination can be defined as any foreign particle entering the system. This includes any gases, liquids, or solids. Especially when the lubricant system runs alongside the process side, process gases and liquids can leak into the oil. These contaminants can influence the oil’s degradation, leading to deposits or chemical reactions that break it down. Common process contaminants include ammonia or treated water.

The biggest threat to the right oil is often what gets added to it – whether it’s process contamination or the wrong oil during a top-up.

Another liquid that can contaminate oil is another oil. During top-ups, operators can add the wrong oil to the system, causing contamination and, depending on the oil, a possible shutdown. Adding motor oil to hydraulic oil can be catastrophic, as the additive packages work differently and the motor oil additives may counteract the hydraulic additives, removing them from the oil, leaving the asset open to wear and failure. Despite selecting the correct lubricant for your system, adding the wrong oil (mistakenly) will shorten its lifecycle and cause the asset to fail.

Bad storage and handling practices can also erode your oil, regardless of the oil you choose. Turbine and hydraulic oils are used in precise equipment. As such, they need to be clean and free of dirt or other contaminants. However, if oils are not stored correctly, contaminants can enter and contaminate the oil.

Simple techniques, such as transferring oil from larger storage containers (pails, drums, or totes) into smaller, more manageable containers (2-3 liters or less), can introduce contaminants into the oil if not done correctly. If oils are to be transferred to another storage container, the storage container must be clean. The transfer process should use clean hoses (not previously used for another lubricant) and be completed in a dust-free environment.

If you wouldn’t use a dirty needle for a blood transfusion, why would you use a dirty hose for an oil transfer?

The transfer of oils from one container to the next can be thought of as a blood transfusion. Would you use dirty needles or vials to transport the blood to be placed into another human? Similarly, oil can be likened to the equipment’s lifeblood and should be treated accordingly. Just as we observe sterile practices for blood transfusions, we should also observe similar types of practices for oil transfers.

Environmental and operational factors can also influence lubricant degradation. As stated earlier, all lubricants can degrade over time under harsh conditions. The lubricant formulation largely influences this, as does whether it was blended to withstand those conditions.

Oxidation can easily occur when temperatures increase, free radicals are present, or when wear metals are present. Thermal degradation occurs when the temperatures exceed 200°C. On the other hand, microdieseling occurs in the presence of entrained air, despite the lubricant used in the system, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Lubricant Degradation Processes

Any of these degradation mechanisms can occur regardless of the type of oil chosen. Hence, it is essential to remember that operational conditions and environmental factors can heavily influence oil degradation, even when the oil is appropriate for the system.

Find out more in the full article, "When 'Right oil, Wrong practice' still fails assets" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Oil Properties / Reliability

Spec Sheet vs Strategy for choosing the right oil

Sometimes we can spend hours poring over technical data sheets, comparing oil performances, and finally selecting the “right” oil which aligns with the needs of our equipment. Then, within 2 months, the oil degrades, our machines shut down, and we have a bunch of maintenance repairs lined up. What went wrong? We clearly had the “right” oil in the equipment; everything should have worked beautifully. This is where the awareness of lubrication and its practices becomes critical.

Having the correct oil is only one part of the puzzle. Being able to deliver that oil in its purest, cleanest form to the machine is often one of the other pieces that go missing. Another piece is selecting the right oil, not just based on the sales guy’s advice, but on the actual operating conditions of your machine. In this article, we dive a bit deeper into ways you can align the right oil with the proper practices, or avoid the wrong ones, to help extend the life of your asset.

Spec Sheet vs Strategy

For this example, we will consider a turbine oil selection. If a customer wants to change the oil in their turbine, then they may consider the following:

What are the OEM specifications that need to be met?
Is this oil available from the local supplier?
How does it compare to other oils on the market?
Does the cost justify the value? (or will the purchasing department want something cheaper?

For most of these questions, engineers or the person tasked with selecting the oil can readily find the answers in the oil’s technical data sheet and by talking to their sales representative. But if we dive a bit deeper, are we selecting the right oil for the operating and environmental conditions? Let’s examine the selection of a turbine oil for the Siemens SGT 200 Gas turbine that meets the Siemens TLV 9013 04 specification.

As seen in this document from Shell Lubricants, a few of their products meet that specification, namely Shell Turbo T, Turbo S2GX, Turbo S4X & Turbo S4GX.

Figure 1: Shell Turbo Family for the Siemens TLV 9013 04 Specification

On the other hand, Mobil provides some solutions as well, namely, Mobil DTE 732, 746, or DTE 832, 846

Figure 2: Mobil DTE 700 & 800 Series meeting the Siemens TLV 9013 04 Specification

Chevron also provides an option of Chevron GST as follows:

Figure 3: Chevron GST oil meeting the Siemens TLV 9013 04 specification

With so many options, how can one choose the “right” oil? They all meet the required Siemens specification, TLV 9013 04. This is where the data sheets, OEM manual, and knowledge of the equipment’s operating conditions play a crucial role.

As per the manual, there are preset conditions for temperatures and pressures, but if your actual system runs hotter (or production is being pushed a bit more), it is functioning outside the operating envelope.

The spec sheet tells you what the oil can do. Your operating conditions tell you what it must do.

Additionally, if your surroundings are harsh (close to the sea or in a corrosive environment, or in a non-ventilated area where heat can build up), these can place additional stress on the equipment. For these harsher conditions, a synthetic oil might be more appropriate than a mineral oil, albeit more expensive in terms of the initial investment.

The manual also specifies which tests/characteristics should be used to monitor the condition of the oil, namely: viscosity, particle count, water content, demulsibility, air release, foaming characteristics, RULER®, and MPC. Based on the performance of your current oil in the system, you can determine whether these values fluctuate toward the higher warning zones. This can also influence your decision about which oil to choose.

It’s not just about the right oil or one that aligns with OEM requirements. The selection should also be based on the environmental conditions of the oil and the equipment, and on whether the oil is suited to perform in these conditions. A mineral oil will not withstand the temperatures that a synthetic oil can for extended periods without degrading. Similarly, given the “right” conditions, synthetic oils can also degrade. By cross-examining your spec sheet, OEM manual, and actual conditions, you can determine the best-suited oil for your operations.

Find out more in the full article, "When 'Right oil, Wrong practice' still fails assets" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd.

Tagged: engineer

Addressing Contamination

The Unseen Failure Chain

How “good’ is good?

The real failures

When was your last audit?

References

Human and Organizational Factors

Turning the “Right oil” into the “Right Outcome.”

Spec Sheet vs Strategy