Tagged: lubrication

Used Oil Analysis

Revolutionizing oil analysis: Traditional vs Cutting edge technology

By Sanya Mathura (Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd) & Neil Conway (Spectrolytic)

In our last article we focused on the question of whether oil analysis was still relevant today? While this is an age-old process, the benefits of oil analysis still continue to live on today although the methods involved have significantly evolved since its inception. In this article, we will do a deeper dive into the traditional methods of oil analysis versus some of the new cutting-edge technologies which exist today and whether we may see a replacement of one method over the other or a union moving forward.

If you’ve ever performed an oil analysis you know that this process follows certain standards which are listed in the report.  These standards govern the world of oil analysis and form the basis of how these tests are executed. There are committees dedicated to revising these standards to ensure that they are still relevant to the applications of today, one such committee falls under the ASTM body (American Society for testing and Materials).

Equipment has changed over time where oil sumps have become smaller but now produce more power. Oils are under more stress as they are expected to perform at higher temperatures under elevated environmental conditions and still protect the equipment. Global oil manufacturers work together with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to ensure that the oils developed can work with their components in these increasingly harsher conditions. But what constitutes an oil “working properly”?

This is where oil analysis / sample testing plays a crucial role. Oil analysis tests have been standardized through authorized committees to ensure that the same test can be performed in different parts of the globe using the same procedures. This ensures that there can be a fair comparison of the results of these tests across the globe. These tests should also be repeatable (or get the same results every time they are performed).

Typically, these tests are usually carried out in a laboratory environment, using state of the art equipment to achieve / maintain the required standards. However, sample taking, sample shipping and other human factors often result in misleading and / or extremely delayed reporting of the results. This is where emergent technology can alleviate some of these challenges.

 

Find out more in the full article, "Revolutionizing oil analysis: Traditional vs Cutting edge Technology" featured in Engineering Maintenance Solutions Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd & Neil Conway (Spectrolytic)

by
November 9, 2024
Storage & Handling of Lubricants

How Do We Prevent Contamination?

Contamination exists all around us, but we must prevent its intrusion into our lubrication systems to help keep our machines alive for a longer period. Some simple steps can be performed to help reduce levels of contamination. Also, lab tests can identify the presence of contaminants.

Storage & Handling

Unfortunately, this is the area in which many of the contaminants enter the lubricant. There is no discrimination in this area because all solids, liquids and gases can easily contaminate the lubricant.

Some best practices to follow are to first ensure that all lubricants are properly labeled and that everyone on the team knows the different uses for each lubricant. While this may seem simple, some people think that “oil is oil,” and any oil can work. Educating them on the differences and their effects of being mixed is critical to ensuring that they don’t get mixed up (or used as a contaminant to another lubricant).

Typically, with construction equipment, a lot of smaller sumps do not require a full pail of oil or may require an odd volume of oil. This often means that new unused oil either remains in the original packaging or is transferred to a holding container. If the new oil remains in the original packaging the user should ensure that the packaging remains sealed after use; is airtight (not to allow any other particles in); and stored in a cool, dry place.

If it is decanted into another container, this container needs to be:

  • Clean (not previously used for another oil, not “cleaned” using fuel or some other substance)
  • Properly capped (to prevent any contaminants from entering)
  • Kept in a cool, dry place

Filtration

While this may seem trivial, lots of users assume that their new lubricants meet the required cleanliness standards for their machines. This is not true. New lubricants can be dirty and should be filtered before use. The filtration specification will vary depending on the cleanliness required for your machine.

For instance, the cleanliness specification for a hydraulic machine will be different from that of the engine oil specifications because hydraulics have closer clearances. Although many machines contain system filters which will also catch some of the contaminants, it is always a best practice to filter all lubricants before placing them in your system.

Oil Analysis

Oil analysis is not a likely method to prevent contamination, but it can inform end users of the presence of contaminants. Because of this benefit, it should be used to monitor the level of contaminants in a lubricant and trend their increase or decrease over time. This can spot whether a leak in the system, if a correlation between wear and contaminants exists or an anomaly is present in the system.

The tests that should be used to identify the presence of contaminants include:

  • Viscosity (to determine if there is change in this value)
  • Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
  • Elemental (to identify wear metals, additives and contaminants)
  • Karl Fischer or crackle for the presence of water or fuel

Elemental analysis can easily help identify the presence of wear metals or contaminants, but it can also identify the presence of additives that are not representative of the oil in use. This is a good way of identifying the presence of an incorrect lubricant or solution that may have been used during a top up for that component.

Example

A mixed fleet operator began noticing that the jobs allocated to the excavation crew were taking twice as long as usual, and the costs associated with those jobs for materials also increased. He decided to tag along with the site manager for one of these projects to understand the escalation of the hours and costs.

At the site, the project began smoothly and ran as it should for the first two weeks. Afterwards, he noticed that the equipment began experiencing some downtime on the site. Typically, this occurred on the day after the site maintenance crew carried out their lubricant top ups.

The lubricants were being stored in the elements close to a makeshift shed that held some other necessary tools. The maintenance crew did not have smaller containers to decant the oils for the hydraulic equipment, so they used their disposed soda bottles to “help.” Any lubricant that remained in the bottle was left open to the atmosphere, and then this was topped up by the new lubricant.

Unknowingly, these users were contaminating their oil before placing it in the machines. This led to the unplanned downtime and extra resources, such as more oil, filters and hours for the mechanic. Immediately, proper storage and decanting containers were purchased. The onsite staff was trained in using these containers, which were also color coded to avoid the mixing of different lubricants.

The allocated time for these jobs returned to normal. In addition, the costs associated with the materials decreased because they no longer had to purchase extra oil to make those oil changes when the equipment shutdown.

Contamination can have a significant impact on the downtime of your equipment but can be easily prevented by using proper storage and handling techniques and monitoring the presence/absence of particles through oil analysis.

References

SKF, (June 6, 2024). Solutions for Contamination. Retrieved from SKF: https://www.skf.com/group/industries/mining-mineral-processing-cement/insights/solutions-for-contamination.

Find out more in the full article, "Is oil Contamination Affecting the Performance of your Equipment" featured in Equipment Today Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

by
November 9, 2024
Storage & Handling of Lubricants

Is Oil Contamination Affecting the Performance of Your Equipment?

Often, the particles we don’t see are the ones that affect us most. For instance, we can’t see bacteria or germs but those can easily get into our body and make us sick. Something similar occurs with our equipment and the lubricants which are used to help them work more efficiently. SKF notes that contamination and ineffective lubrication are responsible for 51% of bearing, coupling, chain and other machine component failures in equipment.

Logically, if we control the amount of contamination, we can control the number of failures and all the resulting consequences, such as unscheduled downtime and rush expenses (for called out or specialized labor and parts). In this column, we explore how contamination can impact the performance of your equipment, ways to combat contamination and some examples.

What Is Contamination?

Contamination is anything that is foreign to the environment. For machinery lubricants, these are usually classified in three main groups: Gases, liquids and solids. When speaking about gases, this can be air or other gases (such as ammonia or methane) that encounter the lubricant. For liquids, this includes water, fuel or any other liquid that can enter the lubricant, particularly other lubricants or liquids that can be added knowingly or unknowingly. Lastly, solids can mean dirt (from outside the process), metals (from inside the machine) or any other solid particle in the lubricant.

Gases

Gases are the most unsuspected forms of contamination since many people believe that a gas will not affect the lubricant or by extension the machine. However, if air gets trapped in a closed loop system, this can lead to foaming (if the oil makes its way to the surface) or to microdieseling if it remains entrained in the oil.

With foaming, this typically occurs in gearboxes or equipment that are subjected to high churn rates of oil. Foam can settle at the top of the oil and cause the lubricant to not form a full film to separate the contacting surfaces. As such, this can lead to wear of the equipment.

On the other hand, microdieseling or the entrainment of air in the system can also prove to be dangerous because the trapped air bubbles can give rise to temperatures in excess of 1,000°C if they move between different pressure zones. This will lead to oil degradation, often producing some coke or tar insoluble as final deposits. Additionally, this trapped air/gas can also advance to cavitation inside the equipment.

Additionally, if the gas trapped is not air but a catalyst to a chemical reaction, this can incite further or more rapid degradation of the oil making it no longer able to protect the equipment. Therefore, identifying the presence of unwanted gases in your lube oil systems or preventing their entry in the first place is important.

 

Liquids

Liquids are trickier than gases because they somehow seem to enter the lubricant more easily or get mixed in unknowingly. When a liquid enters a lubricant, it can directly impact the viscosity of the lubricant, either increasing it or decreasing it. In either of these cases, this can be detrimental to the equipment.

If the lubricant’s viscosity increases above the essential value, then the machine will demand more energy to execute its required functions. This will directly impact its efficiency and energy consumption. On the other hand, if the lubricant’s viscosity decreases outside of the essential value, then the lubricant may not be able to adequately protect the contacting surfaces. Therefore, this increases the amount of wear that may occur on the inside of the machine.

Typically, water and fuel are the most common culprits of liquid contamination. These can easily get into your lubricants through poor storage and handling practices. Water can increase the viscosity of your lubricant and cause some additives to drop out of it, reducing its level of protection. Fuel will decrease the viscosity and possibly add to the fire risk of the system. Both can severely damage your equipment.

Another common culprit is the mixing of different types of oil. On an average day, things are busy, and people can get confused and pick up the wrong oil to perform a top up on a system. If we add gear oil or hydraulic oil to an engine oil system, we can have a catastrophe! These oils would have different viscosities, and their additive packages (or even base oils) may not be compatible. This can cause the equipment to stop working, leading to unplanned downtime and then exorbitant resources to get the machine operating again.

Solids

Solids can easily get into our equipment either from the outside or the inside. If there are openings to allow solids to enter then they will. However, sometimes solids enter our lubrication systems without us knowing. This can happen through poor storage and handling practices.

Once solids enter the system, they can:

  • Increase the viscosity of the oil
  • Increase the amount of wear occurring inside the equipment
  • Act as a catalyst (depending on their nature)
  • Block smaller clearances causing unwanted downtime in the equipment

Typically, solids are usually dirt, which can enter from outside the equipment. However, these hard particles can cause some metal to be damaged on the inside the equipment which can then lead to the metal being a catalyst for another degradation mode.

Some solids are formed inside the equipment as deposits. These deposits can occur if another contaminant (liquid, gas or another solid) enters the system and reacts with the oil to produce them. As such, these deposits may clog injectors, other valves or tight clearances causing the equipment to malfunction.

Find out more in the full article, "Is oil Contamination Affecting the Performance of your Equipment" featured in Equipment Today Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

by
November 9, 2024
Oil Properties

The Future of Gear Oils

According to (Industry ARC (Analytics. Research. Consulting), 2024), the global industrial gear oil market size is forecasted to reach USD 5.2 B by 2027. While the Asia-Pacific market holds a significant market share for industrial gear oils in 2021 at around 56.2%, it is interesting that its nearest rival is Europe, at 17.7% or less than ⅓ of its size.

The rise in the Asia Pacific market can be accounted for due to the increase in the rising population and, by extension, the needs of that population and the service sectors they support, including the energy, oil & gas, construction, and steel industries. The figure below depicts the global industrial gear oil market revenue share by Geography for 2021.

Figure 6: Industrial Gear Oils (Mineral & Synthetic) Market Revenue Share by Geography 2021 adapted from (Industry ARC (Analytics. Research. Consulting), 2024)
Figure 6: Industrial Gear Oils (Mineral & Synthetic) Market Revenue Share by Geography 2021 adapted from (Industry ARC (Analytics. Research. Consulting), 2024)

From the research conducted by (Industry ARC (Analytics. Research. Consulting), 2024), helical gears appear to be the most popular choice for industrial gears. Interestingly enough, synthetic gear oil held the largest market share and is forecasted to grow by a CAGR of 5.6% for the forecasted period of 2022-2027.

Smaller gearboxes are being manufactured, tasked with outperforming their previous counterparts and producing more torque in a smaller space. With the advent of better, more precise machining tools for gears, there is an increase in the amount of pressure these gears now must handle in smaller spaces.

As such, we will continue to see the rise in the use of synthetic gear lubricants formulated to handle these extreme conditions, as well as more advanced additive packages that can help minimize foaming, reduce oxidation, and aid in the demulsibility of these oils.

References

Industry ARC (Analytics. Research. Consulting). (2024, September 04). Industrial Gear Oils (Mineral & Synthetic) Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030). Retrieved from Industry ARC: https://www.industryarc.com/Report/20008/industrial-gear-oils-mineral-and-synthetic-market.html

Mang, T., & Dresel, W. (2007). Lubricants and Lubrication - Second Edition. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Mang, T., Bobzin, K., & Bartels, T. (2011). Industrial Tribology - Tribosystems, Friction, Wear and Surface Engineering, Lubrication. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Pirro, D. M., Webster, M., & Daschner, E. (2016). Lubrication Fundamentals - Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

Rensselar, J. v. (February 2013). Gear oils. Tribology and Lubrication Technology - STLE, 33.

Sander, J. (2020). Putting the simple back into viscosity. Retrieved from Lubrication Engineers: https://lelubricants.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/news/White%20Papers/simple_viscosity.pdf

Santora, M. (2018, March 20). Tips on properly specifying gear oil. Retrieved from Design World: https://www.designworldonline.com/tips-on-properly-specifying-gear-oil/#:~:text=CLP%20Gear%20Oils&text=Often%2C%20a%20gear%20manufacturer%20will,a%20CLP%20polyglycol%20PAG%20oil

Find out more in the full article, "Gear Oil: Types, Applications, and Benefits" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

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October 20, 2024
Oil Properties

Gear Oil Storage and Handling

Similar to most oils, gear oils should be stored in a clean and dry space. Often (especially in the past), these gear oils see a settling of the additives to the bottom of the container, indicating a slightly shorter oil life span than other lubricants. However, this is no longer a highly occurring incident with the advancements in additive technology and improved blending practices.

As usual, it is always best to adhere to the OEM’s expiry dates for these products, as different OEMs recommend varying storage times for their products. Generally, synthetic lubricants have an estimated shelf life of 5-10 years, while mineral oils usually last for around 2-3 years, but this is heavily dependent on the OEM and storage conditions.

In some cases, customers tend to store these drums outside in the elements as it makes it easier for them to be readily accessible for decanting into the equipment. However, in these environments, the drums can collect water, which will enter the oil and then, by extension, enter the gearbox. This can cause issues for the equipment and lead to accelerated oil degradation.

Ideally, these oils should be stored in a cool, dry place with ready access to decanting equipment where the decanted oil will not be easily contaminated. Many industrial gearboxes typically require larger quantities of oil, and decanting can take place directly from the drum into the equipment or via a pump.

In these cases, the level of contamination must be minimized by ensuring that the fittings, hoses, etc., are clean and have not been used to decant other types of oils.

Find out more in the full article, "Gear Oil: Types, Applications, and Benefits" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

by
October 20, 2024
Oil Properties

How do Gear Oils Degrade?

The first set of additives to decrease in gear oils is often the antiwear or extreme pressure additives. This is no surprise, as these oils are subjected to high levels of wear and must withstand extreme pressures. One can also notice a decline in the rust and oxidation additives or even a change in the air release values.

 

All these properties significantly impact how a gear oil functions. As such, they should be monitored when establishing the health of the oil.

When monitoring the health of these lubricants, some guidelines can be utilized. If there is a change in viscosity of either ±10%, one should look for any other correlating changes.

Typically, if the viscosity increases by 10%, we’re looking at increases in wear metals or the risk of oxidation and development of some deposits in the oil or even contamination of the oil with some water. However, for a decline of 10%, one can expect some form of contamination, typically fuel or another substance which will thin out the lubricant.

The lubricant’s warning levels for wear metals will vary depending on the manufacturer/OEM. However, any consistent rise in wear metals indicates that some component on the inside of the equipment is slowly wearing away.

Find out more in the full article, "Gear Oil: Types, Applications, and Benefits" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

by
October 20, 2024
Oil Properties

Gear Oil Characteristics and Naming Systems

From the information covered thus far, we can appreciate that gear oils need to accommodate many changes to their environment. A few characteristics stand out when looking at industrial gear oils (Mang, Bobzin, & Bartels, Industrial Tribology—Tribosystems, Friction, Wear and Surface Engineering, Lubrication, 2011).

These include viscosity-temperature, Fluid Shear Stability, Corrosion and Rust Protection, Oxidation Stability, Demulsibility and Water Separation, Air release, Paint Compatibility, Seal Compatibility, Foaming, Environmental, and Skin Compatibility.

Depending on where you are in the world, you may use a different system to classify gear oils. The ISO Viscosity grade system is used internationally, but the AGMA (American Gear Manufacturer’s Association) system is used in the Americas and some parts of Asia. A chart can be used to move that across these grading systems, as shown below in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Various gear oil grading systems as adopted from (Sander, 2020)
Figure 5: Various gear oil grading systems as adopted from (Sander, 2020)

As per (Sander, 2020), the AGMA numbers have some particular meanings as stated:

  • No additional letters (only a number) – Contains only R&O additives
  • EP – Mineral oil with Extreme Pressure additives
  • S – Synthetic gear oil
  • Comp – Compounded gear oil (3-10% fatty or synthetic fatty oils)
  • R – Residual compounds called diluent solvents which reduce the viscosity to make it easier to apply

Another rating that is seen a lot is the CLP rating. This is a German oil standard defined by ASTM DIN 51517-3, in which the test requirements to meet the CLP specification are documented.

This DIN standard covers petroleum-based gear lubricants with additives designed to improve rust protection, oxidation resistance, and EP protection. Some typical classifications seen are CLP-M (which represents mineral gear oil), CLP HC (which represents synthetic oils [SHC, PAO, POE]), and CLP PG (which represents polyglycol PAGs), according to (Santora, 2018).

There are three main DIN 51517 classifications as per (Rensselar February 2013), namely;

  • DIN 51517 CGLP – contains additives that protect from corrosion, oxidation, and wear at the mixed friction spots and additives that improve the characteristics of sliding surfaces
  • DIN51517-3 CLP – contains additives that protect against corrosion, oxidation, and wear in the mixed friction zone
  • DIN 51517-2 CL – contains additives that protect against corrosion and oxidation suitable for average load conditions

The above are some of the more prevalent naming systems for industrial gear oils, and they are found on most gear oils globally.

Find out more in the full article, "Gear Oil: Types, Applications, and Benefits" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

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October 20, 2024
Oil Properties

Is there more than one type of gear?

Gears are used in all aspects of life, from bicycles to tiny watch gears, car transmissions, and even highly specialized surgical equipment. Gears keep the world moving. However, when they move, they often rub against each other, and if this friction is not managed, it can cause wear and eventually lead to significant damage or failure. This is where gear oil makes a difference.

In this article, we will explore the various types of gear lubricants, their composition, how they degrade, some storage and handling tips, and what the future holds for these types of oils.

Figure 1: Different types of gears according to (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007) Chapter 10
Figure 1: Different types of gears according to (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007) Chapter 10

If you’re familiar with gears, you know that despite the standard emoji keyboard, more than one type of gear exists. There are several types of gears, each suited for various applications. As such, each application will have varying environmental conditions, which will require specialized lubricants to reduce friction and wear.

One of the main operational conditions for gears is the transfer of torque. Even when torque is transferred, gears will have sliding and rolling contact, leading to frictional losses and heat generation. Therefore, the lubricants selected for these applications must be able to significantly reduce these frictional losses and cool the gears.

As per (Pirro, Webster, & Daschner, 2016), several types of gears can be classed into three groups based on the interaction of the teeth of these gears and the types of fluid films formed between the areas of contact:

  • Spur, Bevel, Helical, Herringbone, and spiral bevel
  • Worm gears and
  • Hypoid gears

Figure 1 shows some of the types of gears which exist.

It must be noted that hypoid gears transmit motion between nonintersecting shafts at a right angle. Additionally, there is a difference between rolling and sliding.

Rolling indicates continuous movement, whereas sliding varies from a maximum velocity in one direction at the start of the mesh through zero velocity at the pitch line and then back to maximum velocity in the opposite direction at the end of the mesh, as seen in Figure 2.

According to Mang, Bobzin, and Bartels (Industrial Tribology—Tribosystems, Friction, Wear and Surface Engineering, Lubrication, 2011), hypoid gears require heavily loaded lubricants. These should have high oxidation stability, good scuffing, scoring, and wear capacity, as the tooth contacts have a high load.

The lubricant must also have a high viscosity at operating temperature such that the formed film can sufficiently support the load while cooling the gears.

Conversely, hydrodynamic gears such as torque converters, hydrodynamic wet clutches, or retarders require high oxidation stability characteristics but do not need good scuffing or scoring load capacity characteristics. Unlike hypoid gears, hydrodynamic gears experience viscosity-dependent losses, so they must have a lower viscosity at operating temperature.

Figure 2: Meshing of involute gear teeth. These photographs show the progression of rolling and sliding as a pair of involute gear teeth (a commonly used design) pass through mesh. The amount of sliding can be seen from the relative positions of the numbered marks on the teeth adapted from (Pirro, Webster, & Daschner, 2016), Chapter 8.
Figure 2: Meshing of involute gear teeth. These photographs show the progression of rolling and sliding as a pair of involute gear teeth (a commonly used design) pass through mesh. The amount of sliding can be seen from the relative positions of the numbered marks on the teeth adapted from (Pirro, Webster, & Daschner, 2016), Chapter 8.

According to (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), there are some frequent failure criteria for gears and transmissions, including:

  • Extreme abrasive wear
  • Early endurance failure, fatigue of components in the form of micropitting and pitting
  • Scuffing and scoring of the friction contact areas

Continuous abrasive wear is usually observed at low circumferential speeds and during mixed and boundary lubrication. Typically, continued wear can cause damage that extends to the middle sector of the tooth flank. Understandably, lubricants with a high viscosity and a balanced quantity of antiwear additives promote a higher tolerance to wear.

Micropitting can be observed on tooth flanks at all speed ranges. Those with rough surfaces are prime candidates for micropitting. Typically, this develops in negative sliding velocities or the slip area below the pitch circle.

Usually, microscopic, minor fatigue fractures occur first, which can lead to further follow-up damage such as pitting, wear, or even tooth fractures. A lubricant with a sufficiently high viscosity and a suitable additive system can help reduce this type of fatigue.

At predominantly high or medium circumferential speeds, scuffing and scoring of the tooth flanks occur, and the contacting surfaces can weld together for a short time. Due to the high sliding velocity, this weld usually breaks, causing scuffing and scoring.

Typically, this damage is seen on the corresponding flank areas at the tooth tip and root, which experience high sliding velocity. In this case, lubricants with higher EP (Extreme Pressure) additives can help reduce this damage.

According to (Ludwig Jr & McGuire, March 2019), the type of gear can aid in determining the most appropriate industrial gear oil. The following table is an adaptation from the article:

Table 1: Gear type and appropriate lubricant adapted from (Ludwig Jr & McGuire, March 2019)
Table 1: Gear type and appropriate lubricant adapted from (Ludwig Jr & McGuire, March 2019)

As per (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), transmission gears can be broken down into two main types: those with a constant gear ratio and those with a variable gear ratio. These can be seen in Figures 3 and 4 below.

Figure 3: Gears with a constant gear ratio adapted from (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), Chapter 10
Figure 3: Gears with a constant gear ratio adapted from (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), Chapter 10
Figure 4: Gears with a variable gear ratio adapted from (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), Chapter 10
Figure 4: Gears with a variable gear ratio adapted from (Mang & Dresel, Lubricants and Lubrication – Second Edition, 2007), Chapter 10

Find out more in the full article, "Gear Oil: Types, Applications, and Benefits" featured in Precision Lubrication Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

by
October 20, 2024
Oil Properties / Used Oil Analysis

Is Oil analysis still relevant today?

With the many advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the advent of countless different sensors on the market, the question arises, “Is Oil Analysis still relevant today?”. Granted that these advancements have significantly transformed the industry, we need to recognize that they are here to help evolve what we already do and not necessary replace it.

These advancements build upon the foundations of the techniques of oil analysis. With artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can train models to interpret oil analysis data and trigger alerts accordingly but there should always be a human present to overview these. In the real world, not every situation has occurred or been recorded yet hence the models do not have that particular data to learn from nor can they make decisions about it since it simply doesn’t exist in their “brain”.

Humans can “think outside the box” and formulate patterns or trends which may not be triggered by the models simply because these models have not been taught these patterns. Hence it is important to always have a human in the loop and not rely solely on these models especially when million-dollar decisions can be negatively initiated with the wrong interpretations.

Lately, sensors have gained more traction and a wider adoption as they can be integrated into warning systems to alert users to potential deviation from known characteristics of the oil. However, as noted above, sensors rely on data sets to compare the information and on some form of capacitance which must be converted into a signal before it can be interpreted.

With lab equipment performing the actual tests, there is a higher rate of accuracy plus the added advantage of having humans review the results for discrepancies before sending off the report. While sensors can be the first warning system for some users, lab equipment should be utilized for those more precise tests which require a higher level of accuracy.

In essence, oil analysis remains very relevant today. However, it has significantly evolved over the last few decades. Today, oil analysis can achieve a higher efficiency level with the integration of the advancements in technology (AI, machine learning and sensors) and other available monitoring technologies. Together, these should all be used to create a greater impact on improving the reliability of the machines.

 

 

Find out more in the full article, "Is oil analysis necessary with so many other technologies available?" featured in Engineering Maintenance Solutions Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

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September 14, 2024
Oil Properties / Used Oil Analysis

Oil analysis vs Other technologies

Just as oil analysis is similar to blood testing, we can think of our bodies as a critical machine with various components which need to be monitored. If we get a fractured bone, a blood test will not help us to assess if the bone is broken or can be repaired. In this case, we may need an x-ray. Similarly, with machines, there are various types of tests to determine different aspects to be monitored.

Typically, oil analysis can provide the operator with insight into whether there has been any internal damage to the equipment in the form of wear particles which can be quantified. As with most condition monitoring methods, being able to trend the patterns over time helps the operators to identify if wear is occurring at an increased rate or whether the oil is degrading.

On the other hand, other technologies such as vibration analysis or ultrasound analysis or even thermography are not able to detect the presence of molecules. These other types of analyses focus on alignment, or other mechanical issues as they occur and can trend them over time. However, oil analysis can accurately detect the presence or absence of contaminants or additive packages which could affect the health of the oil and by extension that of the machine.

Oil analysis should not be used as the only technology in your condition monitoring artillery. Other technologies can be used alongside oil analysis to provide the user with a more comprehensive overview of the health of the asset. For instance, if the oil analysis discovered high wear, the next step would be to identify where the wear was coming from. Perhaps in this case, one of the other technologies could identify a misalignment or other mechanical issue which could be the source of this wear. Thus, these technologies should be used to work together to achieve better reliability for their asset owners.

Find out more in the full article, "Is oil analysis necessary with so many other technologies available?" featured in Engineering Maintenance Solutions Magazine by Sanya Mathura, CEO & Founder of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd. 

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September 14, 2024