CONDITION

MONITORING
OIL ANALYSIS

EMMANUEL PHIRI

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What is Oil Analysis?
 Oil Analysis is the laboratory analysis of lubricant properties (oil additives) ,contaminants
and wear metals(Machine health) using chemical and physical tests.
AIM OF PRESENTATION
To highlight the purpose and application of oil analysis as a condition monitoring tool at
kansanshi mine.

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MINING AND SAFTEY REGULATIONS
 938. Where any toxic substance is handled, processed or stored the
manager shall ensure that there are provided and used by all persons who
may be endangered by such toxic substance- (a) Adequate and sufficient
washing facilities for the use of such persons prior to eating food or leaving
work; and (b) Where such persons may eat food at any time during their
working hours.
 Know the location of eyewash fountains and emergency showers. Find out
how to use them properly.
 Eating, drinking, and smoking is not permitted in laboratory areas. Break
rooms should be available for that use.
 Properly label all containers.
 2. Wear approved eye and face protection suitable for the work at hand.
Safety glasses or goggles should be worn at all times while working with
chemicals at the counter or laboratory hood. A face shield should be worn
when working with potentially eruptive substances.

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 LUBRICATION
Functions of Lubricants are:
 Reduction of friction and wear by introduction of a lubricant film to avoid metal to
metal rubbing.
 Removal of contaminants(dirt-abrasive, water-causes rust) by carrying
contaminants to filters or areas where debris is allowed to settle out.
 Act as a coolant by active cooling e.g. radiator or passive cooling e.g. heat
dispersion in gearboxes.
 Behave as a Structural material by forming seals and supporting journals in
bearing shells. The seal between the piston and the liner is formed by a lubricant.
 Power Transmission – Hydraulic systems use lubricants as a source of fluid power.

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OIL ADDITIVES
 These are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance
of a base oil.

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Purpose of Analyzing Oil
 Detect abnormal wear – Pistons are made of aluminium, plain bearings lead,
thrust washers and bushes copper, shafts gears and roller bearings consists of
alloys of iron.
 Detect Oil Degradation – Oil degrades due to its ability to react with oxygen
(Oxidation).
 Detect contamination – Wear Debris, Combustion by-products, Dirt and
Water.
 Detect Impending failures – Oil analysis results can indicate severe wear
trends taking place.
 Verify oil in use – Use of wrong or incorrect oil is detected using oil analysis.
 Optimize servicing intervals – Knowing when to drain your oil is very important and
cost saving.
 Avoid unnecessary overhauls – Repair of equipment is supported by NDT
methods and can tell premature failures or useful machine remaining life.
 Avoid loss of production – Reduce down-time and improve cost savings.

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TESTS THAT CAN BE DONE ON OIL
 There are many tests that can be done on oil.
1. Water Test
2. Diesel dilution test
3. Total Base Number, Oxidation and Soot
4. Total Acid Number
5. Microscopic Analysis
6. Spectrographic analysis and Ferrographic Analysis
7. Viscosity
8. Particle Count

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 WATER TEST
o Water is one of those contaminants that will sneak into your
system unnoticed, usually by way of condensation, entry
when hosing down or internal coolers leaking.
o Leads to heat build-up, foaming, additive depletion, rust and
oil oxidation.
Some of the water test analysis are:
1. Crackle test
2. Karl Fischer test
3. Fluid Scan
4. Hach Test

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Made by Emmanuel Phiri 0970484229
Diesel(Fuel) Dilution Test
 Diesel dilution is also a common cause of engine failure as its effect on oil is that it
causes viscosity to drop dramatically, the more diesel, the lower the viscosity.
 On the other hand, care needs to be taken when interpreting diesel levels, as often the
diesel in certain forms of unburned fuel will cause excessive sludging in the oil. This can
cause the viscosity to increase and the oil can thicken to the point where it becomes
un-pumpable in the engine, causing catastrophic failure due to oil starvation.
 The apparatus used to measusre fuel dilution is a Fuel Dilution Meter and takes
measurements in p.p.m

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Fuel Dilution Meter
 Fuel dilution meters employ a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW - makes use of ultrasonic
waves for detection) vapor sensor to measure the concentration of fuel in used oil
samples by sampling the “headspace” in a vial or bottle.

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Total Base Number (TBN), TAN, Oxidation and Soot
 There is a base reserve in additives used to neutralize acids. This Base reserve is
called the TOTAL BASE NUMBER which is a measure of the level of BASE in the oil
and is defined as the quantity of acid, expressed in milligrams(mg) of Potassium
Hydroxide taken to neutralize the base reserve(reserve alkalinity) in 1 gram of oil
– (mgKOH/gm).
 TAN is the measure of acid concentration present in the lubricant.
 Low TBN Causes the formation of sludge and varnish.
 OXIDATION of engine lubricants occurs when oil reacts with oxygen. Oxidation is
usually accelerated by heat water.

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• Soot – Soot is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete
combustion of hydrocarbons. It is a fine black or brown like powder and is sticky.
A major component of soot is black carbon.
• When it becomes excessive it can thicken up the viscosity, leave deposits on
wearing components, and ultimately clog a filter (or perhaps worse, an oil
passage).

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 Microscopic Analysis
From the microscope, we are able to get a full picture of –
 The type of contamination which is effecting your machine’s
health
 The concentration of wear particles within the machine
 The type of wear which is being generated
 The size of wear metal particles.
 The condition of the oil in use

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Spectrographic Analysis and Ferrographic analysis
 The Spectrographic analysis results give us an indication of the elemental composition of
the wear metals present in a sample. However the Spectrometer is limited, due to its
ability to read only particles smaller than 5um.
 Ferrographic Analysis shows us the amount of ferrous wear in ppm present in the oil.

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RDE – Rotating Disk Electrode
When subjected to the addition of
energy, each element emits light of
specific wavelengths or colors. Since no
two elements have the same pattern of
spectral lines, the elements can be
differentiated. The intensity of the emitted
light is proportional to the quantity of the
element present in the sample allowing
the concentration of that element to be
determined.

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Typical source of elements Made by Emmanuel Phiri 0970484229
Viscosity
 Kinematic viscosity is the measure of fluids internal resistance to flow under
gravitational forces. It is measured in millimeter squared per second.
 For monitoring purposes, viscosity is normally measured at 400C. Sometimes we
also measure viscosity at 1000C for engines and other high temperature operating
equipment.
 If viscosity increases the cause will be either particle contamination or oxidation
(burning).
 If viscosity drops, the cause will be either fluid dilution or shearing.
 Gravimetric Capillary is the most common technique used to measure kinematic
viscosity.

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SpectroVisc 310 - Dual-bath Automatic Laboratory Viscometer
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Particle count/ ISO Cleanliness Code
 It helps you to determine whether the oil is clean enough for reliable
operation. By monitoring the number and size of particles in an oil sample.
 In particle count, the sizes chosen are 4, 6
and 14 microns or mirometers.
 Particle count displays results as 17/13/9.
This means code 17 has 640-1300 particles
larger than 4 microns, 40 to 80 particles
larger than 6 microns and 2.5 to 5
particles larger than 14 microns

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COOLANTS
 A coolant is a substance, typically liquid or gas, that is used to reduce or regulate
the temperature of a system.
 Glycol content – The level of Glycol in the coolant mixture, gives an indication of
the freezing point and boiling points. The addition of glycol slightly reduces the
heat transfer of the water. Antifreeze lowers the freezing point and increases the
boiling point.
 Reserve Alkalinity – how much acid a coolant can absorb before it reaches a pH
of 5.5
 PH of coolant – First of all, pH (hydrogen potential) measures the acidity or
basicity of a solution. A solution containing more H+ ions remains acidic while the
solution containing more OH- ions remains alkaline.

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 Paper Test Strip

 The test strips are dipped into the coolant and then the color of the strip is matched to
the chart to determine the condition.

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