Lubrication & Oil Analysis

Wear Condition – MACHINE RELIABILITY

Contamination Condition – LUBRICATION SYSTEM RELIABILITY
Chemistry Condition – LUBRICANT RELIABILITY

April 4, 2022
Outline
1.Lubrication
• Function of Lubricants
• Failure mechanisms common to industry
2.Oil analysis that guide maintenance practices
3.Nine case history examples with excellent ROI
Functions of Lubricants
• Provide fluid film
• Lubricants provide anti-friction film to separate moving components, eliminate
adhesion and reduce wear.
• Provide Cooling
• Lubricants reduce friction and transferring heat away.
• Remove Contaminants
• Lubricants clean surfaces and transfer contaminants for removal.
• Protect and Seal
• Lubricants provide barriers to seal components from exposure corrosive and abrasive
substances.
• Perform Work
• Lubricants perform work by transferring compression force and eliminating shear force
between very highly loaded moving components.
 Avoid Unplanned Repairs & Unplanned Downtime
• Unplanned repairs and unplanned downtime are ten times
more expensive than planned repairs.
– Why do equipment components fail?
– What are likely failure mechanisms for those components?
– What are factors that initiate and accelerate the failure
mechanisms?
– What are factors that mitigate or avoid the failure mechanisms
– What proactive condition monitoring methods can identify
contributing factors that accelerate failure mechanisms?
– What predictive condition monitoring methods can measure
failure progression from incipient to catastrophic?
 Failure Mechanisms Common to Industry

“Why Machines Fail and

What You Can Do About It”
Machinery Lubrication,
Nov-Dec 2019 (Part 1) &
Jan-Feb 2022 (Part 2).
 Failure Mechanisms
Abrasion

Adhesion

Fatigue

Electric Discharge

Corrosion

Deposition
Interaction of Contributing Factors Lubricants provide anti-friction fluid film,
provide cooling, remove contaminants,
protect & seal, & perform work

Shaft

• Time-to-fail
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Deposition accelerates with

Rolling
Fatigue interacting factors
Corrosion
Electric
• Incipient to
Stress
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
catastrophic
– From decades
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion
– To years
Cavitation
– To months
Fatigue
Abrasion Lubricants remove contaminants

Shaft Abrasive Wear

Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending
Galvanic
Fatigue
Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Adhesion Lubricants provide anti-friction fluid film & provide cooling

Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion Adhesive Wear
Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Adhesion or Boundary Wear
• Boundary or adhesive wear • Common
is caused by inadequate with sliding, metal-to-metal
lubrication contact
– No oil or low oil level • High friction causes high
– Low Viscosity temperature as seen in
– High load wear particle details.
– Slow speed
• High friction also causes
high dB @ 30 kHz
Boundary lubrication
Friction = Heat + Wear + Sonics
Adhesion  inadequate lubrication

 Melted particles
 Striated particles
 Black oxides &
platelets
 Effects of
temperature and
metal-to-metal
sliding
Rolling Fatigue Lubricants provide anti-friction fluid film & perform work

Rolling Fatigue
Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosio
n
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Fatigue spall on bearing raceways
Rolling Fatigue Wear
 Large chunks and
platelets from rolling
fatigue.
 Sometimes this produces
needles from gear teeth
at pitch lines.
Shaft Current Through Bearings Lubricants provide fluid film

Shaft
Damage due to
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion
spark discharge

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Electric discharge through bearings
Rolling elements
Outer race
Inner race
 Circuits – Heating, Arcing & Corroding
Shaft
Current
Abrasion Circuit
Discharge Adhesion
Heating
Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit

Bending
Discharge
High
Fatigue Galvanic
Corrosion Voltage
Erosion
Corrosion
Arcing

Cavitation
Fatigue

Circuit
Arc/Spark Discharge Radio Waves
Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Bending Fatigue Lubricants protect and seal

Shaft
Bending
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion
Fatigue

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Stress Corrosion Tensile Cracking Lubricants protect and seal

Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Deposition
Stress
Rolling Corrosion
Fatigue
Tensile Cracking
Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Cavitation Fatigue Lubricants perform work

Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion
Cavitation Fatigue
Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending
Fatigue Galvanic
Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Erosion Corrosion Lubricants remove contaminants

Shaft
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion
Erosion
Deposition
Corrosion
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Galvanic Corrosion Lubricants protect and seal

Shaft
Galvanic
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion
Corrosion

Deposition
Rolling
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge
Bending Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion

Cavitation
Fatigue
Corrosion & Electric Discharge Lubricants provide fluid film, remove
contaminants, protect & seal

Shaft

• Corrosion and
Abrasion
Current
Discharge Adhesion

Rolling
Deposition
electric discharge
– Deteriorate
Fatigue

Corrosion
Stress Electric
surface
Corrosion Circuit
Discharge morphology
Bending

– Destroy remaining
Galvanic
Fatigue Corrosion
Erosion
Corrosion
useful life
Cavitation
Fatigue
 Condition Monitoring Methods
Proactive Predictive
Measurement Method Detect Root Cause Quantify Failure in Progress

Vibration Balancing Roller/gear defects

Alignment Failure progression

Oil Contamination control Ferrous debris

Adequate lubrication Particle shape classification

Thermal Normal lines Electrical faults

Normal connects Mechanical adhesion

Motion Acceptable resonance Synchronous resonance

Acceptable timing Timing faults

Spark Survey motor shaft brushes Low voltage spark events

Survey before entry High voltage arc events

Inspect Preventive maintenance Substance deposition

Quality control Procedure misapplication
No Root Cause = No Damage = Very Long Life Failure
Oil Analysis & Trivector Diagram

Oil analysis has three dimensions:

– Wear
• Ferrous
• Nonferrous
– Contamination
• Dust
• Water
• Process
– Chemistry
• Oil
• Additive
On-Site Oil Analysis for Factories
• Integrated solutions
– OES elemental analysis
– Direct imaging particle counter
with shape classification
– IR spectrometer
– 40C Kinematic Viscosity
– Ferrous content
– Analysis and trending

• Immediate results, immediate

retest, test incoming
lubricants, and support
contamination control
Automatic analysis of particles in oil
Direct imaging
Particle counts and sizes
ISO Codes 4/6/14
4 to 100 microns
Up to 5 million particles /mL
Skip air bubbles & water droplets
Recognizes shapes
Cutting
Sliding
Fatigue
Fibers and
Non-metallics

Ferrous particle analysis

• Total Ferrous content (PPM)
• Ferrous particle count and size
distribution
Problem  Cause  Severity  Action

What cause and severity?

Why do machines fail?  Ferrous density
More common Less common Iron > 5mm
Abrasion Deposition
Corrosion Erosion
 Particle counting
Adhesion Electrical discharge ISO code >4, >6, >14mm
Fatigue Cavitation  Particle shape
Direct imaging
Wear debris analysis (WDA)
Abnormal wear and corrective actions
Abrasive Wear
Abrasive Wear
Particulate contamination

Sand, fibers, paint chips, and

other foreign materials in oil.
Hard particles in oil cause
abrasion.
Corrosion  Rust and other oxides
Adhesion or Boundary Wear
• Boundary or adhesive wear is • Common
caused by inadequate with sliding, metal-to-metal
lubrication contact
– No oil or low oil level • High friction causes high
– Low Viscosity temperature as seen in wear
• Wrong oil particle details.
• High temperature – Melted
• Dilution – Smeared
• Water contamination
– Black oxides
– High load
– Transfer
• Static
• Dynamic • High friction also causes high
– Slow speed dB @ 30 kHz
Boundary lubrication
Friction = Heat + Wear + Sonics
Adhesion  inadequate lubrication

 Melted particles
 Striated particles
 Black oxides & platelets
 Effects of temperature and
metal-to-metal sliding
Fatigue Wear

 Large chunks and platelets

from rolling contact fatigue.
 Sometimes this produces
needles from gear teeth at
pitch lines.
Fatigue spall on bearing raceways
Electrical discharge through bearing
Rolling elements
Outer race
Inner race
Oil analysis  maintenance activity
• When oil analysis does Return on investment (ROI):
not guide maintenance, it • Deferred maintenance
is expense, not benefit. (extend repair interval)
• Condition based
• Lubrication programs maintenance (not
deliver excellent return reactive)
on investment! • Contamination control
(everything improves)
• Condition based oil
change (>> 300% $lube)
Monitor machinery wear rates
• Ferrous density • RDE Spectroscopy
– Total ferrous (up to 100 mm) – < 8 mm particles
– Ferrous counts (> 25 mm)
Iron (Fe)
– ISO Codes (>4, >6, >14 mm)
Copper (Cu)
• Shape classification Lead (Pb)
– Particle shape recognition
Cutting Tin (Sn)
Sliding
Fatigue
 Root cause
Fibers and DEFECT
Non-metallics  Severity
– Particle imaging  Action ELIMINATION
Lubricant Contamination Control
• Particle count • Glycol (engine)
• Particle size • Soot (diesel engine)
distribution • RDE Spectroscopy
– ppm < 6 micron Sodium (Na)
– ppm 6 to 14 micron Boron (B)
– ppm >14 micron Silicon (Si)
• Water-in-oil
Abrasion and Corrosion
are two of the most serious reliability
problems for industry today.
Chemical and physical properties
• Viscosity • TAN • Elements:
• Viscosity Index • TBN Zn, P, Ca, Mg

• ASTM color • Dielectric • RPVOT

• Varnish MPC • Oxidation • RUL tests
(insoluble color bodies)

Is the oil still “fit for use”?

OR Correct oil at correct level?
Okay
OR Test oil chemistry.
Elemental Analysis
Wear
• Iron (anti-friction bearings, gears, shafts, rust)
• Chromium (anti-friction bearings, shafts)
• Aluminum (bearings, pump vanes, thrust
washers)
• Copper (bearings, bushings, thrust washers, oil
cooler core tubes, slinger rings) Additive in
some oils, also anti-seize and gasket
compound.
• Antimony (bearings, grease)
• Lead (bearings, plating, leaded gear lubes)
• Tin (bearings, plating)
• Silver (silver solder, wrist pin bushings)
• Nickel (shafts, valves, anti-friction bearings)
• Titanium (turbine components, springs, paint)
• Vanadium (turbine components, valves,
catalysts, fuel oil by-product)
Contamination
• Boron (coolant additives)
• Sodium (coolant additives, sea water)
• Potassium (coolant additives)
• Silicon (sand, dirt, dust, sealing compounds,
anti-foam additive)
Chemistry
• Magnesium (detergent / dispersant, bearings)
• Calcium (detergent / dispersant, grease)
• Barium (detergent / dispersant, grease)
• Phosphorous (anti-wear)
• Zinc (anti-oxidant, anti-corrosion, anti-wear)
• Molybdenum (friction reducer, solid lubricant)
Trivector and elemental analysis
Iron
Aluminum
Chrome
Copper
Lead
Tin
Nickel
Silver
Titanium
Vanadium

Calcium
Magnesium
Vanadium
Zinc
Sodium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Boron
Silicon
Barium
Boron
Sodium
Molybdenum
Modern RDE elemental spectrometer

Size: 26” X 15.1” X 27.8” & 140 lbs

30 s per sample
24 elements
ASTM D6595
RDE  Rotating Disk Electrode
Rotating disk electrode

Graphite rod
1 per 10 samples

Graphite disc
1 per sample
Plastic cap
1 per sample
Portable infrared spectrometer
IR Spectrum

Built-in Fluid Reference Library

Measured fluid properties

Portable viscometer

Sample inlet
60 microliter of oil

Wipe to clean,
Solvent free

Temperature controlled
40 Degree C ± 0.1
Oil analysis choices
On-site minilab Off-site oil lab
– Immediate re-test as needed – No capital
– Test incoming investment
lubricants – Expertise
– Ownership and control – Extensive instrumentation
– Find and fix contamination – Less expensive for < 30 samples
– Flexible for growing programs per month
Ferrous density measurement
FerroCheck
• Portable magnetometer
• Total ferrous content
• Size range: nm to mm
• Sensitivity: 0 to 10,000
ppm
• Excellent repeatability
• Small sample size: 2 ml
• Fast test time: ~30 s
Lessons from practical experience
Documented success using
oil analysis to monitor
health of plant machinery.
 Lessons from practical experience
 World class lubrication program saves millions, defers maintenance, cuts ~30% of repairs
every year (John Gobert, Valero (Premcor), Port Arthur, TX).
 Lessons learned in changing from “Free Oil Analysis” to minilab oil analysis; Ed Bohn and
Frank D’Arcio, GM, Linden, NJ
 Good ideas and valuable experience from Cargill; Mike Breeding (“Lube Mike” at the “Lube
Shack”), Mike McCarty, Angie Ellis, and Keith Hindley at Cargill in Eddyville, IA and Blair, NE.
 Identify problem presses before failure; Terry Aiken from Daimler-Chrysler Warren Stamping
plant saves extended outages.
 Overhaul grinding rolls on-condition; Randy Blake, St. John’s River Power Park, Jacksonville,
FL.
 Statistical alarm limits for turbines and grinding rolls; Joey Frank, TVA, Gallatin, TN
 Failure of a 9000 HP Forced Draft Fan Motor predicted by oil analysis.
 Predicting oil pump failure in a compressor by Keith Mosier, DuPont, Louisville, KY.
 1+4 savings by changing to condition based oil changes by Joe Meditz,
IBM, Hopewell Junction, NY.
Valero Receives Battle Award
Valero Energy (Premcor) in Port Arthur was named
the second recipient of the International Machinery
Lbrication “John R. Battle” award for excellence in
machinery lubrication.
Using CMMS to track failure count
Premcor lubrication program
• The Premcor Port Arthur – Lubrication specifications
– Delivery requirements &
Refinery lubrication practices
program is designed to – In-plant storage of
be a comprehensive lubricants
– Sampling, testing,
program from the documentation &
development of reporting
lubrication specifications – In-plant training
– Partnership with
to the application details lubrication supplier for
of each product in the services & technical
support
field.
Lubrication cleanliness guidelines
Cleanliness Guidelines

ISO Code Sensitivity Example

15/13/9 Super Critical Aerospace
16/15/11 Critical Aircraft and Machine Tools
17/16/13 Very Important General Machinery
General Machinery and
19/18/14 Important Mobile Systems
20/19/15 Average Heavy Industrial Systems

CMS International
* New Oil - 15/13/11 Used Oil - 17/15/13
Lubricant cleanliness: water < 25ppm

550 PPM 250 PPM 100 PPM 25 PPM

Lubricant delivery practices
• Dedicated trucks are supplied
from the vendor to our refinery
• Trucks have dedicated
compartments for each different
oil type
• Desiccant filters are used on
trucks to keep moisture < 25
PPM
• Discharge hoses are dedicated to
specific products Different oils are NEVER put in
• Each product is metered & dedicated compartments
signed off on by unit operators
Lubricant delivery practices

Discharge supply hoses

are dedicated to
specific products
Lubricant delivery practices

1-micron filtration
from the truck is
required
Lubricant delivery practices

Dedicated
drivers follow 87

predetermined
route
87
Storage and handling of lubricants
Sampling, testing & reporting
Sampling
• Routine lube sampling for critical
& major equipment is employed
via established routes
• > 400 samples are routed
• Standardized sampling
procedures are used to insure
representative samples are being
taken
• Route frequency is once per
quarter
• Qualified ICML lube analysts pull
samples
On-sight Minilab
• Incoming oil, including mist oils
are sampled & tested on delivery
– Incoming oils are tested for
viscosity, cleanliness level, solids,
& moisture content
– Mist oils are also tested for their
ability to generate mist
• Route samples are tested for
wear, contamination, &
chemistry
Avoiding misapplication of lubes
Lubricant tags for all oil
compartments:
equipment, transfer
containers, oil storage
points
Centrifugal pumps failure count
Centrifugal compressors failure count
Steam turbines failure count
Motors failure count
Reciprocating compressors failure count
Varnish deposition was failing recips

Deposits on recip
compressor valves.

Change lubricant,
problem went
away.
Total failure count dropped 331/yr
Lesson learned from FREE oil analysis
What’s wrong with “Free Oil
Analysis”?
• Why not just let the oil supplier take
care of oil?
• This, “out of sight, out of mind,”
approach can have disastrous
results!
• The following situation is common in
industry today.
• This lesson was costly for GM Linden
Truck Assembly Plant. We can learn
from it.
• Using “Free Oil Analysis” provided by
their oil suppliers.
• Thinking that the supplier was taking
care of the oil, everybody went
about their business doing other
things.
• Then a critical gearbox failed,
shutting down the assembly plant
for 27 hours.
• “Free Oil Analysis” had been done 2
weeks earlier with no problems
noted!
• “Why?” The short answer is,
“Incomplete oil analysis.”
• But there is much more to this
explanation …
Lesson learned from FREE oil analysis
Gearbox failed causing 27 hr • Severe adhesion was
outage destroying the gear teeth
• Supplier provided FREE oil producing large ferrous
analysis had missed the wear particles.
fault • The FREE oil analysis
• Ed and Frank saw the targeted particles <5 mm
gearbox teeth had worn (common for corrosive
through. wear) but missed these
• The gearbox was very large wear debris.
overloaded and had been • Ed and Frank look around
failing for months and found many lubrication
problems …
Let the supplier take care of it …
• If I let the “let
supplier take care
of it”, then who is
taking care of the
oil storage crib?
• “Nobody!”
Let the supplier take care of it …
There were unmarked
and poorly marked oil
storage containers...
Let the supplier take care of it …

• Unmarked and
inappropriate lubricant
transfer containers.
Let the supplier take care of it …
• Bad practices with poorly
labeled and disorganized
lubricant storage leads to
many problems.
– Half the compartments had
wrong oil.
– 10% of machines were
experiencing abnormal wear.
• These observations by Ed
and Frank justified a
$100,100 investment in the
plant lubrication program.
Avoid lubricant misapplication
• First thing Ed and Frank
did: put labels on
everything.
• Used common materials
– “standard shapes” in
Microsoft Word,
– color printer, and
– plastic laminating
machine.
Avoid lubricant misapplication

Frank and Ed put more

than 1000 lables on plant
equipment
Avoid cross contamination

Labels were attached to

all oil transfer containers.
Avoid lubricant misapplication

• They cleaned up and

reorganized their oil
crib
• Well-organized and
well-marked lubricant
storage.
Transport and transfer of lubes

They also assembled an

oil truck with in-line oil
filters on oil deliver lines.
Sampling lubricants

• Accurately labeled oil

sample bottles assured
results matched
machines and lubricant
types.
• An incorrectly labeled
sample is WORSE than no
sample at all.
Avoid lubricant misapplication
50% have wrong oil!
• Many problems were immediately
found using a digital viscometer
– wrong oil
– mixed oil
• Test incoming oils
• Test oils in storage points
• Test used oils
Find abnormal wear indications
10% of machines in
abnormal wear
• A ferrous wear
magnetometer finds high
wear applications.
• This rapid test measures
iron in oil or grease.
• Ideal for measuring
mechanical wear.
Frank and Ed tested oil onsite
• Posted examples and
reference information
• Reference oils and
calibration oils
• 100+ samples per month
• Tile floor
• Climate controlled room
• “Blue collar” instruments
Use software to database and trend
• Ed and Frank find that
the software guides
them through the
process of testing oils,
analyzing them, and
writing reports.
• They particularly like the
Trivector, automatic
observations, and
recommended actions.
 Laser welder main oil compartment
• Onsite oil analysis for
robotic welder showed
• Extreme wear
• Large ferrous particles
• Alarming contamination
Laser welder main oil compartment
• Based on the onsite oil
analysis this work
order was written
• Drain, flush, replace oil
in the laser turntable.
FREE oil analysis missed the problem
• Laser Turntable samples
were also collected and
sent off to two different
labs who provide “Free Oil
Analysis.”
• The first lab reported,
– “Analysis indicates
component & lubricant
conditions are acceptable.”
• The second lab reported,
– “No corrective action
required.”
 Corrective action, failure avoided
• At this point the supervisor asked:
• “Why did you write a work order to
change the oil in the Laser Turntable
when two labs say nothing is
wrong?”
• Ed said, “Who knows, there may be
a mistake” and suggested testing
another sample. Ed and the
supervisor did this together.
• They got the same findings including
large ferrous particles.
• They went out to the laser turntable
to find a missing cover plate that
allowed welding slag to get inside
the oil compartment!
Summary of GM Linden successes

• Improve Lubrication Quality

• Reduced Machinery Wear
• Extended Oil Change Intervals
• Reduced Oil Disposal Cost
• Reduced Oil Sample Cost
• Simple Cost Avoidance Methods
Cargil Dayton
Good ideas and valuable
experience from Mike Breeding,
(“Lube Mike”) at the “Lube
Shack”
• Cost Saving Case Histories
• Shape classification
• Vibration and Oil Used
together
Tips for getting started
• Start with 20 items of critical
equipment
• Expand to 50 and then 100
samples/month
• Compressors, blowers,
pumps, agitators, preheaters
• Keep oil clean, dry, and fit for
use
• Use particle counter, shape
classification, and ferrous
particle detection
 Case histories & shape classification
• Air Pre-heater
– Lab oil analysis being done
January and June
– In March minilab oil analysis
found fly-ash in oil
– Able to drain/filter and keep
going saving $150,000
• Rotex Gearbox
– Identify ongoing wear problem
– Justified Manufacturer’s
warranty replacement
– Saving $40,000
Shape classification
– Q. How often do you do shape
classification?
– A. I do it on every sample. If
I’m not doing shape
classification, I am not looking
at machine condition.
– Q. How hard is to recognize
different shapes?
– A. After you look at some
samples with microscope and
look at examples in the atlas,
then you can tell whether a
problem is fretting or fatigue
or abrasion.
Vibration and oil analyses together
Oil analysis is often used to confirm vibration
This is especially true for sleeve bearings and
gears
• motor bearing, vibration indicated a
possible problem
• finish syrup gearbox, vibration alerted
possible problem
oil analysis confirmed bearing damage and spall from gear teeth
Cargil Eddyville & Blair
Mike McCarty and Angie Ellis from
Cargill in Eddyville, Iowa
• You get a lot of information from the
minilab
• In fact you get a lot more than we
were getting from our oil supplier’s
oil analysis
• Wear debris and particle counting
are two things we were not getting
• We were not really paying much
attention before …
• We test about 200/month
• Now we filter rather than change oil
Keith Hindley’s comments from Cargill in
Blair, Nebraska
• Common problems include degraded
oil, wrong oil, high mechanical wear,
water in oil and process
contamination.
• Successfully predicted failure in time
to make preparations.
• Able to find water in oil, remove it,
and verify it has been removed.
• Saved money by selecting less
expensive lubricants.
• Able to detect misapplied oils in
several applications.
Chrysler Warren Stamping Plant
• Terry Aiken finds press
problems
• Rocker arm from 1000T
Hamilton stamping
press
Cracked and broken rocker arms
16-3 Hamilton Press (1000 T)
• Press 16-3 had two 6000
5000
broken rockers and four

Ferrous
4000
Repaired
3000 broken rockers
worn out link bushings 2000
1000
& worn out
bushings

• Press 16-4 had a sheared 0

3/11 4/8 5/6 6/3 7/1 7/29 8/26 9/23

stud supporting the 1500 16-4 Hamilton Press (1000 T)

rocker arm

Ferrous
1000
Replaced
• The oil analysis was the 500
broken
rocker
stud
indication of these 0

failures 2/20 3/19 4/16 5/14 6/11 7/9 8/6 9/3

Cracked and broken rocker arms
• In both of these cases… • “Without oil analysis a
• Continued operation problems like these are
without immediate not known until the table
maintenance would have drops,” said Terry Aikens,
been catastrophic. Predictive Maintenance
• Avoided danger to the Engineer, Warren
press operator. Stamping Plant .
• Avoided costly expense • “…and at that point, it
to the company. takes several months to
repair.”
Cracked and broken rocker arms
• These results allowed • Several months of lost
both presses to be production was avoided
repaired quickly. by detecting these
• Press 16-3 took about 3 incipient problems.
weeks to repair the • Savings in each case is
broken rocker arm. estimated at $50,000 in
• The sheared stud on avoided maintenance
press 16-4 was repaired and $1,000,000 in lost
within 24 hours. production.
Pulverizer overhauls “On-Condition”
Randy Blake, Maintenance
Engineer, St. John’s River
Power Park (SJRPP)
Jacksonville, Florida.
• A very successful
lubrication program
• Already sending 140 lab
samples per month
• Added minilab testing,
particularly for the coal
pulverizer rolls.
Pulverizer overhauls “On-Condition”
Each pulverizer has three
bearings
• Harsh environment
• Elevated temperature,
• Coal dust, and
• Other abrasives
Pulverizer overhauls “On-Condition”
Before using in-shop analysis, SJRPP
overhauled 27 grinding rolls per
year.
• Cost of $10,000 per overhaul.
• On-site oil analysis used to find
the 20% needing maintenance.
• Savings documented > $230,000
per year on grinding rolls alone.
“We started our oil testing program,
using the minilab. As part of our
testing program, we continued
sending oil samples to an outside
testing lab to quantify the minilab
readings. We collated enough data
to set alarm limits and start trending
the grinding roll oil samples…By
using the a minilab, within minutes a
decision can be made on the
replacement of pulverizer grinding
rolls. In ten months we have not
replaced a single roll, nor have we
had unexpected failures.”
A benefit …
“When the plant
maintenance staff pays
particular attention to the
condition of lubricants,
they will surely notice
common problems such as
water-in-oil, wrong lube, or
in rare instances, no lube at
all.” Randy Blake, SJRPP
Failed to act on oil analysis finding
• 1,300 MW coal fired power
plant.
• 9,000 HP forced draft fan
motor failed.

Monitored with multiple

technologies:
• Vibration
• Motor Current
• OilView and Oil Lab
• Thermography
Failed to act on oil analysis finding
Minilab and Oil Lab both Point: MIO - MOT OR INBOARD OIL
1112301330 - FD FAN #3

alerted in August to failure in

October. Contaminant
Good > 2
Fair > 4
8
7

• June – no unusual indications Marg > 5 6

Bad > 7 5
4

• July – no unusual indications 3

2

• August – first large ferrous 1

0
OC

indication Ferrous
Good > 2
16
14 OC

•
Fair > 4 13

September – ferrous up from 1 Marg > 5

Bad > 7
11
10

to 15 8
6

•
5
October – contamination up 3
2

from 1 to 8 0
0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 15

06/17/97 T ime in Weeks 10/03/97

Vibration, Motor Current, and

Thermography gave no unusual Although the oil analysis information
indications. was available, catastrophic failure was
not avoided.
ASTM D7720 Statistical Alarm Limits
• Joey Frank, TVA
• Statistical alarms for
water and ferrous
– ASTM D7720 Cumulative
Distribution Function (CDF)
Plot
– Note: These are Log Plots,
so zero values are counted
but are not shown.
Statistical alarms for TVA gearbox
• Chemistry and contamination
acceptable: dielectric, water, and
viscosity
• However Fe Index, wear
indication, trended sharply up as
shown in the following table:
• Nov 2010 0.0
• Jan 2011 4.8
• Apr 2011 7.0 • Ferrous Index of 124 is
• Jul 2011 8.8 98th percentile, only 2%
• Oct 2011 124.0 of all samples are higher.
• 10 hour repair vs. 2 week outage • Strong indication of
& $$$ repair
progressing wear defect!
Cost avoidance from compressor finding
• Keith Mosier, E.I. DuPont, Louisville Works, Centrifugal refrigeration compressor.
– Vibration analysis indicated a low amplitude subharmonic vibration.
• Mechanic observed very small brass color particles in the oil filter.
– In May, the minilab alerted to water with free water “droplets.”
– Also in May, the lab analysis alerted to
– High water, Total Acid Number, and increased levels of iron and copper generally associated with shaft
and bearing wear.
• Production required continued operation of this unit from May to September.
– In September, the Minilab showed that while the large contaminant indication remained alarming
(this time due to the presence of large non-ferrous particles), the water had been driven away.
– It also showed that the Ferrous increased from 0.0 to 6.8.
• When the compressor was shut down and inspected.
– The compressor oil pump gears were badly pitted.
– Loose seals were allowing water in the oil.
– Subharmonic vibration was a gear.
– Frequency matched the “hunting tooth.”
– This was estimated at $55,000 maintenance cost and production loss avoidance.
Extending oil drain intervals
• IBM Microelectronics Division
NY
• The plan: Extend oil drains on
135 pumps by an average of
at least 6 months, net savings
$20k per year
– Reported $20k annual savings
– The very expensive PTFE
synthetic lubricant was not
aging!
– This savings recurred every
year for next five years
• Additional savings through
reduced labor and disposal
costs.
– Collateral Saving $79k by early
detection of contamination by
water or coolant or process
materials!
– Oil analysis identified
correctable problems in 25 out
of 135 pumps.
• Here is one example of
collateral savings …
Collateral savings
Single-stage rotary vane mechanical • Joe Meditz shared his 4:1
vacuum pump collateral savings experience
with IBM in three other IBM
• Coolant contamination – would sites.
destroy pump
• All three sites justified oil
• Replacement cost $16,000 analysis, changed to condition
based oil change and
• Repaired cost - 1,000 experienced 4:1 collateral
• Savings $15,000 savings!

• 24 other repairs netted $54k

more collateral savings!
Documented Case Histories
Reference articles
• Why Equipment Fails and What You
Can Do to Prevent It
• Vibration and Oil Analysis Techniques
Reveal Root Cause and Severity
• Identifying Root Causes of Machinery
Damage with Condition Monitoring
• The Benefits of Route-Based Oil
Analysis
• Get a Handle on Grease Lubrication
• Oil Hygiene
• Four Ways to Determine Alarm
Settings
• Wear Rates Impact Maintenance
Priorities