Arrelic Insights in oil analysis

1. Arrelic INSIGHTS
OIL A N A L Y S I S
www.arrelic.com

2. OIL ANALYSIS
O V E R V I E W
INSIGHTS
For a long t i m e people have used oil
analysis t o d e t e r m i n e w h e n t o d o an
oil c hange t o d o a so-called
c ondit ion based oil c hange a n d for
ot her reasons. B u t a lot of people
ignore t he value of oil analysis as a
predictive m a i n t e n a n c e t ool because
they are ot her m e t h o d s such as
vibration analysis a n d t h e r m o g r a p h y
etc. Of t en m a n y a times, oil analysis
can be t he m o s t sensitive predictive
m a i n t e n a n c e t ool w e have.
Using Oil Analysis, w e can identify
where debris is present at a very
early stage in t he failure process.
W h e n a m a c h i n e starts t o fail, it
typically wears first. Using oil
analysis, w e can identify t he spot at
w h i c h t he m a c h i n e starts t o wear.
The first test t h a t w e can use is
elem ent al analysis. It is a s im ple
test w h i c h is inc luded in every oil
analysis report a n d it tells us a b o u t
t he c onc ent rat ion of all t he
different m e t a l elem ent s so s om e of
those m e t a l elem ent s are associated
w i t h wear like iron, copper, t in a n d
c h r o m i u m etc., while others are
associated w i t h c ont am inant s a n d
there are still others w h i c h are
associated w i t h lubric ant additives.
Focusing on t he wear m et als now,
w e can use statistical analysis of
historical dat a t o identify alarms or
limits. W e can have a warning l i m i t
w h i c h tells us if anyt hing goes above
t he lim it, w e m a y need t o take a
closer look. W e can have a critical
l i m it t h a t a m o n g ot her t hings m a y
trigger further testing. For exam ple , if
w e have an iron c onc ent rat ion t h a t
c lim bs above our critical lim it, t h a t
m i g h t trigger Direct Reading
Ferrography Test or a Particle
Quantifier (PQ) test.

3. INSIGHTS
DIRECT R E A D I N G
F E R R O G R A P H Y TEST
This test tells us a b o u t ferrous
density or t he a m o u n t of m a g n e t i c
m at erial in t he oil b u t it separates
t h a t a m o u n t int o DL, w h i c h is for
particles larger t h a n 5 Micron's a n d
DS, w h i c h are for those sm aller
t h a n 5 m icrons. So, w e can use
those 2 values t o d o s om e
m e a n i n g f u l calculations a n d one
t h a t I like t o use is called Percent
Large Particles (PLP).
So, if w e k n o w t he ratio of large
particles t o t ot al particles, t h a t is a
very m e a n i n g f u l value w e can
t rend essentially as a m a c h i n e
c o m p o n e n t gets closer a n d closer
t o failure. m at erial n o w one of t he
t hings especially w i t h t he
previous ly -mentioned test one of
t he t hings t h a t w e really have t o
d o well t o m a k e this m e a n i n g f u l as
s am pling w e have t o get g o o d oil
sam ples if w e don' t s am ple
consistently w e need t o s am ple
well w e need t o get a g o o d valid
s am ple t h a t gives us g o o d
inf orm at ion b u t it also needs t o be
very consistent because t he
consistency is going t o is going t o
factor int o those statistical alarm s
w e set a n d that's w h a t really going
t o d e t e r m i n e t he sensitivity of this
P DM t ool or of this aspect of oil
analysis as a P DM tool.
So, we've got a s am ple consistently
a n d w e really need g o o d
d o c u m e n t e d procedures too, so
t h a t different technicians can take
sam ples a n d w e can get t he s am e
inf orm at ion each t i m e t h o u g h oil
analysis is it's been around for a
long t i m e m o s t people d o oil
analysis b u t m o s t people don' t use
it effectively for predictive
m aint enanc e . A d d this c o m p o n e n t
t o oil analysis in your P DM p r o g r a m
a n d you'll reap t he benefits f r o m
d o i n g so. This has been used in t he
oil analysis for predic t ing m a c h i n e
failures.
DIFFERENT M E T H O D S
Direct Reading(DR) Ferrography
Test
Particle Quantifier(PQ) Test

4. INSIGHTS
P A R T I C L E Q U A N T I F I E R
(PR) TEST
DIFFERENT M E T H O D S
Direct Reading(DR) Ferrography
Test
Particle Quantifier(PQ) Test
Particle Quantifier is an
i n s t r u m e n t t h a t tells us a b o u t
t he a m o u n t of m a g n e t i c
m at erial t h a t is present in t he
oil. This can be very useful t o
k n o w a b o u t t he characteristics
of an oil. It is a useful t h i n g t o
trend. W e can also apply similar
statistics t o PQ values a n d set
lim its t he s am e way t he next
test w e w o u l d w a n t t o d o w h i c h
a little m o r e involved is Direct
Reading Ferrography Test.
Similar t o DR ferrography, t he
quantifier gives t he m eas ured
t he ferrous c onc ent rat ion as an
index value. However, this is
where t he similarities b e t we e n
t he t w o end.
PQ results are given as a single
index versus t he t w o values
provided in DR ferrography.
There is no separation of size.
The PQ is n o t sensitive t o
particle size. W h e n utilized in
c onjunc t ion w i t h a t o m i c
em ission spectrography (AES),
several evaluations can be
m ade. If b o t h t he PQ a n d AES
values increases, it is likely t h a t
m a n y sm all particles are being
generated. However, if PQ
increases a n d there is no
c hange or decrease in AES
ferrous debris, this suggests
large particles are being
generat ed w h i c h indicates an
a b n o r m a l level of wear.

5. INSIGHTS
INDUSTRIAL OIL
A N A L Y S I S
You are responsible for t he care of
i m p o r t a n t a n d expensive e q u i p m e n t .
You w a n t t o k eep t h a t e q u i p m e n t
r u n n i n g well. For a very long t im e ,
your c o m p a n y works, w i t h analysts
inc orporat ed in an o n g o i n g p r o g r a m
t o m o n i t o r t he perf orm anc e of t he
lubricants or ot her fluids used in t he
e q u i p m e n t a n d t o det ec t
c o n t a m i n a t i o n or early signs of
excessive e q u i p m e n t . W here this
analysis p r o g r a m detects t he
b e g i n n i n g of a problem . Before it
bec om es severe, let t ing you fix t he
cause a n d t he boy t h e m expensive,
s hut d o w n a n d repair, your part in
this valuable service is t o take a
s am ple of t he fluid label t he s am ple
a n d fill o u t necessary paperwork a n d
send it all t o t he laboratory. You m a y
also be expec t ed t o review t he
analysis report a n d res ponded t o its
rec om m endat ions .
There are five steps in this s am plin g
analysis a n d report ing process, we'll
go over t h e m one by one.
The first step is c ollecting t he
sample. The usefulness of t he
analysis will d e p e n d on t hought f ul ,
consistent a n d careful s am pling if it
can be d o n e safely, take t he s am ple
while t he system is r u n n i n g or wi t h i n
15 m i n u t e s after s hut down . If it is at
all possible, d o n o t take t he s am ple
f r o m t he b o t t o m of t he oil p a n or
tank. These practices ensure t h a t t he
s am ple represents t he lubric ant as it
is wo r k i n g n o t after c ont am inant s
a n d where particles have settled out.
You m a y use any one of four
m e t h o d s of s am pling : s am pling
accessories are available for each
m e t h o d . The best a n d
r e c o m m e n d e d m e t h o d is s am pling
t h r o u g h a qss valve. If t he t ank or oil
p a n does n o t have a qss valve
pet c oc k or similar s am pling device,
you m a y obt ain a qss valve t h r o u g h
analysts incorporated. The valve is
easy t o install t o take a s am ple
t h r o u g h t he qss valve press.
One e n d of t he t u b i n g on t o t he
valve s t e m t h e n press in t he s t e m t o
o p e n t he valve t he valve closes w h e n
you release t he stem . Bellows
s am pling uses a single-use s am pling
kit, consisting of a bellows p u m p a n d
t ubing . The lengt h of t he t u b i n g
inserted int o t he reservoir s hould n o t
exceed t he lengt h of t he dipstick.
This avoids d r a wi n g t he s am ple f r o m
t he b o t t o m of t he reservoir,
com press t he bellows a n d release it
t o fill t he bellows at least half-full
using a v a c u u m g u n place t he
t u b i n g in t he s am e m a n n e r as for t he
bellows, d r a w t he s am ple t o fill t he
c ont ainer at least 3/4 Full t he pat t he
drain carefully clean t he area around
of t he drain p l u g take t he s am ple
after a b o u t one t hird of t he oil
capacity has been drained. N o w
c om es t he paper wo rk if t he s am ple
source is already registered at t he
laboratory, fill o u t t he s am ple
processing f o r m for t he s am ple on
t he first s am ple f r o m any c o m p o n e n t
fill o u t every i t e m on t he f o r m t he
laboratory m a y n o t be able t o
accurately evaluate t he s am ple if Any
i t e m has been o m i t t e d t o repeat. It is
very i m p o r t a n t t h a t you fill o u t every
i t e m on t he f o r m after t he first
s am ple f r o m t h a t c o m p o n e n t has
been s ubm it t ed . You only need t o
c o m p l e t e t he section w h i c h records
c hanging inf orm ation . It is vitally
i m p o r t a n t t h a t you not e in t he
c o m m e n t s box any m ec hanic al wo r k
or operat ing problem s w i t h t he
e q u i p m e n t being s am pled . This
inf orm at ion f eedbac k will affect our
evaluation, separate t he t w o parts of
t he f o r m send t he wh i t e part, along
w i t h a s am ple a n d file t he yellow
part in your m a i n t e n a n c e files. Som e
program s use a f o r m 50
ident if ication sheet instead of t he
s am ple processing f orm, whic hever
you use be sure t o fill these o u t
c om pletely . The next step is easy.
Just fill o u t all t he inf orm at ion
reques t ed on t he s am ple label.

6. NSIGHTS
The u p p e r part of t he t abular dat a
shows t he a m o u n t in parts per
m illion of different m etallics f o u n d in
t he sam ple. Results f r o m successive
analysis appear on consecutive lines.
That is t he first analysis f r o m a
particular s am ple source is on top,
a n d t he last is on t he b o t t o m . A line
b e l o w a test result m arks a
particularly significant m e a s u r e m e n t
or t rend t h a t m a y suggest
investigation a n d possible
m a i n t e n a n c e action. The lower part
of t he dat a section shows results of
several physical tests. The reverse
side of t he report explains t he
significance a n d possible source of
each c ondit ion or e l e m e n t
m easured. You are enc ouraged t o
call t he laboratory t o ask questions
a b o u t your sam ples reply t o our
questions or get addit ional
inf orm at ion a b o u t a report. N o w
we've covered t he entire s am pling
analysis a n d report ing process. Let'S
review t he steps collect t he sam ple,
fill out, t he sam ple, processing f o r m
a n d s am ple label send t he s am ple t o
t he laboratory w i t h o u t delay. The
laboratory perf orm s t he analysis a n d
inf orm s you of significant results,
r e c o m m e n d i n g specific corrective
m a i n t e n a n c e action.
C o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t we e n t he
laboratory a n d your m a i n t e n a n c e
d e p a r t m e n t is t he key t o a
produc t ive analysis program . Finally,
you study t he analysis report a n d
initiate any suggested m a i n t e n a n c e
ac t ion be sure t o call t he laboratory.
If you have any questions a b o u t t he
report, note, you can save valuable
t i m e by d o wn l o a d i n g analysis.
Reports f r o m analysts webs it e on t he
Internet. This reduces paperwo rk a n d
postal delays. This analysis p r o g r a m
m ak es your job a lot easier a n d
keeps your e q u i p m e n t r u n n i n g
bet t er a n d longer, w i t h o u t failures
a n d c ons equent d o w n t i m e . This is all
a b o u t t he industrial oil analysis a n d
different m e t h o d s for d o i n g it.
if Any i t e m has been o m i t t e d t o
repeat. It is very i m p o r t a n t t h a t you
fill o u t every i t e m on t he f o r m after
t he first s am ple f r o m t h a t
c o m p o n e n t has been s ubm it t ed . You
only need t o c o m p l e t e t he section
w h i c h records c hanging inf orm at ion .
It is vitally i m p o r t a n t t h a t you not e in
t he c o m m e n t s box any m ec hanic al
wo r k or operat ing problem s w i t h t he
e q u i p m e n t being s am pled. This
inf orm at ion f eedbac k will affect our
evaluation, separate t he t w o parts of
t he f o r m send t he wh i t e part, along
w i t h a s am ple a n d file t he yellow
part in your m a i n t e n a n c e files. Som e
program s use a f o r m 50
ident if ication sheet instead of t he
s am ple processing f orm , whic hever
you use be sure t o fill these o u t
c om pletely . The next step is easy.
Just fill o u t all t he inf orm at ion
reques t ed on t he s am ple label.
Again, t he analyst needs all t he
inf orm at ion p r o m p t l y send t he
s am ple t o t he laboratory using first-
class m ail, UPS, FEDEX or ot her
reliable c o m m e r c i a l delivery service
d o n o t set t he s am ple aside t o send
later. For any reason, s hould t he
s am ple c ont ain clues t o a p r o b l e m
you w a n t t o k n o w as soon as
possible, your e q u i p m e n t m a y
d e p e n d u p o n it. The laboratory
perf orm s a n u m b e r of c hem ic al a n d
physical tests d e t e r m i n e d by t he
t ype of e q u i p m e n t , its applic ation
a n d your c om pany's p r o g r a m
objectives. If s am ple analysis
indicates a critical p r o b l e m w i t h your
e q u i p m e n t , our analysts will
i m m e d i a t e l y call a n d discuss it w i t h
The c o m p o n e n t reference n u m b e r
links together, t he s am ple
e q u i p m e n t a n d its analysis. Helping
you get t he inf orm at ion you need.
The m a i n t e n a n c e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
area is t he heart of t he report. This
concisely tells you w h a t was learned
in t he analysis a n d suggests ac t ion t o
correct any p r o b l e m revealed in t he
analysis. .

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mode of manufacturing operation and maintenance practice of various industries with extensive expertise in
Reliability Engineering, Predictive Maintenance, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Sensors, Machine Learning and
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right mind and expertise; for a worry free operation
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in the future. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough
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