Oil Analysis

Where is Oil Analysis used?

• Oil analysis works particularly well on:
• Oil lubricated rolling element bearings
• Oil lubricated sleeve bearings
• Gearboxes
• Engines
• Turbines
• Hydraulic Systems
• Compressors
• Chillers
• Any system that uses lubrication and lends itself to drawing and testing samples of that lubrication.

What does Oil Analysis Reveal ?

• Oil analysis can be broken into three main areas of testing
• Chemical composition of the oil (including the additives).
• Presence of contaminants (e.g. water).
• Particle analysis (wear particles in the oil - primarily metals - a.k.a. ferrography).
• It is obvious that tests should be performed on oil systems on machines that are operational. But what about incoming and stored oil - are you getting what you should be getting (what you ordered) ?
• Has the oil been stored properly ?
• Has moisture or other contaminants gotten in ? Is recycled or reclaimed oil up to the standards it should be ?

Commonly Measured Parameters

• Viscosity
• An oil characteristic related to it's resistance to flow.
• Moisture
• A contaminant that causes rust, corrosion and oxidation.
• Acid Number
• A measure of acidity related both to additive presence and oxidation likelihood.
• Base Number
• A measure of alkalinity related both to additive presence and oxidation likelihood.

• Particle Count
• Related to component wear, contaminant ingression, corrosion and others.
• Presence of Various Additives
• Depletion of these can lead to serious problems.
• Dielectric Properties
• Related to the likelihood of impending oxidation.
• There are numerous other tests that can be performed and specific tests within these general categories.