Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008 - (Page 71)

bursts, not continuously. Consequently, if the oil sample is taken between bursts, there will not be an indication of a wear problem. Filter debris analysis solves this dilemma since all the debris is captured in the filter. Tell us a little about the history of Filter Debris Analysis, how and why it was developed. Filter debris analysis has been in use since the mid 1980’s. When the Canadian Forces’ Sea King helicopter was plagued with main gearbox debris problems in the early 1990’s, the Canadian Defense Research Establishment Atlantic (DREA) embarked on a research project to determine if the debris from the filters could be used to reliably evaluate the condition of helicopter gearboxes. The project was so successful that FDA became an integral part of the maintenance program to determine Sea King gearbox health. However, it was a manual, cumbersome process. In the late 1990’s the Sea King senior aircraft maintenance officer tasked their health monitoring specialist contractor, GasTOPS Ltd. (Ottawa, ON), to work with DREA to develop the FDA program into an automated tool for mechanics at the flight line. The outcome of the project was the development and production of the FilterCHECK™ instrument. The instrument was simple to operate and in 15 minutes, could efficiently clean a filter, quantitatively count and size the ferrous and non-ferrous debris via the in-line particle debris monitor and prepare a patch of the debris for XRF analysis. In 1999, the US military’s Joint Oil Analysis Program Technical Support Center (JOAP-TSC) (Pensacola, FL) initiated an application project to develop and include energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) capability in the FilterCHECK™. This project resulted in a new version of FilterCHECK™ that cleans the filter, counts and sizes the ferrous and nonferrous particles, prepares a thin film patch of wear debris, determines the metallic composition and mass of the debris. Data analysis and component profiling enables the damaged internal components to be pinpointed and determines the systems serviceability. In 2007, Insight Services, working with GASTOPS, developed an automated systematic process to wash and analyze industrial size filters in a similar fashion employed by the military. The FDA instrument, designed to accommodate larger filters found in industry, is a self-contained unit that employs an automated method for filter washing to extract representative debris from the filter with high repeatability and reproducibility. Insight Services is marketing Filter Debris Analysis to its industrial customer base from of its lab in Cleveland, OH. Although this technology has been around for a while, it is very new to industrial applications. Is industry embracing this testing procedure as quickly as you would expect? There is still the need to get the word out to industrial customers. As with any new technology in the maintenance technology area, there is some skepticism to the benefits received. The military has been more willing to embrace this new technology because they were driven to find an immediate solution to operational and safety related issues. Also, with their large fleets of identical components, it is easier to analyze fleet statistics, and to document that traditional techniques are not providing the necessary advanced warning of impending failures. Are there certain industries that could benefit more than others by utilizing Filter Debris Analysis? FDA is best suited for any critical equipment upgrade in a plant maintaining large sump capacities. Some examples would include gas and steam turbines found in the power industry, large compressors found throughout chemical plants, and gas processors and hydraulic systems in steel mills and paper mills. In reality, any filter from a critical piece of rotating equipment is a candidate for an annual filter debris analysis. What are the top three reasons a company should consider using Filter Debris Analysis? • Early warning of machinery failures with associated financial savings through maintenance reduction and avoiding operational upsets. • To identify specific component damage • To provide enhanced results that oil analysis can no longer deliver What is the time frame a company can expect for a return on their investment in utilizing Filter Debris Analysis? Well, an early warning on one gas turbine failure, resulting in avoiding catastrophic failure, reducing maintenance costs and avoiding operational upsets, can more than pay for FDA for the entire fleet of equipment. Please give us a success story or two from companies that are using FDA. Jeff, I included an FDA report we did on a Centrifuge in a brewery. The oil analysis report was rather benign and they suspected they were having machine problems so they sent in the filter. The report demonstrates the analysis of that filter. The bearing on this centrifuge failed right after they sent the filter. The tremendous amounts of copper signify bearing wear and their size precluded detection on the ICP of the oil analysis report. How can interested people get more information about Filter Debris Analysis? Contact Insight Services, 216-2512510, or on the web at www.testoil. com Although originally designed for aircraft ﬁlters, the FilterCHECK™ technology has been adapted to perform Filter Debris Analysis on the majority of industrial ﬁlter sizes. Contact GasTOPS Inc. at 850-4788512 and www.gastopsusa.com Our website contains filter debris success stories and articles. 71 www.uptimemagazine.com http://www.testoil.com http://www.testoil.com http://www.gastopsusa.com http://www.uptimemagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008

Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: An Asset Management Oasis in the Desert Information Technology: Streamlining Through Simplicity Lubrication: Phases for Framing a Solid Foundation Infrared: Do Your Homework Before You Buy Maintenance Management: Get It Together by Getting Together Motor Testing: Key Elements in Motor Decision Making Precision Maintenance: Shedding Some Light on Tolerances Reliability: RCM & the Mortgage Meltdown Ultrasound: A Multidimensional Tool Vibration: The Whirling Pump Mystery, Solved with ODS Upgrade: Are You Looking in the Right Place for Your Wear Debris?

Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008

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