ILMA Compoundings - January 2020 - 21

"Very few things can give us a true understanding
of what exactly is going on inside a lubricated
component," said Michael Holloway, president
of 5th Order Industry and consultant with ALS Tribology. Oil analysis is one of those few things.
"Lubricants are a conduit of information," Holloway
pointed out. "Think of it like having bloodwork done.
Technicians can test up to 40 different things in a small vial
of blood. Like blood, lubricants perform a range of important functions. They protect against wear and corrosion, can
act as a coolant and ward off oxidation. Oil analysis, then,
tells us a story about all of those functions. We can get an
amazing amount of information from the oil that informs us
about the life longevity and failure eventuality of both the
machine being lubricated and the lubricant itself."
Joe Leistikow, technical manager for U.S. Lubricants,
said, "Oil analysis can help to ensure a customer is not
prematurely throwing out good oil and wasting money.
Also, by examining the lubricant, a maintenance department
can - with high confidence - know when something is
likely to fail. Based on that, maintenance can then schedule
appropriate downtime to avoid unexpected overages. In that
way, condition monitoring manages maintenance costs and
improves uptime."

In addition, all of these factors can provide vital information regarding areas of wear in a mechanical component,
indicating potential points of failure as well as possible
overuse or misuse. Wear metals analysis can help to pinpoint
the problems.
"When it comes to wear metal," Holloway explained, "we
can measure metal particles in the lubricant on a scale from
microscopic to macro. Oil analysis allows you to point to
the specific component that's wearing out prematurely due
to the metal element, or 'fingerprint,' it leaves behind. If
you take it one step further, you can look at the shape, size
and metallic content of the wear particles to identify why
that machine is wearing out. Maybe it's being overloaded,
maybe outside contamination has gotten in, maybe there is
a premature breakdown of the lubricant."

"Oil analysis allows you to point to the
specific component that's wearing out
prematurely due to the metal element,
or 'fingerprint,' it leaves behind."
Michael Holloway, consultant, ALS Tribology

The Big Three

Holloway pointed to three significant lubricant states that
can only be assessed by analysis. "The most important characteristic of a lubricating oil is probably its viscosity - its
flow properties at a given temperature. It needs to be in line
with what the components require. If it's too thin, components wear out prematurely and overheat. If it's too thick, it
can add restrictions that increase the energy demand.
"The second important consideration is contamination.
Even though the oil may be doing its job, sometimes
internal and external contaminants can affect the life of the
oil. Particulates, fuel, water, antifreeze - all can have a huge
and deleterious effect on a lubricated system.
"Finally," Holloway continued, "analysis helps you evaluate the oil performance/condition itself. It tells you how
oxidation and acid neutralization are occurring over time
and how certain additives are functioning during the life of
the oil. Having that information in hand can give insight
into possible ways to extend the life of the equipment."

ILMA Compoundings - January 2020

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