CONDITION MONITORING OF

INDUSTRIAL LUBRICANTS
Dr. SETHURAMAN KANNAN
IOC R&D
 Introduction

 Productivity is playing a key role to stay competitive, for any manufacturing

company.
 Productivity can be achieved through availability and availability can be
increased through adopting the efficient maintenance practices, by
focusing on different types of maintenance and strategies.
1) Predictive Maintenance
2) Proactive Maintenance
3) Preventive Maintenance

P-F interval is the time

between detectability of a
potential failure and the
occurrence of the failure.

P-F CURVE
 MAINTENANCE TYPES

Proactive Maintenance
Conditions are maintained that avoid the onset of machine wear and component
degradation. Conditions are monitored and remedial actions are taken to
stabilize healthy operating conditions. Maintenance activities are proactive, i.e.,
ahead of the first initiation of failure.
Predictive Maintenance
The progression of failure is monitored using nondestructive instrumentation.
Visual inspection and performance data are used to assess machinery condition.
It replaces arbitrarily timed maintenance tasks with appropriate maintenance task
at only when warranted by equipment condition.

Preventive Maintenance
Maintenance is scheduled based on the experience and history. Between
operating intervals such as hours, miles, or cycles are used as a basis for
maintenance, not machine condition.
Breakdown Maintenance
Maintenance is carried out after the operational failure.
Benefits of Condition Monitoring:

1) Early deterioration detection can avoid catastrophic failure

2) Accurate evaluation of damage will enable cost-effective maintenance planning
3) Root-cause analysis can improve operational strategy
4) Extended Oil Life
5) Increased operational hours
 The Economics of Maintenance and
Lubrication

Cost of Machine Failure Typical Maintenance Budget Cause of Machine Failure

100 %
Mechanical fatigue
Cost of Repair Lubricants 3% Failure 9 %
15%
Misc. Supplies &
Equipments 12%
Miscellaneous 21%

Maintenace Labour
45% Incorrect component
Assembly and
Misalignment 27 %
Cost of
Downtime 85%

Incorrect choice and

Replacement Parts usage of Lubricants
40% 43 %
 STRATEGIES INVOLVED

Condition Based Maintenance

Proactive Predictive
Strategy Maintenance
Maintenance

Root Causes What it looks for Failure Symptoms and Faults

Contaminant Monitoring Example Wear Debris Analysis, Vibration

Balancing and Alignment Tools Technologies Analysis, Thermography, Motor
Viscosity and AN Monitoring employed Current Analysis

Fault-free Machine Life Early Detection of Faults and

Benefits Sought
Extension Failure

What’s reduced? The Impact of Failures

The Number of Failures
(Early Detection)
 LUBRICANT OIL FUNCTIONS

Main function is to separate two surfaces in relative motion with each

other from making contact
Reduces Heat Generation
Friction Control and Energy Consuumption

Wear Control Reduced Mechanical and

Corrosion Wear

Corrosion Control Protects Surfaces From

Corrosive Substances

Temperature Control Absorbs and Transfers Heat

Transports Particles and

Contamination Control Other Contaminants to
Filters/Seperators

In Hydraulics, Transmits
Power Transmission Force and Motion
 Common Lubricant Related Failure Modes

1) Sudden Volumetric Loss - Insufficient Lubrication

2) Low Levels - Insufficient Lubrication
3) Wrong Lube – Wear of components
4) Degradation – Lead to sludge and varnish
5) Particle Contamination - Cause of wear
6) Moisture Contamination – Effects lubricant and machinery components
7) Fuel/Chemical Dilution – Drop in viscosity and flash point
8) Coolant Contamination – Drop in viscosity
9) Additive Depletion – Reduced oil life
10) Foaming – Cause of wear
11)Demulsibility – Water separability of lubricants
 WATER CONTAMINATION

The effect of water contamination in base oils

Changes in chemical and physical
properties
Acid formation
Oxidation & Hydrolysis Viscosity change
Varnish
Sludge

Foaming
Aeration Air Entrainment

Stable Emulsions & higher

Viscosity viscosity

ASTM D 1401 to study demulsibility property of the oil

Effect of moisture contamination in the additive system
 Sulfurous AW and EP type additives and phenolic antioxidants – Hydrolyse
forming acidic byproducts.
 Cause corrosive wear, particularly in components containing soft metals such
as Babbitt used with journal bearings and bronze and brass components.
 Demulsifying agents, dispersants, detergents and rust inhibitors can be
washed away by excessive moisture resulting in sludge and sediment buildup
 Filter plugging and poor oil/water demulsibility.
 PARTICLE CONTAMINATION

Particle contamination are both the cause and effect of wear

• Abrasion
• Cavitation and Erosion
• Corrosion
• Adhesion
• Surface Fatigue

Contaminant Monitoring Predictive Maintenance

Contamination is the greatest single cause of lubrication malfunction and

subsequent excessive wear of parts – Mobil Oil

Reliability and maintainability are a function of contamination control, and

contamination control leads to long life – General Electric
 COMMON SOURCE OF TRACE METALS

ELEMENT LIKELY SOURCE

Aluminium Bearings, pistons, dirt

Barium Additives
Boron Additives, coolant
Chromium Cylinder liners, piston rings, coolant, rolling element bearings
Calcium Additives, sea water
Copper Bearings, worn gears
Iron Cylinders, gears, crankshafts, camshafts, bearings
Nickel Valves, gears, rolling element bearings
Lead Bearings, paint, grease
Silicon Dirt, additives, grease, gaskets
Sodium Additives, coolant, sea water, salt
Tin Bearings, additives
Vanadium Fuel
Manganese Valves, shafts
Titanium Turbine components, paint
 FERROGRAPHY

 Wear particle analysis, or ferrography, is a fast growing technique for

relaibility and higher productivity.
 Identification of wear and contaminant particles in lubricating oil (both
metallic and non-metallic) by optical bichromatic microscope.
 Ferrous particles are deposited at the entry point of ferrogram due to
magnetic field.
 Surface texture, size, shape, and morphology of the particles can be
identified
 Localization of the wear can be done.
Benefits of Ferrography
1) Reduction in unscheduled downtime due to wear of rotary components like
bearings and gears
2) Effective maintenance scheduling
3) Improved equipment reliability and safety
4) Reduction in maintenance costs
5) Increase oil change-out intervals
6) Reduction in machine power consumption
DEPOSITION PATTERN ON FERROGRAM

Taken from ASTM D 7690

 TYPES OF WEAR PARTICLES

Abrasive Wear - Long wire-like particles in the form

of loops or spirals generated due to hard, abrasive
particles present between wearing surfaces of
unequal hardness.

Spherical Wear - Generated in the bearing cracks. If

generated, their presence gives an earlier warning of
impending trouble, as they are detectable before any
actual spalling occurs. Due to rolling bearing fatigue,
cavitation erosion, welding or grinding processes.
Rolling fatigue - over 5 microns, Welding, grinding, and
erosion - over 10 microns.

Severe wear - Wear particles with parallel striations

on their surfaces. Larger than 15 microns and
thickness ratio - 5 and 30 microns. Associated with
gear surface destruction. Caused by overloading and
poor lubrication.
 RESULT S IN FERROGRAPHY

 Wear particles can be identified by using Ferrography technique.

 Ferrography uses either magnetism or membrane filtration to collect and
orient particles for microscopic identification (ISO 16232)
 Results are expessed as
Wear Particle concentration (WPC) = DL + D S

Percentage Large Particle (PLP) = (DL x 100) / (DL + D S)

L – Large particle concentration more than 5 microns
S - Small particle concentration less than 5 microns

 Vibration analysis can also be used as an additional tool along with oil
analysis program.

 Oil analysis – earlier resolution; Vibration analysis – localizing the problem.

Contradictions: High contamination can reduce vibration and broken gear
tooth cannot be detected by oil analysis but detected by vibration analysis.
 AIR CONTAMINATION

Co-Mingling State Risk to Oil/Machine ARV (ASTM Foam

Dissolved Normal High levels of D 3427) Stability
Levels 10 % by volume dissolved air from (ASTM D
for mineral oils pressurized oil 892 )
(undissolved). No accelerates additive
clouding depletion and
oxidation
Mechanical Same as New Same as New
Entrained- Unstable Oil compressibility, Problem Oil Oil
suspended poor heat transfer, film (excessive
microscopic air strength failure, aeration)
bubbles in oil-clouding oxidation,
cavitation, varnishing
Air Increase from Same as New
Free – Trapped Hydraulic Detrainment New Oil Oil
pockets of air in dead compressibility, Problem
zones, high regions, corrosion, vapor lock (oil doesn’t
stand pipes (retarted oil supply), release air
loss of system bubbles)
controls
Foam – Highly aerated Hydraulic Depleted or Increase from Increase from
tank and sump fluid compressibility, ineffective New Oil New Oil
surfaces (more than 30 corrosion, vapor lock, defoamant
%) loss of system
controls
 THERMAL EFFECT

 Every 10 deg C rise in oil operating temperature can reduce the oil life
to half.

 The operating temperature can increase due to contaminants,

improper lubrication or wrong choice of lubricant.

 Causes oxidation of the lubricant leading to formation of long chain

molecules, sludge, varnish, acid formation. Increase in TAN and corrosion.

 Change in color and foul order can indicate the oxidation (In Field)

 Increase in viscosity, TAN can indicate oxidation (In Lab)

 Oxidation can be confirmed by determining the RPVOT life of the oil.

 FT-IR also provides information about the oxidation process.

 Common Test Methods for condition
monitoring of Lubricants

1) Appearance – Visual – Physical change

2) Color - ASTM D 1500 – Physical change
3) Kinematic Viscosity – ASTM D 445 – Physical changes or contamination
4) Total Acid Number – ASTM D 664 – Physical change oxidation byproducts
5) Viscosity Index – ASTM D 2270 – Physical change
6) Demulsibility – ASTM D 1401 – Depletion of additive or Contamination
7) Flash Point (COC) – ASTM D 92 – Dilution with any other fuel or lubricant
8) Foaming – ASTM D 892 - Additive depletion or contamination
9) Moisture – ASTM D – Water contamination or moisture ingress
10) RPVOT – ASTM D 2272 – Chemical change
11) Elemental Analysis – ICAP – Wear metal analysis
12) FT-IR - Oxidation changes or contamination wrp to fresh oil
 SAMPLING

 The oil sampled from the compartment should be identical to the oil
which is in circulation into the system.
 The oil to be sampled should be well circulated and be at its normal
operating temperature.
 Always draw the sample from the same point. Dedicated sampling
points on compartments are to used to ensure sample consistency.
 Ensure that the sampling point is clean and dry to avoid contamination
of the sample with external contaminants.
 If using the sampling tubing and vacuum sampling pump ensure that
the tubing is kept free of external contamination and appropriate
length of tubing is used.
Standard Practice for Monitoring of
Mineral Turbine Oils

Taken from ASTM D 4378

KAWASAKI STEEL

Taken from Noria

Condition Monitoring Savings – Baltimore Gas and
Electric

Taken from Noria

Bearing Manufacturers Speak Out on Contamination

Taken from Noria

EFFECTIVE LUBRICATION MANAGEMENT

Taken from Noria

Relation between human body
and machine maintenance

Taken from Noria

 Successful Oil Analysis Programme

Maintenance
Costs
Equipment
Equipment
Reliability
Life
 CASE STUDIES

Problem: Emulsification of the turbine oil

 Appearance – Emulsified
 Crackle Test – Positive
 After heating and stirring the samples @70 to 80 deg C for 4-5 hrs, sample clear.
 Viscometrics checked and found to be well within the limit
 Elemental analysis (ICAP) – Presence of Zn & Ca in the oil.
Conclusion: Contamination of this oil with other oil containing Zn & Ca as additive
system cause for emulsification.

Problem: Foaming in the gear oil

 Appearance – Clear
 Sample labelled: VG 460
 Sample found: VG 320 ? (Is the right VG grade in use?)
 Elemental analysis (ICAP) – Presence of Si, Zn & Ca.
Conclusion: Oil contamination with the ingredients used in the cement industry.
Viscosity grade suggested to be used or wrong labelling.
THANK YOU