Effective oil condition monitoring

The principle of oil analysis is analogous to the human blood test which provides in-depth information of the body health. The lubricating oil and grease carries important information on mechanical behaviour, wear, flash point, viscosity, and insolubles. This information helps in deciding if lubricant deterioration is occurring which can be helpful in ascertaining the state of health of the machinery. Oil condition monitoring can be highly effective when oil, grease and lubricant analysis is carried out on a regular routine and repeat basis.

Information obtained from regular oil analysis allows the oil analyst or tribologist to keep historical data as a tool for preventative maintenance for the benefit of data trending and monitoring. With a graphical representation of the historical log of wear data obtained over time from a routine oil analysis programme on an engine component, any change in the level of wear may indicate that action is required. Monitoring and trending can be extremely helpful in identifying problem areas prior to issues occurring, as they reveal the rate of change. This can serve as a major part of a preventative condition monitoring maintenance programme in increasing plant availability, reducing expensive downtime and running cost and, overall, saving money by preventing the cost of breakdown of equipments such as compressor, generator engine, sterntube, steering gear and gear boxes.

As a rule of thumb, a routine oil analysis should be carried out on a quarterly basis; especially at the early stage for the ‘bathtub curve’ of machinery components.