Oil analysis
laboratory analysis of a lubricant's properties
Oil analysis (OA) is the laboratory analysis of a lubricant's properties, suspended contaminants, and wear debris. OA is performed during routine predictive maintenance to provide meaningful and accurate information on lubricant and machine condition. By tracking oil analysis sample results over the life of a particular machine, trends can be established which can help eliminate costly repairs. The study of wear in machinery is called tribology. Tribologists often perform or interpret oil analysis data.
OA can be divided into three categories:
analysis of oil properties including those of the base oil and its additives,
analysis of contaminants,
analysis of wear debris from machinery,
Oil sampling
Oil sampling is a procedure for collecting a volume of fluid from lubricated or hydraulic machinery for the purpose of oil analysis. Much like collecting forensic evidence at a crime scene, when collecting an oil sample, it is important to ensure that procedures are used to minimize disturbance of the sample during and after the sampling process. Oil samples are typically drawn into a small, clean bottle which is sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis.
History
OA was first used after World War II by the US railroad industry to monitor the health of locomotives. In 1946 the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad's research laboratory successfully detected diesel engine problems through wear metal analysis of used oils.
“Oil analysis” enters the record as laboratory analysis of a lubricant's properties. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what analysis, laboratory and lubricant's can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Oil analysis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.