What Is Oil Analysis? Ultimate Guide
Sustaining an extensive fleet of heavy machinery requires several types of strategic maintenance protocols, including oil analysis.
Like other preventative maintenance applications, oil analysis enables maintenance crews to evaluate the health of their equipment to minimize the impact of potential issues on productivity, efficiency, and the bottom line.
The ultimate guide to oil analysis below explores the benefits of this strategic maintenance approach to help you determine if it’s valuable for your application.
What Is Oil Analysis?
Oil analysis describes the process of analyzing industrial oils to determine their condition and — by extension — the internal health of the equipment or machinery they were sampled from.
Companies often integrate oil analysis into comprehensive preventative maintenance protocols. Since few industrial outfits have access to the facilities and skilled manpower required to perform oil analysis, businesses will often sample the lubricating oil and then send the oil sample off to a laboratory.
Lab technicians analyze the sample oil’s properties and compare their results to those of fresh oil of the same type — the control. Using results obtained across multiple spectrums and test procedures, technicians can gauge the rate of wear and contamination within the corresponding piece of equipment.
In reality, oil analysis represents a more sophisticated and in-depth parallel to the analysis you conduct when checking the oil in your car, but on an industrial and professional level.
Maintenance technicians rely on oil analysis to perform several functions, primarily noninvasively monitoring the condition of heavy equipment. The oil analysis results alert technicians if extensive repairs are necessary, and only then will they take the machinery offline to disassemble it and address any issues.
Oil analysis is one method of preventative maintenance that uses a data-based approach to optimize maintenance expenditures, procedures, and corresponding downtimes.
What Tools Are Used To Perform Oil Analysis?
Analyzing heavy-duty engine oils, gear oils, and motor oils requires several purpose-built machines and specialty equipment. Test kits are often the most basic and may include several sample bottles, tubing, and a sampling pump.
Beyond the oil analysis kit, additional oil analysis tools include the following:
- Viscometer: Technicians use viscometers to measure oil viscosity, which is higher for thicker oils and lower for thinner oils.
- Spectrometer: If you’ve ever wanted to know the chemical composition of oils, a spectrometer would be the tool you’d use. Labs may even use infrared spectrometers to detect contaminants, moisture content, and oxidation.
- Particle counters: Determining the extent of contamination in oil requires a particle counter, which quantifies the particles suspended within the oil.
- Ferrous debris monitors: The amount of metal debris in equipment oil indicates the severity of wear within a piece of machinery, so ferrous debris monitors rely on optical or magnetic sensors to determine the amount of iron in an oil sample.
Each laboratory will have its own distinct tools and equipment for oil analysis. The oil analysis results will often include supplementary information about the type of test performed. You can also speak with a laboratory representative if you’re unclear about your results.
What Does Oil Analysis Reveal?
Fluid properties, contaminants, and source(s) of wear comprise the three main segments of oil analysis. It takes a skilled eye to read the oil analysis report and a vast knowledge base to apply those test results to future maintenance practices.
Here’s a quick guide to the insights an oil analysis report offers.
Fluid Properties
By establishing the oil’s viscosity, acid or base number, and ferrography, technicians can deduce the condition of the oil and determine how much longer it will remain effective in the sampled machine.
The proper viscosity ensures oil moves through the equipment efficiently for optimal performance. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and acid/base number results also determine the amount of magnetic particles and additive performance, respectively.
Contaminants
Particle counting, moisture analysis, and elemental analysis allow technicians to identify contaminants (such as coolant or glycol) present in the oil sample and their potential source(s).
The more particles suspended in the oil, the more severe the degradation rate. Similarly, a high water content can lead to excessive corrosion that diminishes equipment performance and longevity.
Source(s) of Wear
An oil sample can contain contaminants that don’t indicate abnormal wear, but when wear metal is present — especially in excessive amounts — a significant and severe issue likely exists. If no issue has been previously detected in other oil analysis reports, a new problem has occurred.
However, comparing metal content over an extended period can inform maintenance technicians if a previous repair has been successful — a reduction in metal content — or unsuccessful — a persisting amount of metal.
What Are the Benefits of Oil Analysis?
Oil analysis fees are minimal compared to the cost of repairing or replacing a machine. The results of oil testing can also save businesses significant money, time, and precious resources.
Here are additional benefits to performing routine oil analysis:
- Oil service life optimization through strategic oil change intervals
- Reduced downtime and potential for equipment failure
- Extended equipment life, including performance and productivity
- Increased equipment resale value
- Lower maintenance costs
- Less wasted oil from fewer drain intervals
Our oil analysis service can help business owners uncover insights into any existing problems with their machinery. If repairs have been completed, oil analysis can offer peace of mind that the equipment is functioning correctly.
Product and Distribution Solutions for Your Industrial Oil Needs
Analyzing your machinery oil can contribute to the longevity of your equipment and your business, but using the highest-quality products from the get-go ensures optimal performance.
Explore Cadence’s oil analysis service and discover why we recommend our superior industrial lubricants. Call us at 336-629-2061 to learn more about how we approach modern-day manufacturing challenges with safety, teamwork, and integrity for continuous improvement and a results-driven approach.
Sources:
Viscometers | University of Michigan
Spectrometers | University of Michigan
What is a Particle Counter and How Does It Work? | Laboratory Supplies