How to Read an Oil Analysis Report by Jim Fitch

How to Read an Oil Analysis Report by Jim Fitch

Odds of Catching a Problem... Analysis of 100,000 Mobile Equipment Oil Samples Problems Detected Diesel Engines 23.3% of all samples showed problems Drive Training Gear Lubes 20% of all samples showed problems Hydraulic Fluids 18.2% of all samples showed problems Dirt Coolant Leak Oil Degradation Overheating Combustion Problem Water Fuie Dilution Abnormal Wear (elemental) Large Wear Particles (Ferrous Desity) 21% 9% 4% 3% 9% 3% 7% 43% _ 19% _ 4% 8% _ 22% 46% 22% _ 7% 4% _ 21% 45% Which Machines Would You Sample? 3808 Ref.: Wearcheck - S.A.

Oil Analysis Program Design (done in advance) 1. Develop the sampling scheme: where, how and how often 2. Select the laboratory 3. Design the test slate: routine, exception 1192 REF: Noria

Oil Analysis Program Design (done in advance) 4. Set limits and alarms for all data parameters 2 nd upper limit (critical) 1 st upper limit (caution) VISCOSITY 1 st lower limit (caution) 2 nd lower limit (critical) TIME 1887 REF: LubeWorks

Oil Analysis Program Design (done in advance) 5. Design the oil analysis data presentation (report) for quick viewing and effective interpretation Visible alarms Well organized data Non-conforming data highlighted Overall condition noted New oil reference shown 4 REF: MecOil

Oil Analysis Program Design (done in advance) 6. Use software and digital technology to visibly present data and characteristic features Particles Photos Blotters/Patches Group Plots 4-28-11 5 REF: Predict, ExxonMobil, Livingstone

Next Learn the Meaning of Each Data Parameter and How it Relates to Lubricant Health, Contamination, and Machine Health What is analyzed Possible Tests: Particle counting Moisture analysis Viscosity analysis Wear debris density Analytical ferrography AN/BN FTIR Patch test Flash point 1. Fluid Properties Physical and chemical properties of used oil (aging process) 2. Contamination Fluid and machine destructive contaminants 3. Wear Debris Presence and identification of wear particles Elemental analysis Proactive Proactive Predictive Primary benefit Minor benefit No benefit 84 REF: JCF

Learn What Can Cause Individual Data Parameters to Change Changes to base oil (molecular changes) Additions to base oil (contamination) Decreases Viscosity Thermal cracking of oil molecules Shear thinning of VI improvers Hydrolysis Fuel Refrigerant Solvents Wrong oil (low viscosity) Increases Viscosity Oxidation Polymerization Formation of carbon and oxide insolubles Evaporative losses Water emulsions Entrained air Soot Antifreeze (glycol) Wrong oil (high viscosity) Non-correctable change Correctable by removal of the contaminant if feasible 140 REF: JCF

Learn How Oil Analysis and Machine Inspections Reveal Common Problems CORROSION CRANKSHAFT BEARING WEAR Burst filter Refrigerant leak Wrong oil SEAL FAILURE Microdieseling Oxidation 8 REF: JCF

Interpreting Results Problem Revealed By Overheating Viscosity increase FTIR oxidation Rising acid number Particle count increase Increased wear debris Varnish potential 3483 REF:

Interpreting Results Problem Revealed By Additive Depletion Falling Acid Number Spectrometric analysis FTIR Wear metal increase abrasion, corrosion RULER (LSV) 3484 REF:

Interpreting Results Problem Revealed By Glycol Dilution Viscosity increase FTIR Spectrometric analysis Wear metal increase Gas chromatography Schiff s Reagent Test 3485 REF:

Interpreting Results Problem Revealed By Failed Filter Particle count Ferrous Density Analysis Spectrometric Analysis Patch Test 3486 REF:

Interpreting Results Problem Revealed By Fuel Dilution Oil thinning Flash point decrease FTIR Paper chromatography Increase wear debris Gas chromatography 3488 REF:

Failed Filter How It s Revealed 3495 REF: JCF

Monitoring Engine Oils By Particle And Viscosity Trends Oil Oxidation (FTIR-Oxidation rises) Filter Failure (Ferrous density remains constant) Fuel Dilution (Flash point lowers) High Piston, Rings, and Liner Wear (Ferrous density rises) Glycol Contamination (Sodium and boron rises) Corrosive Lube Oil Conditions (BN falls) 828 REF: JCF

Define What s Normal Baseline New, Healthy Oil Here it is 1363 REF:

Data From Elemental Analysis Dominate Most Oil Analysis Reports PPM (parts per million) Sample Number Sample Date Silicon Sodium Potassium Iron Chromium Lead Copper Tin Aluminum Nickel Boron Phosphorous Zinc Calcium Barium Magnesium Molybdenum New Oil: 7 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 2 1071 1343 1496 2 449 1 11/04 1001 10/10/31 5 12 2 6 1 0 4 2 2 1 5 1096 1371 1467 1 427 2 09/29 1001 10/09/25 3 0 1 13 1 0 2 0 2 1 2 986 1276 1237 1 0 1 08/25 1000 10/08/16 3 0 1 13 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 801 1173 1109 0 0 1 06/12 1031 10/06/02 3 0 1 8 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 853 1258 1565 2 0 1 05/06 1001 10/05/01 3 0 2 8 1 0 3 1 2 0 1 778 1290 1502 2 0 2 04/02-1001 10/03/29 2 0 2 5 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 1080 1318 1670 2 0 2 Contaminants Wear metals Additive Elements Data trends upward Data trends downward 1363.01 REF: Fluid Life

Typical Levels from Elemental Analysis Diesel Engine Average of 209 Oil Samples Wear Metals Iron Chromium Aluminum Copper Lead PPM 98.46 4.13 4.28 17.01 9.38 Cylinder, gears, crankshaft, valve train, wrist pins Rings, cylinders Pistons, bearings, bushings Wrist pin bushings, bearings, thrust washers Bearings Additives Magnesium Calcium Barium Phosphorous Zinc Contaminants Silicon Sodium Potassium Boron 263.74 2231.76 9.44 1118.29 1210.92 11.11 66.55 10.50 15.13 Detergents Alkalinity improvers Antioxidant & Antiwear additive Foam inhibitor or dirt Coolant contamination 3096.01 REF: Lubricon

Metallurgy Detroit Diesel Allison 3-53 Pistons (Sn Plated Malleable Iron) Cylinder Liners (Fe, Si) Cam Follower Rollers (Fe, Cr) Upper Connecting Rod Bearing (Cu, Pb, Sn) Camshaft Bearings (Cu, Pb, Sn, Zn) Camshaft (Fe) Blower Rotors (Al, Si) Crankshaft (Fe) Connecting Rod Bearings and Main Bearings (Pb, Sn, Cu) Piston Rings Fire and Compression (Cr Plated) Oil Control (Fe) 346 REF: Noria

Lock-step Trends HOURS 50 After 3000 service hours silicon and aluminum trend in lock-step indicating dirt entry. SILICON ALUMINUM 40 30 20 10 0 20 16 12 8 4 0 critical caution 0 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 critical caution 0 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 HOURS 705 REF: KOWA

Diesel Crankcase Elemental Families When both Al and Si are detected, dust has contaminated the oil. 711 REF: KOWA

Potential Sources of Metals in Oil Calcium Hard Water Salt water Engine oil additive Mining dust Grease Limestone Slag Rubber Fuller s earth Lignite Cement dust Road dust Gypsum Rust inhibitor Detergent Vanadium Turbine blades Valves Found in some fuels Silver Bearing overlay Solder (oil coolers) Some needle bearings EMC wrist pin bushing Titanium Gas turbine bearings Paint Turbine blades Cadmium Journal bearings Plating Potassium Coolant inhibitor Fly ash Paper mill dust Road dust Granite Trace element in fuel Zinc AW additive Brass Plating Galvanizing Grease Phosphorous AW/EP additive Surface finish on some gears Cleaning detergent Lead Babbit Journal bearing overlay Gasoline additive Paint Solder Bronze alloy Sodium Coolant inhibitor Saltwater Some additives Grease Base stocks (trace) Dirt Road dust Salt (road salt) Fly ash Activated alumina Paper mill dust Boron Coolant inhibitor EP addtive Oil drum cleaning agent Boric acid (water treatment) Magnesium Hard water Engine additive Turbine metallurgy Seawater Fuller s earth Road dust Barium Engine oil additive Grease Fuel additive 3092 REF: Noria

Potential Sources of Metals in Oil Iron Wear debris Steel Cast iron Rust Mill scale Ore dust Fly ash Paint Paper mill dust Asbestos Talc Zeolite Cleaning detergent Nickel Alloy of stainless steel Plating Stellite (cobalt-nickel) Alloy of hard steels Tin Bearing cage (bronze) Solder Babbit Flashing on journal bearing Copper AW additive Bronze Brass Bearing cage Cooler cores Copper mining Paint Babbitt Slinger rings Bushings, washers Silicon Road dust Sealant Antifoam additive Steel alloy metal Synthetic lubricant Wet clutch Glass mfg Coolant additive Foundry dust Filter fibers (glass) Fly ash Slag Mica Cement dust Asbestos Granite Limestone Talc Aluminum Road dust Bearing metal Paint Abrasives Aluminum mill (alumina) Coal contaminant Fly ash Foundry dust Activated alumina Bauxite Granite Catalyst Wear debris Chromium Ring plating Chrome plating paint Stainless steel Molybdenum EP additive Alloying metal w/iron Rings 23 REF: Noria

How to Find Additive Depletion Data on an Oil Analysis Report Elemental Markers for Common Additives Additives: Zinc Phosphorous Calcium Magnesium Barium Boron Sulfur Molybdenum Silicon Notes Antioxidants: ZDDP Hindered Phenol Organic Aromatic Amine Organic Antiwear Agents: ZDDP Tricresylphosphate (TCP) EP s Sulfur Phosphorus MoS 2 Borate Rust Inhibitors Detergents Dispersants Organic Foam Inhibitors VI Improvers Organic Emission Spectroscopy (Elemental Analysis) Care must be taken when using elemental analysis to determine additive depletion. Oftentimes, depletion of additive molecules does not result in any significant change in the atomic fingerprint since depletion by-products remain suspended or dissolved in the oil. Note: organic additives don t have elemental markers Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) FTIR can be used to monitor additive depletion. However, it is often a lagging parameter to other indicators such as AN, RPVOT and the RULER TM due to its imprecision and sensitivity to new oil reference mismatches FTIR WITH ADDITIVE DEPLETION ANALYSIS (AD) DATE 95-10-17 95-09-18 95-08-17 95-07-21 95-06-20 95-05-19 95-04-18 95-03-17 95-02-21 (nla) REFERENCES 8585 8585 8585 7695 9695 5177 5177 5177 5275 % CORREL 80 91 90 92 100 62 67 78 100 SOOT 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 OXIDATION 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 SULFATE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.06 0.10 0.00 PRODUCT 8 10 14 7 0 40 39 10 0 AW/EP 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 ANTI-OXID 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 WATER POS NEG POS NEG NEG NEG NEG POS NEG GLYCOL NEG NEG NEG NEG NEG NEG NEG NEG NEG 24 REF: Insight Services Additives

Influence of AN on Antiwear Additive Depletion Additive Systems AW = Antiwear AN 3 2 High ZDDP (and higher overall antioxidant level and oxidation stability) Depletion of ZDDP Low ZDDP Depletion of phenolic and aminic antioxidants base oil oxidation R&O = Rust & Oxidation Inhibited Range of initial (new) oil AN Caution limit ZDDP, EP and Acid Type Rust Inhibited Oils Other AW and R&O Oils 0.6-1.5 0-0.6 Inflection point plus 0.2 Initial AN plus 0.2 Large Volume Turbine Oils New Range = 0 0.1 Initial AN plus 0.03* 1 Critical limit Initial AN plus 1.0 Initial AN plus 1.0 Initial AN plus 0.05* 0 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 TEST TIME (hours) ZDDP In new oils, 0.1 AN equates to approximately 600 ppm ZDDP AN 189 REF: ECF, Lubrizol

Using BN to monitor Reserve Alkylinity 12 10 Makeup oil Drain 8 BN 6 4 BN measures detergent Loss of alkalinity alkalinity (reserve) from acid generation Caution (50% in crankcase of new oil BN) Change oil here 2 Critical (BN of 3) Corrosion is already occurring 0 TIME For diesel engine motor oils with BNs starting at 9-10, the BN will trend downward to 5 to 5.5 before the AN starts to rise. By the time the BN falls to 3 to 3.5 the AN will have risen by 1 to 1.5 (indicating increasing corrosion risk) 137 REF: JCF

If You are Looking for Information on Particles, Which of These Could Be Useful? Silicon, iron, copper ISO Code Particle Size Distribution Ferrous Density Patch Test Micro Patch Colorimetry Soot load by FTIR Blotter spot test Ferrography Particle Micro Patch Imaging Direct Image Particle Count (LNF) 27 REF: Yellotec

Okay Lets Look as Some Actual Oil Analysis Reports 28 REF:

Overview of Paper Report Section #1 Sample / Customer Info Recommendation / Lab Comments Section #2 Physical Properties Section #5 Histograms Section #3 Metals Analysis Section #4 Particle Count 29 REF:

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