Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1356397
www . machinerylubrication.com | March - April 2021 | 31 www . machinerylubrication.com | March - April 2021 | 31 • Unit wear rate • Average of the wear rate of the components analyzed and compared with a much larger database • Comparison of distributions of the analyzed components and comparison with a much larger database us, we obtain new critical limits for the end of the component's service life. Each of the elements represented in Table 1 and Table 2 has previous analysis not only from the statistical point of view, but, as mentioned before, a comprehensive analysis from the point of view of lubrication and component wear. Each of these elements behaves differently and must be treated as such. For example, the variation and limits determined for an element such as iron (Fe), should not be applied to other elements, since their presence depends on the alloy or the type of component on which the analysis is developed. Additionally, it is important to take into account that the values reported as Particle Count (PC) do not refer only to the solid contam- ination that may exist in the oil at this stage, but may also indicate the generation of wear particles, which play a much more important role. It's also notable that solid contamination, measured as Silicon (Si), doesn't appear to be of concern in this case since in most of the analysis carried out under the microscope, it was observed that the Silicon particles are much smaller and less harmful than the metallic particles typical of component wear. Once the critical limits for oil analysis have been determined, it is necessary to continue with the rest of the tasks related to the lubrication of the machines. Among these, the most important are: • Sampling frequency — In the flat phase of the bathtub curve, the sampling frequency was quarterly. In this case, the frequency is increased to bimonthly. It is possible to reduce some tests such as the water determination by Karl Fischer ASTM D6304 and TAN ASTM D664 to a less frequent interval, and only include these analyses in every forth sample. • Filtration tasks — is is one of the most critical tasks during the aging phase. It is necessary to take into account that the most significant change is the increase in size and quantity of the wear particles. is indicates that the consumption of filters is much higher, that there is much more solid material that the filter must retain and with an additional conditioning factor and that the viscosity of the oil has increased by at least one degree, or even two degrees in some cases. is also implies that some filter carts that were already in operation probably need to be replaced or require some modification to be able to work with higher viscos- ities. • Desiccant filters — Due to the increase in clearances in certain parts of the machinery, it has been noted that the desiccant filters have reduced their service life by around 30%. is is quite logical, since increasing clearances allows moisture to enter more easily, contaminating the oil at a higher rate than normal and exhausting the desiccant material in the filter more quickly. ML About the Author Jorge Alarcon l Bureau Veritas Global Technical Manager, OCM Reliability engineer, laboratory operations manager, project manager, researcher, and consultant in the power generation, manu- facturing, and wind power industries, among others. Extensive knowledge of the European and American predictive maintenance markets. Complete technical support to the client, focused on improving plant reliability through oil status monitoring, lubrication best practices and digital transformation strategies. ML ML