EDS analysis for your sample may
be situational, specifically with
problem-solving. A few reasons
may include:
• When the originating source
(wear surface) of unique parti-
cles exhibiting advanced wear
must be known (matching the
elemental composition of the
pa rticle with the k nown
metallurgy of the machine).
• When the type of harmful
contaminants must be known.
• When more precise particle
images are needed to better
understand the wear mode(s).
• When elemental analysis from
ICP or R DE is unable to
a c c u r ate ly qu a nt i f y t he
elemental concentration of
large contaminant and wear
debris particles. ML
To learn more about the SEM/
EDS technology and read case
studies on the applications with
oil analysis, visit machinerylubri-
cation.com
Acknowledgements:
• This work made use of the
Nano Characterization and
Fabrication Laboratory of the
University of Tulsa.
• Contribution provided by Fluid
Life for their expertise in Scan-
ning Electron Microscopy
related to Wear Debris Anal-
ysis.
About the
Author
Bennett Fitch is
the director of
product development and lubrica-
tion program development (LPD)
services for Noria Corporation. He
is a mechanical engineer who holds
a Machinery Lubrication Engineer
(MLE) certification, a Machine
Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level III
certification and a Machine Lubri-
cation Technician (MLT) Level
II certification through the Inter-
national Council for Machinery
Lubrication (ICML). Contact
Bennett at bfitch@noria.com.
www.machinerylubrication.com | July - August 2021 | 39
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