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January - February 2022
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www
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machinerylubrication.com
M aintenance and Reliabilit y
AS I SEE IT
Jim Fitch
|
Noria Corporation
The Anatomy of a Filter
Inspection Report
People
engaged in
condition
monitoring are
oblivious to the
wealth of
information
found in used
filters."
When the history of
the condition moni-
toring field is written,
there will likely be a
chapter, or at least a few pages, on
the odd paradox surrounding how
infrequently use of used filter testing
was employed (in the beginning).
e assumption is that filter testing
will eventually enjoy widespread use
as misconceptions and ignorance
of its benefits fade away. As I write
today, the vast majority of people
engaged in condition monitoring
are oblivious to the wealth of infor-
mation found in used filters.
The target application relates
primarily to critical equipment, i.e.,
those that are expensive to repair
or have high downtime costs. A
well-engineered condition moni-
toring program should align the
data being gathered with the failure
modes we seek to detect. Granted,
these are failure modes of highest
risk to the machine, based probably
on occurrence and consequences
(business interruption, etc.).
ink of the logic behind this.
Filters are intended to purify by
removing solid contaminants that
are harmful to the oil and the
machine. If the filter is doing a good
job, it is removing contaminants as
fast as they are entering (ingression).
is is known as mass balance. e
number of particles coming into
the oil system (particle ingression)
equals the number being caught
by the filter (particle removal); this
achieves a stabilized and controlled
oil cleanliness level. While particle
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