Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1522439
GROUP PUBLISHER Brett O'Kelley - bokelley@noria.com SENIOR EDITORS Jim Fitch - jfitch@noria.com Bennett Fitch - bfitch@noria.com CREATIVE LEAD Matt Berkenbile - mberkenbile@noria.com EDITORS Josh Couch - jcouch@noria.com Kartik Rajendran TECHNICAL WRITERS Wes Cash - wcash@noria.com Bennett Fitch - bfitch@noria.com Matt Ferrell - mferrell@noria.com GRAPHIC ARTISTS Drew Messina - dmessina@noria.com ADVERTISING SALES Peggy Tinsley - ptinsley@noria.com Fiona L'Heureux - flheureux@noria.com MEDIA PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Sheryl Adekoya - sadekoya@noria.com CORRESPONDENCE You may address articles, case studies, special requests and other correspondence to: Editor Machinery Lubrication Noria Corporation 1328 E. 43rd Court • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105 Phone: 918-749-1400 Fax: 918-746-0925 Email address: editor@noria.com SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any subscription. Send subscription orders, change of address and all subscription-related correspondence to: Noria Corporation, 1328 E. 43rd Court, Tulsa OK 74105-4124. 918-749-1400 or Fax: 918-746-0925 Copyright © 2024 Noria Corporation. Noria, Machinery Lubrication, Reliable Plant and associated logos are trademarks of Noria Corpora- tion. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Noria Corporation is prohibited. Machinery Lubrication is an independently produced publi- cation of Noria Corporation. Noria Corporation reserves the right, with respect to submissions, to revise, republish and authorize its readers to use the tips and articles submitted for personal and commercial use. The opinions of those interviewed and those who write articles for this magazine are not necessarily shared by Noria Corporation. CONTENT NOTICE: The recommendations and information provided in Machinery Lubrication and its related information properties do not purport to address all of the safety concerns that may exist. It is the responsibility of the user to follow appropriate safety and health prac- tices. Further, Noria does not make any representations, warranties, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information or recommendations provided herewith. Noria shall not be liable for any injuries, loss of profits, business, goodwill, data, interruption of business, nor for incidental or consequential merchantability or fitness of purpose, or damages related to the use of information or recommendations provided. The Signs Were There In May 2020 at a coal-fired power plant in the Midwest, the oil was changed on a $150,000 conveyor gearbox that was supposed to be filled with an ISO 320 gear oil. However, in July 2020, an oil sample was taken and exhibited a viscosity of 183 centistokes (cSt), 148 parts per million (ppm) of iron, and a Particle Quantifier Index (PQI) of 234. is was a clear indicator that the wrong lubricant was in the machine and damage was occurring. In October 2020, the viscosity tested at 175 cSt, with 57 ppm of iron and a PQI of 170. In July 2021, the viscosity slightly increased to 178, with 74 ppm of iron and a PQI of 171. The February 2022 oil sample showed a higher viscosity of 212, partially due to oxidation, 84 ppm of iron, and a PQI of 78. In November of 2022, a noise was detected, and another oil sample was taken. e sample showed a viscosity of 209, an iron content of 39, a PQI of 10, and a copper content of 9 ppm, indicating bearing-cage damage was probably occurring. Vibration sensors were installed, and an eminent failure was predicted. These oil sample results highlight the progressive degradation of the equipment over time, with indicators of potential failure appearing in oil analysis two years ahead of the corresponding vibration abnormalities. Had the vibra - tion sensors been installed earlier, they likely would have detected the issue sooner, but not before the damage became irreversible. By ignoring the oil-analysis data, only 43% of the 10-year design life of the gearbox was realized, resulting in a loss of $85,000 of the usefulness of the gearbox alone. is figure did not even consider the lost production value. Calculating the Cost If we can determine the wear rate of a partic- ular component, we can calculate the costs of our current state of lubrication. ISO 281:2007 can give some insight into the relative life of bearings. is may take considerable effort to determine the correlating wear rates. However, one other source may be the Life Extension Table (LET) that was published by Noria Corporation more than twenty years ago and is still a key resource for most maintenance programs. In addition to the Life Extension Table, you can also find the Machine Life Extension Calcu- lator at www.noria.com/resources/calculators. A N N U A L E D I T I O N 320 160 80 240 2021 2022 2020 2023 200 100 50 150 2021 2022 2020 2023 300 150 75 225 2021 2022 2020 2023 VISCOCITY (cSt) IRON (ppm) PARTICLE QUALIFIER INDEX (pqi) OIL SAMPLE DATES OIL SAMPLE DATES OIL SAMPLE DATES Wrong Lubricant: Oil Sample Results Over Time