Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/468007
28 | January - February 2015 | www.machinerylubrication.com LESSONS IN LUBRICATION BENNE T T FI T CH | NORI A CORPOR AT ION etting cautionary and critical limits (or targets) for oil anal- ysis results is essential and irreplaceable as groundwork in an oil analysis program. It's what helps answer one of the most commonly asked ques- tions: "Is the oil still good?" Nevertheless, the data changes obser ved, even if they are within the established limits, can still prove to be valuable. In these conditions, trending oil analysis data is where the value is gained and will help answer what might be the next question asked: "When will my oil go bad?" If you think about it, simply obtaining a snapshot of data from an oil sample is essentially worthless without something to which to compare it. This is why trending data in oil analysis reports is so benefi cial. It not only allows you to deter- mine if the current oil properties are unfavorable but also if they will become unfavorable in the near future. Indeed, quality trending provides a powerful means of recognizing when an oil prop- erty is moving in an unhealthy or threatening direction. The most effective way to follow a trend is to consistently collect representative oil samples and track the data from the results by plotting them on a property-versus-time graph. The "property" can be anything from the remaining additives within the oil to the base oil's changing properties or the number and types of particles. It is imperative that oil samples are care- fully collected and that all variables are minimized or at least addressed. Among the factors that can infl uence the results include sample location consistency, service life of the machine and oil, makeup oil rates, changes in environmental or oper- ating conditions, oil formulation changes, testing procedure consistency, etc. The key to success with trending is to learn from the past. This includes others' past failures, not just those of your machines. Start by identifying when certain oil properties have typically been healthy and use this as the standard. Also, take note of when a change in an oil property has previously led to a machine issue or failure. You must develop the awareness to recognize when a change in a particular property could eventually lead to a problem with the machine. Looking Back at the Past The world's population growth offers a good example of the types of trends that can exist within machinery. The earth's population has been growing for thousands of years, but it wasn't until around 1800 that it reached 1 billion people. While this was a major milestone, it only took approx- imately 120 more years to double to 2 billion. Less than 100 years later, the popu- lation is rapidly approaching 8 billion people. Many factors have infl uenced this recent trend, such as the Industrial Revolu- tion and advanced medicine. Figure 1 shows how this rise in population would appear on a graph. FOLLOW the TREND for Successful OIL ANALYSIS O i l A n a l y s i s S 74% of lubrication professionals say their plant trends oil analysis data, based on a recent poll at MachineryLubrication.com HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH PARTICLE CONTAMINATION GROWTH Site of Growth Earth Lubricated machine Variables Enhancing Growth Modern medicine, Industrial Revolution, technology, migration Lack of wear protection, misalignment, improper ventilation and filtration control Variables Suppressing Growth Disease/plagues, war, natural disasters Proper lubrication, quality machine design, proper ventilation and filtration control Result of Extreme Population To be determined Machine failure