Practicing Oil Analysis March 2008

Featured Article

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation

My column in the January issue announced the milestone 10-year anniversary of Practicing Oil Analysis magazine. We are very proud of the huge body of work that has been featured on its pages over...

Noria Corporation

The technical team for Noria Corporation is responsible for deploying world-class lubrication programs to clients across North America and around the world. One of the tools we use to ensure the...

Matt Spurlock, Noria Corporation

What is the acceptable reliability of an airplane? Would you board an aircraft if it had only a 70 percent reliability rate? How about if it were 80 or 90 percent, would that make a difference?...

Ashley Mayer

Certain contaminants get special status. Take dirt and water for example. Everybody knows all about them, the damage they cause and the fact that they are bad. Yet other contaminants are out there...

Aaron Black

Whether you currently have an oil analysis program in place, or are putting one together, it is imperative to ensure that equipment is properly sampled to meet the goals of a specific mainte…

Gerald Hall, PerkinElmer; Ethan Lightle, Caterpillar

An improperly lubricated engine may suffer from excessive heat, wear and noise, and will often fail if the issue is not resolved. Upon adding a lubricating fluid to an engine, the very operation of...

Ken Brown, Utility Service Associates; Andtroy Olmsted, Forsythe Lubrication Associates; Wayne Mackwood, Chemtura Co.; Kevan Slater, Senior Reliability Consultant

In response to changing process requirements in power stations, process control valves need to operate remotely and/or automatically. In the case of large steam and water systems, these are typically...

Jason Papacek, Polaris Laboratories

One of the most important pieces of information in oil analysis is the amount of operating time on the lubricant, which is typically reported in hours or miles/kilometers. The time that the lubricant...

Justin Stover, C.C. Jensen

Varnish has emerged as one of the deadliest of oil contaminants in industry. Just like heat, particle and moisture contamination, varnish acts as a so-called soft contaminant that severely impacts...

Matt Spurlock, Noria Corporation

Limitations in atomic emission spectroscopy can hinder the ability to monitor large wear particles in gearboxes. This article will explore additional test methods used to monitor abnormal wear of...

Ulrike J. Smallwood, EuVatec LLC; Oliver J. Uxa, EuVatec LLC

Consumers have been well trained by vehicle and engine manufacturers and oil companies to maintain periodic oil and oil filter changes. These replacements are necessary because standard full-flow oil...

Suzy Jamieson, ICML

On January 26, 2001, almost exactly seven years to the day this article is being written, five oil analysis practitioners assembled together in Biloxi, Mississippi with a common objective: to test...