Let's dive into a big question: When should we change the turbine oil in power plants? This question came up when I talked to someone who works at a power plant. There are two ways to decide when to change the oil: old-school thinking versus new-school thinking. The...
Oil analysis success hinges on the quality of the oil sample. Drawing a representative oil sample involves a combination of factors, including selecting the right location, deploying the right method, using the right hardware, determining the right sampling frequency,...
Technologies for monitoring machine vibration levels have been around for decades. The further development of such technologies, however, has been relatively slow. With the rapid advancement of digital component technologies providing ever-new opportunities, time has...
In the late 1980s, I took one of the hardest courses of my graduate studies - quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is the physics and math behind how all matter is formed and interacts with the world around it. Amongst other things, quantum mechanics can answer some...
In the complex world of industrial machine maintenance, ensuring the health and longevity of industrial equipment is paramount. Industrial oil analysis plays a crucial role in this endeavor, providing valuable insights into the condition of machinery and the quality...
Online oil analysis sensors can prove to be a contentious topic. Social media comments vary from fitting them everywhere to claiming that they will never be a substitute for laboratory oil analysis. Of course, there is a middle ground where online sensors should be...
Implementing reliability solutions involves solving problems and deciding how to effectively use oil sample test data as a fundamental building block to drive program success. Many decisions confront the end user when they perform their own oil testing and analysis....
The foundation of a lubricant condition monitoring program is the ability to obtain accurate and informative data that can be related to how the machine and lubricant may fail. In the past ten years, many industrial advances have significantly impacted the lubricant...
Oil analysis on oil reservoirs, such as a paper machine, provides much more value than most maintenance managers realize. Regular reservoir oil sampling can provide the following: Reactive information, such as a spike in wear metals identifying a failed bearing or...
Like other condition monitoring techniques, oil analysis is vital in monitoring equipment health and maintaining performance. It aims to detect underlying root causes of failure and early-stage potential failures before they cause significant damage. Oil sampling is...
