How To Detect Oil Contamination In Your Equipment

April 7, 2022

How To Detect Oil Contamination In Your Equipment Heavy industrial equipment is used daily to perform a billion tasks and if it is not in good condition then it will adversely affect your machines and your business. Oil contamination is one of the biggest reasons for industrial equipment failure that can only be avoided by using hydraulic filter carts and oil filters. Oil filters act as a barrier to stop all the dust debris and other contamination from entering the oil in your machinery. So if you want to protect your machinery from oil contamination then make sure that you buy your hydraulic filter carts and oil filters from a certified hydraulic filter carts supplier. Also Read: Different Types Of Oil Filters And Their Function Oil contamination is a common issue but detecting oil contamination in your equipment is not that simple. But with the help of regular analysis of your equipment, you can find the potential maintenance issues in your machine and can fix them before they become huge problems. In this blog post, we will talk in detail about the tests that are done during basic oil analysis and what these tests can tell you about the condition of your machinery.

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy

FTIR ( Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools used for oil analysis. During FTIR each molecule of machine oil absorbs infrared radiation at different wavelengths. By passing all your oil molecules through infrared radiation you can examine the output and can make a thorough analysis of your machine’s oil makeup. This will help you find out how much fuel, soot, water and other contaminants are present in your system. You can use this data to formulate a course of action to minimize the spread of those contaminants in your machine’s system. The FTIR spectroscopy will also allow you to evaluate the number of helpful antioxidants in your oil system and will help you make sure that your equipment oil does not become oxidized to a harmful level.

Spectrochemical Analysis

Another method that is used to determine the makeup of chemicals in your equipment’s oil is spectrochemical analysis. The main focus of this test is on the metals, the oil is excited into vapor form. Every metal that is tested creates a different wavelength of light while exiting so you can get an accurate picture of the number of metals present in your equipment’s oil. During this test, there are two primary types of metal that we are concerned with. The first one is the wear metals that enter your equipment itself as it degrades. By tracking these metals with the spectrochemical analysis you can find the rate at which multiple parts of your equipment are wearing out. The second type of metal found in this analysis is the contaminant metals. Tracking these types of metals will help you find out if dust, dirt, coolant or other contaminants are entering your equipment at alarming levels. Moreover, if your equipment processes materials that contain metals daily then with the help of spectrochemical analysis you will be able to find out how much of those metals are entering into your equipment.

Ferrous Wear Concentration

The spectrochemical test comes with a drawback as it can not detect particles that are large in size. But don’t worry you can conduct the ferrous wear concentration test to find the exact number of metals present in your equipment’s oil. Ferrous wear concentration is another useful tool that helps to determine the health of your equipment’s oil at any given time and also tells the wear rate of your machinery.

Final Word

Industrial equipment and machinery go through a lot of oil contamination, so to avoid oil contamination you should use oil filters. Moreover, the aforementioned tests will help you detect the amount of oil contamination in your equipment and will help you stop contamination before it turns into a catastrophe.

About Harvard Filtration

Harvard Filtration offers what it takes to meet your industrial filtration needs. We offer a broad range of filtration systems. Harvard filtration systems and filter carts are the most trusted and dependable portable filtration systems. Compatible with a broad assortment of petroleum-based and synthetic fluids, our filter carts can remove contaminants and water to a single micron, ensuring decreased hazardous waste disposal. Select our filters to experience your machine’s high performance. Contact us today here.

Get Quotation