While failure prognosis is tricky at best, condition monitoring certainly gets the severity estimate into the appropriate order of magnitude to support a scheduling decision. Because wear is in fact the mirror image of the component surface, no better method exists for pinpointing the wear mechanism. With lubricant analysis and contamination analysis, the root cause for mechanical wear can be assessed with remarkable accuracy. When proactive and decision support objectives are combined, oil analysis yields tremendous value through the extension of machine life and improved operations and maintenance decisions. Oil analysis is a reliability function Having identified the strategic importance of oil analysis for machine condition monitoring, the need to integrate it within the reliability organization, and the importance of on-site oil analysis, a tactical plan is required.
Research is conclusive that particle count and machine life are inversely related.
Controlling contamination makes reliability problems disappear. Also, any generation of debris will be detected quickly by increasing particle counts, as the counter is very sensitive to change. Also, be sure the technique is field friendly and applicable to the full range of fluids requiring analysis. Once this is determined, secondary port testing may be applied to localize the source of the debris. Rate of change analysis from frequent interval testing will help determine the severity of the situation.