Wear Metals Testing in Machine Lubricants: Performance and Protection

Why Are Wear Metals in Machine Lubricants Important?

What is Wear Metals Testing?

Testing for wear metals in lubricants, oils and other machine fluids helps our customers avoid expensive damage and downtime to high-value engines, gears, generators, turbines and other important equipment. Early detection of wear metals in lubricants and greases improves machine reliability, especially when done as part of a professional oil condition monitoring program.

Wear metals testing is a method to detect and quantify metal particles and elements present in machine oils. This test is an indication of the mechanical stress the equipment is subjected to during operation and enables preventive maintenance by detecting early signs of wear.

What are the Wear Metals Tested?

• Iron (Fe)
• Copper (Cu)
• Lead (Pb)
• Tin (Sn)
• Nickel (Ni)
• Aluminum (Al)
• Cadmium (Cd)
• Silver (Ag)
• Titanium (Ti)
• Vanadium (V)
• and other trace metals

Purpose of Wear Metals Testing

1. Equipment Protection: Wear particles can damage critical components of equipment. Performing this test extends the life of the equipment.
2. Lubrication Performance Monitoring: An increase in metal particles can indicate a decrease in lubrication performance. This indicates that the oil needs to be changed.
3. Preventive Maintenance: Analyzing wear metals helps predict future equipment failures and reduces downtime costs.
4. Contamination Detection: The presence of metal particles can be an indication of external contamination or damage to equipment components.

How is Wear Metals Testing Performed?

Wear metals analysis can be performed in a variety of ways. The most commonly used of these are:

1. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS): This method is used to detect metal contents in oil. The oil sample is burned in a flame or graphite furnace to measure the types and concentrations of metals.
2. Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectrometry: A highly sensitive method, ICP allows the detection of wear metals at ppm levels (parts per million). The oil sample is ionized in plasma and the metal elements are analyzed.
3. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR): Analyzes the overall chemical structure of the oil and is also used to detect the presence of wear products in the oil.
4. Particle Counting: A laser measurement method to determine particle size and quantity. This method is particularly suitable for detecting large metal particles in oil.
5. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF): It is another effective method for detecting the types and concentrations of metals.

Areas of Use

• Industrial Equipment: Engines, turbines, compressors and gearboxes.
• Automotive Industry: Vehicle engines, transmissions and differential oils.
• Aviation and Marine: High performance engines and equipment.
• Energy Sector: Electricity generation turbines and generator systems.
• Agriculture and Construction Machinery: Oil performance monitoring in tractors and heavy machinery.

Nanolab Laboratories Group continues to provide services within the scope of Wear Metals Testing in Machinery Oils. We also provide services in Lubricant Testing.

Contact us for more information.

You can follow us on LinkedIn for up-to-date news and posts about our services.

Follow our Instagram account to be informed about our latest blog posts.