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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
If particles are the root cause of most of the wear occurring in machines,
organizations should work to control particle ingression and removal. II. WHERE DOES CONTAMINA-
TION COME FROM?
The two routes of contamination are
I. HOW DO MACHINES FAIL? It stands to reason that if particles ingested (i.e., from the outside), and
Particle Contamination are the root cause of most of the built-in or internally generated (i.e.,
Professor Ernest Rabinowicz spent wear occurring in machines, organi- from the inside). Furthermore, stud-
much of his time at MIT researching zations should work to control par- ies show it costs about 10 times as
machine wear and what he referred ticle ingression and have a method much to remove contaminants than
to as loss of usefulness. Rabinowicz for removal when necessary. it does to exclude it.
found that approximately 50% of
lost equipment usefulness is due Moisture Contamination 1. Ingested Lack of Initial Oil
to mechanical wear and another Depending on base oil type, addi- Filtering
20% is due to corrosive wear. The tive content, and temperature, all Most new oils are not very clean,
National Research Council of oils will adsorb a certain amount of containing up to 8-16 times the
Canada furthered the understand- water. But when the water content levels of particle contamination and
ing of the cause of mechanical wear increases beyond an oils saturation twice the moisture content recom-
by concluding that although several point, water comes out of solu- mended for critical applications.
wear mechanisms exist, 82% of me- tion and either forms an emulsion
chanical wear is caused by particle or settles on the bottom of the oil Perhaps one of the most common
contamination. sump. Either way, water is a prob- misconceptions in maintenance and
reliability is that the new oil we buy
is clean enough for immediate use.
PRIMARY WEAR MECHANISMS
PRIMARY WEAR MECHANISMS The reality is that a new drum of
lubricating oil will typically have
Figure 1. 82% of mechanical wear is caused by particle contamination a particle count of approximately
(i.e., abrasion, erosion, and fatigue).
82% of mechanical wear is caused by 19/16/14 or higher (see Table 1).
particle contamination
That means that every cubic centi-
66% meter of oil in the drum contains
between 2,500 and 5,000 particles
that are at least 4 microns in diam-
12% 8% 8% 4% 2% eter about 1 billion particles for
ABRASION ADHESION EROSION FATIGUE OTHER FRETTING
the whole drum.
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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
way begins immediately. When pre-filter, store, and kit for routine
it comes to a quality Lubrication preventive maintenance tasks. It also
Program, how you store and handle provides a method for usage control.
your lubricants can have detrimen- Keeping oil clean is not difficult
tal effects down the road. Quality if you use the right tools. It cer-
practices are not just about keeping tainly helps to have an enclosed
lubricants clean, but also ensuring storage area with climate control,
the appropriate amounts of appropri- but this setup isnt always feasible.
ate lubricants are maintained in a Common-sense measures like good
manner that promotes the lubricants housekeeping, wiping fittings, using
health while it is in storage. dust covers, and installing desic-
cant breathers on tanks and drums
A custom designed Lubrication Stor- (Figure 5) can go a long way toward
age & Handling Room is the lubri- keeping dirt out of stored lubricants.
cants sanctuary from a harsh plant
Figure 5. Desiccant breather installed on a drum.
environment (see Figure 4). The 3. Ingested Exposure to Ambient
Lube Room provides a dedicated Environment During Transfer
storage area where lubricants can be One of the major sources of the oil container into the machine
adequately prepared and maintained contamination ingress is when reservoir. Since by definition this is
for service. This includes a place to the oil is being transferred from occurring out in the plant, open-
ing the oil transfer container or
machine to the ambient operating
environment can cause oil cleanli-
ness levels to exceed your target.
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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
For applications with very small Contaminant Type Damage to Lubricant Damage to Machinery
sumps or those that are located such Cross-contamina- Oxidation Varnish/deposits
tion of lubricants
that a filter or top-off cart is im- Additive loss Potentially exacerbates
practical, oil transfer containers (see Viscosity changes all wear mechanisms due
to loss of film strength
Figure 6) are also an option as long Loss of demulsibility of water and changes in additive
Increase in air entrainment concentration
as they meet certain criteria. A good
quality oil transfer container should Premature filter plugging
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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
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PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
flushing, you should not overlook oxidation, particle scrubbing, and downtime can total as much as 40%
other lubricated machines, such as viscosity increase to the lubricant. of maintenance dollars spent.
pumps and gearboxes. Any sealed, Although age is inevitable, life can
lubricated component should be be significantly extended by keep- In a seminal study published in 2005,
flushed before or shortly after start- ing your lubricants clean and dry Professor Rabinowicz concluded
up. In fact, offline filtration can be through a combination of exclusion that as much as $5 billion was lost
much more effective at eliminating and extraction practices. each year in the United States alone
run-in debris than changing the oil due to what he referred to as loss of
at the first scheduled interval. III. THE BOTTOM LINE usefulness. Even allowing for infla-
Dont Forget to Test! tion, that number is likely to be even
7. Built-In or Internally Testing the oil in your machines can higher today as equipment is run lon-
Generated Internally Generated tell you whether your maintenance ger between scheduled maintenance
Particles plan is working as intended. Another and faster to increase throughput.
As machines and oil age they benefit is that a sudden rise in par-
will inevitably begin to wear and ticle levels can be a sign of mechani- Contamination control is the single
degrade. Whenever oil-wetted cal failures (such as misalignment or greatest opportunity for gains in the
components wear, the debris that a broken gear) that havent shown up average lube program. Significant
is shed from the machine surfaces yet in vibration analysis, providing gains in machinery reliability can
enters the oil and becomes a con- you with an early warning. be made with minimal investments.
taminant. This wear debris can lead Equipment life can be greatly ex-
to enhanced machine wear unless Although the cost of lubricants tended through proper lubrication
its removed by aggressive filtration, typically represents 1-3% of a main- maintenance. In todays competitive
which is why most experts recog- tenance budget, it would be incor- market, most companies are now
nize that contamination causes rect to make the assumption your realizing that maintaining clean oil
80% of active wear. Over time a lubrication program has little impact is one of the best investments it can
machine will make its own parti- on your overall maintenance budget. make, with contamination at the
cles, causing erosion, abrasion, and However, the truth is that failed com- core of premature machinery failure
fatigue directly to the machine, and ponents and overtime due to machine and diminished lubricant life.
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