Best Practices In

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
Adrian Messer
UE Systems, Inc.
adrianm@uesystems.com

Lubrication Related Failures

The majority of
premature bearing
failures are lubrication
related

Source: "Pump Users Handbook: Life

Extension 2011 by Heinz Bloch

Under lubricated
Over lubricated
Wrong lubricant
Lubricant
contamination

Lubrication Related Failures?

as many as 60 to 80 percent of all bearing
failures (catastrophic, functional and premature)
are lubrication-related, whether it's poor lubricant
selection, poor application, lubricant
contamination or lubricant degradation 1.

1 Mark Barnes, What Exactly is a Lubrication Failure?

Machinery Lubrication, formerly of Noria Corporation

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
In this presentation we will discuss:
What is Ultrasound Assisted Lubrication
Ultrasound Technology and Instruments
The advantages of Ultrasound
Procedures for Ultrasound Bearing
Inspection and Lubrication

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
Traditional lubrication programs include
preventive procedures that include timebased lubrication.
Lubrication is performed at set timed intervals
with a specified amount of grease applied

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
The issue with time-based lubrication is,
what if the bearing being lubricated has a
sufficient amount of grease already and
therefore DOES NOT need lubricant. This
produces an inherent risk of OverLubrication.

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
Another issue is the time-interval for
lubrication. Is it correct?
What if some bearings require lubricant to be
applied more frequently than assumed or
what if the time interval can be stretched out?

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication
These issues do not preclude the need for
standard preventive procedures such as
calibrating grease guns, measures to
ensure the correct lubricant is used for the
correct application, etc
The concept is to assist current lubrication
procedures with the addition of ultrasound
technology

What is Ultrasound Assisted

Lubrication?
Adding ultrasound monitoring to standard lubrication
best practices can prevent potential over lubrication of
bearings which can also lead to fewer bearing failures,
extend motor and bearing life as well as lead to a
decrease in the amount of lubricant used
This will produce:
Savings in maintenance costs, lubricant, man-hours
And improved asset availability and reliability

LUBRICATION DOMAIN

Start
Failure

EARLY WARNING OF
BEARING FAILURE

OPTIMIZING BEARING
LIFE!
(DMS & GREASE CADDY)

Infrared

Oil analysis
Structure
Borne
Ultrasound
Vibration

P1 P2

P3

Audible noise

Contact heat

P4
P5

Proactive
Domain

Predictive
Domain

Fault
P6
Domain

Max time for planning

What is Ultrasound Assisted

Lubrication?
Airborne & Structure-Borne Ultrasound
instruments sense friction.
Trending associated amplitude levels and
changes in sound quality of a bearing
provide early indication of conditions such
as lack of lubrication and prevent overlubrication

What is Ultrasound?
High frequency sounds that are above the
range of human hearing
The ultrasonic range begins at 20 kHz

There are three Generic Divisions of

Ultrasound:
Pulse/Echo
Power
Airborne/Structure Borne

Ultrasound Advantages

Provides Earliest Warning of Failure

Isolates Signal
Quality of Bearing
Detects Lack of Lubrication
Finds defects not found in time based lube
routes

Ultrasound Advantages
Prevents Over Lubrication
Can Be Used on Slow Speed Bearings
Complements Other Technologies
Thermography
Vibration Analysis
Oil Analysis

Ultrasound Applications

Bearings
Pumps (Cavitation)
Motors
Gears/Gearboxes
Valves
Steam Traps
Leak detection
Electrical Inspection

How Ultrasound Instruments

Work
Instruments based on airborne & structure borne
ultrasound sense high frequency emissions produced by
turbulence (from leaks), friction (in mechanical
equipment) and ionization (generated by electrical
emissions)
They translate these sounds down into the audible range
through an electronic process called Heterodyning
Sound is measured by a decibel level that is indicated
onboard the instrument

How Ultrasound Instruments

Work
The heterodyning feature enables users to hear the
translated signals in headphones, record sound samples
and analyze sounds through spectral analysis software.
Data from test results can also be viewed on a display
panel

Sounds Are Received Two Ways:

-Through a
scanning
module

-Through a
contact module
or wave guide

Instruments used for

Lubrication Programs
Digital instruments:

Set baselines
Log data
Record sound sample
Analyze Sounds
Download all data to Data Management Software

dB Level

Digital Instruments
Data Logging
Sound Recording
Data Management Software
Improved Record Keeping, Recording, Reporting
Spectral Analysis

Analog Instruments

Listen to
heterodyned
ultrasounds
View intensity levels
only (not dB)

Analog Instruments

Intensity
Display

Procedure
Use the digital
instrument
Collect data
Record sounds
Download to Data
Management
Software

Procedure

Review data
Create Trend
Charts
Analyze Sound
Samples of
deviations

Analyze Sounds For

Differences

Baseline Sound

Sound Deviation

Action Levels
8 dB
12 dB
16 dB
35+ dB

Lubrication
Minor Damage-Microscopic Faults
Damage-Visual Faults
Catastrophic Failure Imminent

Severe
Failure

Procedure
After review of data
Sect bearings in need of action for either:
Repair
Lubrication

Procedure
Assign analog ultrasound
instrument to lube
technicians
Instruct them to add
enough lubricant to
cause a drop in sound
levels while observing
the LED intensity
indication
Add lubrication Meter
intensity levels drop
Use caution - Lubricate A
little at a time

Procedure
If bearing needs grease, dB will decrease
as lubricant is applied
If bearing is already over lubricated, dB
will start to increase while applying
lubricant
If there is no change in dB, further action
should be taken to see why there was no
change, or bearing is in a failure mode
that lubrication is not the solution

Examples of Over Lubrication

The biggest problem we find in bearings is that they are

over greased. The maintenance man doing the greasing
usually does not know how much grease is put into the
bearing. In the past we just pumped a few strokes into the
bearing and then said well that ought to do it. Usually that
was too much grease and these pictures show the results
of that style of greasing.

Examples of Over Lubrication

In the case of this motor there was no attention paid to how

much grease was being put into the bearing. This motor
actually had shielded bearings in it and there was no grease
getting into the bearing, so it never cooled down and never
got any quieter so they just continued to grease it. After a
point, there was so much grease in it that the motor started
to heat up. What did they do then?
THEY GREASED IT SOME MORE.

Ultrasound Assisted
Lubrication Best Practices
Prioritize equipment based on an asset
criticality list
Likelihood of a failure, runtime, cost to repair,
consequences of a failure

Set up routes to collect ultrasound data

including recording sound files
Once initial readings have been taken, a
baseline is set

Ultrasound Assisted Lubrication Best

Practices

Once a baseline has been established,

alarm levels are set
Data (dB) only is collected until an alarm
has been reached
Ultrasound is used to lubricate points that
are currently in a low alarm condition
Grease is applied until the dB returns to
the normal level

Ultrasound Assisted Lubrication Best

Practices

For more critical assets, a follow up

reading should be taken to ensure that the
dB did not rise again after lubrication, or
use a complementary technology for a
second opinion
PMs may need to be adjusted to reflect
the use of ultrasound while greasing,
frequency, type of lubricant, etc

Benefits of Ultrasound
Assisted Lubrication
Identifies bearings in need of lubrication
Prevents over lubrication of bearings
Reduces the amount of grease kept in
inventory
Reduces incidents of bearing failure
Reduced labor lubricating bearings
More effective PMs
Improves asset availability

Lubrication Examples

Lubrication Examples

Lubrication Examples

Questions?
Adrian Messer
adrianm@uesystems.com
(914)282-3504