“Is the measurement of foam important in monitoring the condition of lube oil?”
Air may exist in a lubricating oil in four different forms. Understanding these forms and how to best mitigate air contamination will help you reduce its impact on the machine and the lubricant.
What do you normally cover in your plant’s safety meetings? Personal protective equipment, chain guards, safety harnesses and lockout-tagout procedures are common topics. When was the last time hydraulic accumulators were discussed? If your plant is like most, the answer is never. Why? In most plants, maintenance, production and safety managers are not aware of the dangers. Nevertheless, accumulators can present a safety hazard if the potential risks are not understood.
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a versatile tool used to detect common contaminants, lube degradation byproducts and additives within lubricating oils. It has become a widely used technique for quickly assessing multiple lubricant characteristics, and yet many people don’t fully understand how it works. When exposed to infrared radiation, molecules absorb radiation at very specific wavelengths. Knowing this, you can pass infrared radiation through a sample and use a detector on the other side of the sample to identify the molecules found in that sample.
With cooler weather on the way, you may not be too worried about rising oil temperatures, but the fact is, any industrial hydraulic system running higher than 140 degrees is too hot. Consider that for every 18-degree increase in temperature above 140 degrees, the life of the oil is cut in half. Systems that operate at high temperatures can produce sludge and varnish, which result in the sticking of valve spools. Pumps and hydraulic motors bypass more oil at high temperatures, causing the machine to operate at a slower speed. In some cases, high oil temperatures can waste electrical energy by making the pump drive motor pull more current to operate the system. O-rings also harden at higher temperatures, leading to more leaks in the system. So what checks and tests should you perform if the oil temperature is higher than 140 degrees?
