World-class condition monitoring of hydraulic systems involves the successful integration of a number of strategic elements. While in the past, walk-around inspections and gage data were the primary means of monitoring system health, today’s modem oil analysis programs apply a host of sophisticated new tools and instruments. Reliability teams at the plant site frequently commission small laboratories. In many cases the instrumentation suite includes portable and unattended sensors. The situational context is changing too as today’s hydraulic systems are increasingly designed for higher pressures, speeds, and temperatures. This paper presents a review of strategic elements that, when well conceived and implemented, can deliver vital aiding information for achieving even the toughest condition-based maintenance goals. These include the selection of test slate, deployment of incipient failure advisories, setting of targets and limits that define nonconforming conditions, exception testing, and proactive maintenance.

The post Advancements in Fluid Analysis Technologies and Strategies for Hydraulic SystemCondition-Based Maintenance appeared first on Tesibis.

A great deal of research and new technology have advanced the fields of oil lubrication and contamination through oil filters. If you still think (as many do), that “All oil filters do the same thing, so why pay more for a brand name?” then it may be time to reconsider. Lubrication research continues to improve how lubricants (such as oils) protect moving parts, increase fuel economy, and extend the life of your engine. The lubrication industry has continually upgraded the quality of engine crankcase oils, grease (chassis, wheel bearings), transmission fluids, hydraulic fluids, gear oils, and brake fluids.

The thought that all oils are the same implies that a piece of equipment built five years ago requires the same lubricants as the same type of equipment being built today. But fuel conservation, lower emissions, new materials, and better manufacturing (tighter equipment tolerances) all combine to require specialized oils and filters for today’s equipment that older models did not have.

As lubrication needs have evolved, trucks, plant harvesters, sprayers, trailers, and engines depend on l- e proper oil to keep internal parts operating and functioning properly within the equipment specifications. As equipment specifications change, manufacturer’s design and upgrade oil lubricants to meet the new demands. That’s why it is important to identify and select the proper oil and filter based on the equipment manufacturer rather than basing your selection on cost.

Performance and compatibility must come first; price should come second.

While lubricants and filters may look similar and be packaged alike, remember that it’s what you don’t see inside the product that allows it to perform a certain way. Separating products that perform well from those that do not perform as well can be challenging, because the technical information is conveyed in a coded language consisting of numbers and abbreviations. These numbers and abbreviations are the industry standards that lubricant manufacturers use when they build their products.

The purpose of this publication is to demystify these numbers and abbreviations so that you will be able to distinguish the differences between oils and oil filters. Understanding these terms will help you choose the best (which is not always the cheapest or even the most expensive) engine oils and oil filters for your equipment and application. In the long run, choosing the correct oil and filter will increase equipment reliability, enhance operating performance, lower maintenance costs, and extend your equipment’s service life.

The post Booklet: Engine Oils and Their Filters, Understanding Oil Lubrication and Contamination Control appeared first on Tesibis.

Oil contamination may be defined as any foreign material found in the lubricant which is not added by design. Usually, contaminants are not beneficial, and may be detrimental, to the performance of the oil and/or the operating machinery. Contamination is a significant root cause of machine and lubricant degradation and failure. Often overlooked as a source of failure because its impact is usually slow and imperceptible, contamination is both a significant threat to reliability and quality efforts, and an opportunity because improvements are very attainable1. Research on an array of fluid dependent machinery such as bearings and rotating equipment, hydraulic systems, gearboxes, and diesel engines, clearly supports that often machine reliability is a function of contamination control.

The post An Introduction to Fluid Contamination Analysis appeared first on Tesibis.

One of the main disadvantages of using grease over oil is the annoying tendency of grease to cake and dry out. We all know that oil has a natural tendency to drain out of the grease thickener over time. We see conspicuous evidence of this when oil puddles in unleveled grease pockets in pails of new grease. We’ve also seen the dribble of oil from stored grease cartridges and prepacked bearings on storeroom shelves.

More serious is the hardened byproduct of oil drainage that builds inside the cavities of operating bearings and gears over time. Often this takes years to develop, while in other cases the condition can reach catastrophic levels in just a few weeks. The failure can be self-propagating. As grease becomes dry, frictional forces escalate, causing concentrated heat within the bearing.

The elevated heat continues to force more rapid and complete drying of the grease. In time, the grease can reach a state of consistency ranging from hard putty to sandstone, depending on the thickener type and degradation conditions.

Frequently the most serious offending conditions leading to grease dry-out are aided by other causes working in concert. Let’s begin by reviewing the primary causes of grease dry-out. Once the causes are determined, we have the information necessary to prescribe steps to grease your bearings properly.

The post Grease Dry-out: Causes, Effects and Remedies appeared first on Tesibis.

Oil analysis is about surfacing problems that were otherwise hidden from view. We’ve all heard the phrase “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but an important corollary is “if it is broke, fix it fast.” The basic problem with this strategy is not knowing when something is actually broken.

For many organizations, oil analysis offers an effective solution, but it works only if users are literate in its language and apply it effectively. While oil analysis is not a panacea for all machine reliability problems, it does offer many special opportunities. For one, the oil is typically the carrier of both the root cause and symptoms of impending failures.

The post Oil Analysis Effectively Uncovers Hidden Problems appeared first on Tesibis.