According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor emeritus and luminary tribologist Ernest Rabinowicz, there are three things that cause machines to lose their usefulness: obsolescence, accidents and surface degradation. Without question, obsolescence is fundamental to the evolution of engineering and technology. The old must make way for the new. Yet some inventions have long life cycles, the grease fitting for example. Its design has changed little since Oscar Zerk invented it in the early 1920s, yet is still widely used today. The automobile, on the other hand, is dynamic and in constant flux. While the classics cars live on into perpetuity, most automobiles face practical obsolescence long before they are functionally inoperable.

The post How and Why Machines Wear Out appeared first on Tesibis.

Particles. Think about it. Tribological studies on wear-related machine failure rank particle-induced abrasion as the No. 1 cause of wear. This is often referred to as three-body abrasion, where particles become interposed between two surfaces in relative motion, leading to damage (cutting) of both surfaces. Particles contribute to an assortment of other types of wear and failure too, including surface fatigue, silting and erosion.

With this in mind, it is only natural that monitoring the size and concentration of particles in lubricating oil would be of keen interest to the astute reliability professional. It’s no wonder the particle counter is a leading oil analysis instrument and is high on the list of favored instruments in the condition-monitoring field in general.

The post What is the No. 1 Cause and the No. 1 Consequence of Wear? appeared first on Tesibis.