CONTENTS

September - October 2008

Features

machinerylubrication.com

Features Continued
14 Contamination Control
Understanding Oil Fog Generation
This article investigates an air breather installed on the
oil reservoir for lubricating a gearbox, and discusses its
capacity to capture the oil fog generating from the reser-
voir. It also discusses the root causes of oil fog generation
and recommends how to prevent it.

22 Case Study
Increasing Mean Time
Between Failure on Compressors
This case study is an example of one of the many savings
achieved with an in-house lubrication program. It includes
the importance of educating employees on the importance
of proper lubrication practices.

24 Industry Focus
10 From the Field Even Reliability Specialists
Is Air a Contaminant? Need to Look Inward
In the quest to promote reliability for the benefit of others,
Although air is always present in lubricating oil, it is often justifiable to adopt
it is easy to overlook internal issues. The importance of a reli-
measures to minimize its presence. ability program cannot be understated, regardless of the
industry involved or the size of the facility. No matter how
14 28 small the throughput of lubricants is at a particular site, there
is always room for improvement.

28 Contamination Control
Updating Your Sealing Technology
Competent manufacturers of mechanical seals have
contributed to the uptime extension and component life
upgrades realized by acknowledged best-of-class users.

36 Product Review
24 Examining an Oil Purification System
Introducing new technology is challenging, as most of us
are resistant to change. This article presents, in laymans
terms, information regarding a high-speed electrostatic
kidney-loop system, designed to remove submicron particles
and other foreign matter (varnish) from lubricating fluids.

42 Case Study
Oil Analysis and Lubricant Management
Editorial Columns Departments Prove Successful
2 As I See It 34 Product Ideas 50 ICML A manufacturer of food containers improved its oil
4 Viewpoint 40 Lit Rack 52 Back Page Basics analysis and lubricant management programs. This case
8 Hydraulics at Work 46 Bookstore study chronicles how plant personnel made important
10 From the Field 48 NLGI Update changes after oil analysis showed high contamination levels.

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 1

AS I SEE IT

Oil Clotting and the

Adrenaline Effect
JIM FITCH

e are all familiar with blood clotting and its role in
W constricting blood flow after injury. Clotting depends
on the coagulation of platelets and blood cells aided by fibrin
molecules to trap and bind them together. This coagulated
mass effectively plugs capillaries to stop uncontrolled hemor-
rhaging and bleeding.
Over the years, Ive encountered many interesting human-
body analogies to machinery lubrication and oil analysis. Blood
clotting is one of the best. It is amazingly similar to a variety of
conditions relating to leakage and the restricted oil movement in
machinery. In both the human body and the machine, clotting
can lead to positive and negative consequences. While blood
clotting can contain loss of blood after a skin laceration, it can
also restrict blood flow in the brain and muscle tissue of the
heart. Similarly, oil clotting can mitigate or completely halt in-
leakage and out-leakage in machinery. Conversely, it can impair
needed movement of oil through orifices, glands, oilways and
filters. This can leave critical frictional surfaces starved of lubri-
cant, accelerating wear and failure.
6 Soon, the slit or leakage path is sealed tight. It is interesting
5 Wear
4 enable a packing seal to form; but rather, a distribution of
Pump Internal Leakage Variation (%)
How Oil Clotting Works
As we know, depending on the machines design, leakage
can be internal (oil flows from a higher pressure zone to a
lower pressure zone) and external (oil escapes from the
machine by leaking past seals and tight-fitting parts).
Both conditions are undesirable, yet many lubricants and
hydraulic fluids carry their own intrinsic packing material
that can be used to clot leakage zones and oil flow
passageways.
The process usually starts by the transport of a single
particle in the size range of the slit or leakage path; this is the
seed particle. This particle gets wedged or jammed in the gap,
which might be just a few microns to well over 100 microns.
Because the oil prefers the path of least resistance, it is
through these larger slits and gaps that more particles are
carried and then lodged. As they become lodged, the clear-
ance (opening) constricts even further. With each narrowing
iteration, the flow continues to decay, enabling smaller and
smaller particles to provide the necessary packing material.
0-20 m
Particles that particles of only a single size (large or small) do not

3 particles sizes is required. The same is true for particles that

2 infamously cause slit-lock and stiction of electrohydraulic
(efficiency)

1 valves (for example, servo valves).

0 Just like blood clotting depends on fibrin molecules to
-1
entangle or conjoin platelets and blood cells, oil clotting is
-2
0-5 m aided by soft, gummy oil suspensions and polar molecules to
-3 Adrenaline
0-10 m help bind the contaminants together. These binding agents
-4
include polar additives (for example, dispersants and rust
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 inhibitors) as well as oil degradation products (additives and
Test Time base oil) from oxidation and thermal distress. Even free water
Figure 1. Pump Flow Leakage Variation Relative to Time and
is known to provide cohesive forces to help paste particles
Particle Size Distribution together to form clumpy restrictions in leakage paths.
2 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication
 This is why a sudden change in lubricant
chemistry, such as the introduction of an
ester-based synthetic lubricant, can dissolve
or carry away these binding agents, leading
to leakage once again. In some instances,
large clumps of particles can become
dislodged and resuspended as a result of a
fluid chemistry change. These mobilized
clumps can later be pulled into orifices and
oilways, causing flow restriction and cata-
strophic lubrication failure.
The Adrenaline Effect
Surprisingly, many moving, close-tolerance
machine parts can be aided by particle
suspensions, as well. The most notable are
hydraulic pumps and actuators. In these
components, internal leakage impairs
performance (loss of volumetric efficiency),
causing more heat generation and energy
consumption. In time, the leakage escalates
to the point that the components must
be replaced due to sluggish operation.
This is similar to the loss of combustion effi-
ciency of an engine from piston ring/cylinder
bore wear.
Lubricants and hydraulic fluids that carry
solid contaminants in the size range of the
dynamic gaps, annular zones and slits (that
serve as the internal leakage path) will expe-
rience a dynamic packing phenomena called
the adrenaline effect. When this occurs, a
rise in efficiency (and power) is experienced
by these components spurred by the sealing
mechanism of the particles. Who would have
guessed that particles can boost pump flow!
However, control your excitement. Theres a
dark side to this story. Need I remind you that
hard particles cause irreparable damage in
dynamic zones by gouging, plowing and scoring
of the working surfaces? As this occurs, the
temporary gain from the adrenaline effect is
lost as the gaps form a widening gulf. This
prevents all but the largest particles from
bridging the clearance. Therefore, while the
surge of adrenaline from particles contamina-
tion is real (when components are young), this
is a false economy due to rapid aging from
accelerated wear and gushing internal leakage
that soon develops (See Figure1).
Moral of the Story
Why did I tell this story about oil clotting?
For one, I wanted to clarify confusion
regarding the role of particle contamination
in leakage path constriction. Indeed, this is
not lubrication folklore but is a factual phys-
ical phenomenon. For instance, we can
readily observe the damming effect from
particle loading in oil filters as pressure drop
rises. Also, common pore-blockage particle
counters measure flow decay (or pressure
rise) through calibrated membranes to esti-
mate particle concentrations in lubricants
and hydraulic fluids. So it is no surprise that
the same phenomenon would occur in any
narrow orifice or clearance through which oil
routinely flows in the machine.
So the moral to the story is this: If you
want your contaminants to serve as stop
leak agents, then a dirty and more sludgy oil
is better (Im kidding, of course). Static seals
and leaky fittings/connectors benefit the
most. However, if you dont want your oil to
carry hard, gummy particles into critical
clearances and orifices, I suggest you take a
hygienic approach by keeping it clean, dry
and healthy. No doubt, youve been given
that advice before.
Reference
Gabrial Silva. The Adrenaline Phenomenon of Silt.
TSF Journal, 1987, Volume 7. Fluid Power Research
Center, Oklahoma State University.
About the Author
Jim Fitch has a wealth of in the trenches experience in
lubrication, oil analysis, tribology and machinery failure
investigations. Over the past two decades, he has
presented hundreds of lectures on these subjects. Jim has
published more than 200 technical articles, papers and
publications. He serves as a U.S. delegate to the ISO
tribology and oil analysis working group. Since 2002, he
has been director and board member of the International
Council for Machinery Lubrication. He co-founded
Noria Corporation in 1997 and remains an active
chairman and senior technical consultant. Contact Jim at
jfitch@noria.com.
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VOLUME 8 - NUMBER 5
VIEWPOINT
To Maximize Uptime,
Make Every Second Count
MARK BARNES
recently found myself leading a maintainability workshop
I at a food processing and packaging plant. My mandate
was to guide a team of designers, maintenance leaders and
reliability engineers through a critical review of their
machinery design practices so that their critical production
assets could be more easily maintained and reliably operated.
Part of this exercise was to take the group out into the plant
and focus on one bottleneck area to ascertain what oppor-
tunities we could find for improvements. Although I was
confident that we would find lots of room for improvement,
nobody could have prepared me for what I was about to
experience!
Packaging Line
While the plant or company shall remain nameless, our
machine of choice was a packaging line. This line was one of
several in the plant where finished product was stacked into
cardboard boxes before proceeding to warehousing and
distribution. Needless to say that when this machine goes
4 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
down, the plant loses the equivalent amount of production
handled by this machine. With little to no inventorying of
product, even a minute of downtime represents a real cost to
the organization.
For those not familiar with packaging equipment, this
machine is a complex mixture of mechanical drives, chains
and pneumatics. Oftentimes, many of the systems that
require periodic maintenance are hidden behind safety
guards such that any entry into the machines requires trip-
ping an interlock at a minimum and, in some cases, requiring
full lockout/tagout protocol.
As usual, I suggested to the group that we should engage
the machine operator in our fact-finding mission. After all,
most operators live with their equipment for a full eight-,
10- or 12-hour shift, meaning they have the best insight
into what problems occur most often. In this instance, our
operator was a 30-year veteran of the plant, who was just a
few years away from retirement. For arguments sake, lets
call him Joe.
Machinery Lubrication
Meet the Expert day on smaller cylinders, and once a week on larger lines. Looking
In this plant, Joe had deservedly earned himself a reputa- closer, it was clear that the amount of flex, caused by tight curves,
tion as being a top-notch operator. He knew the machines the bundling of hoses together such that they were rubbing on
inside and out, and could get the packaging line back up and each other during each production cycle and the cheap inferior
running faster than any other operator. In fact, the produc- replacement hose (to try to minimize the high cost of replace-
tion manager for this line wished he had another half-dozen ments) were leading to premature failures of the hosing. In fact,
employees like Joe and was fearful of what would happen Joe had dealt with this issue so often that he proudly stated he
when Joe retired. True to form, Joe could not have been more could replace a hose in less than three minutes!
accommodating, and he was more than
willing to share his knowledge with us.
After explaining our mission to Joe, our
team set about picking his brains to elicit
what issues he had experienced with this
particular machine. What a wealth of infor-
mation Joe turned out to be! You see, during
the hour or so we studied this machine, our
team witnessed Joe responding to an opera-
tional issue no less than 40 times! While the
reasons appeared to be many and varied,
most centered on the box assembly machine,
designed to take a box in flat form and
assemble it into the container in which the
product would be shipped.
This machine, like the rest, appeared to be
a complex mixture of drive systems, chains,
etc.; but the heart of the machine appeared
to be the pneumatic system used to operate
a series of suction cups used to assemble the
box into its three-dimensional form. On at
least 20 different occasions, I witnessed Joe
open the machine to clear a jam, in each
case tripping the machine interlock and
halting production. Even though Joe was
skilled and quickly resolved the issue, with a
time per incident of approximately 30
seconds, it was clear that those 10 minutes
of the hour I observed was lost production
due to this one recurrent problem.

Pneumatic Challenges
Questioning Joe further, it became clear that
pneumatic issues were the bane of Joes life.
Aside from jams caused by missassembly
(something Joe attributed to the storage of the
batches of new boxes in a humid production
environment), he explained that he routinely
changed the pneumatic hoses at least once per
Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 5
 VIEWPOINT
At the end of the in-plant machine survey, the group
returned to the classroom to join with other teams who had
surveyed other machines. We talked about Joe, and a look
of sheer amazement came across the faces of several partic-
ipants. Nobody had even the slightest clue what was
happening on an hour-to-hour, day-to-day basis. They knew
that the machine was a bad actor, but lacking specific
data to ascertain the reasons why, they were simply
relying upon Joe and his experience to overcome a serious
reliability issue.
So whats the solution? Like most maintenance and relia-
bility problems, what was lacking was data. Not macroscopic
data such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), which
the plant was tracking, but detailed information allowing
each failure to be categorized according to a failure code (for
example, a broken pneumatic hose) so that data could be
analyzed for trends. Ideally, each failure code should be
linked to a cost per minute or second so that the total cost of
each failure mode can be determined, allowing management
insight into its major cost areas. This process and the tools to
capture the data are sometimes referred to as the failure
reporting and corrective action system (FRACAS).
6 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
The Value of Failure Reporting
The value of FRACAS data cannot be overstated. While
incidents that incur major time usually hit our radar screen,
small problems that take a few minutes or less to fix but
occur multiple times during the day can often be a larger
contributor to overall downtime costs. This is a process anal-
ogous to death by a thousand paper cuts.
So if your plant involves a process where small incremental
steps are involved as part of production, consider the value
that FRACAS can offer in providing data not just about
major events, but those seemingly small, inconsequential
events, because they add up!
As always, this is my opinion. Im interested in yours.
About the Author
As a skilled educator and consultant in the areas of oil analysis and
machinery lubrication, Mark Barnes has helped numerous clients develop
effective machinery lubrication programs and troubleshoot complex lubrica-
tion problems through precision lubrication and oil analysis. As vice president
of Noria Reliability Solutions, Mark and his group work on projects in the areas
of: plant audits and gap analysis, machinery lubrication and oil analysis
program design, lube PM rationalization and redesign, lubricant storage and
handling, contamination control system design and lubrication, and mechan-
ical failure investigations. Contact Mark at mbarnes@noria.com.
Machinery Lubrication
HYDRAULICS AT WORK

Six Easy Steps to Maintain

Your Hydraulic Equipment
BRENDAN CASEY

y wife often asks me why I still do consulting work. She OK, what is the systems usual operating pressure range?
M wonders why I happily leave the comfort of my office to Blank look from client. I dont know; we dont monitor
crawl all over hot, dirty, smelly hydraulic equipment. either of those things.
For starters, I actually enjoy it. Secondly, it keeps me sharp. At the end of this meeting, we walked through the control
But perhaps most importantly, it keeps me in touch with the room. Both the operating pressure and temperature were
issues that hydraulic equipment users must grapple with.
displayed on the default PLC screen albeit along with a lot of
One of the lessons Ive learned over the years is that in the
seemingly more important production information. Say no more.
early stages of a consulting assignment, it is better to ask
good questions rather than dispense good advice. But could you answer these two basic questions about the
vital signs of your hydraulic equipment? If not, I strongly
Pump Failures recommend you make the effort to get to know your
A recent client had a series of catastrophic pump failures. hydraulic equipment better.
These pumps were achieving less than half their expected service
life. So naturally, the company wanted some answers. At our first Gathering Information
meeting, the client opened proceedings with a brief history of the This information is easy to collect. It can give valuable
machine and an account of the events leading up to the failures. insight to the health of your equipment and is essential data
He then pushed a stack of oil analysis reports across the table. if failure analysis is required. Here is how I recommend you
accomplish this task:
Ask the Basic Questions 1. First, you need an infrared thermometer, also called a heat
After taking notes on what Id just been told, I fired off my gun. If you dont have one, youll need to invest around 100
first question: What is the systems normal operating bucks to get one and then familiarize yourself on how to use it.
temperature? The response was stunned silence. Client 2. Next, using a permanent marker or paint stick, draw a
shrugs his shoulders. small target on the hydraulic tank below minimum oil level
and away from the cooler return. Label it 1. This marks the
Date 06-02-08 06-03-08 spot where youll take your tank oil temperature readings.
Time 0640 1615 By the way, the purpose of these targets is that regardless
Ambient Temperature (C) 11 39
of who takes the temperature readings, theyll be taken from
Operating Pressure 3000 2900
Charge Pressure 270 250
the same place each time.
(1) Tank Temperature 30 58 3. If the system is a closed-circuit hydrostatic transmis-
(2) Transmission A 41 60 sion, mark a convenient location on each leg of the
(3) Transmission B 44 65 transmission loop and number those locations as 2 and 3.
(4) Exchanger In 64
Skip this step for open-circuit hydraulic systems.
(5) Exchanger Out 53
4. Next, mark a target on the heat exchanger inlet and outlet
Exchanger T 11
Fan On Yes/No No Yes and number these 4 and 5, respectively. This records the temper-
ature drop across the cooler. The benefit of this step is that if the
Table 1. System Readings oil flow rate through the exchanger and the temperature drop
8 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication
across it are known, the actual heat rejection of
the exchanger can be calculated.
And if the system is overheating, knowing the
actual heat rejection of the exchanger can help
determine whether the problem is the result of
an increase in heat load (due to an increase in
internal leakage, for example) or whether the
problem lies in the cooling circuit itself.
For example, if a hydraulic system with an
input power of 100 kilowatts is overheating,
and the actual heat rejection of the exchanger is
30 kilowatts, then the efficiency of the system
has fallen below 70 percent. Therefore, an
increase in heat load is the likely cause. On the
other hand, if the exchanger is rejecting only 10
kilowatts of heat (which in this example
equates to 10 percent of input power), then its
likely there is a problem in the cooling circuit or
there is insufficient installed cooling capacity.
5. Install a pressure gauge or transducer
to record operating pressure if one is not
already available. If the system is a closed-
circuit hydrostatic transmission, install a
similar device to record charge pressure.
6. With that accomplished, now draw up a
table like Table 1 to record the date, time,
ambient temperature, operating temperatures
and operating pressure(s). Note that there is
little point in recording the temperature across
the heat exchanger if the fan or water pump isnt
running. And, charge pressure is relevant only to
closed-circuit hydrostatic transmissions.
In terms of compiling this data, its a good
idea to take readings on the hottest and
coldest days of the year, and on a couple of
average-temperature days in between. This
provides a baseline of information. Beyond
that, taking readings at regular intervals
each day or shift, for example can provide
early warning of impending problems. And if
the system starts to give trouble, taking a set
of readings will reveal if the machine is oper-
ating outside its normal parameters.

About the Author

Brendan Casey has more than 19 years experience in
the maintenance, repair and overhaul of mobile and
industrial hydraulic equipment. For more information on
reducing the operating cost and increasing the uptime
of your hydraulic equipment, visit his Web site:
www.InsiderSecretsToHydraulics.com.

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 9

Is Air a
Contaminant?
 FROM THE FIELD

hen we think of contamination in lubricated systems,

W we often focus on particle and water contamination.
The fact of the matter is that there are many other contami-
nants we should consider and attempt to control. Most
contaminants, which include any material not contained in
the lubricants formulation, can potentially damage the oil
and the lubricated components. Although air is always present
in lubricating oil, it is often justifiable to adopt measures to
minimize its presence.
Air can exist in oil in three different states: dissolved,
entrained and foam. Air dissolved in oil exists as individual
molecules which are similar to CO2 dissolved in soda water.
This type of air is invisible and impractical to detect. Entrained
air in oil is comprised of tiny air bubbles suspended in the oil.
This type of air contamination is arguably the most damaging,
and can be identified by the oil having a cloudy appearance.
Although there are several common causes for cloudy oil, this
can be identified by taking a sample of the oil and observing
whether or not it clears up over time.
If the cloudiness was caused by water or another liquid
contaminant, an aqueous layer should form as the sample
clears. Foam is the other common type of air in oil. Foam typi-
cally refers to the stable layer of relatively large bubbles that
accumulate at the surface of a reservoir. In some systems,
foam at the surface may not cause a lot of damage, but the
presence of a foam layer normally indicates extensive
air entrainment.

Causes of Excessive
Air Contamination
There are actually quite a few conditions that lead to exces-
sive air contamination, and for this reason, there are several
common causes that should be considered. The most common
of these is water contamination. When a lubricating oil
becomes contaminated with water, its surface tension is
lowered, thereby allowing bubbles in the oil to separate into
smaller particles that are more easily suspended. Many other
contaminants have a similar effect such as solvents, numerous
chemical contaminants and even oil oxidation by-products. The
latter is the primary reason oil foams more as it ages.
Other causes include loss of antifoam additives, suction
leaks, poor reservoir design, using the wrong viscosity or using
too much antifoam additive. Under certain circumstances,
antifoam additives can be abnormally depleted. This often
prompts users to add defoamant to a system and creates the
opportunity to add too much. Use caution and follow the
proper guidelines when attempting to re-additize the oil.
September - October 2008 11
 FROM THE FIELD
Effects of Air Contamination
Air contamination can have negative effects on the
machine and the lubricant. Air can damage a lubricating oil
by increasing the rate of oxidation and thermal degradation,
depleting additives, reducing its heat transfer coefficient and
reducing its film strength. Oil can oxidize when its molecules
come into contact with oxygen. It stands to reason that the
more oxygen exits from the oil, the faster the oil will oxidize.
This problem is exacerbated when the bubbles move into
high-pressure environments where the change in volume
causes a drastic increase in temperature. The process, some-
times called microdieseling, causes thermal degradation of
the oil as well.
Machine wear can be generated by air contamination by
several mechanisms. For one thing, air is compressible. In
order for the oil to create the appropriate lubricating film
thickness, it must be incompressible. When the oil is heavily
contaminated with entrained air, its film strength can be
reduced to the point where the film breaks down, allowing
mechanical friction between interacting surfaces. Depending
upon the type of machine, this effect could be rapid.
12 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
In machine environments where dramatic pressure
changes occur, such as a hydraulic pump, the dramatic and
instantaneous volumetric change causes bubbles to implode
violently, which leads to erosion of machine surfaces. In
hydraulics, entrained air can create other problems as well,
such as spongy operations, loss of controls and an increased
likelihood of surface deposits in valves.
How to Detect and
Control Air Contamination
When a foaming problem suddenly develops in a sump,
there are several factors to look for. First, take an oil sample
from the drain to check for the presence of free water. If water
is in fact the culprit, the foam actually does us a favor by
alerting us to the water problem. If gross water contamina-
tion is not observed, take an oil sample for analysis to inspect
for a chemical contamination, if the wrong oil was added or
if the oil is degraded. Another common cause of a sudden
problem is a suction leak in a circulating system. This type of
problem can often be detected with the old-fashion shaving-
cream technique.
If a system has a history of foaming problems, it may
be an ongoing problem of contamination or a system
design issue. Some common reservoir problems that lead
to foam are using a sump that is too small, having oil
return lines that terminate above the oil level causing
mixing, or having suction and return lines in close prox-
imity. These problems can sometimes be addressed by
using diffusers, installing baffles, or using plates or screens
for gravity-return systems.
As I mentioned before, it may be impossible to completely
eliminate air from lubricated systems, but steps should be
taken to reduce it as much as can reasonably be expected.
Eliminating excessive air will likely give more life to your oil,
improve system performance, and reduce wear and deposits.
Remember, contamination control is not just about filtering
out dirt. It involves excluding and removing any foreign mate-
rial from the system.
About the Author
Jarrod Potteiger has vast experience in industrial and marine lubricant
sales where he designed lubrication and oil analysis programs and imple-
mented contamination control strategies. He has performed machinery
failure analysis for numerous clients. As technical services director for
Noria, his primary responsibilities include lubrication program design,
benchmark surveys, on-site training and Noria Field Services support.
Contact Jarrod at: jpotteiger@noria.com.
Machinery Lubrication
CONTAMINATION CONTROL
Understanding
Oil Fog Generation
BY DUCK YOUNG CHO, SOLGE COMPANY
his article investigates an air breather installed on the oil
T reservoir for lubricating a gearbox and discusses its capacity
to capture the oil fog generating from the reservoir. The author
analyzed the root causes of oil fog generation, confirmed its
cause to be a repair error from drilling a new hole in a labyrinth
seal chamber, and then recommended how to prevent it.
Figure 1. Air Breather on Oil Reservoir of MVR Compressor
Figure 2. Oil Leak on Top of Reservoir
14 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
Introduction
A customer complained of a problem with the air breather
installed (Figure 1). It could not completely capture the oil
fog, although it could greatly reduce the fog escaping from
the air breather. Under the air breather, the oil from the fog
escaped and collected outside, pooling on the outer top
surface of the reservoir within a week (Figure 2).
The field investigation confirmed this condition, and the
escaping fog felt oily on the fingertips. While we saw the
heavy fog billow out, we asked ourselves what could cause
this heavy fog to generate in the reservoir, and which coun-
termeasures could prevent the fog from forming?
We studied the lubrication system, discussed the condi-
tions that generate the oil fog, and made a fault tree diagram
for the oil fog generation and its escape to the atmosphere
(Figure 3). Following this diagram in our search for the
causes, we investigated the field conditions of highly possible
causes for the continuous outflow of heavy fog, such as reser-
voir design, oil lubricant condition, air breather condition,
and invasion of air into the gearbox.
Field Investigation of Air Breather
Capacity of Air Breather for Oil Fog Capture
The filtration capacity of the air breather (DesCase DC-
OC8) was 99.7 percent for capturing oil fog particles greater
than two microns (that is, 2=300) and 99.8 percent
(3=400) for removing solid contaminant particles greater
than three microns, according to the product catalog.
Comparing use with this air breather and without it, we
found that the fog escaping was greatly reduced as follows:
The fog still escaping was considered two microns or less and
can be shown not as individual particles, but as a slight
smoke billowing out of the air breather.
The design flow rate of the air breather was 1,000 liters per
minute (lpm) under the differential pressure of 350 mmAq.
Machinery Lubrication
 CONTAMINATION CONTROL

Because the delivery flow rate of the oil pump was 139 lpm and
the suitable flow rate of the air breather was two times the pump Front Tank Rear Tank
delivery, the present air breather of 1,000 lpm flow rate was a Compressor Side Motor Side Motor Side Compressor Side
41.3C 33.6C 29.0C 39.5C
sufficient capacity compared to the maximum 278 lpm required.
1. The front tank (with control panel of the lubrication system) and the
rear tank are connected through two connection ducts under the
Improper Installation and motor and the compressor, respectively.
Operation of Air Breather 2. The return pipe from the gearbox is connected to the connection duct
under the compressor, and the suction pipe, from the rear tank near
The installation state was good as shown in Figure 1, except the compressor side.
the clogging indicator was discovered popped out during the 3. The existence and position of the baffle plate in the reservoir cannot
be identified from the drawing.
investigation. It was said that the indicator had not been
pushed in when installed. The result of the experiment for 10
days after pushing it in was the same as the initial state of Table 1. Oil Temperatures Measured at
Outer Surfaces of Reservoir
being pushed in. Therefore, we concluded that the operation
of the air breather was still normal. This air breather was found large drops falling on the surface due to their weight and
to have no check valve for bypass of the flow. collision with each other.
The possible size of oil mists depends on the process of its Conversely, the mist by distillation or evaporation of oil is
generation. The mists generated by the mechanical process, so small that its invisible to the naked eye and ranges from
such as spray of oil jet or pressured air through the Venturi 0.005 micron (of a single molecule) to three microns (several
tube, shall be more than three microns. They easily become molecules together). Therefore, the mists that were not
captured and escaped from this air breather are considered
Air Breather Condition Oil Lubricant Condition to range between 0.005 to two microns.

Improper installation/ Cause of Oil Fog Related to Oil

operation method Additive dissipation
Our second question is why so much oil fog was generated
Insufficient flow rate Degradation of base oil
from the oil reservoir. It too was answered by an intensive
Fog particle survey of field conditions at the plant.
too small
High oil temperature
and its heavy turbulencee
Oil Temperature
Heavy Generation/
Invasion of air at
Escape of Oil Fog The survey results of the oil temperatures of the reservoir
Short flow path
the shaft seal are shown in Table 1. Temperatures of the outer surface
Insufficient were measured by an infrared thermometer (HIOKI 3444,
defoamingg device Bad shaft seal of compressor
Japan) because of the lack of a thermometer installed on
Insufficient Bad
Baad shaft seal
oil volume off gearbox the reservoir.
Reviewing the oil temperatures shows that the baffle
Reservoir Design Air Invasion into Gearbox appeared nonexistent and, as shown in Figure 4, the oil
returned from the gearbox seems to flow along two divided
Figure 3. Fault Tree Analysis on Fog in Reservoir paths; that is, 1) from return pipe directly to suction pipe in
and Its Escape to Atmosphere the rear tank and 2) from return pipe through the front tank,
Suction Pipe connection duct under the motor, and rear tank to the
suction pipe.
Rear Tank The flow paths are as follows: 1) return pipe (48.3C)
from the gearbox compressor-side rear tank (39.5C) and
Connection Return Pipe suction pipe and 2) return pipe (48.3C) from the gearbox
Duct
compressor-side front tank (41.3C) motor-side front
Front Tank tank (33.6C) connection duct motor-side rear tank
(29.0C) compressor-side rear tank (39.5C) and suction
Motor Side Compressor Side pipe. The flow path directly from the return pipe to the
Figure 4. Planned Oil Flow () in Reservoir suction pipe is too short to be cooled.
16 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication
 Therefore, the sucked oil is hot and laden with wear parti-
cles and air bubbles not separated enough to be suitable for
recirculation. The air bubbles may cause cavitation to occur on
the delivery side of the pump and burn the oil at the surface of
air bubbles compressed adiabatically if the pressure is high.
Because the oil temperature was about 4010C in the
reservoir, however, it can hardly be regarded as the cause of
the heavy fog generation.
doubts the existence of a baffle plate and its sound structure
enough to divide both sides of the suction and return parts.
This entrained air may cause cavitation in the pump which
can burn the oil to produce carbon soot particles and
nitrates. It also helps generate sludge floating on the oil
surface and the varnish stuck on the cold machine surface.
Fortunately, the pressure was approximately 1.4 bar, too
low for severe cavitation to occur (this usually requires more

Oil Jet Sprayed Within Gearbox

Another factor to discuss is the oil jet
sprayed to the ring gear mesh of the plane-
tary gear train within the gearbox. This
transmits power from the electric motor to
the compressor impeller, increasing the
speed from 1,800 to 11,600 rpm. The
dissolved gas in the oil jet may expand adia-
batically into the free gas phase within the
gearbox and generate heavy fog when it
collides with the gears meshed.
This mist fog may return to the tank, but
fortunately, the return pipe was submerged
deeply under the oil level to prevent the mists
from entering into the headspace of the
tank. Therefore, the mist generated within
the gearbox cannot be regarded as the direct
cause of the heavy fog coming out of the
reservoir.

Insufficient Oil Volume

Kept in Reservoir
The oil volume kept within the reservoir
was approximately 1,600 L, which is more
than 10 times the delivery of the pump (139
lpm). It is sufficient only when oil flows
around the long path, which utilizes the
whole tank capacity by the baffle plate to
divide the suction-pipe side from the return-
pipe side. Such arrangement can enable the
settlement of wear particles and other solid
contaminants and the separation of air
bubbles to be performed effectively, while
flowing along the long path and cooling
down as low as possible.
However, the foam covering the surface as
viewed through the oil sight glass in Figure 6
shows the insufficient effect of air separa-
tion and defoaming performance, and
Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 17
 CONTAMINATION CONTROL

than 70 bar). Reviewing the oil analysis in terms of Fourier

transform infrared (FTIR) shows no trace of nitrates and soot Property New Oil Control Limit Used Oil (2004.3.18)
produced as the cavitation by-products, except the reduction Kinematic Viscosity, cSt
43.0 38.7~47.3 42.6
at 40C
of antioxidant additive at the IR wave number of 2,350/cm Acid Number,
due to the heat generation (Figure 7). 0.09 0.59 0.03
mgKOH/g
Water Contents, ppm 115 500 50
Degradation of Base Oil
Such a condition may imply the degradation of base oil Table 2. Physical Properties of Base Oil of R&O 46 Turbine Oil
and additives. We reviewed the oil analysis report for other
viscosity was 42.6 centistokes (cSt) at 40C, acid number
properties such as viscosity and acid number. The used oil
0.03 mgKOH/g, and water content 50 ppm.
was R&O 46 turbine oil. As shown in Table 2, the kinematic
The used oil was in good condition compared to new oil
and its control limits. The slight reduction of acid number
may be caused by the dissipation of antioxidant additives and
may increase again after oxidation of base oil has progressed.
But in its present state, it was still normal. Therefore, we
investigated other causes.

Root Causes of Oil Fog

Related to Equipment
We have investigated the lubricant state and its operation
conditions without suspicious causes. Now we need to
change the focus of investigation to the equipment-
maintenance side.
Figure 5. Oil Suction Pipe (Third from Left) on Rear Tank, Reviewing the history of faults for this equipment showed
Compressor Side
that the compressors impellor was broken about eight years
ago, on January 28, 2,000, when the gearboxs shaft, shaft
seal and bearing were damaged. After replacing the shaft seal
modified by the outsourced repair company, the generation
of heavy fog was reported.
Therefore, to investigate the modified part, we reviewed
the internal design such as seal structure and the pressure
balance, on drawings provided by the repair company.

Compressor Design
Because the compressors impeller lacks a balancing hole,
the thrust force was exerted on the rear of the impeller by the
differential pressure between suction and delivery pressures
Figure 6. Oil Level Gauge Showing Foam Inside of the compressor. It was supported by the thrust bearing to
the direction of compressor (Figure 8). This was lubricated by
204 6 2 new-oil : used-oil the outflow oil from the journal bearing supporting the sun
% Transmittance

100
gear shaft of the planetary gearbox, which drives the impeller.
80 used new
60
The compressors shaft seal was composed of several
40 sheets of labyrinth seal, and the leaked gas was vented to
outside of the building through a vent pipe connected to the
3,000 2,000 1,000
Wavenumbers (cm-1) end plate chamber. The suction pressure was 597 mmAq,
delivery pressure was 600 mmAq, and the differential pres-
Figure 7. FTIR Measurements of New and Used Oil sure was negligible.
18 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication
Gearbox Design 2. Stop the sealing air supplied to the labyrinth seal. Or as
Concerning the possibility of sugar gas leaking through the an alternative, after plugging the hole modified as
labyrinth seal and entering the gearbox, we investigated by required by OEM, reduce the air pressure applied to the
unscrewing two eyebolts on top of the gearbox. We found oil labyrinth seal to less than 0.05 bar.
mist emitting heavily from a hole on the motor side, and oil The complementary ideas to operate more efficiently are
drops ejecting from a hole on the compressor side. as follows:
A second investigation of this gearbox shows the following: 1. Install a baffle plate in the reservoir between the suction
1. During the repair of the broken shaft seal, a hole of 4 and return pipes. This will increase the flow path of the
mm was drilled to return the leaking oil
in the last chamber before the last land of
labyrinth seal. The original purpose of
this chamber was to apply the air pres-
sure to seal the shaft.
2. This modification was not approved by the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Steps to restore the equipment to its orig-
inal condition as required by the OEM were
not performed because of the continuous
operation of the equipment.
3. Through this hole, the air applied at the
pressure of 1.5 bar to this chamber was
leaking into the gearbox directly. It flows
through the return pipe and the oil in the
reservoir to the air breather above the
tank, carrying the heavy fog from the oil.
4. The leaked oil from the shaft seal was radi-
ally flung from the slinger ring assembled
on the shaft by the centrifugal force of shaft
rotating at the high speed of 11,600 rpm. If
the internal pressure accumulated by the
seals air supply is stopped, the oil leaked
through this shaft seal will stop due to the
retrieving effect of oil leaked through the
newly drilled hole.

Remedial Measures and

Recommendations
Based on this investigation and reviews, the
air breather performed the functions described
in the product catalog. The root cause of the
heavy oil fog was the air that leaked through
the hole in the modification. The remedial
measures to prevent the oil fog are as follows:
1. Vent the gearbox by removing the two
eyebolts above the gearbox. Install air
breathers to capture oil mist generating
and escaping from there.
Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 19
 CONTAMINATION CONTROL
recirculation oil to help settle contami-
nant particles, cool the hot oil, and
separate entrained air and gas for
preventing cavitation and pump wear.
2. The cleanliness of new oil was found to be 12
grade in NAS 1638 and ISO 21/17, not suit-
able for the journal bearing to require less
than NAS 7 grade and ISO 16/13 to prevent
wear. The new oil should be filtered through
a filter element of three microns absolute,
the oil cleanliness confirmed below NAS 7
grade, and the used oil in the system filtered
continuously through the off-line filter of
three microns absolute. This will help assure
fault-free operation.
3. Regular sampling and oil analysis works
to control contamination to limits of less
than ISO 16/13 or NAS 7. Through these
measures, the bearings and gears will be
proactively maintained to achieve fault-
free operation and extended service life.
4. The existing filter in the oil system should
be tested for performance and have a
Figure 8. Compressor and Gearbox
20 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
filtration efficiency greater than 99.5
percent for the contaminant particles
greater than six microns.
References
1. The operation and maintenance manual of the MVR
compressor.
2. Oil analysis report for particle counts, shape classi-
fication of wear particles, RDE and RFS, and FTIR
of used and new oil.
Authors Note:
The root cause was identified to be sealing air
supplied to the labyrinth shaft seal. As a result, the fog
generation stopped after removing the air supply, and
the oil leakage onto the slinger ring also stopped. The
survey for root cause of oil fog generation was success-
fully concluded, and the problem was determined to be
the sealing air that leaked into the gearbox through the
newly drilled hole.
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to express special thanks to Solges
president, Why Kim, for his sincere discussion and
support, and to K.J Lee, an engineer in charge of this
compressor for his support and help in field investigation.
Machinery Lubrication
CASE STUDY
Increasing Mean Time
Between Failure on Hydrogen
Reciprocating Compressors
BY JOHN GOBERT
n 2000, I was asked to take a position in a lubrication
I
program that the rotating equipment reliability (RER)
group of my company wanted to start. My background
included 30 years as a machinist, so this role would be a new
field of work to me.
After talking to the RER department supervisor, I accepted
the position. My supervisor let me know that he understood
that I would need the necessary training in this field and that
he would make sure Id receive this training. He also commu-
nicated that he knew little about this field and that it was my
responsibility to be able to set up and run the program.
Studying Failures
After attending school and receiving on-the-job training, I
began looking at a problem on our hydrogen reciprocating
compressors which had a history of failing every three to four
months. The biggest problem was that the valves were failing.
Every time the compressor valves came into the machine shop
after failure, they were caked with a gooey black substance. Of
course, this required the machine to be blanked and the unit to
cut back on production while waiting to be repaired.
Previously, we assumed that dirty hydrogen was the main
cause of these deposits. However, I considered the possibility that
it may be the cylinder oil causing this problem. I talked to the
vendor of this oil product and was told that it was not experi-
encing any problems of this nature; therefore, it shouldnt be a
problem with this oil. This oil was a full-synthetic product.
A Second Opinion
I then talked to our other oil vendor about what type of oil
he would recommend for this application. He recommended
one of his synthetic oils, which was a polyalphaolefin (PAO)
oil. I decided to make the change to this oil after consulting
with my RER group about the possibility of the oil causing
abnormal accumulation on the valves, forcing them to quit
working and, ultimately, halting the machine.
22 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
We switched to the different oil in the machine and, at the
same time, also changed to a different style valve. After oper-
ating this for more than a year, we pulled a couple of the valves
from the machine and found them to be so clean that you would
not even have to wash them to be able to reuse them.
Since that time, weve changed to this particular cylinder
oil in all of our hydrogen reciprocating compressors with
great success. Some of these machines have been operating
for more than two and a half years with no repairs. Needless
to say, this has been a great savings to our refinery in the
areas of labor, materials and lost production.
Savings
This case is just one example of many savings that weve been
able to achieve because of our in-house lubrication program.
This includes educating our employees throughout the refinery
on the importance of the lubricants that run our equipment.
They now understand that the lubricants are as important as the
blood in our bodies. They realize that it is the source of helping
machines to be in good working condition and the source to let
us know if processes are not going right.
Because of all the improvements and successes with our
lubrication program, the company supports our efforts
completely. I now have a co-worker working with me full
time, and weve bought some new high-tech equipment for
the laboratory. Weve set high goals for the coming year, and
I believe that we will continue to improve the program. I
highly recommend that operators of rotating equipment that
requires a lubricant start their own in-house lubrication
program. It can only improve the equipment performance
and improve the savings to the company.
About the Author
John Gobert retired as a lubrication analyst from Valero. He now works
as an equipment reliability specialist for The Hurt Company.
Machinery Lubrication
INDUSTRY FOCUS
Even Reliability Specialists
Need to Look Inward
BY MARTIN WILLIAMSON, KEW ENGINEERING LTD.
f you are preaching reliability, you have to practice relia-
I
bility, too. That may seem simplistic and a bit obvious, but
in the quest to promote reliability for the benefit of others, it
is easy to overlook internal issues.
One such example happened recently at AESSEAL plc, in
Rotherham, England. The seal manufacturer, AES, has
attracted a number of blue-chip clients, including major
petrochemical companies such as Dow Corning. These
clients are successful reliability leaders in their industry.
One particular client, the Cargill Group, has recognized AES as
a preferred supplier. AES has received several of Cargills supplier
awards. However, this leads to the following story. During a visit
to the seal manufacturer, one of Cargills senior managers ques-
tioned the lubrication practices within the factory.
Color-coded Sealed Containers
24 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
Reliability is a serious initiative at Cargill, and has been
addressed at many conferences and in numerous case
studies. Reliability engineers recognize the benefit of best
practices in lubrication management, addressing waste and
leakage control regarding lubricant usage in a sensitive envi-
ronment. More importantly, these engineers understand the
benefits of life extension for both the machine and its lubri-
cant. In addition, they see the fundamental link with
improved compliance in terms of health and safety, environ-
mental awareness, and energy savings.
With this in mind, during the visit to the seal manufac-
turer, the senior manager asked how lubrication was
managed within the manufacturing department.
This is the point at which I became involved. It is part of
my job to visit manufacturing facilities, and in the case of
AES, to observe its machining centers which utilize a range of
hydraulics, gear oils, greased components and coolants.
Because these fluids are often used in small quantities,
engineers and managers can overlook the importance of a
well-designed lubrication management program.
After visiting the seal manufacturer, I noted the following
recommendations:
Instigate the use of color-coded sealed containers.
Improve greasing practices and storage of grease and
grease tools.
Increase awareness of the importance of good house-
keeping related to fluids.
Set up a record-tracking system for monitoring fluid
usage and disposal as part of the ISO 14001 standard.
Provide better storage facilities.
Recommendations
These are brief recommendations made in the summary of
my report, discussed here to show how they would impact
Machinery Lubrication
 INDUSTRY FOCUS
the reliable manufacture of quality seals. The goal is to
ensure maximum uptime on the machining centers, with
minimal wastage and scrap to improve the yield; in other
words, to help maintain a high overall equipment efficiency
index by which many companies measure their performance.
Instigate the use of
color-coded sealed containers.
Consider an unmarked container of oil left open in the
manufacturing area.
What are the consequences of this action? These are the
possible outcomes:
1. The oil is accidentally used in the wrong part of the
system, cross-contaminating the existing fluid and leading
to lubricant and machine failure.
2. Because the oil is open, it is continuously subject to
contamination from the environment. At some point, it
will be poured into the machine, and could likely lead to
lubricant and machine failure.
3. The oil could get knocked off the part of the machine on
which it was placed. This creates a slip hazard in the walkway
area, along with a more obvious waste of the fluid.
All of these outcomes would halt production on that
machining center, creating an associated loss of income aside
from the repair and replacement costs. In outcomes 1 and 2,
there is also risk of poor product quality.
Using the color-coded resealable containers minimizes the
risk using wrong or contaminated oil.
Improve greasing practices and
storage of grease and grease tools.
Although the seal manufacturer took steps to minimize
grease contamination by using the tubes of grease, these
tubes and the accompanying grease guns should have been
stored in the lubricant storage area. This ensures control and
protection of lubricants from nearby work activities.
Grease Gun Storage
26 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
More importantly, though, the activity of greasing needs
to be properly scheduled along with the specified amount
(number of shots) required at each greasing point. This
serves to identify grease points. These should be tagged with
the appropriate interval and number of required shots.
It is all too easy to reduce the priority given to greasing
activity, but in the environment of machining and
cutting/coolant fluids, it is essential to ensure a regular
greasing schedule. This prevents the ingress of contamination
on the machining centers bearings and slides.
Increase awareness of the importance
of good housekeeping related to fluids.
This is accomplished by providing training and raising
awareness among operators, technicians, management and
contractors. It is a fundamental part of the successful inte-
gration of reliability improvements.
Set up a record-tracking system for monitoring
fluid usage and disposal as part of ISO 14001.
Many companies have an environmental policy, yet fail to
monitor exactly where their lubricants are being used.
Without such tracking in place, it would be impossible to
state (for audit purposes) what quantities of lubricants
purchased have been used for the following purposes:
oil changes
top-ups
flushing purposes
remain within the machine
proper disposal
post-spillage recovery
Such records can be valuable in a food and pharmaceuti-
cals production facility to assure clients of the strict controls.
However, it does necessitate recording basic information and
using metering systems in storage areas to track usage.
ISO 14001
ISO 14001 specifies the actual requirements for an environ-
mental management system. It applies to those environmental
aspects which the organization has control and over which it
can be expected to have an influence.
ISO 14001 is often seen as the cornerstone standard of the
ISO 14000 series. It is not only the most well-known of the ISO
14000 standards, but is the only one against which it is
currently possible to be certified by an external certification
authority. However, it does not itself state specific environ-
mental performance criteria.
For more information: http://www.iso14000-iso14001-
environmental-management.com/iso14001.htm.
Machinery Lubrication
Provide better storage facilities. nance budget, but the impact on the business can still be crip-
A quality storage area is essential because it is the hub of all pling to a companys performance and vision of reliability.
lubrication activities across the plant or factory. The kind of
details to look for when assessing standards include the About the Author
Martin Williamson has managed an oil analysis program in a mining envi-
following: ronment. His expertise is with oil analysis products in a variety of industries. He
1. Location and position of the store, especially with respect is currently managing director of KEW Engineering Ltd., a training and consul-
to ambient temperature and general protection from tancy service in maintenance and reliability, based in Chester, England.
ambient contamination.
2. General housekeeping. As a rule, the better
the housekeeping, the better the lubrication
management already in practice.
3. Clear, concise labeling of oils and greases
should include a first-used date.
4. Contamination control measures such as
breathers on oil drums, closed tops, filters
fitted to drum pumps, etc.
5. Storage of tools, fittings and consumables
such as cloths in a dust-free environment,
such as a cabinet or locker.
6. Health and safety aspects, including ease of
access with drum carts, handling of drums
and containers, and fire safety precautions.
7. Compliance to environmental issues and
the provision of material safety data sheets
(MSDS) and spill kits.
8. Any other information posted on the walls
with regard to good working practices.

Wrapping Up
In my observation of the seal manufacturers
lubrication practices, there was little to report
that was of concern, thanks to the efforts of the
lubrication technician. Overall, I was impressed
with the companys approach to lubrication. An
update shows that the company has communi-
cated with its staff the issues I raised. This is not
surprising, given their commitment to excellence
in serving their clients.
However, in summarizing this project, it
reminded me again how important a reliability
program is, no matter the industry involved or the
size of the facility. No matter how small the
throughput of lubricants is at a particular site,
there is always room for improvement. When
reviewing lubricant expenses, it may seem to be an
inconsequential amount in terms of the mainte-

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 27

CONTAMINATION CONTROL
Updating Your
Sealing Technology
BY HEINZ P. BLOCH, PROCESS MACHINERY CONSULTING
ast year, I traveled with my wife to Disneyworld in
L Florida. We spent a week avoiding winter weather in Iowa
- a vacation for ourselves this time, not tied to the grandkids.
Of course we love our grandchildren, but they wouldnt have
been excited to see some of the high-tech attractions three
times in a row while skipping Cinderellas Castle altogether.
Disney impressed us for reasons based on organization,
service and engineering.
We suffered through the minor annoyance of security lines
and having to remove our shoes at the Des Moines airport.
Although we passed the metal detector, we were reprimanded
because our maximum 3.5 ounce (100 gram) liquids were in a
one-gallon plastic bag, whereas the regulations clearly state
Cartridge Bearing Seals
Photo Courtesy of Isomag
28 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
that they must be in a one-quart plastic bag. Flying to
Orlando via Atlanta, our luggage arrived in Florida on a later
flight. That, however, was not a problem for Disneys highly
efficient in-airport service counter. They scanned the bar code
on our itinerary and we boarded an impeccably clean bus
waiting to take us to the Disney properties.
As promised, our luggage was later delivered to our room
without us having to make any further inquiries. The card
key to the hotel room was the same that admits guests and
visitors through the turnstiles into the various Disney loca-
tions. When using the card key for the first time, guests
insert their index finger into a small electronic fixture which,
thereafter, links the card key to just that one particular
guest. The same card key tracks food and other purchases.
Staff at any of the hundreds of the clean and well-run estab-
lishments and checkout counters can tell guests what
portion of their pre-payment is left, or the total tab accu-
mulated since their arrival.
At one of the Disney eateries, we overheard a conversation
between two of Disneys multitasking project-maintenance
engineers. The two gentlemen seemed knowledgeable and
informed in advanced electronics, hydraulics, mechanisms
and critically important human interface relationships with
others. It was evident that they had adapted new technolo-
gies long before their more conservative peers would reach
out for the opportunity. Which gets us to the point: Dont
knock Mickey Mouse. Learn from the successes of others. As
an example, in industries that move fluids, look for advance-
ments in mechanical sealing technology.
Mechanical Seals:
Still an Opportunity
Competent manufacturers of mechanical seals have
contributed to the uptime extension and component life
Machinery Lubrication
 CONTAMINATION CONTROL
upgrades realized by acknowledged best-of-class users. In the
field of process pumps, canned-motor configurations and
magnetic-drive models have occasionally replaced sealed,
conventional pumps. Also, seal life has improved and it is
thus doubtful whether the total yearly consumption of engi-
neered seals has seen a significant increase. Nevertheless, the
future is bright both for innovative seal manufacturers and
the knowledgeable, forward-looking seal users (KFSU). Lets
examine what should be the business approach for those
whom we would anticipate a bright future.
Failure Statistics Prove Revealing
In the late 1990s, the published mean-time-between-
failure (MTBF) rates for centrifugal pumps included 13
months at a U.S. pulp and paper plant, 17 months at an oil
refinery in Brazil, and 68 months at a U.S. oil refinery in
California. In the early 2000s, MTBF numbers in excess of
100 months were occasionally reported.1 This proves that
there is a wide range of MTBFs in industry. It also supports
the view that the selection strategies, installation practices
and troubleshooting methods of companies who always
operate in a business-as-usual approach vary greatly from
more progressive types.
At some of the less effective facilities, piping connected
to equipment nozzles is pulled into place with chain-falls
and other mechanical assistance devices. If a seal now fails
as a direct result of this unacceptable installation practice,
it is nevertheless assumed to be the fault of the seal. A
replacement seal is hastily installed, or an altogether
different seal type is tried. But even an advanced technology
seal will not survive bad installation practices.
That said, true KFSU companies will position themselves
to utilize advanced technology products while paying
considerable attention to risky work processes and bad
practices. Factors contributing to the unreliability of seals
and sealing systems will be emphasized by best-of-class
suppliers. The truly best suppliers will assist users with the
development of analytical and experience-based data
showing the negative impact of bad practices on bottom-
line financial performance.
Among the bad practices and unacceptable procedures
are ones that disregard judicious installation of piping,
baseplates, grout systems and the like. For its part, the user
community should view best-practices suppliers as their
consulting arm, and partnerships or alliances founded on
low-cost supplies alone should become a thing of the past.
30 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
Life-cycle Cost Studies
The lack of life-cycle cost data is often responsible for the
users reluctance to upgrade to better seals or superior
sealing systems. A business-as-usual attitude prevails in spite
of protests to the contrary, and lack of data is typically cited
in defense of this attitude.
But, just as a motivated user finds ways to come up with
reasonably accurate life-cycle statistics, a good KFSU
provides available data and offers requisite calculations to
his or her seal supplier(s). Life-cycle comparisons among
seemingly identical seals and pumping services will bring
installation and operation-related failures cost into proper
focus. Life-cycle cost studies will also show if and when
conventional centrifugal pumps equipped with properly
selected and meticulously installed state-of-the-art
mechanical and bearing protector seals exhibit bottom-line
cost advantages over many canned-motor and magnetic-
drive pumps.
The conscientious pursuit of life-cycle approaches allows
KFSUs to counter the greater run-length claims of some
manufacturers of seal-less pumps. The initial purchase price
and energy efficiency-related operating cost advantage of
certain conventional pumps will lead to new opportunities
for the traditional product.
Gas-lubricated Seals
The viability of gas-lubricated (dry) seals for certain
centrifugal compressor services has been established beyond
doubt. For pumps, best-of-class users are taking steps to
expand the application of gas seals into some services where
conventionally lubricated mechanical face seals have been
used previously. The trend toward gas seals in steam turbines,
which was started and cost-justified by Exxon Chemicals in
the late 1970s is almost certain to accelerate, as is the trend
toward using gas seals in some mixer services.2
Again, the function of a competent reliability professional
is to acquire an understanding of fluid processes and to
delineate and explain the bottom-line merits of available
advanced sealing technology. As mentioned earlier, both the
user and seal manufacturer will benefit from the consulting
relationship that develops along these lines.
Bearing Housing Seals
There is consensus among all reputable manufacturers of
rolling element bearings: Lubricant contamination is the
most frequent cause of bearing failures in the process indus-
tries. Every year, millions of these bearings reach only 10
Machinery Lubrication
percent of the calculated life anticipated for the loads and related analytical methods to determine and establish the
speeds at which they operate. Fully sealed (clean) bearing relative merits of competing sealing options. Competent seal
environments have allowed automotive and home refrigera- manufacturers accelerate these moves and assist the smaller,
tion systems to perform with high degrees of reliability. In less sophisticated users in performing these evaluations.
contrast, unreliability is often noted in process pump bear- These seal manufacturers support their efforts with statistics,
ings exposed to dust and water vapor. Avoidable failures thus checklists, installation procedures, operating guidelines,
still abound in many process pumps and their limited uptime troubleshooting know-how and consulting services.
has proven expensive to the process industry.
Most centrifugal pumps are considered as
simple fluid machines when compared to the
complex and highly reliable aircraft jet
engine. This fact highlights marvelous
opportunities for the KFSU. The use of
advanced bearing housing seals for the
millions of pump bearing housings alone can
create value for both users and manufac-
turers. Long-term testing by a major
manufacturer of centrifugal pumps has
confirmed the feasibility and cost-effective-
ness of utilizing face-type, narrow-width
mechanical seals in lieu of lip seals,
stationary labyrinth seals and old-style
rotor-stator labyrinth seals.
Consider that if axial movement or opera-
tion at speeds below lift-off were to occur in
modern, advanced rotating labyrinth seals,
the dynamic O-ring would contact a gener-
ously dimensioned contoured surface. Tests
show that O-rings in these modern bearing
protector seals will degrade much slower
than the design in which the O-ring contacts
the groove. The moral of the story: Envision
how parts operate, then buy wisely.
It is also worthy to note that, when used in
conjunction with simple sight glasses, best-
available-technology bearing housing seals
eliminate the need for constant-level lubrica-
tors and breather vents. The exclusion of
atmospheric contaminants greatly extends
lubricant life and makes it economical to use
the more expensive, elevated-temperature
tolerant polyalphaolefin and diester synthetic
hydrocarbon lubricants. 1, 3

Where Seal Users and

Manufacturers are Headed
Progressively, more of the leading users of
fluid machinery will use life-cycle costing and

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 31

 CONTAMINATION CONTROL
It has been theorized that the application of state-of-the-art
seals and seal flush plans to conventional centrifugal pumps will
slow down the rate of growth of seal-less pumps. In any event,
the choice between canned-motor and magnetic-drive pumps
on the one hand and conventional centrifugal pumps on the
other hand must be governed by economics. However, to be
valid, these comparisons must be made for conventional pumps
with the best sealing technology, not the cheapest seals. Using
this approach, conventional pumps with superior seals will often
win out against all competition. Think about it, then buy wisely.
Using this logical premise, gas seals and advanced bearing
protector seals will undoubtedly take the place of conven-
tional or just cheap fluid seals, and the many inadequate
attempts at bearing protection will be sorted out.4 Users will
seek out the consulting input of competent seal manufac-
turers and show no reluctance in paying the price justly
commanded by high performance. A few high-class manu-
facturers will understand the shift in thinking and establish
themselves as the providers of high value. If progressive
companies such as Walt Disney can use these smart-thinking
processes, so can the process industries.
32 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
About the Author
Heinz Bloch currently works as a consultant for Process
Machinery Consulting. He has extensive experience in
machine reliability and is widely regarded as an authority on
the subject. Heinz is the author of more than 400 technical
papers and similar publications. He has written 17 books on
practical machinery management and oil-mist lubrication
published by major engineering publishers which have been
used for lectures and consulting assignments internationally.
To learn more, visit www.heinzbloch.com.
References
1. Heinz P. Bloch and Alan Budris. Pump Users Handbook: Life
Extension, 2nd Edition Fairmont Press, Lilburn, Georgia, 2006.
2. Heinz P. Bloch and H.G. Elliott. Mechanical Seals In Medium-Pressure
Steam Turbines. Lubrication Engineering, November 1985.
3. Heinz P. Bloch. Better Bearing Housing Seals Prevent Costly Machinery
Failures. World Pumps, December 1993.
4. Heinz P. Bloch. Counting Interventions Instead of MTBF.
Hydrocarbon Processing, October 2007.
Machinery Lubrication
PRODUCT IDEAS
Drain Valve Gear Oil Exchange
The Ultramat (UFM-T) zero air-loss condensate drain valve is designed The Sage Oil Vac fluid change system is for tall applications
to open only when necessary and to close before any loss of compressed such as wind turbine lubrication. The new Oil Vac unit features
air can occur, according to manufacturer Donaldson include: 390-gallon used oil tank, 390-gallon new oil tank,
Company. The products unique internal reser- immersion heater for new fluid tank, fluid pump to deliver new
voir and flow channels reduce the possibility oil up to the gearbox, and 300-foot hoses for the transport of
of blockage and minimize fouling of the new and used oil. The system performs four to six oil changes
drain valve seat. Features include a rigid before refilling, and delivers ISO 320 viscosity grade gear oil at
corrosion-resistant housing, silent opera- four to six gallons (15 to 22 liters) per minute.
tion, a condensate level sensor and an
ergonomic design. The valve is electroni- Sage Oil Vac
cally controlled and self-monitored for www.sageoilvac.com
operation faults. 877-OIL-VACS
Donaldson Company
www.donaldson.com
info@donaldson.com
800-543-3634

Aerosol Grease Pressure Transmitter

The 880 Crown and Chassis aerosol, manufactured by the Texas
Refinery Corporation, has excellent extreme pressure qualities and a
Timken OK Load rating of 100 pounds minimum. It is water-resistant and
protects metal surfaces against rusting, corroding and seizing. It resists
balling up in front of a bearing shaft, which lubricates the complete shaft
and bearing and avoids dry spots.
The grease can be used whether
the surface to be lubricated
turns, slides or has an oscil-
lating motion in trenching,
construction, industry and
water pump bearings.
Texas Refinery Corporation
www.texasrefinery.com
Lube1@texasrefinery.com
800-827-0711
Stauff Corporation introduces a new line of pressure transmitters
that use a thin film sensor for pressure measurements. They have an
all-welded thin film measuring cell that eliminates the need for
additional soft sealing which can deteriorate over time, making it
suitable for mobile and other severe service applications. Features
include: a thin film sensor; stainless-steel wetted parts; pressure
ranges of 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 PSI; high stability; short-circuit
output and suppressor diode for high-voltage applications;
and high-pressure steam washdown protection. It is
temperature compensated and protected
against reverse polarity.
Stauff Corporation
www.stauffusa.com
201-444-7800

Gear Lubricant
Dylon LB-447 SYNEPOIL is a family of ISO-grade lubricants for
Lubricant Spray heavily loaded industrial gears and bearings. They are formulated with
Miller-Stephenson has formulated DuPont Krytox GPL Oil into 8- and
14-ounce aerosols. They are nonflammable and provide an easy solution antiwear and R&O additives and are combined with a high laod-
for lubricating hard-to-reach places carrying synthetic base stock. The lubricants reduce frictional losses
with pinpoint accuracy. The low surface and have a low coefficient
tension of the solvent carries the oil into of friction at 0.12 microns
tight crevices. This GPL oil has a wide (), which decreases oper-
operating temperature range (-33 to ating temperature and
500F), is chemically inert, and is insol- reduces wear on bearing
uble in hydrocarbons, water, steam and surfaces. Other features
solvents. Compatible with plastics, include low-temperature
elastomers, metals and ceramics. fluidity, resistance to sludge
Oxygen compatible. Low vapor pres- formation, and improved
sure and low outgassing. The spray is
cleanliness.
nonmigrating and contains no silicone.
Dylon Industries Inc.
Miller-Stephenson Chemical Company www.dylon.com
www.miller-stephenson.com 800-237-8246
support@miller-stephenson.com
800-992-2424

34 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication

PRODUCT REVIEW
X
Examining an
Oil Purification System
BY PAUL JARVIS AND DON THOMPSON, OILKLEEN INTERNATIONAL INC.
his article presents, in laymans terms, information
T regarding a high-speed electrostatic kidney-loop system,
designed to remove submicron particles and other foreign
matter (varnish) from lubricating fluids. It is a culmination
of more than 30 years of research and development, on-site
beta testing, and trial and error, and it has resulted in seven
electrostatic filter patents.
The problem in promoting electrostatic filtration stems
from the lack of understanding of electrostatic principles. It
is a complicated subject that encompasses a combination of
physics, chemistry and math.
Increasing the number of sharp edges of
the contamination particles can increase the
amount of collected material, thus making
the electrostatic oil cleaner more efficient.
Electrostatic Laws
Electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with a
phenomenon arising from the existence of electric charges.
These charges do not move, for they are static. There are a
number of laws associated with electrostatics. One of the
most important is Coulombs Law. The principle of
Coulombs Law is a fundamental law of nature, which
describes the force between charged objects.
Charge is a basic property of matter. Every constituent of
matter has an electric charge with a value that can be posi-
tive, negative or zero. For example, electrons are negatively
charged and atomic nuclei are positively charged. Most bulk
matter has an equal amount of positive and negative charge,
and thus, has a zero net charge.
36 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
Electrostatic Oil Cleaner
The key to maintaining an efficient and effective electro-
static oil filtration system is the product of several
coordinated essentials. These include electric field strength,
the number of electrostatic fields, flow rate, electrode
surface area, and chargeable contamination collection
media. The challenge is to manage all the essentials for
optimal performance and results, and make them work in
unison. Lets explain how these essential keys work.
Flow Rate
If the flow rate is too fast, you could lose efficiency, and
vice versa; if the flow rate is too slow, you might not remove
oxidation and foreign contamination material as fast as the
lubrication system creates it. Its a simple formula: if the elec-
trostatic oil cleaner removes insoluble foreign material faster
than the lubrication system makes it, then it is a clean system.
If not, then the lube oil will oxidize as if there was no electro-
static oil cleaner there, and this creates problems.
Electric Field Strength
To remove contamination particles and oxidation by-
product molecules from oil, you must have a strong electric
field. This electric field charges the contamination particles,
pulls them out of the oil, delivers them to the collection
media and bonds them to the sharp edges of that media.
Once again, if the electric field is too low, the electrostatic oil
cleaner will not remove the contamination particles before
the oil has left the electrostatic field.
This means the particle was not removed, and the system
pumped the contamination back into the lube oil reservoir.
This is an example of poor efficiency, or a phenomenon
known as pushing particles. If charged particles are not
removed by a collection media in the electrostatic field, then
by the laws of electrostatics, that particle now carries a
Machinery Lubrication
 PRODUCT REVIEW
charge inside the oil. It will, therefore, attract and agglom-
erate with other oppositely charged particles.
In the laws of physics, this means that the contamination
particles in the system will grow throughout the lubrication
system equally. These particles will eventually get large
enough to lodge in the tight tolerances of the system compo-
nents. It is important to note that the electric field strength
must be high enough to draw the contamination particles
from viscous oil while in the electrostatic field. All foreign
contamination removal in true electrostatic oil cleaners will
occur in the electrostatic field, and the contamination will be
removed by the collection media.
Electrostatic Field
When two objects in
proximity have different
electrical charges, an elec-
trostatic field exists
between them. An object
is negatively charged (-) if
Figure 1. Electrostatic Field it has an excess of elec-
trons relative to its surroundings. An object is positively charged
(+) if it is deficient in electrons with respect to its surroundings.
This is important because the foreign material and contamina-
tion particles which form varnish are small. They are so small
that they actually form an insoluble molecule.
The reason electrostatic oil cleaners can remove oxidation
by-products and submicron contamination is that even a
molecule can take an electric charge in the electrostatic field
and then bond to the collection media. Inside a true electro-
static oil cleaner, everything happens inside the electrostatic
field. This means that every insoluble foreign contamination
particle is removed inside this field, and there is no particle
being charged and released back to the oil.
Figure 2. Reduction in Varnish and Oxidation Levels
Figure 3. Before ISO Code 20/19/17 Figure 4. After ISO Code 9/5/1
38 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
Number of Electrostatic Fields
Society believes that there is strength in numbers, that
more is better. For once in the laws of electrostatic principles,
this holds true. If there are 16 electrostatic fields versus one
electrostatic field, then the higher number will remove more
submicron foreign contamination particles.
This one is easy to explain: If a person was a molecule and
had to run through one electrostatic field without getting
caught in the collection media, he might make it with enough
force or velocity. However, even with increased force and
velocity, his chances to make it through 16 electrostatic fields
without getting caught are cut to 1/16th.
Electrode Surface Area
Electrode surface area is critical in electrostatic oil cleaners
because this can make the electrostatic field larger. Its
simple: If you have large high-voltage and negative plates, you
will have a large electrostatic field. If you have only two
points, much like a spark plug, then you have a small electro-
static field. So in this case, size does matter; the larger the
electrode surface area, the larger the electrostatic field is.
Chargeable Media
Weve discussed the chargeable contamination collection
media and how it relates to the electrostatic field. If the elec-
trostatic oil cleaner had no collection media, it would simply
charge particles and then put them back into the reservoir.
There would be no noticeable removal of fluid contamination.
Now that were familiar with the laws of physics regarding
electrostatic principles, you can see why the collection media
is important. A durable collection media is necessary to with-
stand the chemistry of lubrication oil and the contamination
particles which have countless numbers of sharp edges. These
sharp edges are the target of the charged molecules once they
become excited inside the electrostatic field.
Increasing the number of sharp edges can increase the
amount of collected material, thus making the electrostatic oil
cleaner more efficient. Unlike mechanical filters, where a brand
new filter has the highest efficiency when it comes out of the box,
electrostatic oil cleaners become more efficient as they collect
material. The material forces the collection media to take on a
charge and attract more contamination. The contamination in
the oil will aggressively keep attracting and bonding to the media
until there is enough collected material to increase the electrical
current high enough to trigger an alarm.
Once the system alarms, replace the removable collection
cartridge. The process then starts all over again. This is
important because in this situation, the electrostatic oil
cleaner becomes more efficient the longer it runs, as long as
Machinery Lubrication
the voltage and the electric field strength remain the same. If Summary
the collected material increases and the voltage drops, then Introducing new technology is difficult because most of us are
the electrostatic oil cleaner is losing efficiency. resistant to change. These electrostatic filter claims of efficiency
had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and the scientists
Kidney-loop Fluid and engineers questioned their own lab reports. We understand
Purification System their concerns. If for years your lab reports never showed anything
Electrostatic filtration is not a new technology. For years, it below an ISO code 14/12/09 and then suddenly revealed a
has been used to remove airborne contaminants. A limited 09/04/00, that would certainly be cause for concern.
number of oil electrostatic filter designs have
been developed, but some fulfill only limited
requirements. Removing submicron particles
and other foreign matter from oil is difficult.
Years of electrostatic R&D, on-site field testing,
and experimentation with different oils
provided the authors with useful information.

Case Study No. 1

We gathered real-time data from an OILK-
LEEN electrostatic unit that was being tested at
a paper mill for 10 months. In one 15-day
period, this unit (operating 24/7) collected
more than seven pounds of contamination and
foreign matter from a 1,000-gallon hydraulic
system. A majority of the material was oxida-
tion by-products (varnish). The seven pounds
of contamination was contained in a single
foreign matter-collection cartridge. ISO codes
during the testing period continually remained
below 10/04/00. At the end of the 10 months,
it was discovered that this method of electro-
static charging had actually stripped the
oxidation and varnish from the interior
surfaces of the system.

Case Study No. 2

Information from a GE Frame 7EA field
study was collected to show how varnish and
oxidation levels were removed in less than seven
days. The electrostatic oil cleaner was put on
the reservoir in a kidney-loop configuration. An
independent lab performed a varnish potential
rating test for the gas turbine customer, and
determined it was an 85 VPR and had a high
ISO particle count of 20/19/17. After seven days
with the electrostatic oil cleaner, this VPR rating
dropped to 3 VPR and the ISO particle count
was 9/5/1. A microscopic photo analysis shows
the particle count reduction (Figures 3 and 4).
Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 39
LIT RACK
The Vaisala HUMICAP Hand-held Meter MM70
measures moisture and temperature in oil. Ball valve
provides direct insertion into a pressurized pipe or
vessel no waiting for lab results! Graphical display,
data logging and transfer to PC. Compatible with most
types of oil and hydraulic fluid.
www.vaisala.com/MM70
instruments@vaisala.com
888-VAISALA (824-7252)
Easy Vac, Inc. provides the right tool for an
important job! Vampire fluid sampling pumps ...
small, hand-operated vacuum pumps accept any
size sampling tube (with an OD of 3/16 inch to
5/16 inch) without changing filters. Super Clean
sampling containers, tubing and accessories are
also available.
www.easyvac.com 865-691-7510
A new full-color 104-page catalog is available on
Oil-Rites lubrication equipment featuring PurgeX
Centralized Lubrication Systems. Complete turnkey
systems are available for immediate delivery, liquid
or grease delivery, air or electric motor-operated.
The catalog also features an entire line of level
gauges, lubricators, valves, vent plugs and filters.
www.oilrite.com 920-682-6173
40 September - October 2008
A2 Technologies has developed fully portable
(FTIR) spectrometers for lubrication analysis. The
PAL Series (Portable Analyzers for Lubrication)
provides an immediate snapshot of parameters
that define the health of a lubricant. Effectively
measure water, oxidation and additive depletion
on-site in less than a minute!
www.a2technologies.com 203-312-1100
vlopez@a2technologies.com
High Velocity Oil Flushing is critical to equip-
ment reliability. As the leading flush contractor in
the country, COT-PURITECH provides turnkey
programs to manage your entire oil flush project.
From High Velocity Flushing to Varnish Removal
Services, COT-PURITECH sales engineers will
work with you to develop a reliability program
specifically for you.
COT-PURITECH
sales@cot-puritech.com/ www.cot-puritech.com
888-478-6996
LEs NSF H1 food-grade lubricants offer
improved productivity and lower maintenance costs
through extended equipment life and greater relia-
bility. Discover how to increase your food plants
profits by protecting your equipment with LE
Enhanced Lubricants.
www.le-inc.com 800-537-7683
www.machinerylubrication.com
The OILMISER Reservoir Aspirator has two unidi-
rectional passageways in one body, a vertical airway,
called the Inflow Control Gate, and a second
passageway called the Exhaust Control Outlet port.
Air can only enter the reservoir in one direction.
Contaminated internal air cannot back-flow through
the air breather. Internal fumes and gasses can only exit
the reservoir through the secondary pipe port, and
vented in a safe and remote location.
JLM Systems Limited
www.oilmiser.com
E-mail : info@oilmiser.com
Herguth Laboratories is an ISO 9001:2000
quality supplier of analytical services with
proven competencies in analyzing oil, fuel,
grease, tribological and special investigations.
Quality programs include: 10CFR50 Part 21
Appendix B, Radioactive Licensed, ISO
9001:2000, PhD Research Associates, CLS,
OMA I and II Certified.
www.herguth.com
800-OIL-LABS (645-5227)
Earthkeeper, Whitmores complete line of
high-performance, biodegradable lubricants,
meets or exceeds industry standards and protects
your valuable equipment while protecting the envi-
ronment. The Earthkeeper family includes
hydraulic oil, bearing grease, gear oil and lubricants
for industrial chains, wire ropes and open gears.
Earthkeeper will be available Fall 2008!
www.whitmores.com 800-699-6318
Machinery Lubrication
 Lubrication management and bearing reliability
with ultrasound. UE Systems new Ultraprobe
10,000 provides total data management, trending
and spectral analysis. Alarm reports can create
lubrication schedules or report failed bearings. For
information: e-mail: info@uesystems.com
www.uesystems.com 800-223-1325

Krytox Fluorinated Greases and Oils are

chemically inert, insoluble in common
solvents.Temperatures range -103 to 800F.
Compatible with plastics, rubber, ceramics and
metals. Nonflammable, oxygen compatible, no
silicones or hydrocarbons. H-1/ H-2 Food Grades
available.
Miller-Stephenson Chemical Company, Inc.
www.miller-stephenson.com 203-743-4447

Now available for download or as streaming

video for $99. This DVD includes instructive
videos and animations to give viewers a better
understanding of electric motor bearings and
how to lubricate them properly.
Noria Corporation
www.noria.com/secure 800-597-5460

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 41

CASE STUDY

Oil Analysis and

Lubricant Management
Prove Successful
BY BILL GUYNES, LUBRICATION ENGINEERS, INC.

outhern Champion Tray Company is a manufacturer and
S printer of food containers. The firm was motivated to
change its oil analysis and lubricant management programs
after company personnel were introduced to Noria
Corporations Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT)
training. This case study chronicles how plant personnel
made important changes after oil analysis reflected high
contamination levels.
press circulating oil. The company installed desiccant breathers
on all of its hydraulic systems, with quick-disconnects and
sample ports, then added an off-line filtration cart (kidney
system) with 12- and six-micron filtration. From a philosophical
standpoint, the plant veered away from using time as an oil
change interval. Instead, it utilized condition monitoring with
the help of the Lubrication Engineers Analysis Program (LEAP).

Solving the Problem

Southern Champion Tray made a proactive decision to imple-
ment a filtration process. Two targets were selected for
improvement: the balers hydraulic systems and the printing

Figure 2. Site Glass to Check for Water

Figure 3. Breather Keeps Contamination

Figure 1. Fluid Analysis Report and Water Out of System

42 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication

 CASE STUDY
Before, oil analysis showed that system lubricant (an ISO-
46 product) was in good condition but highly contaminated.
The filtration measures improved the lubricant from an ISO
cleanliness level of 22/20/17 to 18/15/11; this is essentially
32 times cleaner oil. A higher level of cleanliness is expected
when the site begins to implement six-micron to three-micron
filters on the filter cart.
Results of the Case Study
One of the benefits of the work completed was that lubri-
cant consumption was reduced by 75 percent. Southern
Champion Trays efforts completely solved the problem of
having to use time-based drains on these units. Before, the
plant was changing oil annually. Now, it changes oil every five
years or longer. Time to failure is now more than five times
longer before a failure is anticipated. And, disposal costs
were cut by 75 percent.
Figure 4. Breather Keeps Paper
Dust Out of Gearbox
Figure 5. Clean Oil Storage
44 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
To monitor the programs progress, the plant has used
on-site visual inspections, infrared thermography and oil
analysis.
The real costs of implementing the improvements included:
Filtration costs, including off-line system, $3,396
Site glasses for units, $302
LEAP (oil analysis), $295
The total cost to implement the changes were $3,993. Add
in labor costs of $18 per hour for two hours and the grand
total was $4,029.
From a technical perspective, no special skills were
involved in this project, other than sizing the filtration to the
equipment.
Making it Happen
At first, the implementation team was resistant to
change because team members didnt fully understand the
benefits that would be realized at their level. Management
wanted to know what kind of a return on investment was
possible, and when those returns would be noticed. The
work and data supplied by plant engineer David Leathers
and the author helped push the programs through those
potential roadblocks.
Return on investment (ROI) came at the first oil change
not needed, or four months after implementation.
Contamination control served a significant role in
achieving savings and benefits. It was of utmost importance
in achieving the target of extended drain intervals without
compromising equipment life. The contamination level
before the improvements was 22/20/17. The current level is
18/15/11. Breathers were incorporated at the fill port.
Figure 6. Oil Storage Before Cleanup
Machinery Lubrication
 The LEAP program (laboratory service) included particle
count along with spectroanalysis. A full report showed
particle count, viscosity, water and acid, along with all addi-
tive and wear metals. The program provided assistance
through online and on-site programs in reading and under-
standing the oil analysis results.
Besides the work of David Leathers and suppliers,
program success was the result of integrated lubrication and
oil analysis with other maintenance technologies. As the units
are checked and hours of operation recorded, personnel take
oil samples and visually inspect the machines. Units are
checked using thermographic techniques as added insurance
that nothing is out of line.
Lessons Learned
Looking back, the plant admits it would have done a few
things differently. It would have communicated to everyone
in the plant what benefits would be achieved by imple-
menting the different filtration units. It would have done a
better job from the onset to make everyone as knowledgeable
as those in the engineering department.
Machinery Lubrication
About the Companies
More information about Southern Champion Tray can be found
at www.sctray.com. To learn more about Lubrication Engineers, visit
www.le-inc.com.
Get Your Employees Trained
Machinery Lubrication I and II is a certification series that
provides powerful training for maintenance and reliability
professionals. Course information can be found at
www.noria.com/training.
Become Certified
The International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) is
a vendor-neutral, not-for-profit organization founded to facilitate
growth and development of machine lubrication as a technical
field of endeavor. Among its various activities, ICML offers skill
certification testing for individuals in the fields of machine condi-
tion monitoring, lubrication and oil analysis.
ICML is an independently chartered organization consisting
of both paid professional staff members and volunteer advi-
sors. For more information: www.lubecouncil.org or
info@lubecouncil.org.
www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 45
BOOKSTORE

Lubrication Fundamentals
Welcome to Machinery Lubrications Bookstore, designed to spotlight
Publisher: Marcel Dekker
lubrication-related books. For a complete listing of books of interest to
Price: $119.95
lubrication professionals, check out the Boostore at www.noria.com.
Thoroughly updated
and rewritten since the
Machinery Oil Analysis - Methods, previous edition reached
its 10th printing, the
Automation & Benefits NEW! UPDATED second edition of
Publisher: STLE FOR 2008! Lubrication Fundamentals
Price: $165.00
contains a new chapter
The book uniquely presents the entire philosophy and practice of oil
dedicated to the refining
analysis as a condition monitoring tool for machines. This in-depth
process, highlighting the
analysis describes the what, when, where and how-to for: machinery lubrication concepts;
machinery failure and maintenance concepts; machinery, fluid and filtration failure modes; latest technology and
pil sampling and testing; and statistical analysis and data interpretation. detailed descriptions of base stocks; coverage of
hydraulic systems, novel environmental lubricants and
Synthetics, Mineral Oils, and Bio-Based current lubricant testing methods; an examination of
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Lubricants: Chemistry and Technology selection and product formulation and evaluation; and
Publisher: CRC Press more.
Price: $224.00 There is a free bonus package when you order
In a single, unique volume, Synthetics, Mineral Oils, and Bio- this item.
Based Lubricants offers property and performance information
of fluids, theoretical and practical background to
their current applications, and strong indicators for The Practical Handbook of
global market trends that will influence the industry
Machinery Lubrication
for years to come.
Author: L. Leugner
Price: $70.00
Oil Analysis If you want to establish yourself as the lubrication expert
in your company, this book is a must-read. Once you pick it
Basics up, you wont put it down until youve finished it. Its that
Publisher: Noria Corporation
easy to read.
Price: $40.00
Written by the editors How to Grease a Motor Bearing
of Practicing Oil Analysis Format: DVD
magazine, Jim Fitch and Publisher: Noria Corporation
Drew Troyer, this book is a Price: $595.00
great resource for anyone involved in oil analysis or Discover how to reduce bearing failures and
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Oil Analysis Basics makes oil analysis for machinery Introducing the first DVD of Norias new Reliable
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For descriptions, complete table of contents and excerpts from these and
other lubrication-related books, and to order online, visit:
www.noria.com or call 1-800-597-5460, ext. 104
46 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication
NLGI UPDATE
REACH A U.S. Perspective on
Chemical Control Legislation
BY ALLAN JEMI-ALADE, AFTON CHEMICAL CORPORATION
he clock is ticking down for North American companies
T that export chemicals to the European Union (EU). The
six-month window for the preregistration phase of the
REACH chemical control legislation started on June 1.
Companies exporting at least one metric ton (MT) of a chem-
ical substance to the EU need to take urgent actions if they
have not already done so. REACH requires that all chemical
substances manufactured in the EU or imported to the EU at
quantities of at least one MT be registered (see sidebar).
Preregistration
Although there are some exemptions, almost all lubricants
and additives are caught in the preregistration and registra-
tion requirements. In order to carry out a preregistration, a
company must have an EU-based company submit the neces-
sary information to the European Chemicals Agency.
Lubricants can contain as many as 20 to 30 chemical
substances, each of which may need to be preregistered sepa-
rately. By carrying out the preregistration, companies gain an
additional two to 9.5 years, depending on volume and
hazard, to complete the registration phase.
Information Exchange Forum
The European Chemicals Agency does not charge fees for
preregistration; however, fees for registration can be as high
as $47,500 for a high-volume (greater than 1,000 MT/year)
substance. Different companies that preregister the same
substance will be placed in a Substance Information
Exchange Forum (SIEF). One SIEF will be formed per
substance. The purpose of the SIEF is to exchange toxicolog-
ical/ecotoxicological data and to agree on the hazard
classification for each substance.
Options for Compliance
North American lubricant manufacturers and formulators
have a number of options to ensure that they comply with the
48 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
REACH requirements upon preregistration. If they know the full
formulations down to substance level of the products they
export to the EU, then they could communicate this to their EU
importer(s) and ask them to complete the preregistration.
If the importer(s) are unable or unwilling to carry out the
preregistration, then it may be possible to appoint an Only
Representative. This could be an EU affiliate of the North
American exporter or another company willing to take on the
REACH duties that the importer(s) would otherwise have to
perform.
Alternatively, if the full compositions of the products are not
known and are unlikely to be disclosed by suppliers (usually due
to trade secrecy reasons), then the lubricant manufacturer
should consider requesting his supplier to carry out the preregis-
tration via the suppliers Only Representative. If the supplier
agrees to do this, then his Only Representative will be required
to be informed of the annual volume of his product that the
lubricant manufacturer is exporting to the EU and also the
names of the EU importers.
If lubricant manufacturers cannot establish that the
substances in their products will be preregistered, then they may
have to consider blending their product within the EU using EU-
sourced ingredients. This allows the lubricant manufacturers to
claim downstream user status, which alleviates the need to
preregister the substances in their products because this will be
carried out by the upstream EU suppliers.
REACH is a hard-hitting piece of legislation, and one that
many companies thought would never happen. However, the
fact is that it has been enacted and implementation is well under
way. Noncompliance with REACH can result in penalties such as
fines and removal of a product from the EU market.
For More Information
Doing nothing is not an option nor a defense. For further information,
contact your trade association or the European Chemicals Agency Web
site, http://echa.europa.eu/home_en.asp. The deadline of December 1,
2008 is fast approaching.
Machinery Lubrication
 European Union Promote alternative methods for the assess-
The EU is comprised Ireland ment of hazards of substances.
of 27 independent Italy Ensure the free circulation of substances on
states. Member states Latvia the internal market of the EU.
include: Lithuania
Austria Luxembourg European Chemicals
Malta
Belgium
Netherlands Agency
Bulgaria The agency, ECHA, located in Helsinki,
Poland
Cyprus Portugal Finland, manages the registration, evaluation,
Czech Republic Romania authorization and restriction processes for chem-
Denmark Slovakia ical substances to ensure consistency across the
Estonia Slovenia
EU. These REACH processes are designed to
Finland Spain
France Sweden provide additional information on chemicals, to
Germany United Kingdom ensure their safe use, and to ensure competitive-
Greece of Great Britain and ness of the European industry.
Hungary Northern Ireland
Agencys Mission
What is REACH? The mission of ECHA is to:
REACH is the regulation for Registration, Manage and carry out technical, scientific and
Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of administrative aspects of REACH.
Chemicals. It entered into force on June 1, 2007
Ensure consistency at the community level in
to streamline and improve the former legislative
relation to these aspects.
framework on chemicals of the EU. The regula-
Provide the EU member states and the institu-
tion places greater responsibility on industry to
manage the risks that chemicals may pose to tions of the community with the best possible
health and the environment. scientific and technical advice on questions
relating to chemicals which fall under REACH.
Objectives Manage IT-based guidance documents, tools
The aims of REACH are to:
and data bases.
Improve the protection of human health and
the environment from the risks posed by Support national helpdesk and run a helpdesk
chemicals. for registrants.
Enhance the competitiveness of the EU chemicals Make information on chemicals publicly
industry, a key sector for the economy of the EU. accessible.

Machinery Lubrication www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 49

CERTIFICATION NEWS
The Benefits of
Certifying Personnel
BY SUZY JAMIESON, ICML
here has been much discussion in the industry lately
T regarding the upcoming ISO 18436 standard series on
training and certification of condition monitoring (CM)
personnel. Many managers are eagerly awaiting the publishing
of these standards to defer to ISO certification of their personnel
for matters related to skill assessment of the CM staff.
The ISO 18436 series specifies the requirements for assess-
ment bodies, training bodies and procedures for qualification
and assessment of personnel who perform machinery condition
monitoring and diagnostics.
Part 18436-4 on qualification and assessment
of lubricant analysis field personnel has just
been approved as a standard for publishing
after the successful final round of voting.
While these upcoming standards are indeed a milestone
in industry and quite overdue, it is necessary to understand
the intent of these standards, as well as the limitations. This
will enable industry to optimize the use of such standards
and avoid being misled by false representation of such
ISO certification.
On this note, it is also important to explain that series
18436 has been renamed from training and certification to
qualification and assessment. As seen in predefined ISO
nomenclature, the use of certification would have been
understood as third-party certification only.
Developing Standards
The main function of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is to develop and publish international
standards. It does not have the function of certifying compli-
ance with such standards nor of accrediting such
certification. Based on that, neither an individual nor an
50 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
organization can properly claim to be ISO certified. However,
among the standards which ISO has developed and
published is the ISO/IEC 17000 series of standards which
specify requirements for all kinds of bodies which perform
such certification and accreditation functions.
Included in these standards (and especially in ISO/IEC
17030 which deals with third-party marks of conformity) are
requirements about what may and what may not be written
on certificates and (by implication) on letterheads, business
cards etc. In particular, any use of the phrase ISO certified
would be inconsistent with those requirements.
Different accreditation bodies in ISO member countries
are not likely to develop arrangements for the accreditation
of certification bodies certifying to the ISO 18436 series as
early, as quickly or as universally as industry may desire. As an
example, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
does not offer accreditation of certifying bodies as to their
compliance with technical standards such as the 18436
series. Even those accreditation bodies most likely to offer
such a service will have much work to do before they are in a
position which they can attempt such an endeavor.
It is also not a function of ISO to negotiate with represen-
tatives of certification bodies and accreditation bodies about
how they should proceed toward implementing the stan-
dards which ISO produces. ISO can encourage and facilitate
such negotiations, but these need to be more directly
conducted by those who are interested in using the standard.
That is why it is so important for end users of this standard
series - the industry practitioners putting their CM personnel
through training and certification to understand the
requirements outlined in the standards series when choosing
a training or certifying body with which to work.
Published Standards
There are several parts of 18436 already available as
published standards with other parts soon to follow. Part
Machinery Lubrication
18436-4 on qualification and assessment of lubricant
analysis field personnel has just been approved as a standard
for publishing after the successful final round of voting. Part
18436-5 on qualification and assessment of laboratory-
based lubricant analysis personnel is expected to move
through the different stages of voting quickly.
Certification of one part of ISO 18436 does not automat-
ically infer or imply accreditation and/or certification of
another part of ISO 18436. Each part, or body of knowledge,
of ISO 18436 stands alone. Therefore, any certificate must
state the specific part of ISO 18436 that is applicable.
Applicants should seek verification from any person or
organization claiming compliance or accreditation to ISO
18436 by requesting documented proof of such claims,
particularly where compliance to the body of knowledge
parts of ISO 18436 is either stated, implied or inferred.
ISO TC/108/SC5, the subcommittee on condition moni-
toring and diagnostics of machines, which is responsible for
generating the standard series 18436, intends to publish a
technical document expanding on the concepts discussed
herein in hopes to clarify such issues to the general public and
optimize the usage of the 18436 series.
Machinery Lubrication
For More Information
For more information about any of the 18436 series standards or how
to participate in the development of ISO standards, visit www.iso.org or e-
mail info@lubecouncil.org and the author will be glad to direct your
comments and inquiries to SC5s secretariat. For more information on
certification of oil analysis and machinery lubrication personnel or ICML
in general, visit www.lubecouncil.org.
About ICML
The International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) is a
vendor-neutral, not-for-profit organization founded to facilitate growth
and development of machine lubrication as a technical field of endeavor.
Among its various activities, ICML offers skill certification testing for
individuals in the fields of machine condition monitoring, lubrication
and oil analysis.
ICML is an independently chartered organization consisting of both
paid professional staff members and volunteer advisors. It provides lubri-
cation and oil analysis standard development support, scholarship,
skill-based testing and certification, and recognition of excellence.
Need to take an exam?
ICML regularly holds exam sessions throughout the United States and
the world. Upcoming dates and locations for ICML exams can be found
at www.lubecouncil.org
www.machinerylubrication.com September - October 2008 51
BACK PAGE BASICS
Extreme Pressure
Additives in Gear Oils
JEREMY WRIGHT
n most slow, highly loaded, geared applications, there
I
exists a lubricating condition that is typical for most fail-
ures due to adhesive wear. This condition is known as a
boundary condition. In a boundary condition, there is no
separation of the interacting surfaces. The function of an
extreme pressure (EP) additive is to prevent this adhesive
wear and protect the components when the lubricating oil
can no longer provide the necessary film thickness.
How It Works
EP additives are polar molecules. Imagine a molecule
having a head and a tail. The head of the molecule is
attracted to the metal surface, while the tail is compatible
with the lubricant carrier (oiliofilic). As the conditions under
which metal-to metal interactions become more severe due
to higher temperatures and pressures (greater loads), the
lubricant film becomes more stressed. The distance between
the metal surfaces has decreased to the point where rubbing
is occurring and welding (adhesion) becomes highly likely.
Traditional boundary lubrication additives do not remain
on the metal surface and cannot prevent the increasing fric-
tion, wear and damage to the machinery seen under these
conditions. Extreme pressure additives are required in order
to enable the specific application operating under these
conditions to continue.
There are two main types of EP additives, those that are
temperature-dependent, and those that are not. The most
common temperature-dependent types include boron, chlorine,
phosphorus and sulfur. They are activated by reacting with the
metal surface when the temperatures are elevated due to the
extreme pressure. The chemical reaction between the additive
and metal surface is driven by the heat produced from friction.
Much like when you rub your hands together, as the metal
surfaces come in contact with one another, there is heat
generated by means of friction and pressure. In reacting with
the metal surface, these additive types form new compounds
52 September - October 2008 www.machinerylubrication.com
such as iron chlorides, iron phosphides and iron sulfides
(dependent upon which compound is used). The metal salts
produce a chemical (soap-like) film that acts as a barrier to
reduce friction, wear and metal scoring, and eliminate the
possibility of welding.
The nontemperature-dependent, overbased sulfonate,
operates by a different mechanism. It contains a colloidal
carbonate salt dispersed within the sulfonate. During the
interaction with iron, the colloidal carbonate forms a film
that can act as a barrier between metal surfaces, much like
the temperature-dependent; however, it does not need the
elevated temperatures to start the reaction.
Basically, EP additives serve as your protection from wear
when the lubricant itself can no longer separate the working
surfaces. You can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that
you have specified a lubricant with EP where it is needed.
Or have you?
About the Author
Jeremy Wrights role as senior technical consultant for Noria Reliability
Solutions (NRS) has him furthering his skills as a lubrication specialist by
teaching on-site seminars for a variety of clients and conducting
Lubrication Process Design (LPD) consulting services for several industries.
Jeremy is a certified Machinery Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level I and
Level II and Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT) Level I by the
International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML). In addition, he
is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) by the
Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP). Contact
Jeremy at jwright@noria.com.
Reference
N. Canter. Additives for Metalworking Fluids. Tribology Data
Handbook, edited by E. Richard Booser, p. 862-871. 1997.
Would You Like to Contribute?
Are you a technical expert? We want to publish your lubrication
article in Machinery Lubrication. To submit a technical article,
review the guidelines at www.machinerylubrication.com and send
article to jkucera@noria.com.
Machinery Lubrication