FreshAir wrote:
Tom, Could you please enlighten me as to what kind of equipment and expertise is required to perform an oil analysis. I envision a spotless room of Chem. Engineers clad in white lab coats feeding oil samples into mass spectrometers and jotting down figures while bent over electron microscopes.
I'm sure this is not the case and would greatly appreciate it if you could clear this up for me with a brief overview of what a typical analysis shop consists of and it's operation.
Thank's
Pat
PS, sorry if this has been explained in a previous post.
FreshAir,
You're describing a medical lab. Though most oil analysis labs are similar in nature, they are not under such tight controls as those doing blood analysis, forensic pathology, cancer research, etc. Chemists are usually in charge of lab operation, test calibration, etc. but the actual test operators typically are not chemists. Oh, and typically oil analysis lab personnel aren't as "good looking" as the ones on TV (CSI, Bones, CSI Miami, etc.).
Tests are run in accordance with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) procedures. Typical tests are ICP (Inductive Coupled Plasma) for wear, contamination, and additive metals. Viscosmeters for viscosity at 100C. Contaminants by GC (Gas Chromotography) and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red). Total Acid Number (TAN) and/or Total Base Number (TBN) for titration of KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) and Oxidation/Nitration by FTIR. Condemning limits are set based on an historical database of like equipment and like oils.
I personally have great respect for what oil analysis can do and used it everytime I ran a field test for Allison.
Hope this helps!!
