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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

LUBRICATING OIL SYSTEM

Fig. below shows a lubricating oil system for a large main engine. Pressure pumps,
strainers and fine filters are in duplicate, one set being used while the other acts as
standby. Fine filters should be capable of being cleaned without interruption of the oil
flow. Mesh size will depend upon the bearing materials and clearances: in most large
engines it is 50 microns. Capacity of the system must be adequate for the type of
installation. If the engine has oil-cooled pistons the capacity and throughput will be
increased accordingly.

Lubricating oil pressure pumps draw oil from the engine drain tank through suction
strainers, the tank suction being clear of the lowest point to avoid picking up any water
or sludge which may have settled. The pumps discharge at pressure through the oil
cooler, ensuring that sea water at its lower pressure cannot leak into the oil system in
the event of a fault in the cooler. The oil then passes through the fine filters to the
engine. It will be distributed to all bearings, piston cooling, sprayers, exhaust valve
actuators, control systems etc.

Various sections of the lubricating system may require different pressures and to
accommodate this engine driven booster pumps may raise the supply pressure, while
pressure reducing valves and restricted orifices may reduce pressure or flow to other
parts.

Used oil drains to the bottom of the crankcase and passes through strainers by gravity
to the drain tank. Drain returns are kept remote from the pump suction and must be
submerged to reduce aeration and to make a safe seal. With oil-cooled pistons each
piston oil return has its temperature monitored and it then passes through a sight glass
before returning to the crankcase.

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Singapore Polytechnic
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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

The oil drain tank is usually built into the ship's double bottom but it must be
surrounded by a coffer dam to prevent any contamination from leakages. It is fitted with
an air vent, level measuring gauge and sounding pipe. Central positioning of the level
gauge will reduce fluctuation in readings due to pitching and rolling at sea. The tank
must be of sufficient size to accommodate the full charge of oil. Its interior surfaces may
be coated to prevent rusting due to condensation on its non-flooded surfaces. The
system should also have low pressure, high temperature and low tank level alarms
fitted.

Centrifugal Purification of Lubricating Oils Systems

Lubricating oil purifiers for diesel or turbine lubrication plants are normally arranged to
operate on the continuous bypass system. In this system oil is drawn from the engine
sump or drain tank by the purifier feed pump, delivered through a heater to the purifier
at 70-90°C, then discharged after purification by the purifier discharge pump to the
engine sump or main lubricating pump suction.

The system layout may vary slightly depending upon the engine arrangement, etc.,
but undoubtedly the best possible arrangement for the continuous bypass purification of
lubricating oil is to take oil for the purifier from a point in the lubrication plant where the
oil has passed through the engine, had time to settle, and therefore should be at its
dirtiest. Then deliver the purified oil adjacent to the suction for the main lubricating oil
pump.

Generally the layout of piping, tanks, etc., for the purifier permits operation on the
batch system of purification if desired. In the batch system, the contents of the engine
drain tank or sump would be discharged to a dirty oil tank and the drain tank or sump
would be replenished with clean or new oil. The lubricating oil in the dirty oil tank can
then be purified at leisure. It is most important that water content in the oil is eliminated
or kept to a minimum.

Adjusting Lube oil purifier for optimum purification

Fig. below shows the variation of throughput rate of lubricating oil continuously
bypassed to the purifier against the quantity of impurities in the system. The optimum
purifier throughput rate is approximately one third of the maximum purifier
throughput rate and it should be capable of dealing with the system oil content about
twice every 24 hours. Maximum throughput rate would be used in the event of
massive water contamination of the lubricating oil.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

Under normal operation it is recommended that after shutting down the main engine
the purifier should be kept running for about 12 hours in order to minimise corrosion due
to acid vapours condensing as the engine cools down.

Detergent Oils

Water washing of detergent lubricating oil must not be carried out otherwise excessive
depletion of detergent additives will occur, in addition, emulsion troubles may be
created.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

Shipboard Lubricating Oil Tests

Qualitative oil test carried out on board ship do not give a complete and
accurate picture of the condition of the oil, this could only be obtained in a
laboratory. However, they do give good enough indication of the condition of
the oil to enable the engineer to decide when the oil should be replaced, or if
some alteration in the cleaning procedure is considered necessary.

Tests for alkalinity, dispersiveness, contamination, water and viscosity are

usual.

Samples of oil analysis should be taken from the main supply line just
before entry into the engine since it is the condition of the oil being supplied
to the engine that is of the greatest importance.

Alkalinity Test
A drop of indicator solution is placed on to blotting paper and this is
followed by a drop of ' sample oil placed at the centre of the drop of
absorbed indicator. A colour change takes place in the area surrounding the
oil spot, if it is red - acid, if blue/green - alkaline, if yellow / green - neutral .

Dispersiveness, Contamination, and Water

A drop of oil is placed on to blotting paper and the shape colour &
distribution of colour of the spot gives indication of oil condition. An
irregular shape indicates water is present.
A uniform distribution of contaminants indicates good dispersiveness. If they
are concentrated at the centre of the oil spot, dispersiveness is poor. If the
colour of the spot is black, heavy contamination is the cause.

Viscosity Test
Four equal sued drops of oil, one used, one of the same grade unused, one
with viscosity higher than and one with viscosity lower than the unused oil
are placed in a line along the edge of an aluminium plate.
When sufficient time has elapsed so that they are all at room temperature
the plate is inclined from the horizontal and when one of the oils has run
down about 7.5 cm the plate is returned to the horizontal.
By comparing the distances travelled by the sample of used oil with the
three reference oils an estimate of viscosity is possible. Obviously, if the
distances travelled by used and unused oils of the all grades are equal there
is no change in viscosity.
If the viscosity is reduced this could be due to dilution by distillate fuel.
Heavy contamination due to carbon and oxidation would cause the viscosity
to increase, as would contamination by heavy fuel oil. If variations in
Viscosity of 30% from initial Viscosity are encountered the oil should he
renewed.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

Crackle Test for Water in Oil

If a sample of oil in a test tube is heated, any water droplets in the sample
will cause a crackling noise due to the formation of steam bubbles--this test
gives indication of small amounts of water being present. A simple settling
test would be sufficient to detect large quantities of water in the oil.

Question:

AS a Chief engineer of a container vessel on a busy schedule, justify the

need for “regular” lubricating oil analysis and “Spectrographic Analysis" of
lubricating oil discussing the significance of such analysis in the
maintenance of engines and system oil.

Answer:
Lubricating Oil Analysis- A Health Check for a) system Oil and b)
diesel engine

GOOD LUBRICATION, that is, the prevention of metal to metal contact, is an

essential part of the modern high performance combustion engine.
Preventing excessive wear and aiding in cooling, the lubricating oil within an
engine should be considered as one of its most important components.
Unfortunately, as with most precision parts, there are many factors which
can effect smooth operation and lead to degraded performance and a
shorter working life, both for the oil itself and for other major parts, leading
to greater running expenses and maintenance costs.
There is therefore great benefit in a method of investigating the internal
state of a main engine, gearbox or hydraulic system which obviates the
necessity of physically opening the system and removing components for
inspection. Lubricating oil analysis can provide this benefit. This procedure
involves a regular analysis of the various properties of a sample of
lubricating oil with testing for water, fuel and other impurities. A major
advantage of this, is that when combined as part of an overall engine
monitoring and planned maintenance system, a reasonable picture of what
is going on within an engine (e.g. component wear rate) may be built up
over time and remedial steps taken to prevent failure. This can result in
significant savings on repair costs and subsequently unplanned downtime.
Also, the oil need only be changed when necessary rather than at specific
time intervals, so providing an additional cost benefit.

To know whether lubricating oil is suitable for further use involves

the following tests:

Viscosity:
This is a measurement of the thickness of the oil or its ‘resistance to flow’.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

By maintaining the oil at its correct viscosity level, friction and wear are
prevented whilst avoiding overheating or drag in the machinery.

Flashpoint:
Changes in the flashpoint or ignition temperature of the oil can indicate
dilution by another fluid, usually fuel, and may indicate potentially serious
internal leakages.

Water:
The presence of water within the lubricating oil can be indicative of
component failure or wear and can lead to serious failure if not checked.

TBN (Total Base Number):

The TBN indicates the alkalinity of the oil and its ability to neutralise acidic
compounds (usually the products of combustion).

Insolubles:
These insoluble particles (e.g. carbon) are usually products of combustion
and can be indicative of engine wear and combustion efficiency.

Acidity:
A test of how much an oil has deteriorated in service due to the detection of
the weak organic acids which form over time as the oil oxidises. More
commonly used for units which do not have combustion products, such as
hydraulics, turbines, compressors and gearboxes.

Initial pH:
Linked to the TBN and/or acidity it is a measure of the acidity or alkali
concentration of the oil.

Spectrographic analysis to check wear and tear of engine :

The accurate measure of elements which are virtually soluble in oil. This can
determine if there has been oil contamination, or when monitoring for
trends, can indicate component wear by identifying the metals involved and
the most likely source of origin.
Common elements which may be identified by sampling and the possible
sources of the contamination from within the machinery are given in table
below.

Uncertainty about the actual source of several elements is often

unavoidable. This can be readily understood by considering some typical
examples of most likely sources of certain elements in terms of engine
moving parts, associated systems (coolers, pumps, and pipework),
contamination and oil composition.

Aluminiu Pistons, bearings, gears, housings and fuel

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

m
Carbon Fuel and cylinder liners
Piston rings, hydraulic actuator cylinders
Chromium
and piston rods
Copper Bearings and oil coolers
Cylinders, piston rings, rotating shafts and
Iron
gears
Lead Bearings
Manganes
Cylinders
e
Molybden
Piston rings
um
Nickel Bearings, valves, gear plating and fuel
Silicon Dirt, fuel and oil additive
Silver Bearings
Sodium Salt water, antifreeze additive and fuel
Tin Bearings
Vanadium Fuel

Whilst individual analysis results can be useful it is the trend analysis which
is of particular value when implementing preventive maintenance and
minimising downtime. The analysis results may be depicted in a graphical
form to show the trends over a period of time and several samples, such as
in the example below.

Limitations of spectrographic analysis

• Large marine diesel lubrication systems do not lend themselves easily
to preventive machinery maintenance by spectrographic analysis of
the lubricant. Their circuits include centrifuges and self-cleaning type
filters capable of removing many of the metal particles which
generally are indicative of and instrumental in identifying surfaces in
distress. Moreover, oil make-up procedures, oil change practices where
applicable, and even system capacity can have a profound effect on
the levels of metals observed in the oil at any one time.

• Preventive maintenance requires a broad base of frequent and regular

data correlating metallic elements content to verified wear conditions
of the machinery. The value of metals monitoring for preventive
maintenance rapidly declines with decreasing oil sampling frequency.
The frequency typical of routine sampling of lubricants in service
provides for adequate lubricant quality control in terms of its physical
and chemical characteristics. It is, however, too low for preventive
machinery maintenance based on metallic elements content.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

Guidelines to Interpretation of System Oil Analysis Results

CHANGES FROM TYPICAL CONDITIONS

TEST
REASONS REMEDIES

Flash Point Decrease means fuel dilution. • Stop source of fuel ingress.
• Change oil, partially or totally.*
Viscosity Kinematic Increase may be due to high insolubles • Apply intensive centrifuging to the
content, oil charge to remove excess
oxidation, water contamination, admixture insolubles or water.
with • Change oil, partially or totally.*
higher viscosity fuel or lubricant.
Decrease may be due to water
contamination,
admixture with lower viscosity fuel or
lubricant.
Neutralization Number Increase means higher content of weak • Change oil, partially or totally.*
organic
acids due to oxidation.
Initial pH Value Increase means admixture with alkaline- • Correct leaking pistons or rod glands
type oil. • Discontinue manual addition of
Decrease means onset of acidic conditions. cylinder oil drainings or other slop
-Total Acid Number Increase means higher content of total oils to the system
acids present, largely weak acids. • Water wash the oil charge or change
-Strong Acid Number Indicates strong inorganic acids which can to alkaline system oil.
be corrosive.
Base Number Increase points to admixture with a highly • Correct engine malfunction (e.g. poor
alkaline oil. combustion, overcooling) and
Decrease may be due to increased acidity remove source of water ingress (e.g.
from combustion or continuous water cooling water leaks or at centrifuge.
ingress • Change oil, partially or totally.*

Water Content Indicates ingress due to leakages or • Stop source of water ingress.
condensation • Apply intensive centrifuging to the
Chlorides Indicates nature of the water, fresh or salt, oil charge to remove water (fresh).
and assists in determining source of • Water wash oil (if not alkaline) when
ingress. chlorides are present.

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Topic : Lubricating oil purification and testing

Insolubles Increase of Heptane insolubles is due to • Apply intensive centrifuging to the

-in Heptane higher total solids content, essentially oil charge
--in Toluene removable by centrifuging. • Change oil, partially or totally.*
Note: The difference between Heptane and
Toluene insolubles is a measure of
oxidation of the lubricant.

Before any partial or total oil change, seek advice from your oil supplier representative.

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