SPECTROSCOPY IN ENGINE LUBRICANT EXAMINATION

Abstract

USERS of diesel locomotives and other costly i.c. engined plant have made use, in recent years, of the spectrograph for regular examination of samples of used oil from their engines. This instrument enables rapid tests to be carried out to ascertain the percentage of oil additive elements, wear products and other foreign material present. When records are kept, comparisons enable any impending trouble causing or likely to cause degradation of the lubricating properties of the oil, to be spotted before damage occurs. Whilst leading railway companies (e.g. British Transport) and similar large industrial concerns, all over the world, have found this method most valuable, not every company who could make use of this equipment is familiar with methods of spectrograph analysis of used lubricating oils. These methods, with practical examples are described in this article.

Citation

(1966), "SPECTROSCOPY IN ENGINE LUBRICANT EXAMINATION", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 18 No. 9, pp. 11-13. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb052805