Level III Course Outline
Base Oil Fundamentals
- How mineral base oil groups compare on 9 criteria
- How synthetic oils compare to mineral oils
- Advantages and disadvantages of common synthetic lubricants
- How wear and friction control additives work
- The role of fatty acids, AW and EP lubrication films
Understanding and Analyzing Machine Wear
- 16 factors that cause changes in wear debris concentrations
- Effects of water on bearings
- 31 factors leading to abnormal engine wear
- How to enhance the detection of abnormal wear particle trends
- One simple technique to help you detect faults earlier
- Review of technologies used to analyze wear debris
- Particle size sensitivities of wear particle technologies
- Comparison of laboratory emission spectrometers
- How wear particle size influences spectrometric analysis
- How to determine the severity of a wear problem
- How to evaluate lock-step trends
- How to normalize for makeup oil
- Potential sources of metals in oil
- Best applications for elemental analysis of wear metals
- Advantages and disadvantages of analytical ferrography
- How filtergrams compare to ferrograms
- How to characterize particle composition by visual inspection
- Shape features of common wear particles
- Common machine wear mechanisms and how to identify them
- 11 sources of spherical wear particles and how to identify them
- How to recognize wear zones in gearing
Integrating Oil Analysis with Vibration Analysis
- Failure detection zones of oil versus vibration analysis
- Where oil and vibration analysis overlap
- Strengths and weaknesses of oil and vibration analysis on detecting 13 machine problems
- Combining vibration with wear debris analysis for bearing failure analysis
Fluid Properties Analysis
- How viscosity index impacts an oils ability to lubricate
- Best practices for onsite viscosity analysis
- 4 root causes of oxidation and why they are important
- The role of antioxidants and how they work
- 5 indicators of oil oxidation
- How to measure oxidation stability
- How acid numbers trend with different types of oils
- Machine diagnostics using neutralization numbers
- Detecting base oil oxidation with FTIR
- Strengths and weaknesses of FTIR
- How sludge and varnish are formed and how to detect
- Recommendations for a new lubricant testing plan
Additive Depletion
- 14 ways additives are depleted from oil
- How to detect depletion of 10 common additives
- How to find additive date on an oil analysis report
Contamination Analysis
- 5 ways to count and size particles
- Monitoring dust and dirt contamination by elemental analysis
- Tests for high soot load and fuel contamination
- How defoamants work and how they are depleted
- 16 water ingression sources
- 6 additives that are attacked by water contamination and results of each
- Machine effects of water-related problems
- Review of water detection technologies
- How to detect glycol in crankcase oil
Grease Analysis
- Methods for sampling grease
- Common used grease tests and what they measure
- 7 grease performance concerns and how to test
- How grease properties change due to incompatible mixtures
Onsite Oil Analysis Options
- How to integrate onsite with offsite oil analysis
- How to prepare a filter patch for particle contamination assessment
- Review of onsite viscometry, FTIR and particle counter options
- Small, medium and large budgets for an onsite lab: what to buy
- Tips for designing an onsite lab space
Designing an Oil Analysis Program
- How to select candidate machines for oil analysis
- 4 steps to optimizing interval-based oil changes
- Considerations for condition-based oil changes
- Factors influencing oil sampling frequencies
- Tips on working with an offsite lab
- 5 applications for goal-based limits
- How aging limits signal the approaching end of useful oil life
- 4 applications for rate-of-change limits
- Interpreting elemental trends using level limits
Cost Benefit Analysis
- 7 cost-saving areas for quantifying benefits
- Estimating the value of a predictive maintenance “save”
- Estimating annual savings per machine
- 3 project evaluation decision tools
- How to track your program: lubrication KPI’s
World-class Maintenance Philosophies
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Five prevailing features of world-class maintenance programs
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The 80:20 rule for maintenance
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Three successful elements of a CBM program
Introduction to Machinery Lubrication
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Oil formulation and its importance in effective machinery lubrication
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Six key functions of lubricating oils
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Three primary lubrication regimes
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Introduction to base oils and additives
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Choosing the correct base-stock
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Conditions that dictate use of synthetic oils
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Antioxidant additives and their role in oil life
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Dispersants and detergents – the key to controlling soot
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Controlling wear with additive chemistry
Oil Analysis Fundamentals
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Interpreting the language your oil is speaking
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Prevailing myths about oil analysis
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Common applications for sampling and analysis
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Three categories of oil analysis
Oil Sampling – The Very Best Practices
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11 elements of a successful oil analysis program
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How clean should sample bottles be?
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How to find the best sampling locations
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Sampling valves and hardware recommendations
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A quick method for optimizing sampling intervals
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The importance of primary and secondary sampling points
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How to properly sample circulating systems
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Safe, effective high-pressure sampling from hydraulic systems
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Best practices for sampling splash-, collar-, and ring-lubricated systems
Fluid Properties Analysis
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Four common root causes of oil degradation
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Recognizing and controlling oil oxidation
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Monitoring lubricant degradation using acid number
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Monitoring lubricant health using FTIR
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Determining oil life using RPVOT
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Recognizing and controlling thermal failure
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How to recognize additive depletion or degradation
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Using paper chromatography (blotter spot test) to detect additive and base oil degradation
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Four ways to detect the addition of wrong oil
Contamination Control and Proactive Maintenance
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Seven common contaminants
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Oil cleanliness and oil life extension benefits
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Using the ISO Solid Contamination Code
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Proactive maintenance in three easy steps
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Case studies for proactive maintenance
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Oil filter and breather recommendations
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Portable filtration carts – three ways to use them
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Setting targets for oil cleanliness
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Detecting and controlling moisture contamination
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Selecting moisture removal/filtration methods
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The effects of heat on lubricants
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Controlling air entrainment and foam
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Glycol contamination
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Dealing with soot
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Understanding fuel contamination
Fault Detection and Wear Particle Analysis
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How wear metals are measured using RDE and ICP spectrometers
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Measuring larger particles with Rotrode Filter spectroscopy
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Using ferrous density to determine the severity of a wear problem
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Using analytical ferrography for advanced fault detection
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Using ferrography for root cause analysis
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Four primary sources of friction in lubricated machinery
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The 10 wear mechanisms that reduce machine life
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The most common wear modes in plain, rolling element, and thrust bearings
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Understanding gear wear
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Understanding wear in hydraulic systems
Instrument Free On-site Tests
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How to inspect vents and breathers
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Tips for effective sight glass inspection
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Getting valuable information from used filters
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Inspecting reservoirs for clues about lube trouble
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Scenting lubricants to find problems
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Getting visual clues from the oil sample before mailing it out
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Getting into particle analysis for under $100
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Turn your kitchen blender into a test for demulsibility and foam tendency
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Screening for water with a simple hot plate
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How an unwanted business card can reveal oil degradation
Interactive Case Studies Workshop
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Individual and group participation in problem-solving exercises
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Exercises in how to read an oil analysis report