Deterioration/Degradation Analysis

Deterioration/Degradation is one of the main causes of failure. Deterioration/Degradation analysis from various viewpoints is effective for considering methods to reduce deterioration/degradation and to prevent failures in advance.

Analysis of lubricant deterioration

The engine lubricants play an important role in lubrication, cooling, cleaning, and rust prevention for vehicles, construction machinery, ships, airplanes, and other equipment with internal combustion engines. If the lubricant deteriorates, the lubrication performance will deteriorate and the inside of the engine will wear, leading to a decrease in service life and malfunction. Lubricants deteriorate due to decomposition and chemical changes of oil components and additives caused by physical and thermal factors, and contaminants such as metal wear particles and fuel. Therefore, it is recommended that a analyze the deterioration of lubricant using the various analyzers to determine the timing of oil change and engine maintenance. ASTM International Standards in the United States specify a method for evaluating the deterioration of lubricants from various parameters. In this work, we introduced the analysis and evaluation of lubricant deterioration, contamination, wear, and additives by an analysis method based on ASTM standards using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), Gas chromatograph (GC), and Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES).