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1ST ASIAN MINING CONGRESS
16-18 January, 2006, Kolkata, India
The Mining Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India (MGMI), Centenary 
VARIOUS ASPECTS OF OIL AND ITS ANALYSIS
S. G. Sajay Kumar*
 ABSTRACT 
 A lubricant is the heart of the machine. There is innumerable number of moving parts in a machine.The gaps between these rotating parts are very often no more than a few thousandths of an inch. It isthis lubricating oil that maintains these gaps safely in order to prevent severe wear between thesemating parts. The author has discussed the service category and performance characteristics of enginedifferent oils and their development, besides scheduled oil sampling, contamination control, storageand handling of fresh oil and root cause of failure analysis of a machine break down. In the conclusionit has been observed that to achieve significant financial as well as quality gain one has to implementan aggressive proactive maintenance techniques along with effective contamination control programme.
*GMMCO Ltd. Chennai
INTRODUCTION
A “good oil” lubricates various components in amachine and strengthens the life of the machinery.A “bad oil” acts as a honing material instead of alubricant.Before going into the details of a” good oil” and a“bad oil” let us first understand oil certification process,symbols, performance standards and many othertechniques and concepts.
LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION
Performance requirements, test methods and limitsare cooperatively established by vehicle and/or enginemanufacturers (
AAMA, EMA
) and InternationalLubrication Standardization & Approval committee(
ILSAC
) and technical committees like American Societyfor Testing and Materials (
ASTM
), Society of AutomotiveEngineers (
SAE
) and American Petroleum Institute (
API
).The API Engine Oil Licensing and CertificationSystem is an oil labeling program that provides a basisfor selecting and recommending an engine oil for bothgasoline and diesel engines.Symbols displayed in the oil container and a seriesof letters, numbers etc.·Consumers can understand the service categoryand performance characteristics of an engine oil.Now, let us see what these symbols mean:The top describes the oil’s performance levelThe center describes the oil’s viscosity
 
SAE15W40
 
642Various Aspects of Oil and its Analysis 
The letter
“
C
”
followed by another letter and/ornumber refers to oil suitable for one or more types of dieselengines
“
C
”
stands for commercial or compression-ignitionThe second letter is generally assigned alphabeticallyin order of development
HISTORY OF DIESEL ENGINE OIL
CA
 – 
Obsolete
 – 
for light duty engines (1940
’
s &1950
’
s)CB
 – 
Obsolete
 – 
for moderate duty engines (1949to 1960)CC
 – 
Obsolete
 – 
For engines introduced in 1961CD
 – 
Obsolete
 – 
Introduced in 1955. For certainnaturally aspirated and certain turbochargedengines.( Repalced by CF oils)CD II
 – 
Obsolete - Introduced in 1987. For twostroke cycle engines ( replaced by CF-2 oils)CE
 – 
Obsolete
 – 
Introduced in 1990. For highspeed, four stroke, naturally aspirated andturbocharged engines (replaced by CF-4oils)
CF – 4 oil
CF
 – 
4 oils are suitable for high performance,four-stroke naturally aspirated andturbocharged diesel enginesIntended to supercede
CE
engine oils
CG – 4 oil
Suitable for use in high speed, four strokediesel enginesHigh way & off-highwayIntended to supercede CD, CE & CF-4 oilSpecifically compounded for use with dieselcontent less than 0.5%
CH – 4 oil
Effective Dec 1, 1998For severe duty diesel engine serviceDesigned to meet 1998 exhaust emissionstandardsSpecifically compounded for use with dieselcontent upto 0.5%Specifically designed to sustain enginedurability under adverse applications thatmay stressWear control, high temp. stability, soothandling capacity, non ferrous corrosion,oxidative thickening, viscosity loss due tohigh shear
OEM BRANDED OIL
All of us are aware that a lubricant is the heart of themachine. There is innumerable number of moving partsin a machine. The gaps between these rotating parts arevery often no more than a few thousandths of an inch. Itis this lubricating oil that maintains these gaps safelyseparated in order to prevent severe wear between thesemating parts.Nothing affects the performance and durability of amachine more than the lubricating oil. Right type oflubricant, proper grade of lubricant, change of lubricantand filter at recommended intervals are of utmostimportance for better reliability and performance of amachine. A machine
’
s lubricating oil requirement can bebest recommended by the original equipmentmanufacturer(OEM). Nobody other than the OEM knowsthe compatibility between the machine parts and itslubricating oil. OEM branded oils or OEM recommendedoils must always be used in order to achieve optimumperformance as well as component lives.There are plenty of examples where it was found thatwrong oil or cheaper oil or improper grade of oil is themain culprit for catastrophic failure of machines.Consequently, the owner has to incur huge losses. Theowner tried to achieve savings by using cheap oil andultimately, landed up with immense loss, productivity loss,consequential damages, higher repair cost etc. Hence,the owner must not compromise with the life of themachine using cheap oil. This may be explained with thefollowing example:
 
S. G. Sajay Kumar643 
CommerCommerCATPerformanceTestcialcialDEOrequirementsCG-4CH-4CH-4
CAT 3406ECAT SpecialEndurance TestCAT C-12CAT SpecialEndurance TestCAT 3500CAT SpecialSeries TestPiston deposits1Pand oil controlRing andT-9liner wearAeration controlEOATValve train wear,M-11HSTsludge, oil filterpluggingViscosity increaseT-8, T-8Efrom sootPiston deposits1N, 1Kand oil controlCam roller followerRFWTpin wearOxidationSeq. 3ECopper, lead,CBTtin corrosionFoaming controlASTM FoamBearing corrosionL-38ViscosityBosch Inj.shear loss
From the above example, it may be concluded thatCaterpillar oil always exceeds the commercialperformance level given any particular grade. So, it isalways advisable to use OEM branded lubricants.
OIL CHANGE INTERVAL
Once the oil is inside the machine, it will break down.But how fast? That depends on many parameters:operating practices, environment at the site, temperature,humidity and above all, chemistry of the oil. Hence, theoil cannot last for ever. It needs to be changed at specificintervals recommended by the OEM. Oil drain periodcannot be extended without any basis. Inside the machine,the oil is exposed to temperature, air, humidity & pressure
 – 
ideal condition for breakdown of the oil. Additivedepletion and breakdown of base oil are the first twoprimary steps for oil degradation. These parameters mustbe monitored carefully before any decision on oil changeinterval is taken. Let us examine these effects in detail:Additive depletion: Antiwear additives, antioxidants,rust inhibitors, viscosity index improvers, detergents &dispersants will be exhausted quicklyBase oil: Once the additives are lost, the base oilcannot sustain long under such a condition. It willbreakdown, lubricity will be lost and wear & tear willincrease at a significant rate.The metal surface is not so smooth as we see withnaked eyes. Picture below shows the highly polishedsurface of a metal seen under a scanning electronmicroscope with 150 times magnification. This signifiesthe importance of lubrication and oil change period:
Surface of a metal seen under a scanning electron
microscope 150Xmagnification
SCHEDULED OIL SAMPLING
In any wear process, wear particles are generated.These particles are suspended in the lubricant and canbe analysed quantitatively if proper methods are followed.This is known as scheduled oil sampling analysis (SOS)wear particles analysis or wear debris analysis (WDA).These oil samples are analysed at seheduled interval oftime, eg., 250 hours sampling interval for engine orcrankcase oil and 500 hours interval for hydraulic,transmission, differential oil.There are three distinct stages of wear for anyequipment:
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