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3 - Water Contamination in Oil Dec12 - 0
3 - Water Contamination in Oil Dec12 - 0
Introduction
Do you dare let this happen to your components?
Water is widely considered as the second most destructive contamination to a lube system, after
particulate contamination. This article will focus on how water exists in oil, the effects of water on oil
and lube systems and measurement of water amount in oil, as well as setting alarm targets for water
levels in oil.
Figure 1 shows the visible difference between dissolved, emulsified and free water within oil
samples.
Emulsified Water
Dissolved Water
Free Water
Figure 2: Saturation curve for a typical turbine lube oil (graph from Noria Corp)
Effect on Oil
Physical
Higher viscosity
Reduced load carrying ability
Chemical
Effect on machinery
Based on a study by Cantley in 1977, it is estimated that bearing life can be extended by a factor of
five if the oil contains only 25 ppm water compared to 400 ppm, close to the oil saturation level at a
test temperature of 150F.
Figure 3 shows the adaptation of Cantleys findings and the strong correlation between water
content and relative bearing life.
Figure 3: The relationship between Relative Bearing Life and Water Content in Oil
(graph from Noria Corp)
Figure 4 illustrates Relative Wear Rates for similar systems running with different amounts of water
in oil. It shows that component wear rate directly correlates with the water content in the oil.
Figure 4: Relative wear rate vs. test time (graph from Noria Corp)
2. Laboratory
2.1 Karl Fischer Method
One of the more accurate water tests, able to measure as low as 10 ppm of water in oil, but usually
only available at a full service laboratory. A disadvantage of the Karl Fischer water test is that it is
expensive and often time consuming when water concentrations are high.
Dissolved (ppm)
Emulsified (ppm)
Free (ppm)
0-200
200-1000
>1000
0-600
600-5000
>5000
0-150
150-500
>500
0-500
500-1000
>1000
0-2000
2000-5000
>50000
Table 1: Level of dissolved, emulsified and free water for various type of oil
Case Study
Water ingression in a plastic injection moulding machine.
Location: Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Date: March 2007
Overview
The plant has about 20 plastic injection moulding machines, producing spare parts for automotive
manufacturers in Malaysia. Most of the machines are running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet
client requirements.
Machine No. 5, an 800 Tonne injection moulding machine, uses hydraulic oil, ISO 46 grade. The
hydraulic system consists of a proportional valve, requiring ultra-clean oil.
One evening during machine operation, a copper tube inside the oil cooler was damaged, allowing
rapid water ingression into the lube oil system.
The machine operator only realised this when the oil (now milky in colour) spilled out of the oil
reservoir. The machine was then immediately shutdown.
The oil cooler was dismantled and confirmed as the source of ingested water. A total of 1600 litres (8
drums) of hydraulic oil was drained and the oil tank cleaned. Flushing removed the remaining
contamination from the system. A new oil cooler was installed and new oil was transferred into the
system.
4
5
Details
Eight (8) drums of new hydraulic oil 46 grade at MYR 1,200.00
per drum.
8 x MYR 1,200.00 per drum
One (1) new oil cooler
1 x MYR 3,500.00 per unit
Manpower:
- Drain the contaminated oil
- Clean internal surfaces of the oil reservoir
- Assemble the new oil cooler
- Flush the system with flushing oil
4 persons x MYR 50.00 per hour per person x 16 hours
Other costs and accessories for flushing, rags, etc.
Loss of production due to unscheduled machine downtime for
two (2) days
Cost (MYR)
9,600.00
3,500.00
3,200.00
3,000.00
40,000.00
TOTAL
58,300.00
Lessons learned:
1. Water contamination cost the company more than MYR 50,000.00.
2. Prior to this case, this company had not implemented Condition Based Monitoring for their
machines.
3. Routine oil analysis would detect copper metal in the oil, originating from corroded copper
tubing in the oil cooler, allowing early diagnosis of a problem. Increasing water levels would
corroborate the cooler issue.
4. Early detection of this problem allows a planned, scheduled downtime in order to replace
the faded oil cooler. This would have resulted in a cost to the company of only 10% of that
caused by the machine breakdown.
Conclusion
Water in oil should be maintained at a level as low as possible, due to its destructive nature. Routine
oil analysis should be performed, including water content testing to ensure acceptable levels are
maintained. This also allows the user to perform necessary remedial action when appropriate.
Prevention, however, is even better than cure. Ensuring that water ingression is minimised offers
greater oil lifespan, machine reliability and productivity.
* Azhar bin Abdullah Field Engineer, Kittiwake Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. Azhar has worked in the field
of Oil Condition Monitoring for 8 years. He currently works as a field engineer for Kittiwake,
demonstrating to and training customers in the use of oil condition monitoring equipment and
techniques. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) and is a
certified ICML MLA Level III Oil Analyst.
* Steve Dye is the business development manager for Parker Kittiwake, concentrating on promoting
high end products into the market, including FTIR analysers. He has worked in high technology
businesses for all of his career including Hewlett Packard and Lucent Technologies, covering roles
from development and product management through to sales and marketing director. He has been
involved in the field of Condition monitoring for the past 3 years. Steve holds a Bachelors degree in
Communications Engineering and a PhD in Optoelectronics. He is also a ICML Level I certified
Lubrication Analyst.
* Jack Poley Technical Director, Kittiwake Americas. Jack has over 50 years in Oil Analysis and is
recognised as a world expert in both laboratory and field measurement techniques. A member of
ASTM and STLE for over 35 years, Jack co-founded STLEs Condition Monitoring Education Course. He
also co-founded the OMA (Oil Monitoring Analyst) certification program at STLE and is certified OMA
1 and OMA 2. Jack holds a B.S. in Chemistry (University of California [Berkeley]) and a B.S. in
Management (New York University School of Commerce).