AUTHORITY It is IMPORTANT to note that the information in this book is for study/training purposes only. When carrying out a procedure/work on aircraft/aircraft equipment you MUST always refer to the relevant aircraft maintenance manual or equipment manufacturer’s handbook. You should also follow the requirements of your national regulatory authority (the CAA in the UK) and laid down company policy as regards local procedures, recording, report writing, documentation ete. For health and safety in the workplace you should follow the regulations/ guidelines as specified by the equipment manufacturer, your company, national safety authorities and national governmentsAcknowledgements With special thanks to ROLLS ROYCE ple for permission to reproduce drawings.CONTENTS SUBJECT Oil - its purpose Boundary lubrication Film lubrication Viscosity Viscosity index Oil types Wet sump system Dry sump system Partial and total lose systems Full flow system Squeeze film bearings The Pratt and Whitney system The RB211 system Oil system maintenance System topping up Leak checks Flushing Sampling Fault finding Engine health monitoring Debris Fluid contamination Sampling Types of debris Vibration Questions4 HOW TO TACKLE THIS BOOK Oil systems are a fairly straight forward subject and reasonably interesting too. Again the book is written for the B1 Aeroplane and Helicopter man/woman. The standard required is level 2 but for the A line mechanic it is level 1. Level 2 means that you should be able to: * Draw and describe an oil system — including the instrumentation. * Describe the principles of lubrication. * Describe engine health monitoring. * Diagnose and rectify faults.LUBRICATION From the very earliest piece of machinery (the wheel and axle) to the most modern type of shaft and bearing, the same problem has remained - how to keep the moving surfaces apart and hence prevent friction, heat and wear. In the case of the early wheel, it was probably coated with animal fat, which could have reduced friction and heat but may not have prevented wear. So it was left to the chemist and physicist to design specialist oils and greases to perform the vital task of lubrication in modern high performance aero- engines, Oil - Its Purpose It could be stated that the purpose of a lubricating oil is to prevent moving parts from touching each other during their operation. This will prevent wear, friction, and heat. The oil, however, is subject to many factors which affect the way in which it can perform its basic purpose. For instance, if the oil is too thick it may not reach the component in time to keep the moving parts apart once the equipment is started. If the oil is too hot it will be too thin (ie. have a low viscosity) to generate sufficient pressure to keep the components supplied with enough oil to keep the moving parts apart. It may be prudent then to examine the factors which can affect the performance of an oil in a gas turbine engine. Boundary Lubrication Figure 1 shows a simple diagram of a shaft contained in a bearing. The shaft is at rest and having been previously running there is a residual amount of oil contained in the bearing as shown in the close up of the contact area of the shaft with the bearingSHAFT STATIONARY SHAFT STARTING TO MOVE SHAFT AT NORMAL SPEED METAL TO METAL CONTACT ‘BOUNDARY LUBRICATION FILM LUBRICATION BEARING (CLOSE-UP OF CONTACT AREA BETWEEN SHAFT AND BEARING Fig.1 BOUNDARY AND FILM LUBRICATION If the shaft is now run up and oil is supplied to the bearing it may well be some time before sufficient oil is available to completely separate the shaft and bearing. During this phase the bearing is considered to be in a state of BOUNDARY LUBRICATION because the moving parts are separated by a thin layer of oil only a few molecules thick. This state of lubrication may also be found during periods of engine acceleration and deceleration when high loads are experienced and where the oil may be forced out of the bearings. This condition may also be aggravated by high oil temperature which leads to “thinning’ (a decrease in viscosity) of the oil resulting in low oil pressure.Film Lubrication Once the shaft is running and oil has been passed to the bearing a wedge of lubricant is built up upon which the shaft eventually rides. This phase is known as FILM LUBRICATION, because the moving parts are separated by a thick film of oil, and it is the most desirable stage of lubrication. Ifa shaft and bearing could spend their entire life experiencing film lubrication, in theory, the bearing would never wear out as the moving surfaces are not in contact. Unfortunately, engines have to be started, accelerated, decelerated, and stopped, and as mentioned previously, boundary lubrication is experienced during these periods and, as a result the peaks of the shaft and bearing momentarily "weld" themselves together, then "shear off" causing friction, heat, wear - and small pieces are broken off. General The factors which can influence the performance of the oil then are as follows: * It's viscosity. * It's temperature. ts The amount that can be supplied to the consumer. Viscosity The VISCOSITY of an oil is "it's resistance to flow” and is determined under laboratory conditions by passing the fluid through a known diameter orifice at a specific temperature for a specific period of time and is measured in centistokes (mm? per second). An oil with a high viscosity is "thick" and does not flow readily. An oil with a low viscosity is "thin" and flows readily. When an oil is subjected to a temperature change it's viscosity will also change. An oil having a specific viscosity will be "thick" when cold but will progressively get "thinner" as the temperature increases.Viscosity Index It would be advantageous to design an oil with the ability to retain its viscosity throughout its temperature range. This is known as the VISCOSITY INDEX of an oil. Most modern gas turbines use an oil with a high viscosity index. This means that the oil retains its viscosity over a very wide temperature range. Oils with a low viscosity index do not readily retain their viscosity when subjected to a temperature change. Oil Types ‘There are many different types of oil, but they are all normally derived from just a few sources. The most commonly used oils are mineral based and are used in most modern vehicles and a few aircraft engines. Synthetic oils are very popular for high performance vehicles and, of course, the majority of gas turbine engines. Lubricants can also be made from both animal and vegetable tissues. They all have different properties and specific applications. Synthetic oils are designed for specific applications and are exceptionally well engineered. Their viscosity index is high but they are expensive to produce. Systems In order for the lubricant to perform its job, a system needs to be designed that will allow the oil to be supplied to and retrieved from the areas which require lubricating. By referring back to what has been said previously, it can be stated that the purpose of the oil system is to contain sufficient oil and to pass it to the consumers at a constant pressure, to filter out the tiny particles, to cool it and return it to storage, and to monitor its temperature and pressure. There are basically two major types of system - the WET SUMP and DRY SUMP. Wet Sump The wet sump is illustrated in Figure 2 and is the simplest. The oil is stored in a container fixed underneath the engine. A pump, driven by the engine, produces the pressure required to move the oil to the consumers.ENGINE Fig. 2 WET SUMP SYSTEM Once the oil has performed its job it is allowed to drain back under gravity to the container or sump - hence the name "wet sump". Because the container is in the airstream the oil is kept cool. Most engines used in the automotive industry are wet sump. Some early jet engines also used this type of system. Dry Sump A dry sump system is very similar to the wet sump. The sump is still retained but in this system its volume will have been considerably reduced and the oil will now be contained in a separate tank. There may well be two or three small sumps to collect the oil from remote consumers and then the oil is passed back to the tank by a set of additional scavenge pumps. This type of system will not be affected by changes in attitude of the aircraft, or from positive or negative "g". It also allows for an engine with less frontal area, the tank being mounted in any position out of the airflow. Unfortunately, some form of heat exchanger will now be required to maintain a constant oil temperature. Dry sump systems are almost universal in their application to aircraft engines. See Figure 3.