Standard Operating Procedure for Ferrography

(ASTMD-7690)
Ferrography is a specialized type of an analytical technique, used for an oil analysis and to study the
wear particles on a machine component through analysis of contaminants in lubricating oil.

Principle:  The solid debris suspended in a lubricant is separated and systematically deposited onto a
ferrogram. Due to the magnet, the ferrous particles align themselves in chains along the length of the
slide with the largest particles being deposited at the entry point. Non-ferrous particles and
contaminants, unaffected by the magnetic field travel downstream and are randomly deposited across
the length of the slide. The ferrogram is examined under a microscope to distinguish particle size,
concentration, composition, morphology and surface condition of the ferrous and non-ferrous wear
particles.

This detailed examination, in effect, uncovers the mystery behind an abnormal wear condition by
pinpointing component wear, how it was generated and often, the root cause.

Requirements:

Glass ware & chemical: Beaker (50ml), Ferrogram ,TCE

Instruments: Ferrogram maker, Microscope, Hot plate

Miscellaneous: Dropper, tissue paper

Procedure:

1. Shake the sample bottle thoroughly and take 1ml of the oil sample in a beaker and heat it on a hot
plate at 165°C for 5mintes.

2. Allow it to cool down for a minute and then add 2ml of tetra-chloroethylene to it. Stir this mixture
with the help of the dropper.

3. Once the sample preparation is done, place the ferrogram on the magnet of ferrogram maker and
with the help of a dropper, draw a straight line of tetra-chloroethylene on the ferrogram for the oil to
flow in the line.

4. Adjust the drop rate to one drop per five seconds or slower. And let the entire oil sample to run
through the ferrogram keeping drop rate as slow as possible.

5. After the entire sample run, wait for 1-2 minutes and then wash it with tetra-chloroethylene to
remove oil.

6. Lift the ferrogram out from the ferrogram maker and be careful, so that the ferrous deposits don’t
get disturbed.
7. Place the ferrogram on to the slide and observe under the microscope before heat treatment.
Because this will make the identification of wear particles easier for observer.

8. Heat the ferrogram at 330°C for 1-2 minutes.

9. Observe under the bichromatic microscope and identify different wear particles based on color,
shape, texture and size.

Results: Report the different types of wear particles observed with their sizes and description.