7/15/2021 How Dirt Can Contaminate a Lubricant

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7/15/2021 How Dirt Can Contaminate a Lubricant

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How Dirt Can Contaminate a Lubricant

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation

Do you really know how your lubricants become contaminated? Have you taken an inventory of the
sources of contamination and the primary points of entry? If not, you are in the majority as sadly, few
organizations go to the trouble of performing a contaminant ingression study.

For many machines, the exclusion of contamination is the only way to control contamination. This is
because these machines either have no filter or the filter in use is coarse, providing no practical
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7/15/2021 How Dirt Can Contaminate a Lubricant

When particles are not removed by filtration or by settling, a lubricant’s contaminant level equals the
machine’s service hours multiplied by the number of particles ingressed per hour (ingression rate). For
machines exposed to high ambient dust, particle counts can exceed recommended levels in just a few
hours. After days of exposure, an oil can turn into more of a honing compound than a lubricating
medium.

A Matter of Mass Balance

Even machines with good filters are faced with ingression challenges. To maintain contaminant levels
within targets, the filter must remove particles at a rate equal to the ingression rate (mass balance).
The lower the target cleanliness level, the more difficult this becomes. Why? Because in order for a
fluid to stay within these high cleanliness targets, by definition, particles are not densely packed in the
oil but rather are sparsely distributed - few and far between.

This means that for every gallon of fluid that enters the filter, there are few particles from that gallon
that are available to remove. Yet the filter must still remove particles at a rate equal to the ingression
rate, otherwise the contaminant level will rise. This places increasing demand on the quality and
capture efficiency of the filter (percent particles removed above a certain size).

Also sharply influencing this is the flow rate of the oil entering the filter. The flow provides the
necessary conveyance of particles to the filter. If flow rates are low, filters with even 100 percent
capture efficiency (beta equal to infinity) cannot remove enough particles to keep up with ingression,
causing contaminant levels to exceed targets.

The higher the target cleanliness, the higher the minimum required flow rate for a given filter. After all,
a filter can remove only those particles it comes in contact with. Some by-pass and kidney loop (off-
line) filters have flow rates that are inadequate for stabilizing target cleanliness levels.

Cost of Excluding Dirt

It is often said that the cost of excluding a gram of dirt is only about 10 percent of what it will cost you
once you let it enter the oil. Dirt puts stress on additives, the base oil and machine surfaces. So too,
the cost to filter a gram of dirt from the oil is much higher than the cost of filtering a gram of dirt from
the air intake/breather. Good maintenance means intelligence maintenance - working smart.

It’s always good advice to stop treating the symptoms and start treating the causes. When we filter
dirt from oil, we are treating the symptom. When we exclude its entry, we treat the cause. Let’s work
smart.

The word ingression refers to the introduction of particles into lubricants and hydraulic fluids
regardless of the source (external and internal). Figure 1 organizes common sources into three
subcategories: built-in, ingested and generated. Depending on the nature of the machine, the
ingression rate and sources can vary considerably.

For clean-environment indoor equipment, the primary sources can be from process fluids and internal
generation (wear, corrosion, etc.).

Machines that operate in outdoor work environments can encounter high levels of ambient dust,
representing as much as 95 percent of all particles that enter the oil. Machines that operate close to
the ground are prone to higher ingression rates than those that operate high in the air (including
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For outdoor machinery, climate conditions have a marked influence of particle ingestion. For instance,
rain and damp soil keep particles from becoming airborne. High winds and dry climates do just the
opposite. Don’t forget that particles make particles (wear debris) - affectionately referred to as making
babies. This unwanted reproduction won’t occur if particle ingression from the environment is in
check.

Controlling Top-End Ingression

For many machines, reducing ingression means reducing top-end ingression; the particles entering
through fill ports, vents, breathers, hatches, inspection ports, shaft seals and other headspace
openings. There are numerous ways to control top-end ingression in reservoirs, sumps, gearboxes and
bearing housings. These include:

Purge Methods

This involves the introduction of a clean gas or aerosol into the headspace of the machine. A slight
positive pressure is maintained to prevent the entry of ambient air. Examples include instrument air
purge, oil mist purge and nitrogen purge.

Isolation Methods

Expansion chambers, piston/cylinder reservoirs and bladders have been used to isolate headspace air
from ambient air to prevent contamination. One disadvantage is that original moisture (humid air) is
often unable to escape from the headspace. This also locks moisture into the oil as well. In some
cases, users have reported that this has led to heavy corrosion.

Filter Breathers
If reservoirs and sumps can be sealed tightly such that all air exchanged between the atmosphere and
the headspace can be directed through a single port, then high quality filter breathers can be used to
remove dust from incoming air at that port (vent). The quality of the filter (capture efficiency) should
be no less than that of the oil filter in use.

Contaminant Ingression Study

The first step of a contamination control program is to identify a machine’s target cleanliness level. A
specific quantifiable number (ISO Code for instance) should be assigned to each machine based on
contaminant tolerance, operating environment and motivation for machine reliability. Next, identify the
source and entry point of particles. This involves a contaminant ingression study.

Because particles are often internally generated, it’s not simply a matter of doing a walk-down
inspection to look for top-end ingression points. For many machines there is a need to examine
particles found in used filters, bottom sediment, oil drains and live zone oil samples as a means to
determine their origin. This can be done using microscopic methods and by element analysis (testing
particles for copper, lead, iron, silicon, etc.).

Multiple oil sampling points in circulating equipment can help isolate ingression to certain
components like hydraulic cylinders. Additionally, taking particle counts up and downstream of filters
while the machine is in normal service can be helpful in identifying the approximate ingression rate.

Once the source and entry point for particles is found, a strategy can be developed to reduce or stop
the ingression. Over the life of a machine, this strategy can deliver considerable benefits and savings
to asset owners. These include longer lasting lubricants, seals and filters, negligible flushing
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requirements at oil drains, and overall improvement in machine reliability. It is important and valuable
to discover “from whence dirt comes”.

About the Author

Jim Fitch
Jim Fitch, a founder and CEO of Noria Corporation, has a wealth of experience in lubrication, oil
analysis, and machinery failure investigations. He has advise...
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Machinery Lubrication (11/2001)

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