2.

2 Non Routine Analyses

Sometimes more sophisticated testing is needed to investigate an ongoing problem or to obtain a

better diagnosis of the condition of the engine or its components. These analyses are known as “Non
Routine” analyses. Such tests can be carried out as part of an investigation or indeed be done as part
of an oil based condition monitoring programme. Extended analysis suites can include tests carried
out on engine deposits, debris & fuel samples as well as the oil samples themselves.

Non routine analyses typically require larger sample volumes (1 litre or so), and the analyses
performed are chosen on a case by case basis with guidance from the oil supplier and / or engine
manufacturer. Use of a different laboratory may also be required. It is necessary to provide specific
and detailed information on the history of the engine & practical working details in order to determine
which analysis is most useful to provide the most relevant diagnosis.

As such Non Routine analyses are more time consuming and specialised, they are also more costly so
it is important to provide as much background information on the nature of the problem at the point of
submitting the sample.

2.3 Key Actions required for a correct analysis

In order to enable a full and proper routine or non routine analysis it is essential that:

x The oil sample bottles are clean

x The oil sample taken is representative of the oil in service,
x All supporting details (e.g. sampling point, date, oil name and hours of service) are attached to
the sample container and so are made available to the laboratory
x The sample is quickly dispatched to the laboratory

2.4 Sampling Procedure

How, when and where a sample is taken from within the lubrication system is very important. This is
because only a very small amount of oil is taken during sampling. A 250 ml sample represents only a
very small percentage of the total oil capacity which can be up to 100,000 litres. It goes without saying
that it is essential to be sure that the sample taken is truly representative of the full oil volume and take
the necessary precautions when sampling oils which may be hot and contained within pressurised
systems, the use of gloves and face protection is advisory.

Some general, but key points regarding the acquisition of representative oil samples include:

x Sample when the machine is running at normal operating temperature, never when the
equipment is stationary or cold, or after any significant addition of fresh oil.
x Sample from the main supply line of the engine, if necessary arrange to fit dedicated sampling
valves that can be accessed easily and safely.
x Always sample from the same sampling point for any particular piece of equipment.
x Sample after flushing a small quantity of oil (0.5 - 1.0l) through the sampling point - and
without operating the sampling valve between flushing and sampling.
x Whenever possible fill the sample directly into the sampling bottle to avoid any unnecessary
contamination.
x Use only dedicated clean and dry sampling equipment intended for the sampling of used oils.

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 x To avoid leakage fill the sample bottle to 90% capacity and ensure it is properly sealed before
despatch to the laboratory.

At this point the reader is referred to the CEC 1990 publication “Code of practice representative
samples of engine lubricants on site ship (CEC M-12-T-91)” [1] or full details on how to observe the
best sampling practices.

2.5 Good Sampling Locations

Figure 1: Typical oil system

System oil
Not all engines are equipped with sampling valves in the main lubricating oil system when delivered. It
is therefore sometimes seen that the operator needs to remove e.g. a manometer before being able to
take a sample of system oil. It is recommended that a dedicated sampling valve is placed in the
circulating system before the engine entry.

The most representative sample of oil of the quality that the engine is exposed to, is taken from the
lubricating oil system at the engine inlet. The sample should be taken at a location with a full flow
condition to avoid getting the sample contaminated by precipitated sludge. In the case of horizontal
piping with a low flow condition hence a risk of sludge forming in the bottom part of the pipe, it is
recommended to place the sampling valve in the side or top of the pipe instead of in the bottom.

Centrifuges - Purifiers and clarifiers

Routine oil analysis cannot be used to assess the performance of centrifuges, purifiers and clarifiers
as the tests normally offered cannot differentiate sufficiently between inlet and outlet conditions,
therefore non-routine tests need to be employed which are based upon appropriate sampling and
particle analysis techniques.

Scavenge drain oil (only 2-stroke engines)

Scavenge drain oil can be collected after each cylinder or in a common drain pipe collecting drain oil
from all cylinder units.
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Taking samples using the common drain pipe should be avoided as the effect of dilution and
contamination between units reduces the opportunity of gaining a useful diagnosis of the effects of
combustion and evidence of wear.

For two-stroke scavenge drain oil samples, a 250 ml sample may be difficult to achieve as the engine
does not provide large amounts of scavenge drain oil. For this type of sample, 100 ml is usually
sufficient. However it must be pointed out that the results of scavenge drain oil analysis are reliant
upon the quality of the sampling procedure. In addition, it has been shown [2] that the results can be
significantly influenced by contamination with system oil, fuel, partially pyrolysed fuel, water and inter-
cylinder cross contamination, therefore any analysis and subsequent diagnosis must take this into
account.

The scavenge drain piping is usually equipped with a closing valve and a sample valve branching off
the vertical piping between the engine and the closing valve. The sample is drawn by closing the
closing valve and waiting until the piping has filled up sufficiently so that a sample of drain oil can be
collected. Unfortunately, it may take quite some time to fill up the piping until the point of the sampling
valve is reached due to the relatively low flow rate of scavenge drain oil in the line.

Sample valve

Closing valve

Figure 2: sampling location for scavenge drain oil

2.6 Sample Information

To guarantee that sample will be analysed without delay, it is vital that the label attached to the sample
bottle is accurate and complete. Key information includes the name of the ship or power plant, the
specific name of the engine, type of lubricant, type of engine, date of sampling and the number of
hours of service. Omission or mistakes made in labelling may delay the analysis of the sample and
make a correct assessment and recommendation impossible.

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Analysis test kits are routinely delivered to ships and contain all the equipment & bottles necessary for
taking the samples. Additionally, many kits now contain pre-labelled sample bottles and pre-paid
express mail postage bags. Samples can be packaged and couriered to the nominated laboratory for
testing, but care must be taken to ensure that they are labelled appropriately. Also it should be clearly
stated that the package contains used oil samples for testing to destruction with a flash point greater
that 60ºC, otherwise it is possible that the samples could be held in transit due to transport safety
concerns. Most laboratories can now operate on a 24hr testing turnaround time from the time of
sample receipt if this is required. Though clearly such a fast turnaround would be unnecessary if
samples have been held up in transit for many weeks prior to arrival at the laboratory.

Pre-labelling sample bottles considerably eases this process and reduces the number of errors that
can be made. However, care must still be taken to ensure that the correct pre-labelled empty bottle is
used and so therefore contains the oil from the correct sampling point.

It should be stressed that the interpretation of the used oil analysis results requires a precise
knowledge of the equipment, its operating conditions and a range of other complimentary information
in order to offer a diagnosis of machinery condition. This can include historical data from any known
operating incidents that may have affected the equipment in service, plus environmental information
and performance data. The value of having good additional information from the engineering staff is
essential to making an appropriate diagnosis.

It is also important to realise that a full and proper diagnosis cannot be achieved from the results of
just one analysis.

2.7 Sampling Intervals

Correct interpretation of the oil analyses results requires monitoring the individual test parameters as a
function of time or operating hours. This allows graphs to be plotted which can be extrapolated to
indicate the normal operating trends of a piece of equipment and therefore what future results would
be called “normal”. Any significant deviation from these trends can be highlighted by the analyst so
that on-site investigations (by the engine staff) can be carried out to find the cause. Any analysis made
outside this context is very often difficult to interpret.

When sampling for oil based Condition Monitoring (CM) the sampling frequency for systems will vary
according to the result of the risk assessment that is made when the maintenance review is carried
out; however in the main it will most likely be prudent to take samples on a monthly basis until
sufficient trends have been established to allow optimisation and thus adjusting the sampling
frequency thereafter as appropriate. NB, Care must be taken however, to ensure that where a
condition monitoring tool such as oil analysis is being used as a protective device, i.e. to highlight the
development of a known failure condition, the sampling frequency must be shorter than the “mean
time to failure”. Without this there will be failures which remain unprotected. Experience has shown
that used oil analysis for CM is less effective where failure types have particularly short “mean time to
failure” profiles, e.g. liner scuffing or bearing fractures.

So, in order to monitor results as a function of time it is vital to take the oil samples at regular intervals-
typically these will be defined by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or by the oil supplier, but
will normally not be greater than 3 months apart.

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