TABLE OF CONTENTS The first instances of used oil analysis date back to the early 1940s, done by the railway companies in the western United States. Upon the purchase of new locomotives, technicians used simple spectrographic equipment and physical tests to monitor locomotive engine oils.
When diesel locomotives replaced steam locomotives, the oil analysis technique became a regular practice by railway companies. By the 1980s, oil analysis formed the basis of the condition-based maintenance programs by most railway companies in North America.
The American Navy adopted spectrometric techniques to monitor jet engines on their aircrafts in the mid-1950s. Around this time, Rolls Royce was also experimenting with oil analysis for monitoring their jet turbines. The concept of oil analysis began to spread and programs were implemented by the American Army and Air Force throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
It is evident that the technology of oil analysis has been around for many years. Despite this, it remained secondary to the vibration approach. Vibration analysis remained the principal diagnostic technique of the condition-monitoring teams in many industries. The problem was that numerous condition-monitoring teams were not aware of the power of oil analysis. Also, in many cases when companies did have personnel assigned to perform oil analysis, these people did not interface with the vibration analysis condition-monitoring teams.
Eventually, the 1990s brought about a change in this negative trend. Many companies added oil analysis to vibration monitoring to improve their condition-monitoring programs. Likewise, several vibration condition-monitoring vendors...
