Natural gas engine analysis

This service monitors hydraulic, circulating, gear and compressor oils for premature wear, contamination and oil condition

Description

This service is applicable to engines running clean natural gas or dual fuel applications. In addition to monitoring oil condition, this analysis helps you detect premature engine wear, coolant leaks and lubricant contamination.

Test	Purpose	Importance of test
Coolant Indicator	To determine the level of sodium, potassium and boron in the compressor oil	Indicative of a coolant leak into the compressor
Metals	To determine the presence and levels of metallic content in the oil, including contaminants and wear particles	The level of metals helps determine if equipment components are wearing or if harmful contamination is entering the oil. The level of metals that are part of the additive chemistry are also reported
Nitration	To measure the amount of nitrogen by-products in hydraulic oil	In high-pressure pumps, nitration results from the rapid compression of entrained air. As a result, if unchecked, nitrogen and oxidation precursors might form sticky varnishes, which may lead to valve sticking
Oxidation	To determine the level of lubricant oxidation and deterioration	Oxidation can mean: Increased wear and corrosion Shorter equipment life Increased viscosity Excessive deposits and plugging
Particle Qualification (PQ) Index	To determine ferrous metal fatigue failures and metal-to-metal contact not usually detectable with some spectrographic analysis	PQ Index can detect at an early stage: Anti-friction bearing wear Plain bearing wear Gear wear
Total Acid Number (TAN)	To measure acidic oil oxidation by-products	An elevated Total Acid Number may indicate increased oil acidity resulting from increased oil oxidation
Total Base Number (TBN)	To determine the reserve alkalinity of the oil used to neutralize the formation of acids	A decrease in Total Base Number may be indicative of: Oil degradation caused by rapid acid formation due to changing fuel characteristics or a high rate of oil oxidation Decreased acid-neutralizing reserve
Viscosity	To determine the oil’s resistance to flow	An increase in viscosity may be due to high soot or insoluble content, water contamination, or admixture with higher viscosity fuel or lubricant A decrease in viscosity may be due to water contamination, or admixture with lower viscosity fuel or lubricant Both high or low viscosity may result in premature equipment wear
Water	To detect presence of water contamination	Water contamination may cause severe corrosion and subsequent wear, poor oil film thickness or hydrogen embrittlement