Wear Metals

Wear metals in used oil samples are minute particles of metal suspended in the oil and are formed by friction between moving parts, abrasion or corrosion. Knowledge of the metallurgy of a system along with the analysis or wear metals provides a laboratory with a powerful tool to predict a potential problem and its source.

Wear Metal analysis is a trending technique to determine which component is wearing and based on the change in wear metal concentration, the severity of the wear. Most effective oil analysis laboratories have the capability to simultaneously detect and quantify between 15 and 20 wear metals and contaminants in a used oil sample.

Over the years, the most popular technique to analyze for the presence of wear metals in used oils due to its ease of use, has been emission spectroscopy via the rotating disc technique as applied in the Spectroil M. Other complementary techniques include Ferrography and particle shape classification.

Applicable Spectro Products:

• Spectroil M/C-W, Oil and Fuel Analysis Spectrometer
• LaserNet Fines, Particle Counter and particle Shape Classifier
• Ferrography Laboratory
• Spectroil M/R, Spectroil M with Robotic Automation
• Turnkey Laboratory, Spectro Industrial Tribology Laboratory