Industries > Oil Analysis & Condition Monitoring

Tracking and Ensuring Oil Health

Lubrication oil impacts the reliability, fuel economy, emissions, and maintenance costs of a wide range of operating machinery. Oil degradation leads to higher operating costs and provides important early warnings of problems that can lead to premature and potentially catastrophic equipment failures.

There are a number of causes for such difficulties, and most directly affect the oil’s viscosity. Cambridge Viscosity’s viscosity measurement systems successfully detect, measure, and monitor these changes in viscosity, enabling operators to take corrective action to preserve the quality of the end product.

Oil analysis can be conducted both off-line (in laboratory settings) and in-line (on equipment). Oil analysis in labs is often accurate, but because samples are tested infrequently and inconsistently, it is difficult to identify serious trends prior to expensive or catastrophic failures. Real-time on-machine oil condition monitoring is a better choice for optimizing equipment performance and life-cycle costs.

Cambridge Viscosity’s single-sample and robotic viscometers are used successfully in both oil analysis labs and condition monitoring environments for their accuracy, reliability, operator-independent results, and small sample requirements. In fact, the US Army has documented Cambridge Viscosity’s effectiveness for real-time tracking of fuel dilution, water contamination, soot levels, and oxidation in on-engine monitoring of lubrication oil.