Analytical approach to wear rate determination for internal combustion engine condition monitoring based on oil analysis

Wear has important, negative effects on the functioning of engine parts. Additionally, this situation is very difficult to evaluate accurately in oil analysis for engine condition monitoring. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), lubricant suppliers and oil analysis laboratories provide specific guidelines for wear metal concentrations. These limits provide good general guidelines for interpreting oil analysis data, but do not take into account common factors that influence the concentration of wear debris and contaminants in an oil sample. These factors involve oil consumption, fresh oil additions, etc., and particular features such as engine age, type of service, environmental conditions, etc. In this paper, an analytical approach to enable a more accurate wear determination from engine oil samples is developed. The above factors are taken into account and an improved maintenance program for internal combustion engines based on oil analysis is developed.