Machinery Lubrication India Jan Feb 14 10 | Page 27

wear particles during wear debris analysis. Nevertheless, wear debris analysis is quite useful for discovering which degrading actions are occurring within a machine or how a machine failed. Although analysis techniques such as providing the elemental composition of observations heat contaminants within an oil sample. treatments or adding specific chemicals Analytical ferrography remains the best from precise can help in determining the elemental composition of particles, spectrometric analysis is generally more effective in technique for determining the morphology and topography of wear debris, which is essential in identifying the root cause of the particles. About the Author Bennett Fitch is a technical consultant with Noria Corporation. He is a mechanical engineer who holds a Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level I certification and a Machine Lubrication Level I Technician certification (MLT) through the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML). This illustration shows how the various types of wear particles are associated with the different wear modes. Contact Bennett at bfitch@noria. com. www.machinerylubricationindia.com | January-February 2014 | 25