Wear and tear studies of oil-lubricated machines using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

The wear of oil-lubricated machines was monitored by establishing a correlation between the wear rate of the machine and the concentration of heavy metal contaminants in the lubricating oils used. The concentrations of heavy metal contaminants in the oil were determined using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. To obtain a representative sample, the procedure for sample collection and preparation was standardized. Samples were collected from a 30 KVA diesel generator set at BARC-NRL at regular intervals. The concentrations of Fe, Cr and Ni were found to increase with increase in the number of hours in service.