Utilização da análise de óleo lubrificante para a detecção de falhas em motores de combustão interna

Abstract

A few decades ago, professionals relied only on external signals to detect abnormalities in equipment functioning: smoke color, strange noises, vibrations, overheating, and sometimes something not very well defined, but different from usual. Lubricants were analyzed by similar criteria: appearance, smell, color and some elemental tests. The truth is that this type of evaluation occurs even nowadays, causing reduction or even the complete loss of reliability. The modern tendency is to evaluate the oil analysis, to determine the most appropriate times of exchange and to avoid component failures: samples are collected at predetermined intervals and forwarded for laboratory analysis. That away, it is possible, through a predictive management, to carry out the measurement, interpretation of collected information and continuous monitoring based on the conditions of the equipment (mobile or fixed) and productive units. Increasingly, companies in the industrial sector are investing in this type of predictive technique, having its great advantages, which will directly affect the cost associated with the maintenance sector.