Ferrography authenticates wear sources and quantifies contaminant particles.
Analytical Ferrography is used routinely to monitor critical components at a high-risk for wear. This technology detects the presence of wear and contaminant particles from 1 to 250 microns in size.
Preventive medicine.
When used as trend analysis, accelerated wear of critical equipment is accurately detected and correctly diagnosed for planned maintenance before production and safety are jeopardized. Our Ferrographic services enable equipment and maintenance managers to protect their critical production equipment and extend the component life of gear boxes, turbines, hydraulic systems, compressors, wheel motors, and transmissions by detecting and measuring abnormal wear before it creates problems.
An extra level of protection.
Ferrography magnetically separates wear metals and contaminant particles from a lubricant. These particulates are arranged by size and composition, then microscopically examined and compared. Analysis determines the number, size, and shape of particles produced through wear and contamination. This technology offers an extra level of protection by forecasting maintenance requirements in advance. And it works with any lubricated component, regardless of make, model, or application.
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Bureau Veritas provides two levels of Ferrographic analysis:
Direct Reading Ferrographic Analysis
DR Ferrography magnetically separates wear particles from lubricants and electronically determines the quantity of large and small particles present in a sample. Particles within these size ranges provide the most sensitive means of detecting changes in wear condition. And calculations from DR indicate the rate, intensity and severity of wear occurring in your equipment.
Bureau Veritas’ DR Ferrography will register:
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- Indices of both large and small particle quantities
- alculations of wear rate, intensity and severity
- Interpretation of results, detailing the source of problems detected
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Full Ferrographic Analysis
Analytical, or Full Ferrography, further pinpoints the specific type of wear occurring within your equipment and helps to identify its source. With this technology, our lab technicians prepare a ferrogram slide by drawing the oil sample across a transparent glass plate in the presence of a strong magnetic field. This process magnetically pulls particles to the plate and sorts them. The lubricant from the sample is then removed with a special solvent—leaving the particles clean, fixed to the plate, and aligned with the magnetic field by size and composition. Data analysts then examine the ferrogram to determine the precise composition and source of the particles. They also identify the types of wear exhibited by these particles.
Analytical Ferrography from Bureau Veritas provides customers with significant maintenance benefits:
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- The specific type and quantities of metallic and nonmetallic debris present
- A color photomicrograph of the ferrogram, providing visual documentation of the metallic concentrations
- An assessment of the sampled machine’s or component’s overall wear status
- Interpretation of the ferrography results detailing the cause(s) and the source(s) of problems detected
- Recommendations for corrective action
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Download a Ferrographic Analysis PDF
Download a Turbine Oil Analysis PDF