Services · Materials Testing
Ferrography and Wear Debris Analysis Laboratory
Wear-particle distribution and concentration, trended across successive samples, tell an operator what a gearbox or turbine bearing is doing well before it stops. The value sits in the trend, not the single sample.
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In brief
TCR Advanced Engineering, Vadodara, India, performs and reports ferrography for lube-oil condition monitoring of rotating equipment: direct-reading ferrography for ferrous wear-particle concentration and analytical ferrography for wear-particle type, trended across samples from gearboxes, hydraulic systems, turbines and compressors. TCR runs no other oil test. Ferrography is reported outside the NABL scope.
What does ferrography tell you about a machine?
Ferrography, run by TCR Advanced Engineering at Vadodara as part of TCR's materials testing service, is a series of laboratory tests that tracks the condition of used lubricant drawn from equipment over time. The trend in wear-particle distribution and concentration shows the condition of the equipment.
It lets an operator plan maintenance before a breakdown rather than after it.
The wear process generates six basic types of metallic wear particle: normal rubbing wear, cutting wear particles, spherical particles, severe sliding particles, bearing wear particles (fatigue spall and laminar particles) and gear wear particles (pitch line fatigue, and scuffing or scoring particles). Sand and dirt in the system, which cause wear, are identified too.
- Less unscheduled downtime from wear of rotating components such as bearings and gears
- Effective maintenance scheduling
- Improved equipment reliability and safety
- Lower maintenance costs
- Longer oil change-out intervals, which indirectly benefits environmental cleanliness
- Lower machine power consumption over time
Which ferrography tests does the laboratory run?
TCR Advanced Engineering's ferrography reads the condition of the machine from the wear debris in its lube oil: direct-reading ferrography measures how much ferrous debris there is, and analytical ferrography identifies what kind it is. Trended across successive samples from gearboxes, hydraulic systems, turbines and compressors, the two show whether a component needs inspection. TCR runs no other oil test.
| Test | What it tells the operator |
|---|---|
| Direct-reading ferrography | The concentration of large and small ferrous wear particles, trended sample to sample |
| Analytical ferrography | The type of wear particle: rubbing, cutting, spherical, severe sliding, bearing and gear wear, and sand and dirt |
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Related insights
1 published insight on this site bears directly on Ferrography and Wear Debris Analysis. It is below; the full index carries all 169 Materials Testing insights.
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Ferrography Wear Debris Analysis for Lube Oil
Your lube oil carries detailed evidence of what is happening inside your rotating equipment. Ferrography wear debris analysis reads that evidence…
Frequently asked questions
What is ferrography and what does it tell you about a machine?
Ferrography is a series of laboratory tests on used lubricant drawn from equipment over time. The trend of wear particle distribution and concentration presents the condition of the component, so maintenance teams can act before a bearing or gear failure forces unscheduled downtime.
Which ferrography tests does TCR run?
Two. Direct-reading ferrography measures the concentration of large and small ferrous wear particles and is trended sample to sample; analytical ferrography identifies the type of wear particle and the sand and dirt in the system. Together they show active machine wear and support maintenance scheduling. TCR runs no other oil test.
Which equipment benefits from lube-oil condition monitoring?
The service is used across gearboxes, hydraulic systems, turbine lubrication systems, and compressors. Any rotating equipment whose bearings and gears wear progressively is a candidate, because trending wear particles gives early warning, improves reliability and safety, and reduces maintenance cost and machine power consumption over time.
What types of wear particles does ferrography identify?
Six basic wear particle types are generated through the wear process: normal rubbing wear, cutting wear, spherical particles, severe sliding particles, bearing wear particles such as fatigue spall and laminar particles, and gear wear particles including pitch line fatigue and scuffing or scoring. Sand and dirt contamination is also identified.
Is ferrography at TCR NABL accredited?
No. Ferrography is performed and reported by TCR Advanced Engineering, Vadodara, and is not on the NABL scope of either TCR Advanced Engineering or TCR Engineering, so the results are issued in a report outside the accredited scope. Which ferrography tests are run, and on which equipment, is agreed in the quotation.