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Waterrepresentsarealrisktoequipmentand
theoilsbasestock,increasingtheriskofsludge
shouldbeaggressivelycontrolled.Moisturein
andvarnishformation.Wateralsocausesrust
hydraulicfluidsandlubricatingoilshasa
andcorrosionofmachinesurfacesandreduces
degradingeffectonboththelubricantandthe
critical,loadbearingfilmstrength.
machine.Althoughsomeadditivesclingtothe
waterandareremovedwhenthewater
Watercoexistswithoilinadissolved,
separatesfromtheoil(knownaswater
emulsified,orfreestate.Freeandemulsified
washing),othersaredestroyedbywater
waterposethegreatestrisktothemachineand
inducedchemicalreactions(oxidationand
thelubricant,andtheyshouldbecarefully
hydrolysis).Wateralsopromotesoxidationof
monitoredandcontrolled.
1.
Dissolvedwaterreferstowaterthathasbeenchemicallyabsorbedintotheoil.Whiledissolved
waterpossessesnodirectthreattothecomponentbeinglubricated,itspresencecanserveasa
catalysttooxidation.Dissolvedwaterisnormallynotvisibleinanoil.
2. Emulsifiedwateriswaterthatmaintainsitschemicalintegrity,butisheldinsuspensioninthe
oilbyadditivesandcontaminants.Emulsifiedwaterwillseverelyaltertheloadhandlingability
ofanoil.Whentemperatureandpressureareappliedtoacontaminatedfluid,theoxidation
processissignificantlyaccelerated,leadingtoprematuredegradation.Internalcorrosionand
rustwillalsoresultinallareasofthesystem.Whenanoilhasemulsifiedwater,itwilltakeona
hazyormilkyappearance.
3. Freewaterdescribeswaterthatispresentintheoil,butnotheldinsuspension.Sinceoiland
waterdontmix,anoilsbasestockwillbeconstantlytryingtoseparatefromwater.Without
additivesorcontaminantstobondwiththewater,itwillseparaterapidlyandsettletothe
bottomoftheoil.Freewaterwillbevisibleinanoilasaseparatephaseatthebottomoftheoil
reservoir.
system.Watercancontaminateasystemby
Effects on Lubrication
condensationwhenmoistairentersthe
Ingeneral,waterisapoorlubricant.Proper
componentandachangeintemperaturecauses
lubricationisdependentontheformationofan
thewatertocondenseanddropintotheoil.
oilfilmtoseparateopposingfrictionsurfaces.
Watercanalsoenterasystemthroughnon
Whenpressureisappliedtoanoilfilm,theoils
dryingbreathers,faultyhatchesandseals,and
viscositywillincreaseproportionallytomaintain
internallyfromleakingheatexchangers.
protection.Waterdoesnotexhibitthis
tendencyandwillcauseboundarylubricationto
Second,stepsmustbetakentoremovewater
occurwherefullfluidfilmlubricationwould
onceithasenteredasystem.Thiscanbe
otherwisebepresent.
accomplishedwithphysicalfiltration,vacuum
dehydrationorcentrifuge.Forsystemsprone
Alarm Limits
tocontamination,thesetypesofpurification
Waterisconsideredtobeamongthemost
canbeinstalledinthesystemtoremovewater
detrimentalofpossiblecontaminants.Studies
continuouslyorondemand.
haveshownthatwaterpresentatanylevelcan
reducebearinglifefrom10to100times.While
Systemsthatarepronetowatercontamination
theoveralltoleranceforwatervariesfrom
shoulduseanoilthatrapidlyseparatesfrom
machinetomachine,agoodgeneralalarmlimit
water.Anoilsabilitytoseparatefromwateris
forwatercontaminationis0.05%(500ppm).
knownasitsdemulsibility.Highdetergentoils
Somesystemsmaybemoretoleranttowater,
tendtobepoordemulsifiers,whileturbineoils
whileothersmaybemoresensitive.Some
andmanyindustriallubricantshavebetter
manufacturershavesetlimitsaslowas30ppm.
demulsibility.Circulatingsystemsproneto
Bestpracticewouldtendtoindicatethatitis
waterinflux,suchasthosefoundinrollingmills
beneficialtokeepwatercontaminationatthe
andpowergenerationplants,cansimplydrain
lowestlevelpossible.
thewaterfromthereservoirtocontrol
contamination,providedtheoilexhibitsgood
demulsibility.Inthesesituations,theoils
Controlling Water
Contamination
demulsibilityshouldbemonitoredtoensure
thatwatercontaminationdoesnotreachthe
Controllingwatercontaminationrequirestwo
lubricatedcomponents.
individualconsiderations.First,wemust
addresstheissueofkeepingwateroutofthe
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Oneoftheeasiestwaystomeasurethe
Thecrackleisnotascientifictestbutan
presenceoffreeandemulsifiedwaterinoilis
estimatethatisaffectedbyoiltype.
withthehotplatecrackletest.Anemulsionis
thestablestateofphysicalcoexistenceof
chemicallyinsolublesubstances,likeoiland
KarlFischerorCrackle?
Herearesomequestionstothinkaboutto
helpyoudecidewhichtesttorequest:
Whatisthedetectionlimitforthe
test?
Doesthedetectionlimitchange
dependingonthelubricanttype?
Doyouknowwhatyourlimitsfor
watershouldbe?
Howimportantisittoknowany
watercontamination?
Aredetectionlimitsabovemy
condemnationlimits?
water.Additivesandimpuritiesthatlowerthe
oil'ssurfacetensioncanserveasagentsto
strengthentheemulsion.Waterisinafree
statewhenundissolvedglobulesofwaterare
physicallysuspendedintheoil.
Foryears,oilanalysislaboratorieshave
screenedsampleswiththecrackletest,
performingmoredetailedanalysis,suchasthe
KarlFischertest,onlywhenthecrackletestis
positive.
Inthecrackletest,adropofoilisplacedona
hotplatethathasbeenheatedtoapproximately
400F.Thesamplethenbubbles,spits,crackles,
orpopswhenmoistureispresent.Ifthecrackle
testisnegative,itsimplymeansthatthelevelof
Thefollowingsectionsexplainthesideeffects
ofwaterinoilanddescribeastudyperformed
waterpresentinthesampleisbelowthe
byTestOilanalyststomeasurethe
detectionlimit;itdoesntnecessarilymeanthe
effectivenessofthecrackletest.
sampleisvoidofwater.
Sometimesthecrackletestmaynotbe
appropriateandyouwouldneedaKarlFischer
testdoneonallsamplesfromthatmachine.
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Thelowestpositivevaluesrepresentthose
thecrackletestindetectingwater
samplesthatexhibitedapositivecrackleand
contamination,TestOilembarkedonalabstudy
theassociatedKarlFischerresultwhilethe
touncovercrackledetectionlimits.Atotalof
highestnegativevaluesrepresentthose
493samplescomprisedofavarietyoflubricant
samplesthatclearlyhadwaterpresent
typeswererunona400Fhotplate.The
accordingtotheKarlFischerresults,yetdidnt
sampleswereassessedforapositiveor
crackle.Clearly,thestudydemonstratesthat
negativecrackle.Thesesamesampleswere
quiteabitofvarianceexistsinthewater
thenanalyzedforwatercontaminationusinga
detectionlimitofthecrackletest.Youreally
KarlFischertitration(ASTMD6304C).The
needtoknowyourlubricanttypebefore
waterresultswererecordedinpartspermillion
makingassumptionsonwhatthecracklecan
(ppm).Thetablebelowsummarizestheresults
detect.Insomecases,yourwaterlimitsmayfall
ofthestudy.Thetablelistsoiltype,thenumber
belowcrackledetectionandrunningtheKarl
ofsamplesinthestudy,thedetectionlimit
Fischertestoneverysamplemaybeworththe
range,thelowestnegativecracklevalue,and
cost.
thehighestpositivecracklevalue.
OILTYPE
SamplesTested
DetectionLimit(ppm)
Lowest
Positive(ppm)
Highest
Negative(ppm)
Turbine
111
110610
110
610
MineralGear
62
2401190
240
1190
SyntheticGear
86
100460
100
460
AWHydraulic
86
320750
320
750
PolyolEster
36
3401830
340
1830
PhosphateEster
37
4501140
450
1140
Engine
40
320580
320
580
(Optigear)
35
7801070
780
1070
Combined
493
1001830
100
1830
WindTurbine
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hydrocarbons,alcohols,andethers.Note:
positive,furthertestingisneededintheformof
AnalysisofketonesmustemployaKarlFischer
theKarlFischerWaterTest.TheKarlFischer
solutionthatisspecificallyformulatedfor
coulometricmoisturetestisaseriesofchemical
ketoneanalysis.
reactionsdiscoveredin1935bytheGerman
chemistKarlFischer.Thismethodanalyzes
Lowlevelsofwater(lessthan2percent)are
waterinthemicrogramorpartpermillion
typicallytheresultofcondensation.Higher
range.Thistestisveryaccurate,to.001%.
levelscanindicateasourceofwateringress.
WaterdeterminationbyKarlFischerisdefined
Watercanenterasystemthroughseals,
inASTMD6304.
breathers,hatches,andfillcaps.Internalleaks
fromheatexchangersandwaterjacketsare
Forthistest,asampleofoilisintroducedintoa
otherpotentialsources.
titrationvesselinknownmassorvolume.Any
waterpresentinthesamplewillreactwith
Remember This...
iodineinthetitrationvessel.Theamountof
Whenfreewaterispresentinoil,itposesa
iodinerequiredtoreactwiththewaterandthe
seriousthreattotheequipment.Waterisavery
knownmassorvolumeofthesampleareused
poorlubricantandpromotesrustandcorrosion
tocalculatetheamountofwaterpresentinthe
tothecomponents.Dissolvedwaterinanoil
sample.Resultscanbeclearlyexpressedin
promotesoiloxidationandreducestheload
percentorpartspermillion.
handlingabilityoftheoil.Watercontamination
canalsocausetheoilsadditivepackageto
Anelectriccurrentpassesthroughagenerator
precipitate.Waterinanyformcauses
containingaKarlFischersolution.Iodineis
acceleratedwear,increasedfriction,andhigh
producedattheanodethatconsumesthe
operatingtemperatures.Ifleftunchecked,
waterintheintroducedsample.Whenan
watercanleadtoprematurecomponent
excessofiodineisdetected,theanalysisis
failure.
complete.Inchoosingthismethod,makesure
thattestspecimensarecompatiblewiththe
chosenreagentandthatnosidereactions
occur.Thismethodistypicallyusedtoanalyze
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Page6
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