Hi all,
First post here and hopefully in the right place of the forum.
I would appreciate a little feedback on an idea/invention a buddy and I are working on for rapid oil analysis at the engine side. It’s a small battery operated and handheld unit that requires just a drop of oil, off the dipstick for example, but in under a minute would give an accurate read on:
[*] Kinematic Viscosity (at 40 deg C only and converted into centistokes)
[*] BN
[*] Particles (Total particle counts and a size distribution)
[*] Ferrography – (looks at the shape, colour, size etc. of particles to determine mechanisms of wear)
[*] Soot loading
[*] Water (ppm)
[*] Fuel dilution
[*] Oil dispersancy
[*] Glycol contamination
NB: It will not give the elemental compositions that you see on laboratory OA reports.
The unit pairs with a smartphone or tablet to do the data analysis and display the data. Because it is rapid and needs just a drop of oil, the idea is to test regularly and trend monitor parameters of the oil/engine as they change overtime.
We are working on this mostly for aviation, in particular to test for internal corrosion in rarely used engines, and hope to use this as a post flight check to trend monitor the engine condition. It will never be as accurate or precise as laboratory OA, but with trend monitoring changes in parameters overtime are clear and you see a nice trend of the parameters with oil usage.
I would love to get some feedback if you think it solves problems in other areas. Similarly, if we can produce this thing and retail it at around $400 - $600 range, would you want this in your workshop/garage?
Thanks for reading, would appreciate some feedback.
Anthony
First post here and hopefully in the right place of the forum.
I would appreciate a little feedback on an idea/invention a buddy and I are working on for rapid oil analysis at the engine side. It’s a small battery operated and handheld unit that requires just a drop of oil, off the dipstick for example, but in under a minute would give an accurate read on:
[*] Kinematic Viscosity (at 40 deg C only and converted into centistokes)
[*] BN
[*] Particles (Total particle counts and a size distribution)
[*] Ferrography – (looks at the shape, colour, size etc. of particles to determine mechanisms of wear)
[*] Soot loading
[*] Water (ppm)
[*] Fuel dilution
[*] Oil dispersancy
[*] Glycol contamination
NB: It will not give the elemental compositions that you see on laboratory OA reports.
The unit pairs with a smartphone or tablet to do the data analysis and display the data. Because it is rapid and needs just a drop of oil, the idea is to test regularly and trend monitor parameters of the oil/engine as they change overtime.
We are working on this mostly for aviation, in particular to test for internal corrosion in rarely used engines, and hope to use this as a post flight check to trend monitor the engine condition. It will never be as accurate or precise as laboratory OA, but with trend monitoring changes in parameters overtime are clear and you see a nice trend of the parameters with oil usage.
I would love to get some feedback if you think it solves problems in other areas. Similarly, if we can produce this thing and retail it at around $400 - $600 range, would you want this in your workshop/garage?
Thanks for reading, would appreciate some feedback.
Anthony