DT100DL

Dispersancy of In-Service Engine Oils
Oil Conditions Monitoring
ASTM D7899

The requirement for on-line machinery and oil condition monitoring is becoming evermore apparent as maintenance costs increase and production capacity and equipment performance are maximized.

One of the primary functions of a lubricant is to preserve the cleanliness of a combustion engine's mechanical parts. The cleanliness of the mechanical parts is facilitated by "detergency" and "dispersancy" (DD) additives in the engine oil.

The dispersancy is the property that allows the oil to suspend and carry away "pollutants" of diverse sources such as soot from combustion, metallic particles from wear, corrosion of mechanical parts, and insoluble products resulting from the ageing of the oil, etc. Dispersant additives in oil prevent agglomeration and sludge formation by dispersing contaminants. With proper formulated oil, the soot will remain homogeneously suspended up to high concentration levels. When soot load reaches a critical limit for current condition of the oil, a sudden loss of dispersancy leads to rapid agglomeration and deposition of soot onto machine surfaces. Contaminants like water and/or glycol can quickly knock out dispersancy performance without an increase in soot load. Diesel engine condition monitoring requires increased focus upon measuring both soot concentration and dispersancy performance. Unlike measuring soot concentration where numerous options exist, measuring soot content and dispersancy performance is a real challenge to the oil analyst.

The DT100DL operates according to ASTM D7899. The instrument simultaneously measures soot and dispersancy. The results reported are combining soot content and dispersancy performance.

Oil Control Monitoring
Mining
Marine

A dedicated method is under approval process. This test method could be an alternative to very long and expensive test which is the engine test like DV4TD - CEC-L-93-04 where the pistons and rings are rated.

Phase 1 - a drop of oil is injected on a filter paper

Phase 2 - the drop spreads on the paper

Phase 3 - the oil with contained particles penetrate into the filter paper. The oil that is properly dispersing soot and other insolubles produces an evenly graduated spot. Dispersion characteristics of the oil are judged by how far oil drop spreads, how big the central sooty area is and how homogeneous the opacity of the spot is. The opacity of the spot will provide information on the oil contamination level. Though this method has proven effective, individual subjectivity in readings oil spots affects the reliability of results. To help oil analysts taking most advantage of this valuable traditional technique the company AD systems in cooperation with a lab dedicated in Oil Conditioning Monitoring (OCM) has developped a modern automatic instrument DT 100 offering significant increase in accuracy and repeatability of measurements. This new technique removes all the arbitrary aspect of the manual method.

Unique and simple instrument to measure dispersancy

Complete OCM program with unique information on oil dispersancy

Dispersancy measurement and soot content quantification

Tool to make justified pro-active actions and maintenance planning decisions

Removes all arbitrary aspects of manual method

Evaluation of oil formulation
Performance of DD additives

Ideal for trend analysis in OCM programs and diagnosis on diesel engines

Lubricants performance at engine operation conditions
Lubricants compatibility evaluation

The DT100 takes a spot image with a built-in digital camera. In seconds, the software scans and analyzes all the different areas of the oil spot and automatically calculates the quantitative quality parameters of a motor oil in service. The DT100 has been designed to satisfy needs of OCM laboratories. It is an easy-to-use and robust analyzer equipped with enhanced quality and communication features. The spot images can be stored on USB storage devices and sent to local networks (LIMS) with an Ethernet interface. Versatile communication protocol is configurable for the specific requirements of each laboratory. The DT100 provides fully traceable electronic data storage eliminating the need for paper archiving. A laboratory technician can perform on-site calibration in minutes using a standard calibration tool supplied with the instrument. The DT100 complies with modern QA/QS laboratory practices.

The index of contamination (IC) is the concentration of insoluble soot loading in a diesel engine oil charge and is expressed as weight percent. Such contaminants cause a rise in the viscosity of system oil and may result in the formulation of sludge, which can lead to excessive component wear. The merit of dispersancy (MD) indicates the ability of the lubricant in a diesel engine to carry combustion contaminants in suspension. It is expressed as a number from zero to 100. Providing an adequate dispersancy level is maintained, the amount of insoluble soot that can be tolerated increases and the diagnostician can make informed recommendations to the vessel's engineer about the treatment of the remaining oil charge. The lubricant's inability to maintain the contaminants in suspension may lead to deposits accumulating in the bottom of the crankcase and cause problems with filtration and/or purification equipment.

Example

MD = 0 = poor dispersion: the insolubles are all concentrated in the centre of the oil spot in the test; the residues are flocculated.
MD = 100 = excellent dispersion: the distribution of the insoluble on the filter paper is homogeneous.
The demerit points (DP) figure reflects the overall condition of the oil, as it is a combination of the IC and the MD derived from the calculation DP = (100 - MD) x IC. A low DP (0 or close to 0) indicates slight contamination and excellent dispersancy. A high DP (approaching 100 or more) indicates heavy contamination and/or a poor dispersancy

Communication

The DT 100 has been designed to satisfy needs of OCM labs. It is an easy to use and robust analyser equipped with enhanced quality and communication features. Connection to LIMS can be done with Ethernet interface. The DT 100 software is able to manage local network connection with user login and password. Data format and storage options are configurable for specific requirements of each laboratory. The test data can be simply downloaded on USB memory stick, saved in local network or printed. When connected to a printer, the results data are automatically printed out after each measure.

Spot image storage

Storage of filter sheets with spots doesn't make sense because the oil spot is changing and degrading over time. It is important to "freeze" the spot at the moment when contamination and dispersancy measurements were taken. The DT 100 tester is offering electronic data storage features eliminating paper reports archiving. The images can be stored on USB storage device or be sent to local network. The DT 100 can store spot bitmap images taken with backlighting (DT 100) or with front lighting (DT 100DL). The DT 100DL (Dual Light) is equipped with additional light source, color camera and specific software. This DT 100DL configuration offers the possibility of taking and recording the color picture of the spot in front lighting as it is seen by human eyes. In addition to quantitative parameters of the spot

Technical Points	Description
Dispersancy(MD)	100 (good) to 0 (verypoor)
Contamination index(IC)	0.1 to 5%
Combined Performance Rating(DP)	0 (good) to 200 (very poor)
Duration of spot analysis	Few seconds per spot
Max spot diameter	Up to 45 mm
Positionning of the spot	Visual centering with guide
Imaging system	color CCD camera
Light source	Dual lighting - backlight and front light LED panels
Calibration of imaging system	Special calibration tool (delivered with the unit)
Results storage	Unlimited, depends on external USB storage device capacity
Spot image storagel	Color image in front light and B&W image in backlight
Data output	2xUSB, LAN connectivity by Ethernet RJ45, optional printer
Dimensions (mm)	305 x 487 x 390 (W x D x H)
Weight	20kg
Electrical	115 to 230V - 2A - 50/60Hz

The Instrument

Catalog Number	Description	Picture
AA110-002	Dispersancy Tester - DT100DL with Dual Light and color camera Dual Light option allows taking color spot pictures in front lighting for archiving and reporting purposes. The equipment is delivered with a set of 100 filter paper Durieux_n122 260 x 260 mm, 5 sets of filter supports, calibration kit, and user manual in English.

Accessories

Catalog Number	Description	Picture
AK000-001 AK000-002	Printer 112mm 230V 50/60Hz Industrial thermal printer. Delivered pre-configured, with cable, adapter and 1 paper roll Printer 112mm 115V 50/60Hz Industrial thermal printer. Delivered pre-configured, with cable, adapter and 1 paper roll
AK000-004	Micro-Pipette 20µL Adjustable Volume
AK110-001	260 x 260 mm PAPER HOLDER 16 holes diameter 50mm, spaced out by 65 mm
AK110-004	Micro-Pipette Drop Guide Designed to assist lab technician in making repeatable oil drops. The guide is placed on the hole in the filter holder and assure vertical position of the micro-pipette tip in the center of the hole and always on the same distance to the filter paper. The technician just needs to push the piston to get a perfect drop.
AK110-002	DT100DL Calibration kit

Consumables

Catalog Number	Description	Picture
AC110-001	Set of 500 filter paper 260 x 260 mm Durieux n122 grade AD Systems certifies the quality of this filter paper
AC000-001	Set of 10 printer paper rolls