Ametek Spectro - Total Ferrous Measurement - Application Note - Brochure

The measurement and trending of abnormal ferrous wear debris in machinery lubrication oils is arguably the most significant indicator of Machinery HealthTM and a key predictor of catastrophic failure. Monitoring of abnormal ferrous content for industrial oil analysis is a well-established practice; common techniques include time resolved dielectric (5200 minilab) or magnetometer based designs such as the Kittiwake Analex PQ series and the Midas instrument. With some instruments there is no quantified result of ferrous content in ppm or mg/ml, instead, a dimensionless index called the “PQ” index is reported. The PQ instrument reports values on a scale from PQ=0 (no ferrous) up to a maximum value, typically PQ=750. A PQ reading < 25 is considered ‘normal’ wear.