FluidScan
Spectro Scientific USA
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Fluidscan® 1000 series
FluidScan is a handheld Infrared analyzer for lubricant and grease condition and contamination monitoring
Highlights
The FluidScan® 1000 series handheld Infrared oil analyzer provides direct quantitative measurement of a lubricant’s condition and plays an important role in Machine Condition Monitoring (MCM) for proactive and predictive maintenance in Reliability Management programs. It determines when oil needs to be serviced due to degradation of the oil chemistry or contamination by other fluids such as water or the wrong oil. It is compliant with ASTM D7889 “Standard Test Method for Field Determination of In-Service Fluid Properties Using IR Spectroscopy”.
It also fulfils the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (NESHAP RICE) requirements for extending oil change intervals in engines and back-up generators when used in conjunction with the Spectro Q3050 Portable Viscometer.
Operating Principle
The FluidScan® is a self-contained handheld InfraRed analyzer that delivers instant fluid condition assessment to the user. It eliminates sample preparation and time-consuming cleanup using a patented flip top sampling cell for easy and rapid on-site analysis. At the core of the FluidScan is a patented, mid-infrared spectrometer with no moving parts. The spectrometer collects the infrared light transmitted through the fluid in the flip top cell into a waveguide. The waveguide then carries the light to a prism-like diffraction grating that reflects the light into a high-performance array detector which registers the infrared spectrum of the fluid. It provides more than adequate spectral range, resolution and signal-to-noise ratio for the rapid analysis of in-service lubricants.
Within one minute of sample introduction an InfraRed absorption spectrum of the fluid under test is produced by the Fluidscan optical system, and different calibration algorithms are then applied to the spectrum from a stored library of about 700 different fluids to produce parameters such as Oxidation, Total Base Number, Total Acid Number, depending on the fluid type. Spectro Scientific patented total water algorithm based on InfraRed Spectroscopy enables free water and dissolved water measurement to 300ppm for turbine oils. Parameter specific alarm limits stored in the Fluidscan device are applied to resulting parameters so user can immediately view pass/fail information on the device display.
Measured Parameters
One of the advantages of the FluidScan over laboratory FTIR is its ability to report absolute quantitative results for critical properties such as TAN and water contaminations for industrial lubricants or TBN, water, glycol, and soot for engine oils. Below table specifies different parameters provided by FluidScan depending on the oil type.
ASTM Compliance
Easy to use
- Needs just one drop of oil and one minute to test
- No solvents required to clean
- Color coded alarm levels
Fluid Manager desktop application provides:
- Report capability
- Device synchronization
- Data backup
- Asset Manager database
Multivariate Calibration
The FluidScan classifies fluids into groups called families based on their chemical makeup, usage and spectral signature. Family-specific algorithms are assigned that accurately quantify these amounts. The TAN, TBN and water are calibrated directly to wet chemistry titration readings. Soot is calibrated to soot percentages determined by thermo-gravimetric analysis. Glycol and incorrect fluid percentages are calibrated to samples prepared with known concentrations of glycol and incompatible fluids. The table summarizes key FluidScan properties and the ASTM protocols to which they correlate as a result of this calibration process.
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