Shipboard Condition Monitoring

Abstract

Oil condition monitoring forms a vital part of integrated machinery health management programs. Good lubrication is essential for the well‐being of equipment, with safe and reliable operation dependent on the condition of the oil. Recently, a shift from time‐based maintenance to that of condition‐based maintenance (CBM) has strengthened the need for reliable data on chemical changes to the oil and information on the presence of contaminants and wear metals in the oil. Together with operational parameters, these data enable informed decisions to be made with regard to maintenance interventions or to respond to abnormal operating conditions. Periodic sampling and offline laboratory analysis has been the traditional approach to land‐based CBM. However, this is clearly inadequate for shipboard maintenance due to the delay incurred between sampling at sea to that of analysis on shore. This article reviews the various aspects of shipboard condition monitoring options ranging from simple test kits to permanent sensor installations. A practical example involving cylinder lubrication oil is given to illustrate the benefit of multiparameter testing for precise diagnostics.