Drop of knowledge #19

Ecol Laboratory – what happened in July?

1. 1. Ecol experts with first LLA II certificates in Poland →
2. 2. Can filtration harm the oil? →
3. 3. The upcoming conferences in which we are participating
4. 4. Element of the month →

1. Ecol experts with first LLA II certificates in Poland

We are proud to announce that four representatives of our laboratory – Emilia Chlodek, Darina Węglorz, Agnieszka Muras-Lipok and Anna Wowk – were the first in Poland to receive the prestigious Level II Laboratory Lubricant Analyst (LLA II) certificate from the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML).

This outstanding achievement confirms their advanced expertise in oil diagnostics and condition monitoring and demonstrates the world-class expertise of our team.

The road to LLA II certification was not easy – it was preceded by intensive training by international experts: Jose I. Ciria and Jorge Alarcon. The training combined theory and practice and prepared participants for the ICML exams – recognized today as one of the most important global standards in the industry.

Ecol continues to develop the competence of the laboratory’s team, planning further training and certification exams. This allows us to provide our customers with an even higher level of technical support.

check also at ecol.eu:

2. Can filtration harm the oil?

Filtration plays a key role in keeping oil clean and protecting machinery, but…. does “more” always mean “better”?

While thorough filtration reduces wear on components and extends the life of equipment, it can also lead to the removal of valuable additives – essential for proper lubricant performance.
Find out what mechanisms are responsible for the depletion of additives, and how to choose the filtration for the specific operation of the machine, so as not to harm – instead of helping.

➡️ Read the full article and learn about the pitfalls of excessive filtration: click here

3. The upcoming “conferences” we are attending:

4. Element of the month

Aluminum (in technology: aluminum; Latin: aluminium) – a chemical element, a metal from the p block of the periodic table.

Aluminum, also known as aluminum, is a silvery-white, lightweight and malleable metal with low density and high ductility. It is also a good conductor of electricity and heat, and has high ductility, making it widely used in various industries.

In its pure form, its mechanical properties are poor, which, however, can be significantly improved by small amounts of alloying additives. It oxidizes rapidly in air and undergoes passivation, becoming covered with a layer of aluminum oxide a few nm thick. It is the third most common element in the Earth’s crust.

In the diagnostic analysis of elements contained in oil, aluminum is included in the “wear” category. As aluminum alloys, aluminum is used in a wide range of equipment and machinery components resulting from their metallurgy, including worm gears (in correlation with tin and copper), oil pumps, clutches, sealing rings, cast aluminum alloy parts. In aircraft piston engines, the detection of this element can indicate increased wear mainly in cylinder pistons, but also in piston pins.

Application:

👉 Due to its properties, such as low density and corrosion resistance, aluminum-copper-magnesium alloys, called duralumin, have found many applications and are used to make a wide range of products – from car body and engine parts, to aircraft plating and structural components, to spacecraft parts.

👉 So-called dispersion-hardened aluminum is used in the manufacture of structural components for the cores of some nuclear research reactors.

Interesting facts:

👉 Aluminum alloys with manganese and magnesium are used to make beverage cans. Vacuum sputtering of aluminum onto the surface of glass or transparent plastics is used to make mirrors.

👉 It is also used in the food industry as a metallic dye. It is used in silver decorations for cakes and pies.

👉 As aluminum foil of various thicknesses is used for packaging (including food) and for a variety of purposes in laboratory techniques. Aluminum foil is also used as a so-called mirror or heat screen (reflecting infrared radiation), to prevent heat loss.