Q&A Questions and answers

Tribologists at OELCHECK
Year of publication: 2023
OELCHECK tribologists evaluate and report on the results of their lubricant and operating fluid analyses. But what is a tribologist, exactly? And what specific knowledge do OELCHECK tribologists need to have to do their job?
The multidisciplinary science of tribology – known as lubrication technology until 1970 – is a branch of mechanical engineering in which everything revolves around friction, wear and lubrication. As such, OELCHECK tribologists and lubrication technicians not only have extensive specialist knowledge of the materials used to build machines and engines, but they also understand the relationships of lubricants from a physics and chemistry perspective. As builders of machines, they are also familiar with a wide range of production processes and the systems used, as well as their special operating conditions.
The term ’tribology’ is derived from the Greek and means ’knowledge of friction’. Lubricants are used to reduce friction and the resulting wear. However, lubricants play more roles than simply protecting the contact surfaces and ensuring they are as low-friction and wear-resistant as possible. Friction, wear and lubrication are inseparably linked. Based on their experience in practice, the Egyptians used water, animal fats and olive oil as lubricants when building the pyramids. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is regarded as the founder of modern tribology and defined the laws of dry friction – and therefore the laws of friction.
- Additional tests, the supplement to the all-inclusive analysis kits from OELCHECK
- Biodiesel in engine oil
- Black hydraulic oil due to diesel effect
- Black oil in diesel engine
- Can lubricating oil go bad?
- Can values change if the oil samples are stored for a long period of time?
- Cause for deviating purity classes in comparative analyses
- Correlation between wear, impurities and particle counting
- Data protection at OELCHECK
- Determining the mileage of an engine with an oil analysis
- Diesel fuel fit for the winter
- Different values from OELCHECK and another laboratory
- Discrepancies between laboratory results and portable particle counters
- Discrepancies in the "Additives" section - do these indicate a mixture of two different types of oil?
- Do bypass filters live up to their promise?
- Do online oil sensors make OELCHECK laboratory analyses unnecessary?
- Engine oils - Warning against uncontrolled oil change extensions
- Gear damage despite oil analyses?
- High levels of wear metals with normal purity classes?
- How can E10 be detected in engine oil?
- How clean are the OELCHECK sample bottles?
- How do I take an oil sample correctly?
- How much oil does OELCHECK need for an oil analysis?
- Increasing calcium content in lubricating oils
- Is a fresh oil analysis worthwhile?
- Is it possible to simplify the documentation of OELCHECK lab-reports?
- Leakages on seals despite very good oil purity?
- Miraculous oil increase in the engine of a construction machine
- OELCHECK Express Analysis
- Ölproben aus dem Ausland
- Parameters for grease analyses
- SAE classes 110 and 190 for automotive gear oils
- SAE engine oil or HLP hydraulic oil for construction machinery hydraulics?
- Safety data sheet prior to the analysis
- Sample containers for refrigeration compressor oils
- Saving money with lubricants - price alone doesn't cut it.
- Shipping oil samples - what do you have to consider?
- Silverfish in hydraulic oil
- Single tests only in connection with an analysis kit 1
- Soot index for petrol engines
- Sulphur in oil - impurity, oil component or additive?
- Synthetic oil: What should be considered when switching?
- Synthetic oils - does their use really pay off?
- The shear viscosity of greases
- The time factor when taking samples correctly
- Tribologists at OELCHECK
- What does the change in colour say about the quality of the oil?
- What is meant by the term "bio-oil"?
- What percentage of water in the oil is critical?
- Why are no values for oxidation given in some OELCHECK laboratory reports?
- Why do oils become cloudy?
- Why do you not indicate any "limit values" in your laboratory reports?
- Why does my oil foam?
- Zirconium – why does this element pop up in lab reports?