United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

University of Dayton

Costandy S Saba

James Douglas Wolf

Robert E Kauffman

Phillip W Centers

David W Johnson

Robert L Wright, Jr

Wendell E Rhine

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus which can be used to detect the abnormal operating condition of equipment, such as engines and machinery, the usefulness of the fluid, and the content of wear metals and elemental constituents in the fluid. The method comprises the steps of bringing at least two electrodes into contact with a sample of a fluid to be analyzed; applying a square voltage wave form to the electrodes at a predetermined scan range and scan rate to cause a current to flow between the electrodes; monitoring the current at the electrodes to determine a current output signal; using the current output signal to measure the conductivity of the fluid; and analyzing the sample to determine a content of wear metals and elemental constituents in the sample.

Tandem technique for fluid monitoring

System and method for temperature resolved molecular emission spectroscopy of solid, liquid or gaseous materials are described wherein a sample is vaporized and decomposed, and the vaporous sample is transported into a combustion flame; a spectrum of intensity of the optical emission from the flame at a selected wavelength versus temperature of the sample define molecular peaks which are characteristic of the sample material and allows both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the sample.

Temperature resolved molecular emission spectroscopy of materials

The degree of wear metal contamination in an oil is determined by treating a sample of the oil with a mixture of HF/HCl/nitric acid, diluting the oil/acid mixture with a solvent mixture consisting of a nonionic surfactant and a diluent, and spectrometrically analyzing the resulting diluted mixture. Severe wear in an oil wetted apparatus may be detected by directly analyzing spectrometrically a sample of the oil and comparing the results of such analysis with the results obtained according to the acid dissolution method described above.

Method for the particle size independent spectrometric determination of

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Springfield, OH, United States of America

Costandy S Saba