Prediction of end of useful life time of internal combustion engine lubricating oil by using coaxial cylindrical probe

This article presents a co-axial cylindrical probe developed to predict the condition of the lubricating oil in internal combustion engines. Aging of lubrication oil has a major role in premature failure of engines. Changes in their physical and chemical properties affect the oil´s lubricating quality. The proposed system is used to measure the dielectric constant of oil under test. This is a used to predict the degradation of oil. Kinematic viscosity, total acid number, total base number and soot of the collected samples are measured by American society for testing and materials (ASTM) methods. The probe is used to test various samples of lubrication oil to determine change in dielectric constant with degradation which is compared with laboratory test results. The test results show that, the probe is responding well, for change in viscosity, TBN, TAN and soot content. Hence the probe is a reliable device to monitor the lubrication oil condition by measuring the change in dielectric constant.