Monitoring of aging processes in motor oils by changing their optical properties
Mileage is one of the main criteria for replacing engine oil during car operation. At the same time, the problem of timely monitoring the state of working oil due to the lack of control at enterprises and service stations remains an urgent challenge. The results of studying Ravenol 5W-40 SN/CF and Mobil 1 New Life 0W-40 SN/SM/SL/SJ synthetic motor oils using a photometric device which allows direct photometric measurements of samples are presented. A method intended for control of the intensity of aging processes is proposed, including determination of the increment in the rate of change in the absorption coefficient of the light flux as a function of the vehicle mileage. Aging of the oil is shown to be an unstable process which is attributed to the formation of aging products of different optical density and energy intensity. It is also shown that the intensity of aging depends on conditions and operating modes of the engine, technical condition and performance of the cleaning system. The proposed method for monitoring the condition of motor oils during engine operation is proved to be effective. The individual character of aging processes is proved, the intensity of aging can be estimated by the incrementing rate of change of the light flux absorption coefficient depending on the vehicle mileage.