Particle PQ content tester

The Rotating Particle PQ Content Tester (PQ100) uses an offline particle quantification (commonly referred to as PQ) magnetometer to monitor wear trends in machinery, extract oil samples from the machine, and collect a magnetic flux field deeper than the sensing coil in the instrument in the test box. It determines the quantitative change in magnetic field caused by the presence of any ferromagnetic material and provides a relative value (PQ index). PQ is a sensitive magnetometer, and the PQ index is a quantitative number without units, which has a good linear relationship with the content of iron filings and the size of particles in the sample; In the process of oil analysis, PQ index is the basic identification parameter, which can identify large iron filings (larger than 5 to 10 microns) that cannot be measured by other analytical techniques, without the need for complex sample preparation.

Take a lubricating oil sample from the machine, with a sampling volume higher than the detection magnetic field of the instrument sensor coil. The device provides a PQ index by detecting the quantitative variation of the magnetic field in the presence of ferromagnetic substances, which is related to the concentration and spatial distribution of ferromagnetic substances in the coil induced volume. If the oil sample is not disturbed for a period of time, the test concentration during this period is roughly the same. However, if the oil sample experiences an increase in PQ value, for example, from the initial good testing conditions to a continuous increase in PQ value, due to the abrasive nature of metal fragments, PQ value may exhibit time dependence, and information about the size (mass) of metal fragments can be obtained from the rate of any time related behavior recorded. PQ100 is not designed to measure the absolute number of fragments, but to monitor trends. Importantly, the PQ index must change by at least 10% compared to previous measurements. It is normal for empty sample bottles and clean oil to give a slightly positive PQ index, as long as they give consistent readings, it will not affect the trend.