DETERMINATION OF WEAR ELEMENTS IN TRACTOR LUBRICATING OIL: COMPARISON BETWEEN AAS AND ICP-OES TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Determination of appropriate tractor engine lubricating oil change based on hours of operation or distance
travelled lead to wastage of resources/ premature failure of machine components as some tractor operators
unnecessarily use to over throttle engines during clutching in order to impress others. Oil analysis has
been used to assess the overall stress being encountered during operations with varied torque/speed
characteristics. This study was conducted to determine the presence and level of wear elements in engine
lubricating oil of tractors using inductively coupled plasma and optical emission spectroscopy
(ICP&OES) technique and comparing the results with earlier results obtained using atomic absorption
spectroscopy (AAS) on the same samples. The comparison between AAS and ICP&OES was based on
analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncans Multiple range test (DMRT). The two statistical methods
show significant differences between the tractors in five elements (Zinc, Chromium, Nickel, Copper and
Iron) using AAS versus seven (Chromium, Nickel, Lead, Copper, Iron, Cobalt and Manganese) with
ICP&OES. The ICP&OES results precisely showed that tractor number six was the most mishandled by
its operator. The study recommends regular monitoring of wear elements using ICP&OES technique over
AAS.