A comparative study of standards for determinations of trace wear metals in jet engine oils

Abstract

The feasibility of using acid-treated metal powder standards for the determination of trace wear metals in spent jet engine oils is evaluated. The addition of 2:3:3 (v/v/v) HF—HCl—HNO 3 mixture to used lubricating oils did not cause any statistically reliable differences from results obtained with organometallic standards. Two sets of six correlation samples, one set being acid-treated, were analyzed for Cu, Cr, Mg, Fe, Mo and V by flame atomic absorption and flame atomic fluorescence spectrometry against each set of standards.