Abstract:
Implementing condition-based maintenance of turbine lubricant oils is desirable to maximize machinery operation and minimize waste. Previous research indicates that relative antioxidant level is a good predictor of turbine oil condition, allowing for maintenance to consist of antioxidant replenishment. This present work investigates how antioxidants in a typical turbine oil deplete under accelerating aging conditions, and how these species can be monitored in terms of common antioxidant measurement methods based on commonly employed infrared absorbance and electrochemical methods. Common turbine lubricants typically comprise both amine and phenol antioxidants that interact in a synergistic manner, whereby the phenol antioxidant sacrificially regenerates the aminic antioxidant. The impact of this synergy on the respective observed degradation rates of the antioxidants is evaluated in terms of a simple framework, and rate equations for each species are then derived in the steady-state approximation limit. This work further evaluates the possibility of using online fluorescence sensing to track antioxidant depletion, which has fewer barriers to online implementation than current laboratory technologies. Online sensor implementation offers near real-time monitoring in contrast to the low temporal resolution of traditional offline sample-based laboratory methods, allowing operators to adopt agile lubrication management strategies.
Keywords: Lubrication,
Antioxidants,
Oxidation,
Online sensors,
Condition-based-maintenance Machinery health
Recieved: 20.03.2026,
Revised: 22.04.2026,
Accepted: 22.05.2026
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