| Abstract: |
Lubricating oil degradation represents one of the foremost contributors to premature machinery failure in industrial systems. This study investigates the physicochemical and tribological mechanisms underlying oil degradation and applies root cause analysis (RCA) to enhance machinery reliability. The objectives were to quantify oil quality deterioration through kinematic viscosity, total acid number (TAN), total base number (TBN), and wear metal concentrations, and to identify the primary root causes of lubrication-related machinery failures. A systematic secondary data analysis design was employed, integrating peer-reviewed field studies and laboratory investigations published between 2019 and 2025. The hypothesis posits that progressive oil degradation driven by oxidation, thermal stress, additive depletion, and contamination is the principal root cause of unplanned machinery downtime. Results reveal that friction increases up to 9% while wear rates surge over 420% within a 20,000 km service cycle; iron concentrations average 23.72 ppm across diesel engine fleets; and AI-based predictive monitoring systems achieve 96.67% fault detection accuracy. These findings collectively support the adoption of condition-based maintenance frameworks for improved reliability engineering. |
