Techniques suitable for a portable wear metal analyzer

A literature study for the techniques suitable for a portable wear metal analyzer has been conducted. The intent was to locate a technique which could lead to the development of a deployable field instrument to analyze metals in used aircraft engine oil for preventive maintenance purposes. Ten techniques, including six optical spectroscopic methods, two X-ray techniques, radioactive tagging, and colorimetry, were evaluated. Emphasis was placed on the fundamental limitations of each technique for this particular application. As a result, three optical techniques looked promising and their practicality was further investigated. The final assessment of these three techniques was based on the feasibility of making the instrument portable, low cost, able to analyze elements of interest, particle size independent, and with moderate power consumption. The three techniques, in order of suitability are: furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy, rotating disc electrode atomic emission spectroscopy, and dc plasma atomic emission spectroscopy.