Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1988)

Exxon Offers Exxcare—

A Cost-Cutting Computerized Solution

To Maintaining/Monitoring Oil —Technical Paper Available—

Good lubrication contributes greatly to the efficient operation and long service life of machinery.

In turn, good lubrication depends on two factors, i.e.—a proper selec- tion of products and a sound care of the lubricants in service, which real- ly means keeping any lubricant con- tamination that will occur during service to a minimum. To imple- ment such care, it is necessary to have reliable monitoring of oil con- dition coupled with an effective sys- tem for maintaining the quality of the oil at the required level.

Exxon Company International's solution to monitoring and main- taining oil condition is Exxcare®, a programmed analysis system for ef- ficient maintenance of Exxon lubri- cants in service, whether in diesel engines or in other machinery.

At first glance, Exxcare appears to be similar to other systems used for fast analysis of oils in service.

Exxcare, like other systems, uses a

Sampling Kit containing small plas- tic sample bottles, which can be air mailed to specialized laboratories for quick analysis. The Sampling

Kit, of course, contains other re- lated material to make the sampling and mailing operation both smooth and simple. Even at this first and simplest stage of the Exxcare sys- tem, special attention has been paid to provide the ship's engineer with specific advice on sampling tech- niques aimed at ensuring that a rep- resentative sample is taken at all times.

However, what really singles out

Exxcare is its computerized expert system designed to perform a com- prehensive analysis of all test re- sults obtained and translate that analysis in specific operational ad- vice relevant to the situation under study.

Exxcare is primarily intended for main propulsion system oils in cir- culation. It can, however, also pro- vide routine analysis of other large capacity installations and practical- ly the entire range of machinery and systems on board ship. Since not all the tests performed within Exxcare are relevant to all situations, the number of tests to be carried out has been tailored to actual requirements and varies according to "testing pro- grams," which link the type of prod- uct to its application. Of course, non-routine samples mailed by the ship personnel with a specific re- quest for prompt analysis on ac- count of a stated emergency condi- tion will be accommodated.

Tests are performed according to well-established procedures, supple- mented by special analytical tech- niques such as gas chromatography, emissions spectroscopy and others, as might be required.

The tests are categorized as: Ba- sic—tests that are always per- formed as a matter of course, in con- formity with the "testing pro- grams"; Supplementary—tests that are run anytime the results of Basic tests warrant a wider investigation; and Optional—tests that are per- formed if an operator specifically requires them.

On completion of testing related to a certain program, the computer carries out the trend analysis on the tests' results. This comprises: (1) Comparing each quality char- acteristic of the oil in service against industry specified limits and when these are not stated, against desir- able levels developed by Exxon through well-established field expe- rience. (2)Assessing the magnitude of change between consecutive analy- ses. This is a particularly useful indicator of type and urgency of cor- rective actions required for charac- teristics such as viscosity and Total

Base Number (TBN). (3) Analyzing the possibility of interdependence of significant changes of quality features such as viscosity and insolubles content,

TBN and water content, flash point and fuel contamination.

The computerized expert system of Exxcare reliably analyzes cause- effect relationships through a net- work of critical paths in the comput- er evaluation of test results. This network leads to a range of key situ- ations, each representing the out- come of laboratory and computer analysis, inclusive of specific advice for appropriate remedial actions.

With the use of Exxcare, an overall trend analysis can be established based on an analytical history and the rate of change of physico-chemi- cal characteristics of a lubricant in the recent past.

The overall condition of a system oil can only be assessed through a combination of tests, the analysis of which is seldom easy and may be quite time consuming. The use of an

Exxcare computerized expert sys- tem takes this chore away from the operator while at the same time offering him a reliable in-depth analysis, with the added bonus of consistency of diagnostic approach and advice as opposed to individual interpretations. The Exxcare trend analysis program covers 125 situa- tions, large enough to cater to most, if not all, eventualities.

The importance of lubricant care from the standpoint of efficiency and safety of machinery operation cannot be overemphasized. A com- puterized expert system, such as that available through Exxcare, ap- pears to offer the best chance of a reliable and consistent trend analy- sis, thus optimizing maintenance of lubricants in service. Of course, good purifying and handling prac- tices on board ship remain an opera- tional must.

Exxon Company International is offering a free technical paper de- tailing the Exxcare computerized expert system. The paper will be available at the Exxon display,

Booth 324, at the 7th International

Maritime Exposition of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine En- gineers (SNAME) Annual Meeting in the New York Hilton, New York

City on November 9-12. Additional- ly, the technical paper can be ob- tained by writing to: Robert E.

Berner, Exxon Company Interna- tional, 222 Park Avenue, Florham

Park, N.J. 07932-1002.

For a free brochure on Exxcare,

Circle 11 on Reader Service Card

Ship after Ship...

For more than 35 years, ship after ship has been fitted with

Loeffler valves, deck drains and bells. The reason? High quality products at a good price.

Loeffler still offers high quality products at competitive prices ... and maintains a substantial inventory to meet your needs.

Get all the details. Ask for your FREE CATALOG today.

CALL 800-752-7595.

Quality Products,

Fast Delivery,

Good Prices. loeffler •f CORPORATION

FORMERLY LOEFFLER MACHINE CORPORATION 201 East Lincoln Hwy, Penndel, PA 19047-4097

CALL 215-757-2404 • FAX 215-757-7105

Circle 112 on Reader Service Card

ALL PNEUMATIC

King-Gage All-Pneumatic

System - a proven precision performer for industrial, chemical, food and marine applications.

Indicates units of depth, weight and volume of liquids at the tank or as you require: pounds, gallons, feet and inches, meters, etc. Analog column or * 5

DIGITAL King-Gage" Digital Liquid Level Gauging

System provides continuous, remote indication. . .on a %" seven digit display.. .in units of weight, volume. ___depth, percent, or ullage (amount left until full).

Assured accuracy of 0.15% full scale.

Will interface with your computer "Where Precision Rules"

KING ENGINEERING CORPORATION

P.O. Box 1228 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 313-662-5691 TELEX 23-4040 - 48

Circle 119 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News