Week 7

Hi everyone,

This week we decided to create more reference samples containing carbonyl iron and run them through the Q230. The previous carbonyl iron reference sample is known as S-1000 test dust and it contains iron particles with a max diameter of 25 microns. The other two carbonyl iron test dusts are S-3700 which contains iron particles with a max diameter of 6 microns and S-1641 which contains iron particles with a max diameter of 12 microns.  This week I was able to prepare and test reference samples containing S-3700 iron test dust. I was also able to conduct my first ferrograms. To prepare a ferrogram, a sample is mixed with 4ml of hydraulic oil and 1ml of heptane and transferred to a thistle tube. The sample is then metered onto ferrogram slide which is at a decline. Magnets are placed around ferrogram slide creating a magnetic flux which aligns ferrous particles in the direction of the magnetic flux while nonferrous particles are randomly oriented on ferrogram slide. Once the sample fluid has passed across the ferrogram slide it is deposited into a drain, then it is flushed with heptane to dry the slide. Once the ferrogram slide was completely dried, I removed it and looked at the ferrogram slide under a light microscope and took pictures of it. The largest ferrous particles are located closer to ferrogram slide that is closest to thistle tube because the magnetic force acting on a particle is proportional to its volume. I was able to create a ferrogram of reference 18 which contains S-3700 carbonyl iron test dust and is shown to the right at magnification of 40x.