Lubrication - The Life of Any Engine

An engine’s lubrication system is fundamentally moulded by the pump, oil filter, lubrication lines, and equipment. 

The pressure in the system is caused by the resistance that the oil must control in the lines to reach the lubricated components. A pump is used to constraint lubricants through the system. 

When an engine is in the design stage, the pump is fixed to generate the required pressure and flow to allow the lubricant to circulate to all the component as required

When the oil pressure is low, it stipulates that something is not working correctly. It also means there is likely to be low or not enough lubricant moving through the system. But Keep in mind that poor, low, or lubricant starvation will lead to metal-to-metal contact of an engine and will lead to machine failure. However, depending on the gravity of the situation, an engine can fail in a couple of hours or even a few seconds. The repair could also be costly, with most of the engine spare parts need, tomorrow, to be replaced.

Viscosity’s Impact:

Viscosity influences oil pressure. If you were to pour oil on an inclined surface, it would flow downhill due to the force of gravity. The higher the viscosity, the slower the lubricant will flow. 

Viscosity can be defined as resistance to flow. Lubricant viscosity varies with temperature, decreasing when the temperature rises and increases when the temperature drops. Meaning, engine oil viscosity will be dependent on the engine’s ambient temperature during startup as well as its standard operating temperature.

The two common ways to measure lubricant viscosity are as follows:

The first involves the free flow of oil through a capillary tube and secondly, recording the speed per second to flow from one point to another.

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