5.1 This guide is intended to provide machinery maintenance and monitoring personnel with a guideline for performing filter debris analysis as a means to determine machine condition. Correlating the filter contaminants to 'normal' and 'abnormal' lube system operation provides early indication of a contaminant or component wear related lube system problem. Analysis of the contaminant collected within the lube filter element provides a tool to identify the failure mode, its rate of progression, and the source of the contamination.

5.2 FDA differs from traditional oil analysis in that the filter is sampled instead of the fluid. Debris from the filter is removed for analysis. FDA is an effective means of monitoring equipment wear because the wear history is efficiently captured in the filter matrix. Typically, more than 95 % of all released metal particles larger than the filter pore size are captured in the filter (1).⁵ In addition, other types of particulate contamination, including seal wear material and environmental contaminations are captured, which can also provide diagnostic information.