Degradation 06A – Varnish Measurement

Degradation 06A – Varnish Measurement is an advanced-level course focused on understanding, detecting, and managing lubricant varnish—a leading cause of unplanned downtime in turbines, compressors, and hydraulics.

Varnish is a complex degradation byproduct that forms in response to thermal stress, oxidation, and contamination. This course guides you through the primary test methods used in both laboratory and field settings to assess varnish potential and confirm varnish-related failures.

You’ll learn to interpret results from key techniques like Membrane Patch Colorimetry (MPC), RULER, ultracentrifuge testing, and FTIR—giving you the knowledge to proactively monitor systems, determine varnish severity, and decide on appropriate mitigation strategies such as filtration, fluid replacement, or system flushing.

Ideal for reliability professionals, oil analysts, and plant maintenance teams, this course helps bridge the gap between lab results and real-world reliability decisions.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Understand how and why varnish forms in lubricating systems
Select and interpret the most relevant varnish-related test methods
Identify early warning signs of fluid degradation
Support root cause analysis of sticking valves, filter plugging, and control instability
Recommend corrective actions based on evidence-based diagnostics

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100% Positive Reviews

5000 Students

9 Modules

2h

Course Syllabus

- Introduction
- Particle Count
- FTIR
- Total Acid Number
- RPVOT
- RULER
- MPC
- Ultracentrifuge
- Field Testing

Who is this course for?

Condition Monitoring Technicians
Laboratory Analysts
Lubrication Engineers
Industrial Lubricants Salespeople
Reliability Engineers
Rotating Equipment Engineers

Meet the expert

Rafe Britton

Formulation, Marketing, Oil Analysis

Australia

Rafe Britton, the Lubrication Expert, is known within the industry for his YouTube channel and podcast, and works with mid-size industrials improve their equipment uptime while reducing the cost of their lubrication program. He is a mechanical engineer with 13 years of experience on both sides of the industry; both as an operator, and lubricant supplier. Rafe holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Physics from UNSW.

$50.00/ month

+50 Lubrication courses

Snapshot

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