Condition monitoring of lubricants with FTIR spectroscopy is a useful diagnostic tool that can help us to determine whether a lubricant is fit for purpose during its service life. However, analyzing lubricating grease is different to other less viscous lubricants due to the physical characteristics of greases. Analyzing grease samples with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) accessories does work but will yield spectra with low absorbance that are not necessarily representative of the whole sample.
This application note demonstrates how greases can be consistently and accurately measured with the PerkinElmer Spectrum™ Two FTIR Spectrometer and the Specac Pearl liquid transmission accessory.