The Grease Genome: Decoding the Hidden Signature of Lubrication Failures – LubeExpo Europe 2025

Description

In modern reliability programs, grease is often treated as a simple consumable, used, discarded, and replaced without investigation. This oversight obscures a valuable source of diagnostic intelligence. Grease, when properly sampled and analyzed, retains a chemical and structural history of the conditions it has endured. By treating grease as a forensic witness rather than a disposable product, maintenance teams can uncover the earliest indicators of mechanical distress. This paper introduces the concept of the grease genome, mapping degradation pathways such as shear decay, base oil migration, and thickener phase separation. Using tools like Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and drop-point trend analysis, practitioners can reveal failure fingerprints long before physical damage is visible in bearings.