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Interpreting Fe, Cu, Sn, Sb & Si Trends in Marine Lube Oil Analysis

MEO Class 2
MEO Class 1
UK Management

times asked: 35; times asked
questions: 10; questions
last asked: 2026; last asked

The slides, written out

AI-drawn illustration. Simplified to explain the idea, not to scale.

Slide 1 · Fe

Fe Cu Sn Sb Si WHAT ELEVATED WEAR METALS ARE TELLING YOU Interpreting Fe, Cu, Sn, Sb & Si in Marine Lube Oil Analysis EARLY DETECTION = LOWER REPAIR COSTS

Slide 2 · IRON (Fe)

IRON (Fe) ELEVATED Iron is the primary indicator of cylinder liner and piston ring wear and possible liner scuffing. INVESTIGATION CHECKLIST COMPARE • Blow-by rates • Exhaust temperatures • Compression pressures INSPECT • Scavenge drains • Ring fragments • Metallic debris REVIEW • Piston overhaul history • Running-in condition VERIFY • Stuffing box integrity • Purifier performance Fe CYLINDER LINER WEAR PISTON RING WEAR KEY INSIGHT Trend increases are often more significant than a single laboratory result.

Slide 3 · BEARING WEAR

BEARING WEAR INDICATORS Cu Sn Sb Copper Tin Antimony Simultaneous increases in Cu + Sn + Sb are strong indicators of White-metal bearing wear Bearing overlay fatigue Bronze component wear INVESTIGATION CHECKLIST CHECK Main bearings Big-end bearings REVIEW Bearing temperatures Vibration trends Running gear noise INSPECT Oil strainers Auto-backwash filters CORRELATE Lead (Pb) Silver (Ag) Other wear metals WHITE-METAL OVERLAY INTERMEDIATE LAYER BACKING MATERIAL IMPORTANT Metallic flakes in filters require immediate engineering assessment.

Slide 4 · SILICON (Si) ELEVATED

SILICON (Si) ELEVATED DIRT INGESTION CATALYTIC FINES CONTAMINATION Silicon commonly originates from dirt ingestion or catalytic fines contamination. INVESTIGATION CHECKLIST INSPECT • Air filters • Turbocharger intake • Air trunk leaks REVIEW • Fuel treatment system • Purifier settings • Separator performance VERIFY • Aluminium levels (Al) • Sampling method • Sample location AIR INTAKE COMBUSTION CHAMBER BLOW-BY KEY LEARNING High Si + High Al strongly suggests catalytic-fine contamination. ACT EARLY. TREND CONTINUOUSLY. PREVENT FAILURE. | |

In exams

Asked 35 times across 10 different questions, most recently in 2026. Asked most in MEO Class 2 (23), MEO Class 1 (9), UK Management (3).

Drafted by SailR from our daily lessons. AI-drawn illustration. Simplified to explain the idea, not to scale. Last updated 19 Oct 2026.

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