The invention relates to the field of aeronautical propulsion, and more specifically to an emptying and monitoring device and method for emptying and monitoring a fluid drained from an aircraft engine. The emptying and monitoring device comprises at least one first intake passage for receiving, directly from the aircraft, fluid drained from the engine, and a first quality sensor assembly for detecting at least one quality parameter of the fluid drained from the engine, having been admitted through the first intake passage.

Systems and methods are provided for in-situ determination of engine oil viscosity to allow for selection of an engine map by an engine control module (ECM) to match the detected viscosity. The new engine map selected based on the viscosity can correspond to an engine map based on an engine oil with a different HTHS viscosity than the prior engine map. Instead of requiring a reprogramming of an ECM when the engine oil is changed, an ECM can have access to a plurality of engine maps corresponding to different engine oils at a given HTHS viscosity and/or at different HTHS viscosities. The ability of an ECM to select an engine map corresponding to a different HTHS viscosity based on in-situ viscosity detection can allow the oil in an engine to be changed without requiring access to the ECM for reprogramming.

An apparatus comprising: an identity determiner configured to determine an identity of a removable fluid container; a characteristic determiner configured to obtain a first characteristic based on testing the fluid of the fluid container; a data obtainer configured to obtain a second characteristic based on the identity; and a processor configured to control a fluid provider to provide fluid from the removable fluid container based on the comparison of the first characteristic and the second characteristic.

An apparatus comprising: an identity determiner configured to determine an identity of a removable fluid container; a characteristic determiner configured to obtain a first characteristic based on testing the fluid of the fluid container; a data obtainer configured to obtain a second characteristic based on the identity; and a processor configured to control a fluid provider to provide fluid from the removable fluid container based on the comparison of the first characteristic and the second characteristic.

A lubrication circuit for a gas turbine engine comprises a heat exchanger having an inlet pipe which carries a flow of lubricant to the heat exchanger; a heater configured to heat lubricant to produce a flow of heated lubricant to be provided to the heat exchanger; and a sensor operable to measure a measured parameter from which it can be determined whether the lubricant requires heating.

Various embodiments of the invention include a system having: at least one computing device at least one computing device configured to monitor a lubrication oil by performing actions including: determining an initial ideal remaining life for the lubrication oil; determining a temperature-based remaining life for the lubrication oil based upon a temperature measurement of the lubrication oil; calculating a contamination factor of the lubrication oil based upon a non-particle count sample of the lubrication oil; determining an updated ideal life remaining for the lubrication oil based upon the contamination factor, the initial ideal remaining life, and the temperature-based remaining life; and determining an actual life remaining for the lubrication oil based upon the updated ideal life remaining and an actual life lost for the lubrication oil.

A device for supplying lubricant to a lubrication point in a machine, a tunnel boring machine, for example, includes a lubrication pump unit and a control unit. The lubrication pump unit is configured to supply a quantity of the lubricant to the lubrication point, and the control unit is configured to regulate the quantity of lubricant based on a sensor measurement signal. The sensor measurement signal may be based on a temperature measured in a region of the lubrication point, a pressure measured in a region of the lubrication point, a measured viscosity of the lubricant, a measured dielectricity of the lubricant, a measured water content of the lubricant, a vibration intensity measured at a part of the machine, or a measured rotational speed of a part of the machine.

A controller sets a target hydraulic pressure from a required hydraulic pressure of a hydraulically operated device according to an operating condition of an engine. The controller causes an oil control valve to perform feedback control of the discharge amount of an oil pump in such a manner that an actual hydraulic pressure detected by a hydraulic pressure sensor coincides with the target hydraulic pressure. The controller executes feedback control after executing fixed duty control of setting a duty ratio of the oil control valve to a fixed duty ratio for a predetermined period of time from start of the engine.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method of controlling a pressure gradient between a combustion chamber and a crankcase of an engine, the method having: receiving, at a control device, a signal indicating that a lubricant container is coupled to a lubricant circulation system associated with the engine, in response to the received signal, providing data to cause operation of a suction control device for facilitating control of the pressure gradient.

A fluid monitoring and management device that includes a housing with a fluid passageway. The fluid monitoring and management device further includes a fluid property sensor with a sensing element in the fluid passageway. A valve is in the fluid passageway of the fluid monitoring and management device. A removable bottle mount is aligned with the valve to be selectively in fluid communication with the fluid passageway.