A sensor system (1) for inspecting oil, which comprises a micromechanical cell (10) defining a cavity (12), the micromechanical cell (10) being configured for allowing the entrance of oil (5) within said cavity (12) and the outcome of oil (5) from said cavity (12) through respective inlet (11a) and outlet (11b). The sensor system (1) comprises inside said micromechanical cell (10): a first transparent protective means (13a) configured to isolate the inner part of said first member (101) from said oil (5); a second transparent protective means (13b) configured to isolate the inner part of said second member (102) from said oil (5); a light source (14) disposed in said first member (101) and configured to emit incoherent light towards said oil (5) disposed within said cavity (12); an opaque plate (16) disposed between said light source (14) and said first transparent protective means (13a), said plate (16) having a pin-hole (165) configured to permit the passage of illumination towards said oil (5), said pin-hole (165) being located at a first distance (z1) from a focussing plane (F) defined by said oil (5) in cavity (12); and an image sensor (17) disposed in said second member (102) situated on the opposite side of the space (12) with respect to said first member (102) and configured to capture a sequence of images of the oil disposed within said cavity (12), said image sensor (17) being located at a second distance (z2) from said focussing plane (F) defined by said oil (5) in cavity (12).

There is described herein methods and systems for comparing an engine fluid signature of a first engine with engine fluid signatures of other engines of a same engine family. A delta signature is obtained via the comparison and delta signatures below a given threshold are considered similar. Historical data for each engine having a similar signature may then be used to determine the condition and the future states of the first engine.

The present application discloses a sensor provided with a detection portion that detects a foreign substance of a predetermined size or larger generated in a lubricant in a gear device and an output portion that, upon the detection portion detecting the foreign substance, outputs information indicating that the foreign substance has been detected.

A method and system for diagnosing a condition of an air-breathing aircraft engine are described. The method comprises obtaining a sample of lubricating fluid from the engine, filtering the sample to obtain a plurality of particles from the lubricating fluid, obtaining chemical composition data for the plurality of particles, determining a quantity of volcanic ash in the lubricating fluid by considering each one of the particles as composed partially of volcanic ash and partially of at least one other material and determining a first percentage of surface area of the particles covered by the volcanic ash and a second percentage of the surface area of the particles covered by the at least one other material, the volcanic ash having associated thereto a predetermined chemical composition, and diagnosing a condition of the engine based on the quantity of volcanic ash found in the lubricating fluid.

An apparatus for assessment of a fluid system includes a debris monitor to receive a first flow of a fluid, the debris monitor to determine wear debris information in the first flow of the fluid; and a fluid condition monitor to receive a second flow of the fluid, the fluid condition monitor being configured to determine fluid condition information in the second flow of the fluid.

An oil debris monitoring sensor includes a multiple of passages within the housing, each of the multiple of passages surrounded by a set of coils to detect a particle. A method for determining a presence of a particle in a system includes a) installing a single sensor in-line with an oil flow path; b) communicating oil through a multiple of passages within the housing of the single sensor; c) detecting a particle through the single sensor; and d) isolating the particle to one of the multiple of passages within the sensor housing.

A method and a sampling tool for collecting particles from lubrication fluid of an engine are disclosed. The particles collected may be used to conduct analysis to diagnose a condition of the engine. The tool can be detachably connectable to a lubrication system of the engine. The tool comprises an inlet for receiving lubrication fluid from the lubrication system of the engine, a filter and a pump configured to induce a flow of the lubrication fluid through the filter.

A sensor system for detecting particles within a fluid, the sensor system comprising: i) a gauge body having a working surface for receiving a particle containing fluid; ii) an impactor spaced apart from the working surface of the gauge body defining a spacing between the impactor and the working surface of the gauge body through which particle containing fluid can pass, wherein the sensor system is configured such that as the particle containing fluid passes through the spacing between the impactor and the working surface of the gauge body, particles disposed over the working surface are impacted by the impactor generating a signal which is dependent on one or both of the size and concentration of particles in the fluid; and iii) a sensor configured to detect the signal generated by the particles impacting the impactor and provide an output signal.

A contaminant sensor (1) for detecting magnetizable contaminants (7) present in a lubricant flow is disclosed. A permanent magnet (3) is arranged movably inside a sensor housing (2). A sensor element (6, 11, 13), e.g. in the form of a distance sensor (6) or a pressure sensor (11), is arranged to detect a displacement of the permanent magnet (3) inside the sensor housing (2), and an indicator is arranged to generate an alert signal when a displacement and/or a rate of change of displacement of the permanent magnet (3) inside the sensor housing (2) exceeds a pre-defined threshold value. The permanent magnet (3) is arranged to move inside the sensor housing (2) in response to magnetizable contaminants (7) collected on an outer surface of the sensor housing (2).

A first series of images of a first fluid is received. A first set of fluid characteristics of the first fluid is determined from the first series of images. A second series of images of a second fluid is received. A second set of fluid characteristics of the second fluid is determined from the second series of images. A match is determined to be found between the first set of fluid characteristics and the second set of fluid characteristics. The second fluid is identified based upon determining that the first set of fluid characteristics matches the second set of fluid characteristics.