THz-TDS for Detecting Glycol Contamination in Engine Oil

There continues to be a need for an in-situ sensor system to monitor the engine oil of internal combustion engines. Engine oil needs to be monitored for contaminants and depletion of additives. While various sensor systems have been designed and evaluated, there is still a need to develop and evaluate new sensing technologies. This study evaluated Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) for the identification and estimation of the glycol contamination of automotive engine oil. Glycol contamination is a result of a gasket or seal leak allowing coolant to enter an engine and mix with the engine oil. An engine oil intended for use in both diesel and gasoline engines was obtained. Fresh engine oil samples were contaminated with four levels of glycol (0 ppm, 150 ppm, 300 ppm, and 500 ppm). The samples were analyzed with THz-TDS and converted to frequency domain parameters of refractive index and absorption coefficient. While both parameters showed potential, the absorption coefficient had the best potential and was able to statistically discriminate among the four contamination levels.