{"id":4309,"date":"2026-01-15T12:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ksengineers.rubikon-web26.at\/tech-hub\/ks-lec-oiltracer\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T10:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:08:06","slug":"ks-lec-oiltracer","status":"publish","type":"tech-hub","link":"https:\/\/ksengineers.rubikon-maintenance1.at\/en\/tech-hub\/ks-lec-oiltracer\/","title":{"rendered":"KS-LEC OilTracer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stable and Precise.<\/h2>\n
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The KS-LEC OilTracer was developed at the LEC \u2013 Large Engines Competence Center, a globally leading research facility for large engine technologies \u2013 in close cooperation with KS Engineers.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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This system was primarily developed for high-precision online measurement of lubricating oil consumption for original equipment manufacturers in the automotive and large-engine sectors, as well as for manufacturers of test bed systems. The device is integrated into the test bed measurement equipment, and the oil consumption data can be recorded directly along with other data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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Oil consumption is an important parameter in the development of high-efficiency internal combustion engines. It is a factor both in terms of the high potential it offers for avoiding particle emissions in the exhaust gas by reducing oil emissions and for its considerable influence on life-cycle costs in the operation of internal combustion engines. So exact measurement of oil consumption is becoming increasingly important for research and development.<\/p>\n

Conventional measurement methods, such as gravimetric analysis, provide information about static operating states, but obtaining results for dynamic engine operation requires measurements in real time. Until now, continuous methods have been based either on radioactive tracers that are cumbersome to handle, or on non-radioactive tracers that are subject to significant cross influences from the fuel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n

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KEY FEATURES, BENEFITS<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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  • Can be used for all types of engines and fuels (petrol & diesel fuels, CNG, synthetic fuels, e-fuels, H\u2082, and others)<\/li>\n
  • Easy to install and use<\/li>\n
  • Compact outer dimensions, robust device design<\/li>\n
  • High measuring accuracy and reproducibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    • Non-radioactive and non-poisonous tracer method<\/li>\n
    • Automatic compensation of any cross-influences of the fuel (e.g. through SO\u2082)<\/li>\n
    • Patented technique for marking the engine oil using hydrogen\/deuterium exchange without influencing the tribological properties<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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      • High-precision, time-resolved measurement of the tracer in the exhaust gas<\/li>\n
      • No post-processing of the measurement data (the measured value comes directly from the test run)<\/li>\n
      • The measurement accuracy is set through the proportion of tracer used<\/li>\n
      • Full integration into the test bench sensor environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
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        The measurement principle<\/h2>\r\n
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        • The engine oil is enriched with a stable deuterium isotope<\/li>\n
        • A partial exhaust gas flow is extracted<\/li>\n
        • Post-combustion of the partial flow in a catalytic converter<\/li>\n
        • During engine operation, the enriched deuterium can be detected in the water vapour of the exhaust gas, providing information about the oil consumption.<\/li>\n
        • Nachverbrennung des Teilstroms in einem Katalysator<\/li>\n
        • This results in time-dependent and exact oil consumption profiles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n
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          The components<\/h2>\r\n

          The key components of the KS-LEC OilTracer are a catalytic converter to oxidize the hydrocarbons to CO\u2082 and H\u2082O, and an isotope analyser. The sample gas is conditioned for the isotope analyser by an exhaust gas conditioning unit, which is implemented as a stand-alone solution for quick set-up on the test bed. The isotope analyser is used for online measurement of the deuterium concentration in the exhaust gas water vapour and is implemented by a laser spectrometer based on CRDS (Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy).<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n

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          Curious about more?<\/p>\n