Error Sources and Distinctness of Materials Parameters Obtained by THz-Time Domain Spectroscopy Using an Example of Oxidized Engine Oil

Gasoline engine oil (SAE 5W-20) was subjected to thermal oxidization (TO) for four periods of time (0 h, 48 h, 96 h and 144 h) and exposed to THz-time domain spectroscopy (TDS) measurement. Error contributions from various error sources, such as repeatability errors, assembly errors of the probe volume and errors caused by the TDS system were evaluated with respect to discernibility and significance of measurement results. The most significant error source was due to modifications of the TDS setup, causing errors in the range of 0.13% of the refractive index for samples with a refractive index around 1.467 and a probe volume length between 5 and 15 mm at 1 THz. The absorption coefficient error was in the range of 8.49% for an absorption around 0.6 cm(−1). While the average of measurements taken with different setup configurations did not yield significant differences for different TO times, a single, fixed setup would be able to discern all investigated oil species across the entire frequency range of 0.5–2.5 THz. The absorption coefficient measurement showed greater discernibility than the measurement of the refractive index.