Vibration Analysis
Vibration Analysis
Vibration Analysis
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Basic Concepts I
Machinery Vibration is Complex
Vibration of a machine is not usually simple
Displacement amplitude is not a direct indicator of vibration severity unless combined with
frequency
Characteristics of Vibration
When a mechanical system is subjected to a sudden impulse, it will vibrate at its natural
frequency.
Eventually, if the system is stable, the vibration will die out
Forced vibration can occur at any frequency, and the response amplitude for a certain force will
be constant
Forces that cause vibration occur at a range of frequencies depending on the malfunctions
present
These act on a bearing or structure causing vibration
However, the response is not uniform at all frequencies. It depends on the Mobility of the of the
structure.
Mobility varies with frequency. For example, it is high at resonances and low where damping is
present
Peak to peak displacement is the total distance traveled from one extreme limit to the other
extreme limit
Velocity is zero at top and bottom because weight has come to a stop. It is maximum at
neutral position
Acceleration is maximum at top an bottom where weight has come to a stop and must
accelerate to pick up velocity
RMS amplitude will be equal to 0.707 times the Peak amplitude if, and only if, the signal is a
sine wave (single frequency)
If the signal is not a sine wave, then the RMS value using this simple calculation will not be
correct
Basic Concept II
Concept of Phase
Weight X is at the upper limit and Y is at neutral position moving to lower limit
Displacement
Metric
- Micron
= 1/1000 of mm
English
- Mil
= 1/1000 of Inch
Velocity
Metric
- mm / sec
English
- inch / sec
Acceleration
Metric
- meter / sec2
English
- g = 9.81 m/sec2 =
English Metric Unit Conversion
Displacement
1 Mil = 25.4 Micron
Velocity
1 inch/sec = 25.4 mm/sec
Acceleration
Preferable to measure both in gs because g is directly related to force
Where the frequency content is likely to be low (less than 18,000 CPM) select displacement
Large, low speed, pumps and motors with sleeve bearings
Cooling tower fans and Fin fan cooler fans. Their gear boxes would require a higher frequency
range
For intermediate range frequencies ( say, 18,000 to 180,000 CPM) select Velocity
Most process plant pumps running at 1500 to 3000 RPM
Gear boxes of low speed pumps
For higher frequencies (> 180,000 CPM = 3 KHz) select acceleration.
Gear boxes
Bearing housing vibration of major compressor trains including their drivers
Larger machines would require monitoring more than one parameter to cover the entire
frequency range of vibration components
For example, in large compressor and turbines
Amplitude measurement units should be selected based upon the frequencies of interest
Following 3 plots illustrate how measurement unit affects the data displayed. Each of the plots
contain 3 separate component frequencies of 60 Hz, 300 Hz and 950 Hz.
Displacement
This data was taken using displacement. Note how the lower frequency at 60 Hz is accentuated
Velocity
The same data is now displayed using velocity. Note how the 300Hz component is more
apparent
Acceleration
The same data is now displayed using acceleration. Note how the large lower frequency
component is diminished and the higher frequency component accentuated
Displacement
Displacement is independent of frequency
Stiffness Influence
Stiffness is measured by the force in Kgs required to produce a deflection of one mm.
Stiffness of a shaft is
Directly proportional Diameter4 and Modulus of Elasticity
Directly proportional to Modulus of Elasticity
Inversely proportional to Length3
Typical Stiffness values in pounds / inch
Oil film bearings 300,000 to 2,000,000
Rolling element bearings 1,000,000 to 4,000,000
Bearing Housing, horizontal 300,000 to 4,000,000
Bearing housing, vertical 400,000 to 6,000,000
Shaft 1 to 4 diameter 100,000 to 4,000,000
Shaft 6 to 15 diameter 400,000 to 20,000,000
Damping Influence
asic Concepts IV
Basic Rotor and Stator System
Forces generated in the rotor are transmitted through the bearings and supports to the
foundation
Displacement probe is mounted on the bearing housing which itself is vibrating. Shaft vibration
measured by such a probe is, therefore, relative to the bearing housing
Bearing housing vibration measured by accelerometer or velocity probe is an absolute
measurement
Lateral motion involves displacement from its central position or flexural deformation. Rotation
is about an axis intersecting and normal to the axis of rotation
Axial Motion occurs parallel to the rotors axis of rotation
Torsional Motion involves rotation of rotors transverse sections relative to one another about its
axis of rotation
Vibrations that occur at frequency of rotation of rotor are called synchronous vibrations.
Relative shaft displacement has limited frequency range but has high amplitude at low
frequencies running speed, subsynchronous and low harmonic components
Accelerometer has high signal at high frequencies rotor to stator interaction frequencies
blade passing, vane passing
Precession is the locus of the centerline of the shaft around the geometric centerline
Normally direction of precession will be same as direction of rotation
During rubbing shaft may have reverse precession
Basic Concept V
Vibration Transducers
It must be converted to electrical signal so that it can easily be measured and analyzed.
Commonly used Vibration Transducers
Noncontact Displacement Transducer
Seismic Velocity Transducer
Piezoelectric Accelerometer
Transducers should be selected depending on the parameter to be measured.
Proximity probes measure the displacement of shaft relative to the bearing housing
They observe the static position and vibration of shaft
By mounting two probes at right angles the actual dynamic motion (orbit) of the shaft can be
observed
Measures the distance (or lift off) of a conducting surface from the tip of the probe
Measures gap and nothing else.
Coil at probe tip is driven by oscillator at around 1.5 MHz
If there is no conducting surface full voltage is returned
Conducting surface near coil absorbs energy
Therefore, voltage returned is reduced
Proximitor output voltage is proportional to gap
Sensitive to measured surface material properties like conductivity, magnetism and finish
Scratch on shaft would be read as vibration
Variation in shaft hardness would be read as vibration
Permanent magnet is attached to the case. Provides strong magnetic field around suspended
coil
Coil of fine wire supported by low-stiffness springs
Voltage generated is directly proportional to velocity of vibration
Mechanically activated system. Therefore, limited in frequency response 600 to 90,000 CPM
Amplitude and phase errors below 1200 CPM
Frequency response depends on mounting
Large size. Difficult to mount if space is limited
Potential for failure due to spring breakage.
Limited temperature range usually 120oC
High temperature coils available for use in gas turbines but they are expensive
High cost compared to accelerometers
Accelerometer cost dropping velocity pick up increasing
Note - Velocity transducers have largely been replaced by accelerometers in most applications.
Basic Concept VI
Piezoelectric Accelerometers
Piezoelectric Accelerometers
Converting Charge to Voltage
Accelerometers Mounting
Screw mount has the highest resonance and, therefore the highest frequency response
This film of silicon grease improves contact.
Any high frequency vibration in the resonant range will be highly amplified.
Amplification can be up to 30 dB or almost 1,000 times
Filtered amplitudes will be highly distorted
Disadvantages of Accelerometers
Double integration to displacement suffers from low frequency noise should be avoided
Timebase and orbit have frequency information but only a couple of harmonics can be
identified impossible to identify nonsynchronous frequencies
Using an analog tunable analyzer the amplitude and phase at each individual frequency can be
identified but only one at a time.
All frequencies cannot be seen simultaneously.
Trend changes in individual frequencies cannot be followed
Each frequency sweep may take one minute during which short duration transient events may
be missed
Spectrum Plot-2
Spectrum plot is the basic display of a Spectrum Analyzer. It the most important plot for
diagnosis
Spectrum plot displays the entire frequency content of complex vibration signals in a
convenient form.
It has frequency on X-axis and amplitude on Y-axis
It is constructed from sampled timebase waveform of a single transducer displacement,
velocity or acceleration
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) calculates the spectrum from the sample record which contains a
specific number of waveform samples
Spectrum plots can be used to identify harmonics of running frequency, rolling element bearing
defect frequencies, gear mesh frequencies, sidebands
Illustration of how the previous signal can be described in terms of a frequency spectrum.
Left
- Description in time domain
Right
- Description in frequency domain
If we rotate the plot so that the time axis disappears we see a two dimensional spectrum plot of
amplitude v/s frequency
Component signals now appear as series of vertical lines.
Each line represents a single frequency
Unfortunately, the phase of the components is now hidden.
It is not possible to see phase relationships in spectrum plot.
These plots show why it is impossible to guess the frequency content from the waveform.
Vertical lines in top plot show one revolution
It is clear that 2x and higher frequencies are present
But 3x and 6x could not be predicted from the waveform.
A Fourier spectrum shows all the frequencies present
Effect of Windowing
Without window function the lines are not sharp and widen at the bottom
This leakage is due to discontinuity at sample record ending
When Hanning window is applied to the sample record 1/2x spectral line is narrower and
higher
Noise floor at base is almost gone.
First
Waveform and its half spectrum
Second
Waveform and its half spectrum
Forward Precession
Spectrum on forward side of plot
<--
Reverse Precession
Spectrum on reverse side of plot
Direction of rotation CCW
Therefore, the smaller the difference between components, the more elliptical the
orbit.
Order lines drawn diagonally from the origin show vibration frequencies that are
proportional to running speed
Vertical ellipse shows x rub frequency is almost equal to first critical. Slight shift to
right is due to stiffening of rotor system from rub contact.
Time on left and Running Speed on right. Amplitude scale is at extreme right
High vibration at mains frequency (60 Hz) during start up (red). 1x is low.
Vibration reduces when normal speed and current are reached (green)
Summary
Conventional spectrum is constructed from the output waveform of a single transducer
Full Spectrum is constructed from the output of a pair of transducers at right angles.
Displays frequency and direction of precession
Forward precession frequencies are shown on right side
Reverse Precession frequencies are shown on left side
Full spectrum is the spectrum of an orbit
Ratio of forward and reverse orbits gives information about ellipticity and direction of
precession
However, there is no information about orientation of orbit
Cascade and Waterfall plots can be be constructed either from half or full spectra
The Orbit
The orbit represents the path of the shaft centerline within the bearing clearance.
Two orthogonal probes are required to observe the complete motion of the shaft within.
The dynamic motion of the shaft can be observed in real time by feeding the output of the two
orthogonal probes to the X and Y of a dual channel oscilloscope
If the Keyphasor output is fed to the Z axis, a phase reference mark can be created on the orbit
itself
The orbit, with the Keyphasor mark, is probably the most powerful plot for machinery diagnosis
Precession
Once a gyroscope starts to spin, it will resist changes in the orientation of its spin axis. For
example, a spinning top resists toppling over, thus keeping its spin axis vertical. If atorque, or
twisting force, is applied to the spin axis, the axis will not turn in the direction of the torque, but
will instead move in a direction perpendicular to it. This motion is called precession. The
wobbling motion of a spinning top is a simple example of precession. The torque that causes
the wobbling is the weight of the top acting about its tapering point. The modern gyroscope was
developed in the first half of the 19th cent. by the
Construction of an Orbit
On the left side, when the probes are mounted at 0o and 90oR, the orbit plot and oscilloscope
display show the same view.
On the right, when the probes are mounted at 45oL and 45oR, the orbit plots are automatically
rotated
The oscilloscope, however, must be physically rotated 45oCCW to display the correct orbit
orientation
Orbit at left shows subsynchronous fluid-induced instability. Note the multiple keyphasor dots
because the frequency is not a fraction of the running speed
The orbit at right is predominantly 1X. The keyphasor dots appear in a small cluster indicating
dominant 1X behavior
Slow roll vector compensation can considerably change the amplitude and phase of the orbit
In the orbit plot shaft moves from the blank towards the dot. In the plot on left the inside loop is
forward precession
In the right orbit the shaft has reverse precession for a short time at the outside loop at bottom
Orbits are from two different steam turbines with opposite rotation. Both machines are
experiencing high radial loads
Red arrows indicate the approximate direction of the applied radial load.
Red arcs represent the probable orientation of the bearing wall
Polar Plot
Vector arrow is omitted and the points are connected with a line
1x uncompensated Polar Plot shows location of rotor high spot relative to transducer
This is true for 1x circular orbits and approximately true for 1x elliptical orbits
Bode Plot displays the same vibration vector data as the Polar Plot
Vibration amplitude and phase are plotted separately on two plots
with speed on the
horizontal axis.
Slow roll compensation removes slow roll runout from filtered vibration
What remains is mainly the dynamic response
Compensated vector has zero amplitude at the compensation speed
In a Bode plot balance resonance is indicated by peak amplitude and sharp, significant change
of phase at the frequency of the peak.
On Polar plot rotor modes will produce large, curving loops.Small system resonances are more
easily visible as distinctive small loops