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Orbit V32N3 2012 Q3
Orbit V32N3 2012 Q3
ORBIT
Editors Notepad
The nicely-organized mechanics toolbox on our front
cover is a reminder that a wide assortment of tools
can be used to support an effective Condition Based
Maintenance program. Of course, these include
permanently installed sensors and instruments with
associated monitoring software. But they also include
quantitative tasks such as recording measurements of
important parameters during a routine plant inspection
often using portable data logging instruments.
In this Issue
FEATURES
orbit
Volume 32 | Number 3 | Jul 2012
Publisher: GE Energy
24
Detecting High Radial Loading on an
Oil Platform Gas Compressor Bearing
Editor: Gary B. Swift
Design Coordination: Eileen OConnell
Design: Gina Alteri
European Circulation: Estelle Sjourn
North American Circulation: Karen Schanhals
39
Revitalizing a Successful Skills
Development Project
Printer: RR Donnelley
CONTRIBUTORS
GE Energy
Linda Alrabady
Rune Knoff Baldersheim
Toni Compston-Wells
Larry Covino
NEWS Billy Gilkerson
John Kingham
05 Field Application Engineers Petri Nohynek
Ryan Roaldson
Don Silcock
07 GE-NTNU Education Partnership
GE Intelligent Platforms
10 Integrating Portable Data Collection with System 1* Software Don Doan
Devang Gandhi
Chris Schreiner
15 Minden Customer Application Center (CAC) Grand Opening
BP North Sea
Peter Griffiths
18 Noise and Vibration Measurement System
Dave Watson
Pty Ltd. (NVMS) Business Relationship
Empower/Sunila
Jussi Manninen
37 Invitation to Advanced Machinery Dynamics Course
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Professor Lars E. Bakken
Petroleum Development Oman
DEPARTMENTS Mohammed Al Nabhani
ADRE* Tips CREDITS
42 How to Use Your Replay Card Bently Nevada Communications
Nik Noel
Application Note
Questions, suggestions, and letters
47 Connecting SCOUT to Continuous Monitoring Systems to the editor may be addressed to:
ORBIT Magazine
Case Histories 1631 Bently Parkway South
50 Condition Monitoring of Lime Kiln Support Roll Bearings Minden, Nevada USA 89423
Phone: 775.782.3611
Fax: 775.215.2855
58 Export Compressor Instability Detection Using System 1* and e-mail: orbit@ge.com
Proficy** SmartSignal Software Part 1
Printed quarterly in the USA.
FIELD APPLICATION ENGINEERS TAKE A SHORT PHOTO BREAK FROM THEIR 2012 SESSION. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
STANDING: Mark Colliflower, Stuart Hereford, Mike Lockas, Jim Lane, Thomas Kafka, Charles Jenkins, Ray Lariviere, Clyde Dooley, Harish
Mistry, Stuart Rochon, Benneng Xiao, Piergiorgio Gasparini, Petri Nohynek, Jorge Romero, Xiyu (Rocco) Zhu, Walter Piotto, Darren Evans,
Mikhail Mescheryakov, Mikhail Dagaev, Gaia Rossi, Mark Snyder, Steve Schickling, Billy Gilkerson, Chris Dremonas, Chris Engdahl, Satoru
Tanabe, Michael Thevanh, Derek Prinsloo, Sudip Das, Raj Arumugam, Min Gi Lee, San Yong Koh, Darell Feldmiller, Richard Nowicki.
field
application
engineers
Every year, our global Field
Application Engineers (FAEs) meet
at our headquarters in Minden,
Nevada, USA for continuing
education and training. While they
are here, they learn about our latest
products, and tap into their own
expertise to lead group discussions
on the effective application of our
products and services to meet our
customers asset protection and
condition monitoring needs.
J ul .2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 OR B I T
NEWS
The Norwegian
University of
Science and
Technology was
founded in 1910
as an evolution
of the original
Norwegian
Institute of
Technology (NTH),
in Trondheim.
For more than a
hundred years,
NTNU has been
widely recognized
for academic,
scientific and
industrial
achievement,
and its significant
contributions
to Norways
economic ge-ntnu
education
growth. As
the countrys
second-largest
university, NTNU
is home to 20,000
students at seven
different facilities. partnership
NEWS
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T
NEWS
The Vision Within the mechanical and related to wet gas compression
process engineering department, and rotor dynamic response.
For several years, GEs Bently Nevada
Professor Bakken is developing
personnel in Norway and Professor
a more comprehensive syllabus The Program
Lars E. Bakken, of the NTNU Energy
that includes both theoretical and The university now includes
and Process Technology department,
practical aspects of rotor dynamics. additional rotor dynamic sessions
have considered various ways to
His ongoing collaboration with the as modules within the existing
effectively collaborate with the
Bently Nevada team has enabled the turbo machinery curriculum.
University. Our goal is to enhance
delivery of state of the art training Each module will accommodate
the schools ability to educate
for students and also for advisors a 10 to 15 hour theoretical and
students in advanced machinery
who are involved in turbo machinery experimental part. Relevant
diagnostic and rotor dynamic
and condition monitoring education. subjects are summarized here:
analysis, using the Bently Nevada
Based on the universitys wet gas
methodology. Professor Bakken has
compressor test rig, Professor Turbo Machinery: This is an
been a driving force within NTNU to
Bakken and his advisors will 8th semester subject, for
make this shared vision a reality.
introduce new technology challenges students completing their
fourth year at the university.
Thermal Turbo Machinery: Includes Part 3 dives deeply into machinery different institutes at the university
gas turbines, turbo compressors diagnostics and rotor dynamics, - Mechanical Engineering/Hydro
and hydraulic machinery. These as well as laboratory testing of the Power, Energy & Process Techniques
are all 9th semester subjects. universitys wet gas compressor and Marine Technology. Based on
facility. This part will be available for feedback from the students and
Case Analysis: These are related
selected number of students who their professors, the first offering
to the rotor dynamic kit and the
will also complete a comprehensive of Part 1 was a great success.
wet gas compressor test rig. These
GE 5 day Machinery Diagnostic
subjects accommodate Project
Training course in Bergen. Ongoing Commitment
and Master Thesis candidates.
University staff will take over
Gas Turbines and Compressors - GEs Contribution facilitation of Parts 1 and 2 of the
Advanced Monitoring and Analysis: GE has donated a 3500 Series new curriculum, with ongoing
This subject accommodates Machinery Protection System, RK 4 voluntary support from GE. Part
PhD candidates as part of Rotor Kit and System 1* Condition 3 training will continue to be
their doctoral coursework. Monitoring and Diagnostics Software comprised of GEs Machinery
Platform to NTNU for use in the Diagnostic Seminar. We hope that
Students who are completing their
enhanced rotor dynamic training this collaboration will increase the
4th year at the university can sign
and academic research. Also, number of Masters Students leaving
up for the three-session Turbo
we have stepped in to facilitate the University with excellent skills
Machinery module. These sessions
the first presentation of the Part in rotor dynamics. This will not only
focus on the following topics:
1 session described above. benefit our industry which needs
well-trained new engineers - but will
Part 1 introduces the fundamentals
The initial presentation of Part 1 also raise awareness of the effective
of machinery diagnostics and
was conducted in March, 2012. technology that is available from
rotor dynamics, including the
The teaching was performed by the Bently Nevada* Asset Condition
basics of vibration analysis.
ge Forland and was supported by Monitoring product line.
Part 2 expands on the basics Marthe Aalvik, both of whom are
*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
by introducing concepts of data Bently Nevada Machinery Diagnostic Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
capture, signal processing, and Services (MDS) Engineers in Norway. General Electric Company.
I greatly appreciate the effort that our local GE team has put into helping us improve the
curriculum of NTNU. GEs advanced monitoring system and measurement techniques
have significantly increased the quality of our rotor dynamics education research
capabilities and have prepared the students for industrial challenges.
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Company. All rights reserved.
J ul .2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T
NEWS
User-designed exception
and alarm reports
Software Integration
Until now, Ascent software was used
in a stand-alone mode with the
SCOUT instruments that it supported.
Now it is possible to import the
Ascent database folders, collected
overall data, and asset status into
System 1 software. Once there, it
can be correlated with all of the
other information that is available in
the System 1 Enterprise. If a System FIGURE 1: Ascent software left vertical menu. This generic example is shown
1 alarm is generated for an asset for illustration. Normally, you would want to name your measurement points
linked to an Ascent database, it is more descriptively than just Point 3. For example, you might call it Motor DE
easy to open Ascent software from (Drive End) Bearing.
the specific System 1 measurement
point, group or alarm event. Ascent
software opens to the identical Import the collected data Available Ascent Features
location in its folder hierarchy, into Ascent software and
The first five icons in the left vertical
providing a seamless transition automatically synchronize this
menu are available for use with
between the two software packages. data with the System 1 platform.
System 1 software. These menu
Note: Overall data is transferred
options are listed here (Figure 1):
Collecting and Storing to the System 1 platform, while
Portable Data spectrum and waveform data 1
Folder = Group in
is available for deeper analysis System 1 software
This list summarizes the
in the Ascent software.
recommended process for collecting 2 Machine = Machine in
data via your SCOUT100 or 140 Check the data that you System 1 software
portable analyzer and storing it in have imported.
3 Point = Bearing in
Ascent and System 1 software:
Creating the folder structure in System 1 software
Ascent software and establishing
Create the folder structure for 4 Measurement Location =
automatic synchronization with your
your data in Ascent software. Group in System 1 software
System 1 enterprise only needs to
Synchronize your Ascent be done once. From then on, every 5 Schedule Entry = Transducer
folder structure with the time you upload newly-collected in System 1 software.
System 1 platform. data to your Ascent installation, it This is where the overall
will automatically be transferred values come from.
Collect data using your
to your System 1 platform.
SCOUT100 or 140 device.
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
NEWS
Automatic Data waveform are transferred for the hierarchy, right-click and select
Synchronization with following measurement parameters: Show In Ascent from the System
1 shortcut menu (Figure 3).
System 1 Software Acceleration
You can select Ascent settings so Velocity
Viewing Ascent Alarm Status
that any new data uploaded from Displacement
SCOUT100/140 to Ascent will be Demodulation
in System 1 Software
automatically synchronized with the Process Measurements Figure 4 illustrates that if any
associated System 1 platform, using (Current, Voltage, etc.) of the monitored values for a
the Auto Synchronize command measurement are alarming in
Note: Overall values are static
from the System 1 menu (Figure 2). the Ascent software (shown in
data derived from waveform or
left pane), the corresponding
spectrum data. They represent
Data Transferred with measurement will display the
the energy levels of the vibration
Folder Structure signals that are collected as
appropriate severity alarm in System
1 software (shown in right pane).
When you send your Ascent folder spectrum and waveform samples.
structure into your System 1 *denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
platform, associated values and Context Sensitive Launch General Electric Company.
measurements are transferred. To view Ascent data for a
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Overall values for the spectrum and selected point in the System 1 Company. All rights reserved.
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
NEWS
BENTLY NEVADA GENERAL MANAGER, ART EUNSON (LEFT) AND MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL PRESIDENT & CEO,
BRIAN PALMER (RIGHT) SHARE RIBBON-CUTTING DUTIES.
GE Energys
Measurement
and Control
organization
launched the
first of nine
new global
Customer
Application
Centers. Our
first center
is in Minden,
Nevada,
USA, at the
headquarters
of the Bently
Nevada* Asset
Condition
Monitoring
product line.
minden customer
application center
grand opening
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
NEWS
AS PART OF THE CELEBRATION, General Manager In addition to the product displays and interactive
Art Eunson and visiting customers highlighted our multimedia presentation screens, the Minden CAC
accomplishments realized through years of partnership. architecture also incorporates our new Remote Monitoring
Afterwards, GE employees took the chance to tour the Center (RMC) and Technical Support (TechSupport)
new facility and see the variety of Bently Nevada products facilities. We will have a lot more to say about our RMC
that are on display. Most of these examples represent and TechSupport capabilities in future Orbit issues!
our very latest portfolio, but a few classic workhorses are
also on hand. These include full rack-based protection For more information on GEs Measurement and Control
and condition monitoring systems, as well as portable portfolio, visit us online: http://www.ge-mcs.com/
instruments, test kits, sensors, and various accessories:
*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly
owned subsidiary of General Electric Company.
In addition to the hands-on demonstrations of
Copyright 2012 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.
Bently Nevada products, visitors experienced other
examples from the full GE Measurement and Control
product portfolio through interactive interfaces and
multi-media presentations. As the remaining eight GIVING CUSTOMERS THE OPPORTUNITY
CACs are completed throughout 2012, they will each to experience our solutions first hand,
feature an emphasis on specific industries that are either through hands on demonstrations or
appropriate for their geographic location, as well the variety of multi-media tools available
as including digital and physical examples of the in the new application center, is very
entire Measurement and Control product family.
rewarding. The new CAC is a powerful
tool for us to move the value proposition
All of the CACs will also be used to facilitate training,
of our portfolio from paper proposals and
demonstrations and customization to address our
presentations to real life scenarios.
customers critical needs with our innovative solutions.
If you happen to be at any of these locations, we art eunson,
invite you to ask about the local GE CAC, and come bently nevada general manager
for a visit as soon as the new facilities are open!
Campinas, Brazil
Florence, Italy I WOULD ESPECIALLY LIKE TO THANK
Houston (Deer Park), Texas, USA the Tech Support team for their extended
Very informal, hands-on center. efforts in setting up all of the product
Wear dirty work boots! demonstrations, and implementing the
Houston (West Way), Texas, USA instrument communication process between
GE Energy Experience Center. Business
the transducers and the software. Our grand
attire is OK!
opening would not have been possible
Manama, Bahrain
without their expertise and assistance!
Minden, Nevada, USA
Physical exhibits focus on Bently Nevada toni compston-wells,
product line global customer application
Moscow, Russia
center manager
GE Energy Experience Center
Seoul, South Korea
GE Energy Experience Center
Shanghai, China J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
NEWS
In order to seamlessly integrate the Silcock came to GE in 2002 with the sectors including Oil & Gas, Power,
NVMS and any associated service acquisition of the Bently Nevada Mining and Refining. For more
alliance partnerships within GEs business as the Southeast Asia Sales information on NVMS check this link:
Australia Measurement & Control and Services Manager. Since joining
http://www.nvms.com.
New Zealand (ANZ) operations, Don GE, he has held a number of senior
au/about-us.shtml
Silcock has accepted the assignment sales-related roles in Asia including
of Integration Leader, in addition Global Projects team leader and Field
On behalf of GE, we welcome the new
to his current responsibilities on Application Engineering (FAE) team
relationship with NVMS and thank
the Bently Nevada Global Sales leader. He was also based in China for
Don Silcock for his diligence and
team. This assignment enhances an two years where he led the local OEM
commitment to this assignment.
exciting new business opportunity re-engagement and FAE initiatives.
for both organizations by leveraging *denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
his deep company, industry, About NVMS General Electric Company.
domain and product knowledge. NVMS was founded in Perth, Western
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Australia in 1989 and has 23 years Company. All rights reserved.
of experience providing solutions to
their clients in a range of industrial
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
an overview of
Asset condition monitoring is a key contributor to an effective maintenance program. This brief back-to-basics sidebar
is a refresher in some of the fundamental terms and concepts. Editor (with contributions by Larry Covino)
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (PM) These Condition Monitoring (CM) is simply the process of
2 maintenance tasks are conducted at regular, recording measurements that define asset condition
scheduled intervals based on average statistical/ without disrupting its normal operation. Measured
anticipated lifetime to avoid failure. This strategy parameters include vibration, lubricant properties,
may be effective for assets where the most probable electrical characteristics, thermal gradients,
failure pattern is wear out. Typical tasks include thermodynamic performance, etc. Measured values
inspection, service and/or replacement of components. are compared with established limits in order to initiate
Scheduling intervals may be based on calendar notification that further evaluation may be required.
periods or on actual operating time for the asset in CM is used to enable both PdM and PCM strategies.
question. Example: Rebuild oil heater and replace
elements after every 8000 operating hours. One of the main differences between PdM and PCM
strategies is that Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) is used
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE (PdM) This
3 maintenance is performed based on the
to make continuous improvements in a PCM program. In
PdM, condition monitoring information gives us warning
actual asset condition (objective evidence of of an impending failure, allowing us to plan ahead to
need) obtained from in-situ, non-invasive tests procure repair parts; schedule a required outage, etc.
and operating and condition measurements. It is But if we never address the root cause of the failure, we
also called Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). may end up repeating the same failure cycle over and
EXAMPLE: Repair or replace oil heater element based over. RCFA allows us to identify the fundamental cause(s)
upon changes to its as measured condition. that, if corrected, will prevent recurrence of an event
or adverse condition. By actually IMPLEMENTING the
PROACTIVE CENTERED MAINTENANCE (PCM)
4 This is a program of continuous maintenance
findings of RCFA, we can break the cycle and improve
the reliability and availability of the affected assets.
optimization based on feedback from Root Cause
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
FAILURE MODES & EFFECTS ANALYSIS (FMEA): A Note: Functional failure simply means that the system is no longer capable
of performing its intended function. For example, a pump that is required
methodology for identifying the functions of an asset, to produce 100 gpm flow at 200 psi discharge pressure is considered
ways it can fail to perform those functions, the causes to have functionally failed if it can only produce 90 gpm at 200 psi.
P1
Failure Mode #1
Condition
F1
Time
P2
Failure Mode #2
Condition
F2
Time
P3
Failure Mode #3
Condition
F3
Time
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
detecting high
radial loading on
an oil platform
gas compressor
bearing
Don Doan
Principal Engineer
Don.Doan@ge.com
Chris Schreiner
Lead Test Engineer
Chris.Schreiner@ge.com
Devang Gandhi
Lead Research Engineer
Devang.Gandhi@ge.com
The purpose of the project integration of this term is also applied to the bearing radial
the System 1 and SmartSignal software loading conditions that exist at any time, even
solutions is to provide earlier detection though these conditions may be quite different
of changes in machine behavior, and from the actual preload that originally existed.
improved diagnostics of these changes in
highly critical machines. Initially, the focus In a previous Orbit article (Reference 1), we
was on critical turbomachinery with journal explained that the SmartSignal apparent cause
bearings, as these have the highest ROI with rules engine localizes changes in the behavior
online management. Including vibration and of rotors in journal bearings, whereas the
process data from a System 1 platform into System 1 software analyzes static and dynamic
SmartSignal models creates a more robust (waveform) vibration and process data with
optimization and diagnostic solution. RulePaks to validate the early detection of
changes identified by the SmartSignal software.
The first test was to apply the SmartSignal
apparent cause engine (modified with The application of System 1s First Principles-
supplemental vibration and process data based expert-system algorithms to the
from System 1) to an oil platform centrifugal SmartSignal Advanced Pattern Recognition
gas compressor. This test was able to provide (APR) technology is only possible through the
early detection and diagnosis of High Bearing close and strong collaboration of GEs System 1
Preload and Possible Misalignment between and SmartSignal engineers. The Bently Nevada
a gas turbine and the centrifugal compressor. understanding of machine rotor dynamic
Details of this case study are described below. behavior, combined with the SmartSignal
APR technology on a broad range of rotating
Note: Bearing Preload refers to any equipment, is bringing the power generation
unidirectional force that acts on the rotor within and oil & gas industries into a realm of detection
a bearing or seal clearance boundary. This can and diagnostics that has never before been
include pre-existing misalignment forces based available. When combined, SmartSignal and
on bearing or seal installation and alignment System 1 software provide both the foresight
processes. However, during normal operation, into changing conditions and the insight
into what those changes actually mean.
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T
FEATURES
FIGURE 1: The centrifugal gas compressor is directly coupled to a heavy duty gas turbine that normally operates between 6800 and
9500 rpm. Gas flow is controlled by a combination of variable speed and process throttle valves. The compressor seal and control
system were included in the Proficy SmartSignal solution, but are not the focus of this discussion.
O R B I T Vo l.32 N o.2
o.3 JAul
pr.. 2012
2012
FEATURES
Modeling
As a first step in the modeling of the compressor normal
behavior, we developed the following calculations in the
Proficy SmartSignal Shield solution. These calculations
include static and dynamic (waveform) vibration
parameters and process data from System 1 software. Major (longest) and Minor (shortest)
Axis of the measured 1X orbit.
Phase Unwrap: the continuous phase calculation
Forward and Reverse 1X Vectors: mathematically-
that eliminates the jump between 0 and 360 degrees,
derived values obtained by combining the 1X vectors
which has detrimental impact to modeling.
of the vertical and horizontal displacement probes.
1X Compensated Amplitude and Phase: the
Orbit Precession: forward precession is in
vector difference of the slow roll 1X vector to the
the same direction as shaft rotation. Reverse
running speed 1X vector from the vertical and
precession is in the opposite direction.
horizontal rotor relative displacement probes.
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
Orbit Shape: an enumerated value that Figure 3 is a continuation of Figure 2. It shows the
represents circular, elliptical, highly elliptical, relationships for the modeled calculations and actual
planar, and undefined shapes. parameters for use in the five separate Diagnostic
Advisories for SmartSignal monitoring. The lists
Ellipticity Ratio: a calculated value from 0 to 1
of Diagnostic Advisories (in the right column) and
that represents how elliptical the orbit shape is (0
the model outputs (on the left side of the graph)
is a perfect circle shape, and 1 is a straight line).
are used in evaluation by the diagnostics.
Most orbits are moderately elliptical, so this value
usually falls somewhere between 0 and 1.
Project Details
High Synchronous Ratio: a calculated value For any journal bearing, the primary indication of High
that represents the maximum 1X amplitude Bearing Radial Preload is the presence of two factors:
from the vertical or horizontal probe, to the
Increased 1X Orbit Ellipticity Ratio
maximum allowable 1X amplitude.
High Bearing Metal Temperatures
Bearing Metal Temperature: primary and backup
These parameters and calculations are modeled in
(if available) temperature used to measure the
the SmartSignal software. The parameters include
temperature of the bearing babbitt in order to validate
not only the System 1 vibration inputs, but also
the severity of the preload within the bearing clearance.
independent parameters such as machine speed,
Using the above basic indicators, we developed load, and ambient temperatures, as well as the
five specific early-warning Diagnostic Advisories dependent bearing parameters and calculations.
to cover the most common problems encountered
with the mechanical health of the machine: The system uses a historical-based modeling solution,
with the ability to model not only the normal equipment
1. Radial Preload
static parameters (pressures, temperatures, speed,
2. High Synchronous (1X) Vibration
etc.), but also the static parameters available from
3. Misalignment and Possible Misalignment
a 3500 system or System 1 software (1X vibration
4. Bowed Rotor
amplitude & phase, 2X amplitude & phase, etc.). The
5. Sub-synchronous Rub
SmartSignal solution is able to normalize all of the
sensor behavior in one interrelated model and provide
Then we validated the models. Part of the validation was
early detection of impending equipment degradation.
a test of the calculations in the SmartSignal environment.
Compressor Drive End Bearing With higher than normal radial loading, the bearing
Vertical 1X Amplitude (Low) life could be reduced, and with perturbations
to the equipment, the bearing hydrodynamic
Compressor Drive End Bearing Horizontal
film layer could be challenged, allowing the
1X Phase [unwrapped] (Low)
bearing metal to heat up and eventually fail.
Compressor Drive End Bearing 1X orbit
Ellipticity Ratio (Actual Value High)
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
FIGURE 5: Trend plots for the parameters that resulted in the High Bearing Radial Preload advisory on the gas compressor. From top to
bottom, these plots show: Parent Tag (the power and speed that are used to determine the operational state of the compressor), Vertical
1X Phase, Vertical 1X Amplitude, Horizontal 1X Phase and 1X Orbit Ellipticity Ratio.
One of the primary indications of High Bearing Radial 6, the ellipticity ratio is outside the estimated threshold
Preload is the ellipticity ratio. The ellipticity ratio is the by ~0.17. For this bearing, the ratio is typically ~0.74. Now
difference between the amplitudes of the major and minor it is 0.91, indicating a possibly significant change on this
axes of the 1X vibration orbit, divided by the amplitude of bearing loading which requires additional evaluation.
the major axis. It can range from zero (a perfect circle) to
one (a straight line). This gives us the understanding of the This foresight understanding that the Radial Preload
shape of the orbit for modeling and Diagnostic Advisories. on the bearing has increased beyond historical opera-
tion triggers additional real-time dynamic data analysis
The ellipticity ratio is an input to both the High Radial using GEs Bently Nevada analytical tools such as System 1
Preload and the Misalignment Advisories. In Figures 5 and software to provide insight into the details of the situation.
FIGURE 6: This trend plot shows that the actual value for ellipticity of vibration at the gas compressor DE bearing is greater than the
model-estimated threshold.
FIGURE 7: This table shows values of ellipticity ratio for the compressor DE bearing (BRG_1). The estimate for the ellipticity is 0.74 (based
on historical data), and the actual ellipticity ratio is 0.91, a 0.17 move away from circular orbit, indicating a Higher Radial Preload for the
area that is indicated by the annotations in Figure 6.
System 1 Analysis The trend data in Figure 8 show the same behavior as
In Figures 7 through 10, System 1 data is used to was identified in the SmartSignal data. To determine
determine the consequence to the plant of the detected if this is normal behavior, more historical data is
preload on the rotor system. System 1 analysis helps required to normalize the data and determine if
to determine if turnaround maintenance is required or this is actually a change in behavior. Based on OEM
if the impact of the radial loading on the rotor is small documentation for this compressor class, analysis
enough so that no immediate actions are required. of the data trend and software alarms shows that
this behavior is normal for the compressor.
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
into the bearing alignment procedure time is used to determine the cause SmartSignal software continues to
in the next regularly scheduled and the consequence of the change, provide very early detection and
rotor bearing maintenance cycle. rather than searching through an facilitates improved diagnostics of
overwhelming collection of data to changes in highly critical equipment.
This case study demonstrates the look for a change in the first place. Although this first test was performed
power of the SmartSignal empirical on an oil platform gas compressor,
modeling engine. Determining we expect similarly positive results
Conclusion
whether the radial preload has of collaborating to monitor other
This test applied the SmartSignal
increased from its value prior to assets that will use the same model
apparent cause engine, modified
the compressor major inspection is design components. These assets
by supplemental vibration signals
simplified using rotor dynamic cal- include pumps and motors, with
from System 1, to an oil platform
culations normalized by SmartSignal additional design components
gas compressor. The test success-
software. Once the condition is being developed to accommodate
fully provided early detection and
detected by the SmartSignal software, tilt-pad bearings, rolling element
diagnosis of High Bearing Preload
it is then easier for the System 1 ana- bearings and gearboxes. Watch for
and possible misalignment between
lyst to determine the severity of the these additional use cases and
a gas turbine and the compressor.
issue by focusing specifically on the more in upcoming articles.
This test demonstrated that
data that has changed. The analysts
J ul . 2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
0
30 330
60 300
90 270
120 240
150 210
180
FIGURE 12: This polar plot shows that a very small actual change
in vibration vector from 355 to 5 degrees, for instance results in
a very large numerical step change (350 degrees).
FIGURE 13: This chart shows a change of vibration vector across FIGURE 14: This example shows a vibration vector shifting from
the 0-360 degree boundary. Although the vector actually moved slightly above the zero degree reference to slightly below zero
by only 10 degrees, the numerical step change is 350 degrees. degrees. Unwrapping allows us to see the small actual change
without interpreting it as an artificially large step change.
J ul .2 012 N o. 3 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T
FEATURES
Additional References
Japanese Maintenology Society Meeting, 2006.
Wegerich, S., Condition Based Monitoring using
Nonparametric Similarity Based Modeling.
GE Intelligent Platforms Predictive Analytics Technology
Review, November 2011. Herzog J.; Gandhi D.; Nieman B.,
Making decisions about the best technology to implement.
Sensor Review, Vol. 25 Iss: 2, 2005, Wegerich, S. "Similarity-based
modeling of vibration features for fault detection and identification."
FIGURE 18: Polar plot with the 1X vibration vector drifting across
the 0-360 degree boundary (at 45 degrees right of vertical).
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FEATURES
SUNSET AT MUSCAT, NEAR PDO HEADQUARTERS
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FEATURES
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DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS
If you set up your waveforms or delta Since I brought up Static Data update
time/speed incorrectly, you can resam- rates, I should point out that the
ple, and all will be forgiven. Along these waveform data updates every time it
same lines, if you want to zoom in on a is sampled, just like it did in ADRE for
particular section of data and sample it Windows software. You can get
with greater frequency you can. Spectral data to update as quickly
as a dedicated Spectrum Analyzer
One of the interesting features about by putting it into Free Run mode,
the Sxp software is that while you are but that, my friends, is a topic for
watching a startup, shutdown or even another article.
steady state, the screen is constantly
Sampling Data play back the whole 2 hour startup, From the trend plot I can select the
The first thing that you need to do but just the 10 minutes that captured range of interest by drawing a rubber
when using the Replay option of the rotor rub conditions band box around the data. To do this,
ADRE 408 is make sure that you record position the mouse at the starting
data to play back! This is pretty easy If you annotated the data capture point first, then hit the Control key,
to do. When you are in the wave- process as was detailed in my earlier Ctrl, and left click your mouse. While
form configuration tab, click on Raw tip Using Event Range for Plot Ses- holding both the ctrl key and left click
Continuous box for all of the channels sions (Reference 1), this should be move your mouse to the area where
that you are interested in (Figure 1). pretty easy. Chances are it is going to you want the data to stop. As you are
be easy anyway doing this, you will see a box form
The only tricky part is that you also around the data. When you let go, the
need to make sure that you have this First, select a Bode, Polar, or Trend plot data will zoom to the size of this box,
selected for your Keyphasor* channels of the data that you are interested in. so make sure that you can see all of
as well. If you dont, you wont have My recommendation would be either the data that you want before you let
any 1X or 2X filtered data, and it may the Bode or Trend plot, but it is also go. If you mess up, no problem, just hit
not work at all. theoretically possible to make your the escape key, esc. I wish that I could
replay database using a Polar plot. demonstrate it here, but with screen
Once you have recorded your data, Figure 2 shows a Bode Plot of a startup captures, it just wont let me.
youll want to figure out what section and a shutdown. Id be hard pressed
of data it is that you want to play back to just get the startup, so I am going to
after all, you probably dont want to use the trend plot (Figure 3), instead.
FIGURE 2: Bode plot example showing machine startup and shutdown data.
FIGURE 3: Trend plot before selecting the data range of interest. In this example, 3.5
minutes of data is shown.
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DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS
Figure 6 shows that I now have two FIGURE 4: Trend plot after narrowing the data range to include only the machine startup.
In this example, 76 seconds worth of data is shown.
databases in my hierarchy. One
is the original database (circled in
blue), and one includes the replay
filename extension (circled in red). Original
Database
FIGURE 9: Selecting the Active Database FIGURE 10: Click the Save icon to save
command. the database.
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DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS
FIGURE 13: Resampled Bode plot shows improved detail due to the changes that we made to the sampling settings.
Now click the 408 Control like you would when sampling live. All Reference
Panel icon (Figure 11). of the plots that were set up for the
1. O
rbit Vol. 31 No. 2, 2011.
original database have also followed
Kingham, John. Using Event
The ADRE 408 DSPi Control Panel over into the new database as well, so
Range for Plot Sessions.
opens, as shown in Figure 12. you wont have to reconfigure them.
My resampled Bode plot is shown in *denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Note that this control panel has a Figure 13. It looks a lot better than
General Electric Company.
progress bar that isnt visible when the original version, doesnt it?
Copyright 2012 General Electric
you are taking data normally. Now, Company. All rights reserved.
See you the next time the
all we need to do is enter the Store
Keyphasor* channel fires!
Enable mode. If you want, you can
watch your data being sampled just
T
he most effective installations of continuous
monitoring instruments such as the 3500 series
machinery protection system include integration
with the System 1* Condition Monitoring (CM)
& Diagnostics platform. However, monitoring
systems are sometimes used in a stand-alone installation
that does not include communication with CM software.
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DEPARTMENTS
APPLICATION NOTE
Step 1: Understanding establishing data collection and signal could be calculated. As shown in
the System processing settings in the SCOUT Table 1, the readings compare
instrumentation and Ascent software favorably for both rms and pk values.
This section includes a few
to closely match the settings in the Remember that the true peak-to-
important questions that need
monitor system. The 3500 system is peak reading from SCOUT must be
to be answered regarding the
used as an example for illustration. divided by two for a comparison
application of the monitor system:
to the 3500 Direct reading.
Is the monitoring system
Step 4: Alarm Considerations
configured to trip the machine?
Appropriate alarms are in important References
If so what conditions part of an effective CM program 1. Bently Nevada Asset Condition
will cause a trip? because they provide the trigger that Monitoring Applications
prompts more detailed investigation Note, Connecting SCOUT to
What application is the monitor
of a potential problem. Time is a Continuous Monitoring Systems.
configured for? (Radial Vibration,
precious commodity for rotating Part Number 323989.
Axial Thrust Position, etc.)
equipment engineers, who are
How is the monitor configured? commonly in charge of hundreds 2. Orbit Vol.25 No.2,
(Variables, Filter Settings, of assets. It is therefore essential 2005. Sabin, Steve,
Alarm Setpoints etc.) that their focus be directed to the Understanding
assets experiencing problems that Discrepancies in
Step 2: Understanding have the potential to negatively Vibration Amplitude
Measurement Choices affect the business operation. Readings Between
This section summarizes the Different Instruments, Part 1 of 2.
Note: Protection systems serve a different
measurements that are supported purpose than data analyzers such as SCOUT http://www.ge-mcs.com/download/
by the SCOUT instrumentation or ADRE*, and discrepancies in readings can orbit-archives/2001-2005/2q05_
arise due to differences in data collection and
and Ascent software. signal processing methods (Reference 2 & 3). understandingdiscrepancy
Average Values: (gap voltage, thrust readings.pdf
position, accelerometer bias, etc.) Step 5: Viewing Data
3. Orbit Vol.26 No.1,
Bode Plots: (vibration amplitude This section describes how to
2006. Chitwood,
and phase, useful for balancing, display collected data in Ascent
Randy; Hamad,
and for analyzing rotor and software, using the various plot
Akram; Qureshi,
structural resonances) display formats, including spectrums,
Munir; Sabin, Steve,
trends, time waveforms and orbits.
Waveform & Spectral Data: Understanding
(asynchronous & synchronous Discrepancies in Vibration
Figure 1 shows a comparison
sampling, crest factor, overall Amplitude Readings Between
between the Direct readings for an
rms, spectral bands, waveform Different Instruments, Part 2 of 2.
acceleration measurement from a
true peak-to-peak, etc.) http://www.ge-mcs.com/download/
3500 monitor and a buffered output
orbit-archives/readings_differ.pdf
Step 3: Configuring SCOUT reading collected by SCOUT from
the monitor. For comparison, the *Denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
Using Ascent Software Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of
same accelerometer signal was fed General Electric Company
This section makes up the bulk of
into two monitor channels so that
the Applications Note. It includes 2012 General Electric Company.
the rms and pk acceleration values All rights reserved.
specific step-by-step procedures for
G RMS G PK
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
Petri Nohynek
Bently Nevada Field Application Engineer
petri.nohynek@ge.com
THE PULP MILL: Designed by world-famous architect, Alvar Aalto, and built in 1938,
the Sunila pulp mill is situated at the mouth of the Kymi River in Kotka, Finland. Using
high-quality softwood as raw material, it produces bleached sulfate softwood kraft pulp
(reinforcement pulp) for use in wood-containing mechanical printing papers. This article
describes how the Sunila pulp mill is managing the monitoring of one problematic support
roll section on a lime kiln and the results that have been achieved.
The Lime Kiln called quicklime) is used to change and is inclined at a small angle, which
green lye into white lye which is together with the rotation, makes the
Lime kilns are used to produce lime
needed in the pulping process. lime flow downhill to the burning end
in the manufacturing process of
of the kiln. The kiln feed end has lime
sulfate cellulose. With help of high
feed devices and flue gas removal,
temperatures, the lime kiln changes Sunila lime kiln 2 is a rotating cylinder
while the burning end has a calcium
the calcium carbonate CaCO3 to about 3 m (~10 ft) in diameter and 70
oxide ejector and a natural gas burner
calcium oxide CaO, in a decomposi- m (~230 ft) long, with insulation bricks
that generates the required process
tion process known as calcination. and mastic on the inner surface. It is
temperature of about 1000 C.
Calcium oxide (which is sometimes supported by three supporting rings,
FIGURE 1: Close-up view of one of the lime kiln hot end supporting rolls. The accelerometers (shown by red arrows) are mounted
horizontally on the bearing housings and the 1900/65A monitor is mounted inside the protective junction box (shown by red oval).
The caustic environment is quite hostile to electronics, but this monitoring installation has been working normally for 7 years.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
Typically, lime kilns are supported Online Condition Monitoring be very stable, and the effect of
by journal bearings. However, periodic lubrication of the support-
The first installed condition monitor-
Sunila lime kiln 2 uses cylindrical ing rolls was clearly seen on the
ing system was based on the detec-
roller bearings instead. These were vibration trend plots (Figure 4).
tion of acoustic emissions, which is
originally grease-lubricated, but this
a popular monitoring technology for
was soon changed to a circulating oil
lime kiln applications. The system was Emergent Symptoms
lubrication system at the burning end
equipped with its own monitoring Late in 2010 the number of metallic
bearings because of high ambient
interface, and it was also connected particles increased in the lubrication
temperature. Experience has shown
to the plant Distributed Control oil of the supporting roll bearings.
that the life of these bearings is about
System (DCS). For some reason this At the same time, the vibration
6 years, while journal bearings last
system gave very large variations on monitoring system started to show
for the whole plant lifetime if they
the readings and neither the plant random impact events with the
are properly lubricated and aligned.
personnel nor the acoustic emission amplitude being about six times
monitoring system provider was higher than normal. When a closer
In 2004, the lime kiln had a major
able to set reliable alarm levels. study of the bearing condition was
failure when the shaft broke on
performed with a portable data
one of the supporting rolls at the
For this reason it was decided in collector, there was no clear sign of
burning end. The kiln dropped to the
2005 that the acoustic system a bearing fault since the impacting
floor causing it to bend. Normally
should be replaced with a Bently was not occurring at any of the
the kiln is cooled down for about 30
Nevada* 1900/65A monitoring identified bearing fault frequencies.
hours before rotation is stopped, but
system (Figure 3) connected to
in this case that was not possible.
accelerometers on each of the four Since the impacting level was signifi-
The supporting roll was replaced,
supporting roll bearings (Figure 3) cantly higher than earlier (Figures 5
the kiln lifted into position, the
and 7) it was decided to replace the
rolls and supporting rings were
This system is capable of calculating supporting roll along with its bearings
ground to specification, and the
several different high frequency in January 2011. When the bearings
kiln was returned to operation two
variables from an accelerometer were removed from the shaft, it was
weeks after the failure. Due to the
signal, and after some tests the discovered that their condition was so
mechanical damage and the high
enveloped (demodulated) peak value bad that no renovation was possible
cooling rate, there was a residual
was selected for this application. and the bearings had to be scrapped.
bow of about 10 mm in the kiln.
This monitoring turned out to
FIGURE 3: 1900/65A General Purpose Equipment Monitor FIGURE 4: Lubrication of the supporting rolls takes place every
7 days, and the effect can be clearly seen on the acceleration
enveloping trends (orange and pink curves).
FIGURE 5: These examples are enveloped waveform plots for supporting roll bearings 3 (left) and 4 (right) from late in 2010. Random
impacts on bearing 3 were more than ten times higher than what the normal level used to be and were much higher than on any
other bearing. Note: One revolution of the supporting roll takes about 12 seconds.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
Note: At a different site, similar FIGURE 7: This plot shows supporting roll bearing vibration trends before the roll change
impact-like symptoms were recorded (at left end of plot), and after the roll change (at right end of plot). The time interval of this
plot represents a one week period, extending from 05JAN2011 to 12JAN2011).
when firing failed to a portion of the
kiln causing it to shift due to thermal
contraction. In this case, we knew that
firing was normal, so the impact-like BASED ON THE AVAILABLE DATA, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT
spikes were not being caused by
unexpected thermal effects. BEARINGS 3 AND 4 WERE FAULTY
AND THE PRODUCTION LINE WAS SHUT DOWN FOR A
FIGURE 9: Averaged trends of all four sensors over the period from 01JAN2011 to In March the vibration values of
15APR2011. From top down, these plots correspond to measured vibration for support bearing 4 started to increase almost
roll bearings 4, 3, 2 and 1, respectively. The circled region indicates a rapid increase in
vibration for bearing 4. exponentially as shown by the red
oval in Figure 9. Also, the data from
the portable data collector showed
a clear increase of both impact
frequency and amplitude (Figure 10).
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
FIGURE 10: Vibration waveform for Bearing 3 taken at the end of March. Note that the amplitude
level has increased by approximately a factor of 10.
FIGURE 11: Symptoms of overloading on the support roll bearing 4 outer race.
FIGURE 12: Trend plot showing s sudden step increase in vibration of one of the supporting rolls becoming loose on its shaft
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
BP MAGNUS PLATFORM
Dave Watson
SmartSignal Shield software had been installed four
Reliability and Maintenance
months before the events described here, and was
Team Leader
able to flag the compressor instability at a very early
BP North Sea
stage. Additionally, System 1 software provided
confirmation of the problem by accommodating
deeper diagnostic analysis. The rotating equipment
team was quickly notified of the problem. Working with
the offshore team, they routed the wells differently to
manage load on the affected compressor. They also
opened the compressor anti-surge valve manually
to increase recycle flow and stabilize the rotor.
Linda Alrabady
GE Oil & Gas Machinery Diagnostic These prompt actions implemented a short-term solution,
Services (MDS) Lead Engineer which avoided failure of the compressor and unplanned
Linda.Alrabady@ge.com shutdowns of the affected system. A future article will
describe Part 2 of this case study, which will address
long-term solutions to the root cause of the problem.
Historically, there have been several instability-related
failures to the compressor thrust bearing, and in the
past six months there have been at least 4 trips. This
case history demonstrates how effective use of the
software platform enabled quick sharing of important
information across the region - enhancing plant safety
while at the same time avoiding the lost production
that a compressor failure would have caused.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
FIGURE 1: This simplified machine train diagram shows Export Compressor Train 1. Not shown here are the suction drum before
the LP Compressor, and the aftercoolers after each compressors discharge.
FIGURE 3: HP Compressor Thrust Position Trend. The horizontal red line (labelled) indicates the trip setpoint for axial thrust position.
Rotor position closely approached the trip setpoint (at +0.72 mm) during the period of low flow and instability on 04APR12. But after
corrective actions were implemented, the rotor position returned to normal.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
flow rate and inlet temperature and The waterfall plot for the HP
differential pressure between the MONITORING Compressor Drive End (DE) bearing
compressor suction and discharge for the duration of 22MARCH2012
pressures (used to compensate PLATFORM to 21APRIL2012 is shown in Figure
for varying conditions of suction 11. This plot shows several regions
pressure and gas molecular weight). ALLOWED of instability with two main
subsynchronous components
Although both the LP and HP
Compressors were running at reduced
ENHANCING (0.22X & 0.459X). Both of these
components are forward in the full
load only the HP compressor suffered spectrum plot, which indicates that
from a condition of instability. THE SAFETY their precession is the same as the
The situation directed suspicions direction of rotation for the machine.
towards the antisurge control OF THE PLANT
system on the HP compressor. As The origin of the 0.459X will be
seen in Figure 7, the valve position OPERATION, discussed in Part 2 of this case study,
showed no significant changes which we will share as a future
i.e. less than 4% even though the
compressor was in surge mode. To
WHILE AT THE Orbit article. For now, we can say
that this frequency is in the range
support this finding, System 1 data
was reviewed in several different
SAME TIME of a classic fluid induced instability
condition such as oil whirl or whip.
steady-state and transient formats. We know that tilting pad bearings
AVOIDING LOST typically do not show such behaviour,
Figures 8 through 10 show the so our next candidate would be
vibration spectrums from thrust PRODUCTION. the shaft seals on the compressor.
bearing position measurements for These include both labyrinth type
the HP and LP Compressor and the gas seals and sleeve type oil seals.
Gearbox High Speed Shaft.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
FIGURE 8: HP Compressor Thrust Vibration Spectrum. The 45 Hz peak corresponds to a vibration frequency of 0.22X. This is a
classic symptom of stall/surge in turbocompressors.
FIGURE 9: LP Compressor Thrust Vibration Spectrum. Again, the 207.5 Hz peak corresponds to 1X vibration, and it is obvious
that there is only a very small component at 0.22X.
Figures 12 through 14 show the Corrective Actions to increase the recycle flow rate
orbit timebase (waveform) plots and stabilize the rotor (Figure 3).
After confirming the root cause of
and spectrums before, during and
the instability (using System 1 and As levels were approaching the thrust
after the period of compressor
SmartSignal Shield software) to position trip level (+ 0.72 mm), timely
instability for vibration measured
be a combination of significantly intervention saved the platform from
at the HP Compressor DE bearing.
reduced load and a problem with the consequences of a machine trip
These plots show conditions for
the HP Compressor antisurge control and a potential thrust bearing failure
compressor load that was normal,
system, the rotating equipment resulting in the avoidance of a $1
significantly lower than normal,
team was notified. Working with million (USD) net cash deferral. As a
and normal, respectively. Observe
the offshore team, they ensured result of this event, BP demonstrated
that the 0.22X component (circled)
that the production wells were the ability to quickly share important
appeared when the compressor
routed differently to manage the information across the region to
was running at significantly reduced
compressor load and that the anti- prevent similar future events.
load and then disappeared when
surge valve was manually opened
load was restored to normal.
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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES
Conclusions flow. When compressor surge occurs, vibration component and its
the rapidly fluctuating thrust loads relation to the rotor instability.
The export gas compressor loading
can be very destructive, and can
is dictated by production demand Copyright 2012 General Electric
cause major damage to the machine. Company. All rights reserved.
at any particular time. Ideally, the
compressor should be operated *denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
The second part of this case study Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
very close to its Best Efficiency Point General Electric Company.
will address long term solutions
(BEP) whenever possible. However,
to the instability conditions **Trademark of GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.
it is also very important to avoid SmartSignal is a trademark of SmartSignal
described in this article, and will Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary
operating the compressor beyond
provide additional detail into the of GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.
its surge threshold, which occurs at
observed 0.459X subsynchronous
a combination of high head and low
FIGURE 12: Orbit timebase and spectrum plots BEFORE the period of reduced compressor load.
FIGURE 13: Orbit timebase and spectrum plots DURING the period of reduced compressor load. Observe the subsynchronous peak
at 0.22X (circled).
FIGURE 14: Orbit timebase and spectrum plots AFTER the period of reduced compressor load. Observe that the subsynchronous peak
at 0.22X is no longer present.
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coming attractions
Our OCT 2012 issue will focus on Turbomachinery. We invite you to join
us for some interesting case history examples and discussions on this
timeless topic.