Vibration and shaft position monitoring
USE CASE- Vibration and shaft position monitoring is widely used across multiple industries for assessing the mechanical health of rotating machinery. Monitoring serves two distinct purposes 1) protecting against catastrophic failure and 2) maintenance decision support. Sensors are typically placed at bearing and machine case locations to capture rotor, bearing, foundation and process induced vibrations. Additional sensors measure shaft axial position relative to the case.
Changes in vibration and shaft axial position are early indicators of a host of mechanical and electrical issues. Fault progression vary depending on the machine and fault type; instantaneous to long term. There are many possible contributors to mechanical faults including poor design, poor workmanship, defective materials, lubrication and operating issues.
SOLUTION- Our vibration monitoring systems can provide both machinery protection and long- term condition monitoring. Typical detectable problems include unbalance, misalignment, looseness, bearing wear and condition, electrically induced vibration, process induced vibration (hydraulic).
BENEFITS- Detecting rapidly progressing mechanical faults before major failure occurs allows taking mitigating action and avoiding potential significant financial losses, reduced reliability and potential safety concerns.
Longer term vibration and axial position monitoring enables condition- based maintenance strategies by helping asset managers make informed decisions about when to repair or replace, and to avoid unscheduled outages.
Airgap monitoring
USE CASE- Electric generator airgap monitoring is a proven method for detecting unexpected changes to rotor and/ or stator geometries in large low speed machines which in extreme cases can result in rotor- stator rubs and cause significant damage to the equipment. Additionally, maintaining the correct airgap over time is crucial for achieving machine balance and efficiency, preventing mechanical issues and optimizing performance.
SOLUTION- Our Airgap monitoring systems are designed to operate reliably inside the strong magnetic fields of electric generators under load, providing real- time rotor- to- stator air gap data and early warning if the air gap narrows beyond the safe operating limit.
Additionally, the system identifies uneven rotor wear by observing the profile of each pole as it passes by the sensors.
BENEFITS- Being alerted to impending rotor– stator- rubs allows for taking mitigating action to prevent machine failure, thus protecting the safety of plant personnel and avoiding the significant financial losses from extensive machine downtime and high repair costs.
Furthermore, air gap monitoring enables condition- based maintenance strategies and optimized maintenance planning by helping asset managers making informed decisions about when to repair or replace, and to avoid unscheduled outages.
Magnetic flux monitoring
USE CASE- Incipient generator rotor faults typically do not significantly affect field current or machine output during operation.
Magnetic flux monitoring is a proven non- invasive early rotor fault detection method. It effectively identifies inter- turn short circuits which develops gradually as the insulation between rotor winding turns deteriorates. Reasons for insulation breakdown include thermal cycling, mechanical vibration, load balancing and installation defects.
SOLUTION- Our Magnetic flux monitoring systems offer early detection of rotor problems by continuously measuring the magnetic flux density in the airgap during normal operation providing up to date insights into rotor health without interrupting production or opening up the machine. Beyond classic shorted turns, magnetic flux monitoring also helps reveal other rotor-related anomalies, including short circuits localized within a pole, magnetic unbalance, or mechanical instability.
BENEFITS- Damaged rotor pole insulation degrades the generator's output capacity and can can lead to unplanned outages. Detecting rotor issues early allows taking mitigating action and avoiding potential significant financial losses, reduced reliability and potential safety concerns.
Furthermore, magnetic flux monitoring enables condition- based maintenance strategies and optimized maintenance planning by helping asset managers making informed decisions about when to repair or replace, and to avoid unscheduled outages.
End winding vibration monitoring
USE CASE- The generator end windings extend out from the stator core and require a support system to prevent excessive electromagnetic and mechanical induced vibration. The support system can deteriorate over time due to aging, thermal expansion, resonance conditions, etc.
Excessive vibration can lead to ground faults resulting from cracked insulation and conductor fatigue cracking. This problem is becoming more prevalent in a deregulated power generation landscape where operating schedules are changing with many baseload machines now operating with frequent load changing cycles.
SOLUTION- Our Fiberoptic Acceleration Sensors (FAS) are resistant to electromagnetic interference and ideal for measuring vibration in the high electromagnetic fields found inside electric generators. Typically, 6 to 9 sensors are installed uniformly around the end winding in the radial direction on each side, depending on the generator size.
BENEFITS- Issues resulting from excessive end winding vibrations are a primary cause of generator forced shutdowns. End winding vibration monitoring can help extend machine life expectancy and to avoid unscheduled outages. This coupled with improved maintenance planning can significantly enhance economic performance.
Partial discharge monitoring
USE CASE- An early sign of emerging stator faults caused by insulation breakdown is partial discharge activity. This symptom often occurs well before insulation failure.
There are multiple possible contributors to stator insulation breakdown including poor design, poor workmanship, defective materials, contamination and aging. If left untreated the partial discharge activity itself will tend to further weaken the insulation.
SOLUTION- Our Partial discharge monitoring systems offer early detection of weakening stator insulation and the ability to pinpoint specific faults like delamination of single conductor to main insulation, delamination of the main insulation and abrasion of the corona slot protection.
BENEFITS- Damage to the stator core can result in voltage instability, loss of output and force a shutdown. Insulation breakdown is also a potential safety hazard with the risk of fire or explosion. Detecting issues before major faults occur allows taking mitigating action thereby avoiding financial losses, reduced reliability and safety concerns.
Partial discharge monitoring also enables condition- based maintenance strategies and optimized maintenance planning by helping asset managers making informed decisions about when to repair or replace, and to avoid unscheduled outages.