Machine Condition Monitoring

and
Fault Diagnostics

Chris K Mechefske

September 13, 2010 Page 1

 Course Overview

• Introduction to Machine Condition Monitoring

and Condition Based Maintenance
• Basics of Mechanical Vibrations
• Vibration Transducers
• Vibration Signal Measurement and Display
• Machine Vibration Standards and Acceptance
Limits (Condition Monitoring)
• Vibration Signal Frequency Analysis (FFT)

September 13, 2010 Page 2

 Course Overview

• Machinery Vibration Testing and Trouble Shooting

• Fault Diagnostics Based on Forcing Functions
• Fault Diagnostics Based on Specific Machine
Components
• Fault Diagnostics Based on Specific Machine Type
• Automatic Diagnostic Techniques
• Non-Vibration Based Machine Condition Monitoring
and Fault Diagnosis Methods

September 13, 2010 Page 3

 Current Topic

• Introduction to Machine Condition Monitoring

and Condition Based Maintenance
• Basics of Mechanical Vibrations
• Vibration Transducers
• Vibration Signal Measurement and Display
• Machine Vibration Standards and Acceptance
Limits (Condition Monitoring)
• Vibration Signal Frequency Analysis (FFT)

September 13, 2010 Page 4

 Introduction

What is Machine Condition Monitoring and

Fault Diagnostics?

• basically it is a maintenance tool

• also being applied in quality control, and
process control, process monitoring

September 13, 2010 Page 5

 Introduction
Why conduct Machine Condition Monitoring and
Fault Diagnostics?

September 13, 2010 Page 6

September 13, 2010 Page 7
September 13, 2010 Page 8
 Introduction

ISO definition:
a field of technical activity in which selected
physical parameters, associated with machinery
operation, are observed for the purpose of
determining machinery integrity

• not just vibration based

September 13, 2010 Page 9

 Introduction

Also includes:
• oil analysis (oil quality, contamination)
• wear particle monitoring and analysis
• force
• sound pressure (intensity)
• temperature
• output (machine performance)
• product quality
• odour
• visual inspection and others

September 13, 2010 Page 10

 Machinery Failure

To place Machine Condition Monitoring and Fault

Diagnostics in context with the larger plant
maintenance picture:
Most machinery is required to operate within a close
set of limits.
• operating speed (not variable speed machines)
• load (throughput)
• product quality standards

Occasionally machinery is required to operate outside

these limits for short times (electric generators).
September 13, 2010 Page 11
 Machinery Failure

The main reason for employing a Machine Condition

Monitoring and Fault Diagnostics program is to find
accurate, quantitative information on the present
condition of the machinery.
• reasonable expectation of machine performance
• will a machine stand a required overload?
• should equipment be serviced now or later?
• what is the expected time to failure?
• what is the expected failure mode?

September 13, 2010 Page 12

 Machinery Failure

Machinery failure is the inability of the machine

to perform its required function.
Failure is machinery specific.
Examples:
• conveyor belt drive-end pulley bearings
failure = seized bearing (belt stops)
• computer disk drive
failure = slow response, noisy

September 13, 2010 Page 13

 Machinery Failure

Machinery failure may involve only a sub-

system of the machine or process.
Failure of a sub-system (or component) may result
in overall failure.
Example:
• a flat tire on your car is a failure of the car (it
can no longer be driven)

September 13, 2010 Page 14

 Machinery Failure

Other considerations which may dictate machine

performance:
• economics (obsolescence - run to failure,
premature replacement)
• safety (minimize risk of failure – trains, planes
and automobiles).

September 13, 2010 Page 15

 Causes of Failures

• design deficiencies
• material deficiencies
• processing deficiencies
• improper assembly practices
• improper service conditions
• inappropriate maintenance
• excessive demands

September 13, 2010 Page 16

 Types of Failure

• Catastrophic - sudden and complete.

• Incipient - partial, usually gradual.

In most cases there is some advanced warning of

the onset of failure.
All failures pass through an incipient phase – even
if they do so quickly.

September 13, 2010 Page 17

 The goal of Machine Condition Monitoring
and Fault Diagnostics is to:
• detect onset of equipment deterioration
• diagnose the condition
• trend its progression over time
• prognose (predict) when ultimate failure will
occur
• allow time for maintenance planning
This excludes failures caused by unforeseen and
uncontrollable outside forces - earthquakes, etc.

September 13, 2010 Page 18

 Frequency of Failure

Bath-tub Curve (individual machine or population

of machines)
Wear In Wear Out
Normal Wear
Failure
Rate
(prob.
of
failure)

Time In Service
September 13, 2010 Page 19
 Wear In Failures
Typically high frequency of failures early in the
expected life of a machine due to:
• design errors
• manufacturing defects
• assembly mistakes
• installation problems
• commissioning errors

September 13, 2010 Page 20

 Normal Wear (Random Failures)

Typically occur during the majority of the life of

a machine.
Relatively low failure rate when operating within
design specifications.

September 13, 2010 Page 21

 Wear Out Failures

Occur towards the end of a machine’s design

life.
Gradually increasing failure rate at the expected
end of a machines useful life - primarily due to:
• fatigue
• wear mechanisms
• corrosion
• obsolescence

September 13, 2010 Page 22

 Wear Out Failures

The slope of the wear-out part of the bath-tub-

curve is machine and operational history
dependent.
If the machine design is such that the operational life ends abruptly
(due to fatigue for example) or the machine is under designed to meet
the load expected or the machine has endured a severe operational life
(experienced numerous over-loads) the slope of the curve in the wear-
out section will increase sharply with time. If the machinery is over
designed or experiences a relatively light loading history the slope of
this part of the bath-tub-curve will increase only gradually with time.

This curve shape is generally true for individual

machines and populations of machines of the
same type.
September 13, 2010 Page 23
 Frequency of Failure

Bath-tub Curve (individual machine or population

of machines)

Wear In
Normal Wear Wear Out
Failure
Rate

Time In Service
September 13, 2010 Page 24
 Frequency of Failure

Bath-tub Curves (as a function of machine duty)

Wear In
Wear Out

Normal Wear
Failure
Rate

Increasing Duty
Time In Service
September 13, 2010 Page 25
 History of Maintenance Expectations

September 13, 2010 Page 26

 History of Maintenance Techniques

September 13, 2010 Page 27

 History of Equipment Failure

September 13, 2010 Page 28

 Expected Equipment Failure Rates

Mechanical Components

September 13, 2010 Page 29

 Expected Equipment Failure Rates

Electronic Components

September 13, 2010 Page 30

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

There are three basic categories of

maintenance practise
• Run to failure
• Scheduled
• Condition Based

September 13, 2010 Page 31

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Philosophy: “ Fix it when it breaks”

Cost:
Reactive Benefit:
•Costly catastrophic
•Zero initial investment
breakdowns

Philosophy: “Change it out every ____ hours”

Benefit:
Scheduled Cost:
•Reduced catastrophic
•Premature work
breakdowns

Philosophy: “Does it need to be fixed?”

Condition Benefit: Cost:

•Maintenance done when •Requires effective use of
Based (CBM)
needed information
•Upfront cost

September 13, 2010 Page 32

 Basic Maintenance Strategies
Run to failure (Breakdown) Maintenance
• maintenance performed only when machinery
has failed. Example: Burnt out light bulb.

Machine Capacity Failures

(Est.)

Estimated
Capacity
and Load

Machine Duty (Load)

Time In Service Maintenance
September 13, 2010 Page 33
 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Scheduled (Preventive) Maintenance

• specific maintenance tasks performed at set

time intervals (or duty cycles)

• significant margin between machine capacity

and actual duty maintained.

Example: Oil changes on your car engine,

light bulbs above a shop floor.

September 13, 2010 Page 34

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Scheduled Maintenance

Machine Capacity
(Est.)

Estimated
Capacity
and Load Margin
Margin

Machine Duty (Load)

Time In Service Maintenance

September 13, 2010 Page 35

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Condition Based (on-condition, predictive)

Maintenance

• actual condition of the machinery is assessed

• data used to optimally schedule maintenance

• maximum production and avoidance of catastrophic
failures is achieved

Example: Tire changes on your car.

September 13, 2010 Page 36

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Condition Based Maintenance

Machine Capacity
(Est.)
Reduced Load
Estimated
Capacity
and Load Minimum Margin

Machine Duty (Load)

Time In Service Maintenance

September 13, 2010 Page 37

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Condition Based Maintenance

• Note: margin between duty and capacity is never

allowed to reach zero - breakdown
avoidance.
• Results: longer time between maintenance tasks
than for scheduled maintenance.

September 13, 2010 Page 38

 Basic Maintenance Strategies

Advantages and disadvantages do exist.

Situations exist where one or the other would be
appropriate.
The maintenance engineer must decide and justify
action.
Combinations of strategies may be required within
a given plant on different machines.

Changes in maintenance strategies may be

required for given machines during the life of the
machine or as operating conditions change.

September 13, 2010 Page 39

 Summary of Maintenance Strategies

September 13, 2010 Page 40

 Additional Maintenance Strategies

Proactive Maintenance:

Redundancy:

September 13, 2010 Page 41

 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy

• classification of machine
- critical to production?
- high cost of replacement?
- long lead time for replacement?
• manufacturers recommendations
• failure data (history), MTTF, MTBF, failure modes
• redundancy
• safety (plant personnel, community, environment)
• parts cost/availability
• costs (personnel, administrative, equipment)
• running costs
September 13, 2010 Page 42
 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy

In general the following rules apply.

Breakdown Maintenance
• if equipment is redundant
• low cost spares available
• interruptible process, stockpiled product
• safe failure modes
• long MTTF/MTBF
• low cost secondary damage
• quick repair or replacement (low cost of
interruption to production)
September 13, 2010 Page 43
 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy
In general the following rules apply.
Preventive Maintenance
• statistical failure rate available
• narrow failure distribution (predictable MTBF)
• maintenance restores full integrity
• single failure mode (known)
• low cost of regular overhaul/replacement
• unexpected interruptions to production
expensive (scheduled interruptions not so bad)
• low cost spares available
• reduced number of breakdowns required
• costly secondary damage from failure
September 13, 2010 Page 44
 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy

In general the following rules apply.

Condition Based Maintenance
• expensive/critical machinery
• long lead time for replacement (no spares)
• uninterruptible process (both regular and
unexpected) - costly
• large/complex machinery
• overhaul expensive/needs highly trained people
• reduced numbers of highly skilled maintenance
people
September 13, 2010 Page 45
 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy

In general the following rules apply.

Condition Based Maintenance (cont’d)
• costs of monitoring program acceptable.
• safety is a priority (failures dangerous)
• remote, mobile equipment
• failure not indicated by operation degeneration
• costly secondary damage.

September 13, 2010 Page 46

 Factors which Influence Maintenance Strategy

Finally:
• Each case must be evaluated individually.
• Principal considerations defined in economic terms.
• Company policy considerations.

September 13, 2010 Page 47

 Machine Condition Monitoring and
Fault Diagnostics
Potential advantages
• increased machine availability and reliability
• improved operating efficiency
• improved risk management (less down time)
• reduced maintenance costs (better planning)
• reduced spare parts inventories
• improved safety
• improved knowledge of machine condition
(safe overloading of machine possible)
September 13, 2010 Page 48
 Machine Condition Monitoring and
Fault Diagnostics
Potential advantages (cont’d)
• extended operational life of machine
• improved customer relations (less planned /
unplanned downtime)
• elimination of chronic failures (root cause
analysis and redesign)
• reduction of post overhaul failures due to
improperly performed maintenance or
reassembly

September 13, 2010 Page 49

 Machine Condition Monitoring and
Fault Diagnostics
Potential disadvantages
• monitoring equipment costs (high)
• operational costs (running the program)
• skilled personnel needed
• needs strong management commitment
• long run-in time to collect machine histories and
set trends
• reduced costs are harder to sell as direct
benefits to management than increased profits
September 13, 2010 Page 50
 MCMAD Philosophy

Get useful information on the condition of equipment

to the people who need it.
- operators, maintenance, managers, etc.
- these groups need different information at
different times
This means:
- collect useful data
- change data into information in a form
required by and useful to others
- timely reporting

September 13, 2010 Page 51

 MCMAD Philosophy

Get useful information regarding the condition of

the equipment to the people who need it in a
timely manner.
• operators – minute by minute (overall
vibration/temperature levels, alarms)
• maintenance personnel – weekly/monthly
(trends, alarm reports, raw data, frequency
spectra)
• managers – quarterly/yearly (maintenance
history, failure rates, cost/benefit of monitoring)

September 13, 2010 Page 52

 MCMAD Philosophy

Types of data collected:

- vibration severity, frequency analysis,
temperature, oil analysis, etc.
Types of information gleaned:
- existing condition
- trends
- expected time to failure at a given load
- type of fault existing or developing
- type of fault which caused failure

September 13, 2010 Page 53

 MCMAD Tasks

• Detection
• Diagnosis
• Prognosis
• Post Mortem
• Prescription

September 13, 2010 Page 54

 MCMAD Tasks

Detection
• data gathering
• comparison to standards
• comparison to limits set in-plant for specific
equipment
• trending over time

September 13, 2010 Page 55

 MCMAD Tasks

Diagnosis
• recognising the type of fault developing
(different fault types may be more or less
serious and require different action)
• severity of fault

September 13, 2010 Page 56

 MCMAD Tasks

Prognosis
• expected time to failure
• trending/predicting
• forecasting
• maintenance planning/timing

September 13, 2010 Page 57

 MCMaFD Tasks

Post Mortem
• root cause failure analysis
• research, laboratory / field tests
• modeling of system and analysis

September 13, 2010 Page 58

 MCMAD Tasks

Prescription (activity dictated by information

collected)
• may be applied at any stage
• alter operating conditions
• alter monitoring strategy (frequency, type)
• redesign process or equipment

September 13, 2010 Page 59

 MCMAD Strategies

How much data to collect?

How much time to spend at data analysis?
These things dictate the MCMAD strategy
(cost will always be a factor)
Consider:
• equipment class, size, importance within
process, replacement cost and availability
• safety
• different pieces of equipment or processes may
require different monitoring strategies.
September 13, 2010 Page 60
 MCMAD Strategies

No Monitoring
• inexpensive, non-critical equipment
• in stock equipment (or readily accessible)
• low load equipment
• low failure rate known
• failure modes well understood

September 13, 2010 Page 61

 MCMAD Strategies

Periodic Monitoring
• non-critical equipment
• failure modes known
• historically dependable equipment
• trending and severity levels checks only
• problems trigger more rigorous investigations

September 13, 2010 Page 62

 MCMAD Strategies

Continuous Monitoring
• permanently installed monitoring system
samples and analyses data automatically
• critical equipment (expensive to replace with
downtime (loss of production) being
expensive)
• changes in condition trigger more detailed
investigation or possibly automatic shutdown

September 13, 2010 Page 63

 What to Measure

• vibration levels (displacement, velocity, acceleration).

• oil analysis (lubricating quality contamination)
• wear particle monitoring and analysis (number, size,
shape, composition)
• force measurements
• sound level
• odour
• temperature
• output quantity
• product quality
• visual inspection, etc.
September 13, 2010 Page 64
 Next Time

• Introduction to Machine Condition Monitoring

and Condition Based Maintenance
• Basics of Mechanical Vibrations
• Vibration Transducers
• Vibration Signal Measurement and Display
• Machine Vibration Standards and Acceptance
Limits (Condition Monitoring)
• Vibration Signal Frequency Analysis (FFT)

September 13, 2010 Page 65