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, uses a self-
adjusting mechanical mirror, always plumb to earth, that reflects a class 1 laser
beam into a detector. It requires only 14 of axial space along the shaft. The
mirror and transducer are attached by a bracket that uses magnets on the turbine
shaft. From a single 270-degree shaft rotation, the system calculates and
displays angularity and corrective moves and provides a statistical quality
measurement of the data. A move function allows monitoring of corrections as
they are being made. The resolution is better than 0.00002"/ft, (more accurate
than required by NEMA). Adjacent turbines can also continue to operate since
the system is insensitive to vibration.
Introduction
Plumbness is the relationship of a rotating centerline to gravity. It can be thought
of as the verticality of a centerline. In practice, with vertical hydro shaft
measurement, it is actually un-plumbness that is being measured, since the
factor quantified is the difference from perfectly vertical as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Shaft Centerline of Rotation in Relationship to the Plumb Line
Plumbness is expressed as an angle. Since the angle is small, an angular slope,
or rate of change, is a more appropriate form of expression than degrees or
radians. The most common unit of expression for this parameter in relation to
vertical hydro shafts is thousandths of an inch per foot or thousandths of an inch
per inch. Plumbness is measured in two planes. If you were looking down on
the shaft, the two planes of measurements would be the 0-180 degree plane and
the 90-270 degree plane.
Achieving plumbness in vertical hydro shaft applications is essential for proper
operation. Precision plumbness helps reduce bearing temperatures, reduces
shaft movement, reduces vibration and improves efficiency. From a scheduling
perspective, achieving this accurately in the least amount of time is essential in
saving money.
Measuring Plumbness
In measuring plumbness, various methods exist, including the use of tight wires,
lasers and optics. The tight-wire is the most commonly used method and it is
also the least expensive method.
Four tight-wires are strung vertically along the length of the vertical hydro shaft.
Typically, a non-magnetic stainless steel variety is used of 0.020 to 0.030
diameter. To ensure a minimum required range on the micrometer, the wires are
placed approximately equidistant from the shaft. Each wire is spaced at 90
degree intervals from each other around the hydro-shaft. A finned weight of 20
to 30 pounds is suspended at the end of each wire where it is submerged in an
oil bath to help dampen movement and vibration in the wire.
An electric micrometer measures the distance between the hydro shaft and the
wire. The wire and hydro shaft are electrically connected to each other in such a
way as to complete an electrical circuit when the micrometer makes contact.
This, in turn, activates and electronic auditory tone that lets the user know when
to stop advancing the micrometer. Readings are taken at points along the shaft
to establish the relative position between the tight-wire and the hydro shaft as
shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2 Tight-wire Plumbness Measurement Concept
The tight-wire method excels in being low cost and having a rather intuitive
setup. However, it is a measurement where attention to detail is paramount in
reducing the error involved in the measurement process.
It is important to ensure that vibration be virtually non-existent during the
measurement process. Disturbances of the tight-wire during measurement will
distort the accuracy of the readings. In some cases, neighboring hydro units are
kept in operation while the measurement process is being performed. If the units
were forced to be shut down for the sake of the measurement process, lost
revenue from the operation of those turbines would result. Additionally, chances
increase for the wire to be physically disturbed when other projects are being
performed near the vicinity of the measurement, particularly during a repair or
overhaul.
The technician has to be careful that the measurement is performed consistently
and accurately. It is assumed that the surface being measured is of a high
quality and that it is representative of concentricity of the shaft or coupling. Shaft
out-of-roundness, pits, rust, or grime, can affect the accuracy of the reading.
Variations of the micrometer reading can vary from person to person depending
on when they stop advancing the micrometer to touch the tight wire.
Accuracy in tight wire readings increases when a greater axial length is
measured. This means it is desirable to string the tight-wire to the longest
distance that can be achieved. This also means that more of the shaft is
dedicated to the measurement procedure. Consequently, the micrometer
operator must travel farther distances to measurement points up and down the
length of the shaft, or additional operators must be employed. Once the readings
are taken, data needs to be recorded accurately by the operator or the person in
charge of evaluating the data.
It is apparent that there are many factors involved in tight-wire measurements
that can induce error strictly from the measurement process as well as in
prolonging the amount of time and space needed to take the measurements. To
achieve an increase in productivity, it is necessary to reduce the human element
from the measurement process, reduce the amount of area needed to be
measured on the shaft and reduce the amount of time required to obtain
measurements and perform corrections.
Laser-Based Plumbness Measurement Method
The PERMAPLUMB
system is a laser based plumbness measurement tool. It
circumvents a great number of the limitations of the tight-wire method by
removing the human element from the measurement process through the use of
a laser and a computer for data acquisition. This helps to ensure that the
accuracy of the measurements are not user dependent. In addition, the
Permaplumb system offers a measurement resolution an entire order of
magnitude better than that obtainable with the tightwire/micrometer method. The
system also sets up easily and gives alignment readings quickly on demand,
reducing the amount of time dedicated to the measurement process.
The system consists of laser and mirror mounted on a compact magnetic bracket
that is only 14 long as shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3 The PERMAPLUMB
and 14 Bracket
The laser transducer is mounted upon the bracket as shown in Figure 4 below.
Figure 4 Laser Transducer Mounted upon the Permaplumb Bracket
A beam is reflected off a self-leveling mirror on the bottom of the bracket back
into a 1 micron resolution detector located inside the laser transducer. The
mirrors 2-axis pivot points ensure that the mirrors surface will always maintain
relative plumbness to the horizon as shown in Figure 5 below.
Figure 5 Self Adjusting Mirror Assembly
Plumbness is measured by simply attaching the system to the vertical shaft by
means of its integrated magnetic feet and rotating the shaft to four positions 90
degrees apart as shown in Figure 6. A measurement is taken at each of the 90
degree positions. After the last measurement is taken, the plumbness results
can be displayed through the computer. Correcting plumbness is usually done in
one of two ways: axially moving (shimming) the thrust bearing or translating
(horizontally moving) the thrust bearing. PERMAPLUMB
Software
Once the dimensions are entered, it is time to take the measurements. This
begins by turning on the high pressure lubrication system and having the
mounted Permaplumb system on the shaft rotated to the designated 0 degree
position. The high pressure lubrication system is then deactivated to let the shaft
settle down. This is where the first measurement point will be taken. The high
pressure lubrication system is then reactivated and the process is repeated for
the next three points over 270 degrees of shaft rotation.
The results achieved (see Figure 9 below) will display the plumbness results in
mils per inch. The NEMA tolerance of 0.25 mils per foot are entered (as 0.0208
mils per inch) into the tolerance function so that the system can indicate if the
tolerance was achieved. The measurement resolution is better than 0.00002/ft,
which is far better than the tolerance required by NEMA.
Figure 9 The Results Screen
Should corrections be required on the thrust bearing pads, PERMAPLUMB
provides the amount each pad should be moved up (or down) to achieve
tolerance as shown in Figure 10. A special feature in the software also allows
for Pad Up & Down, which yields optimized corrections for adding and
subtracting to the pad height in order to achieve plumbness without changing the
shaft elevation.
Figure 10 Thrust Bearing Corrections for Each Shoe
Corrections on the pads are performed and the shaft is remeasured to verify
plumbness. The whole process can be measured live, if needed. A special
live move mode is activated to continuously update the hydro shafts plumbness
condition as corrections are being made as shown in Figure 11 below. This not
only updates the actual plumbness value, but continuously updates the predicted
thrust bearing pad corrections and well as the shaft position change at the upper
and lower guide bearings. Plumbness is able to be continuously monitored for
situations in which the thrust bearing itself may need to be translated.
The live move mode is particularly useful in ensuring that corrections are made
without interference during the move. Should the shaft contact the guide
bearings or become obstructed during the repositioning, this would become
evident in this mode.
Figure 11 Live Move Mode
Assurance of measurement accuracy during the measurement process is vital.
Data collected needs to be relied upon to perform corrections and verify results.
During the data collection process, a sample of 32 readings per second can be
collected per measurement point. The user can select how many seconds of
data are to be collected per measurement point, up to 204 seconds. This is
extremely useful when vibration could become an issue during measurement,
which is usually the case when adjacent turbines are running during the
measurement process.
The standard deviation display ensures that the measurement duration selected
creates stable data to overcome vibration issues. This is useful in finding the
optimum amount of time required for data collection to create a stable
measurement while reducing measurement time to the minimum possible.
Measurement accuracy is also ensured through rotation to 4 points. A special
feature known as circular completion ensures that the hydro shaft is rotated
about an axis with zero interference. It ensures that readings at the four points
follow the equation that the sum of the 0 degree and 180 degree readings should
equal the sum of the 90 and 270 degree readings. If that equation is violated
during measurement, a circular completion error will result showing the degree to
which this violation occurs. A value of 0.2 in the raw detector data or less would
be considered a good reading. This feature indicates if shaft interference issues
have occurred during measurement.
Repeatability of the measurement is essential as a standard measurement
process. PERMAPLUMB features a repeatability function to allow for previous
measurements to be compared to the current measurements. Repeatable
measurements ensure that what you see is what it really is..
Repeatability checks with the PERMAPLUMB