Engineering Data 16013

Vibration
The operation of any mechanical system will always produce some vibration. Our goal is to minimize the effect of these vibrations, because while it is undesirable, vibration is unavoidable. The result of excess vibration can vary from nuisance disturbance to a catastrophic failure. The cause of vibration is due either to a rotational part being out of balance, i.e., the fan wheel or motor pulley, or a mechanical fault such as misaligned drives, bent shafts or aerodynamic forces. Keeping in mind that all vibrations occur at regular frequencies, determining that frequency will help to diagnose the source of the vibration. PennBarry balances each fan wheel prior to installing it into a fan. After assembly the finished unit is tested in our final balancing area. The units are firmly mounted to a solid base for accurate, repeatable measurements. They are then run either at the RPM requested on the customer's order, or at the maximum for the class and type of fan. When PennBarry measures the vibration at the fan bearings using computer assisted balancing programs, they must meet specific quality standards for acceptance.

Quality Standard
The Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) has published a standard for vibration severity. The acceptable levels of vibration are based on the intended use of the fan. Table 1 is from the AMCA standard and shows these applications and their category of limits.

Table 2: Vibration Limits for Factory Tests

Fan Rigidly Flexible Application Mounted Mounted Category mm/s (in./s) mm/s (in./s) BV - 1 12.7 (0.50) 5.1 (0.20) 3.8 (0.15) 2.5 (0.10) 2.0 (0.08) 15.2 (0.60) 7.6 (0.30) 5.1 (0.20) 3.8 (0.15) 2.5 (0.10)

Table 1: Fan Application Categories

Application Examples Ceiling fans, attic fans, window AC Building ventilation and air conditioning; commercial systems Driver Power kW (HP) Limits <= .15 (0.2) > .15 (0.2) <= 3.7 (5.0) > 3.7 (5.0) Fan Application Category, BV BV - 1 BV - 2 BV - 2 BV - 3 BV - 2 BV - 3 BV - 4 BV - 5

Residential HVAC & Agricultural

Baghouse, scrubber, Industrial Process mine, conveying, & Power boilers, combustion Generation, Etc. air, pollution control, wind tunnels Transportation & Marine Locomotives, trucks, automobiles Subway emergency ventilation, tunnel fans, garage ventilation, Tunnel Jet Fans Hazardous gases, process fans Clean room

Values shown are peak velocity, mm / s (inches / s), Filter-In, at the factory test speed.

<= 300 (400) > 300 (400) <= 15 (20) > 15 (20) <= 75 (100) > 75 (100) ANY <= 37 (50) > 37 (50) ANY

BV - 3 BV - 4 BV - 3 BV - 4 BV - 3 BV - 4 BV - 4 BV - 3 BV - 4 BV - 5

Transit/Tunnel

Petrochemical Process Computer Chip Manufacture

Tables reprinted from AMCA Publication 204-96, Balance Quality and Vibration Levels for Fans, with the express written permission from the Air Movement and Control Association, Inc. 30 West University Drive, Arlington Heights, IL 60004-1983.

Table 2 shows these categories with their acceptable levels of vibration for tests done at the factory. These readings are described as "Filter In." Filter in readings are taken with a vibration analyzer that has a filter tuned to the operating speed of the fan. This filter allows the analyzer to read only the vibration frequency that corresponds to the speed of the fan. The acceptable level of vibration at fan frequency for fans built at PennBarry is 0.10 inches/second for standard fans and 0.0785 inches/second for clean room fans. As you can see, PennBarry's tolerance meets or exceeds every application category. PennBarry's standard goes on to include an overall vibration level, this would be a "Filter Out" reading. Filter out readings are taken with the vibration analyzer's filter bypassed. All frequencies of vibration are considered. The maximum allowed filter out reading is 0.25 inches/second. The AMCA publication does not provide a standard for filter out readings for factory tests.

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Printed in the USA Jan 2005 ED 16013

Engineering Data 16013

Vibration Displacement amplitude is the measurement of vibration, usually in mils peak-topeak. The severity of this vibration is dependent on the frequency at which it is occurring, the slower the speed, the greater the vibration displacement allowance. Because of this, the vibration severity must be given at a specific speed. To avoid this restriction, a more general specification can be written giving the tolerance in units of vibration velocity, usually peak velocity in inches per second. This number is the mathematical integral of the displacement, and removes the operating speed as part of the requirement. From the chart it is evident that a fan operating at 400 RPM is in the fair range even when the vibration level reaches over 4 mils, while the same level of severity for a fan operating at 3000 RPM would be under 0.8 mils. In both of these cases the fan could be said to be operating at less than 0.10 inches per second of vibration velocity.

Table 3 gives guidelines for fans after being installed. Drive components, foundations and other items may have changed the level of vibration from the level of the factory test. A trim balance may be required for the fan to operate in the start-up condition as shown in this table. It is reasonable to expect vibration levels to increase over time due to bearing wear and other accumulated effects. This table is provided as a guideline for determining how much vibration should be allowed before rebalancing or repairing a fan.

Natural Frequency
After a fan is installed it is a good idea to check the level of vibration to verify that the vibration levels are within the limits of tolerance. Remembering that a fan is part of a system with a corresponding natural frequency, when this fan is attached to a base or other equipment, we have altered the components of the natural frequency formula, and therefore have changed the natural frequency of the fan assembly. It should be verified that the natural frequency has not moved to the frequency of an exciting force. The fact that natural frequencies exist cannot be avoided. This is the frequency something will vibrate at if left undamped and explains why a tuning fork always has the same tone, the tone corresponds to the natural or resonant frequency of the fork. If there is an exciting force at the natural frequency of any of the fan's components, the resulting vibration can be uncontrollable. To prevent this, fans must be designed so the natural frequency of the components is well above or well

Table 3: Vibration Limits for On-Site Tests

Condition Fan Rigidly Flexible Applicaton Mounted Mounted Category mm/s (in./s) mm/s (in./s) BV-1 BV-2 Start-Up BV-3 BV-4 BV-5 BV-1 BV-2 Alarm BV-3 BV-4 BV-5 BV-1 BV-2 Shutdown BV-3 BV-4 BV-5 14.0 (0.55) 7.6 (0.30) 6.4 (0.25) 4.1 (0.16) 2.5 (0.10) 15.2 (0.60) 12.7 (0.50) 10.2 (0.40) 6.4 (0.25) 5.7 (0.20) NOTE1 NOTE1 12.7 (0.50) 10.2 (0.40) 7.6 (0.30) 15.2 (0.60) 12.7 (0.50) 8.8 (0.35) 6.4 (0.25) 4.1 (0.16) 19.1 (0.75) 19.1 (0.75) 16.5 (0.65) 10.2 (0.40) 7.6 (0.30)

Chart 1: Vibration Toleration Specifications

Vibration Frequency* - CPM

2500 1500 1000 1800 1200 3000 2000 3600 400 500 300 800 600 700 900

NOTE1 NOTE1 17.8 (0.70) 15.2 (0.60) 10.2 (0.40)

60 50 40 30 20

Values are for filtered readings taken on the bearing caps.

VIBRATION DISPLACEMENT - MILS - PEAK-TO-PEAK

Values shown are peak velocity, mm / s (inches / s), Filter-Out, at the factory test speed. Note: Shut down levels for fans in Fan Application Grades BV1 and BV2 must be established based on historical data.

15 10 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

Vibration Toleration Specifications

Often customers will have special vibration tolerance requirements. Because of this, the fan specs will often include a vibration tolerance specification. These tolerance specifications can be written using a few different units for measuring the vibration. Chart 1 will help to illustrate the difference between them.

Sh ut Do wn Ro ug Sli h gh tly Ro ug h Fai r Go od Sm oo th

VIBRATION VELOCITY - IN/SEC - PEAK

0.80 IN/SEC 0.40 IN/SEC 0.20 IN/SEC 0.10 IN/SEC 0.05 IN/SEC

0.2

0.1

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Vibration below any anticipated exciting forces. An exciting force can be anything oscillating at a regular frequency. The fan rotational speed, belt rotational speed and motor rotational speeds are among the predictable exciting force frequencies (1 times RPM). Other exciting forces could be aerodynamic, i.e., blade pass frequency (number of fan blades times RPM), turbulence, i.e., from operating at points of instability, or even the rotational speed of adjoining or connected machinery (background vibration). and the resultant vibration is measured. The piece is struck three to five times and an average of the results is taken. The frequency of the resulting vibration is the resonant frequency of that component. An example of the results of a Bump Test is shown in Chart 2. This two part graph shows the coherence of each bump on the top graph. The vertical axis is a multiplier and the horizontal axis shows a frequency. This graph shows how well the impact of each bump resembles the bump before it. This is important because the response should be the same each time if the response is due to a resonance. The coherence should be a factor of 0.96 at a minimum at the frequency of interest for the reading to be statistically significant. By determining these resonances, we can avoid operating the fan

Engineering Data 16013

at critical speeds. The bottom graph shows the response of the component in units of inches per second per pound of force of impact. The spikes on this graph represent actual resonant frequencies.

Fan Specifications
When fan specifications are written, they should not be so broad as to cover the frequencies of all possible vibrations, but should be limited enough so as to be realistic. For example, to say all vibration must be below 0.10 inches per second is not reasonable if RPMs outside the fans operating range are being considered. A more reasonable specification would say vibration must be below 0.10 inches per second when the fan is operating between the minimum and the maximum speeds. For any given RPM there can be any number of vibration frequencies. The point is that vibration associated with any frequency should not be exceeded for a given point on an RPM range. For example, "the fan will operate below 0.20 inches per second for all frequencies when the fan is operated between1200 and 2000 RPM."

Bump Test
PennBarry has the technology to determine the resonant frequency of a fan and any of its components through the use of a calibrated hammer and a special computer program. The component is given a "Bump Test," where the piece is excited by striking with the hammer

Chart 2: Bump Test Results

Coast Down Test

Current technology at PennBarry allows for graphed plots showing vibration levels at all frequencies for a given RPM. Through the use of a "Coast Down" test, vibrations related to any given fan speed, from full RPM to zero, can be recorded on a single graph. In a Coast Down test, the fan is run to full speed, then shut off. The computer reads the vibration levels as the fan tracks down from full speed to zero. For any given speed the full vibration spectrum can be displayed, this will clearly show vibration spikes. An example of a Coast Down report is shown in Chart 3. Along the left side of the graph is the operating speed of the machine. Across the bottom is the responding vibration frequency. When the maximum vibration is the same as the fan operating speed, an unbalance is indicated. This test is generally used to verify that no spikes exist after a unit has been balanced.

Chart 3: Coast Down Test Results

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Engineering Data 16013

Vibration

Causes Of Vibration
A fan shaft or motor shaft could be bent. The fan may be out of balance. The motor pulley may be out of balance. Misalignment of belt drives or coupling. Belts are over tightened. Mechanical looseness, loose bolts, fractures or oversize bores will appear as being loose. Resonance in the structure is being excited. The fan is operating in an unstable area causing turbulence.

Terms
Acceleration - The rate of change of velocity in relation to time. Accelerometer - Transducer which measures acceleration, which is converted to vibration velocity. Amplitude - The amount of vibratory movement. Balance - The condition where no vibration occurs in a rotating member due to the center of mass being displaced from the center of rotation. Critical Speed - The speed of a rotating member which corresponds to a resonant frequency in a member of the structure. A member may have several critical speeds. Damping - Dissipation of energy from a dynamic system due to material friction and external forces. Internal friction trends to dampen vibration. Displacement - The amount a piece moves, usually expressed as mils peak to peak. Frequency - The repetition rate at which a cycle occurs, usually expressed as RPM (revolutions per minute) or Hertz (cycles per second).G - The force of acceleration due to gravity. Some vibrations are measured in terms of G units. Natural Frequency - The frequency at which a component resonates. Resonance - The natural frequency of a system. When this frequency is excited, the vibration will peak. Any change from this speed will reduce the amplitude of the vibration. Velocity - The rate of change of displacement with respect to time. The velocity of vibration is usually expressed as inches per second. Vibration - The cyclic motion of an object back and forth through its position of rest.

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