Plant Condition Monitoring

Condition Monitoring of Plant Assets (Machinery)

 A method to manage machinery assets, so their operation can be optimized along with the process

Condition monitoring
Condition monitoring systems is capable of providing the exact information required to the right people at the right time for uninterrupted and trouble free operation of the machinery

Levels of Condition monitoring

Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4

Visual inspection Sensor-assisted inspection Indicator analysis Computer aided data acquisition system

Level 1 Visual inspection

Seeing Hearing Touching Smelling

Level 2 Sensor-assisted inspection Data recording with the assistance of portable instruments

Level 3 Indicator analysis

The condition of lubricant, presence wear debris in gear box oil or engine oil should be analyzed in a sophisticated test laboratory

Level 4 Computer aided data acquisition system Condition monitoring involves Computer aided data acquisition system

Condition monitoring
Vibration Analysis Lubricat (oil) analysis Alignment Mass balancing Ultrasound analysis

Benefits from Condition Monitoring & Diagnostic System

Optimized plant efficiency, reliability and availability Monitoring process under normal and critical conditions

 Reduce outage time resulting from operational errors Reduced maintenance cost

Machinery Management System can be broken into five sections

Machinery Measurements Machinery Protection Machinery Condition Data Acquisition Machinery information System Interface to share the information with anyone on the Plant Network

Organizing the Program

List critical machines to be included in the program. Establish the acceptable levels of machinery vibration. Determine the normal vibration characteristics for each machine (vibration signature base line)

Organizing the Program

Select, identify periodic check points for all machines under this programme Select the interval for periodic vibration checks Design a simple data recording & storing system

Organizing the Program

Develop an adequate data analysis procedure Train additional personnel to carry out the program

Machine Category
Critical Machinery Essential Machinery General Purpose Machinery

Critical Machinery
The group of rotating equipment which is absolutely necessary to a major part of the plant process. Machines in this category are usually unspared and should be monitored continuously.

 When critical machinery is not operating, that part of the process is not operating, the overall plant is not operating.

Essential Machinery
The group of rotating equipment which is critical to a part of the plant process. Machines in this category can be spared or unspared and should be monitored continuously.

 When essential machinery is not operating, the overall plant is not operating to full capacity.

General Purpose Machinery

The group of rotating machinery which is not critical to any part of the overall plant process. Many of these machines have tandem or spared installations.

 Many of these machines are not monitored or are periodically monitored (monthly or weekly) by a technician with a portable monitoring device.

Methodology for machine malfunction diagnosis

Know the basic mechanical, fluidic, thermal, and electrical (as applicable) characteristics of the machine (Critical speeds, Mode shape, Amplification factor) Know the types of malfunction mechanisms and their corresponding symptoms that the machine is likely to incur (unbalance , Flid induced Instability, Thermal warping, etc.)

Methodology for machine malfunction diagnosis

Monitor the key parameters that will indicate a change in condition of the machine (eccentricity, thrust position etc.) Reduce diagnosis data into interpretable formats and compare the results with analytical predictions (Half spectrum, Full spectrum, Orbit & Shaft centerline plots, etc.)

Methodology for machine malfunction diagnosis

Present data on the machine condition in as solid engineering form as possible Take prompt action based on the machine diagnosis

German Standard VDI 205

Lubrication analysis

Properties of Lubricating oil Viscosity Colour Specific gravity Viscosity Index Acid number

 Pour point Flash point Aging Foaming De-emulsification

The four fundamental laws of lubrication

Select the Correct lubricant Keep it Clean Keep it Dry Keep it Cool

Lubrication analysis
How is oil cleanliness quantified? How clean is new oil? How clean does your oil need to be? What improvements in machine life can you expect from cleaning up your oil?

Machinery Management System

 A method to manage rotating machinery assets, so their operation can be optimized along with the process

 A machinery management system provides data or information that is interpreted and applied by people to correctly operate, maintain, improve the operation and assess the condition of machinery.

Objective Of Machinery Management System?

To improve profit margins by increasing machine efficiency, reducing or eliminating unscheduled down time and reducing overall operation maintenance cost

Machine Condition Data Acquisition

Machinery measurement

Machinery measurement
Radial vibration Axial thrust position Eccentricity Mode Shape Differential thermal expansion

Machinery Protection
Protection systems are used to ensure personnel safety, prevent or minimize machine damage & limit environmental impact

 South africa

 UFFL

Machinery Protection
The machine Protection systems should be able to monitor more than just overall vibration amplitude

Machinery Protection
By monitoring more than just overall vibration amplitude, you can help increase machine availability & reduce machine costs

Machinery Protection
The shutdown signals that may come from the monitoring system for a protective action should not go through the control system

Machinery Protection
The relays associated with the monitoring system should provide the shutdown signals or protective action directly to the emergency shutdown system