HOW TO AND HOW NOT TO CREATE

MEANINGFUL NARROWBAND SPECTRAL

ALARM ENVELOPES
ABSTRACT

Several versions of today's predictive maintenance (PMP) software include one of the most
powerful tools for helping the vibration analyst detect and focus in on problems existing within
his machinery. This "tool" is referred to as Narrowband Spectral Alarm Envelope capability,
and is particularly potent in those systems which also have the capability of invoking statistical
calculations and applying them over large "families" of machines. Such "machine families"
share similar operating characteristics, sizes, speeds, sensitivity to load changes, etc.

Thus, the expressed purpose of this article is to shed some meaningful light on both how to
and how not to use these statistical capabilities to specify Narrowband Alarm Envelopes for a
variety of machines operating in numerous industries. Unfortunately, while these Narrowband
Alarm statistical capabilities are indeed powerful, they (like computers) can end up specifying
very erroneous alarm envelopes if the user does not fully grasp how they are to be employed.
On the other hand, if given a solid understanding of how and why they work, they can help
him specify what is probably the optimum alarm setting capability available today. These
statistical techniques actually examine each FFT line throughout the frequency range of every
spectrum taken from each measurement location on each machine evaluated. These
machines can now be grouped together into large "families" having similar design and
operating characteristics to maximize the statistical calculations, thereby maximizing the
meaningfulness of the calculated narrowband alarms (sorting/specifying these alarm
envelopes by position and direction on each machine within the family if desired) If set up
properly by the analyst, these statistical tools can determine meaningful Narrowband Alarms,
not only for problems affecting lower frequencies such as unbalance, misalignment, soft foot,
etc., but also for those problems which generate much higher frequencies such as rolling
element bearing wear, gear wear and rotor bar problems in induction motors.

In this article, real-world examples using actual machine data will be used to demonstrate
both how to and how not to establish Narrowband Alarms. In some of these examples,
machines will be grouped into "families" which share similar characteristics and for which
narrowband alarms will be statistically determined. However, the key point of emphasis will
be to show how an analyst can either unfortunately specify erroneous alarms for the entire
machine "family"; or, by making what might seem to be insignificant changes, he can totally
reorient and correct these alarm envelopes making them effective "problem detectors" for all
spectra taken on all machines in the family.

© Copyright 2016 Technical Associates Of Charlotte, P.C. 1

 INTRODUCTION

Many machine component failure modes will appear in a spectrum long before they might
significantly affect the overall level. Having meaningful Narrowband Alarm Envelopes allows
close examination of each spectrum to ensure problems are detected at early stages long
before they approach catastrophic proportions (and likewise, damage many other components
in the process). Setting appropriate spectral alarm levels for all frequency peaks in an entire
set of spectra on a machine is far more complex than determining what overall alarms should
be specified for the same measurement positions. A spectrum measurement contains several
hundred times as much data as does an overall measurement since a spectrum today
normally employs about 400 to 800 FFT lines.

Unfortunately, literature or technical papers on how to properly specify Narrowband Alarms for
a variety of machine types and operating speeds is very limited in availability today. Often,
analysts have expressed they feel pretty much "on their own" when the time arrives to specify
these Narrowband Envelopes on their machines. And, once they have specified them, these
analysts have often confessed to the author they still are often quite uneasy, wondering if their
alarm envelopes are properly set throughout the frequency range - low enough in amplitude to
detect genuine problems when they are present (hopefully in incipient stages). but high
enough to prevent "false alarms" when no such problems are truly present. It is hoped this
paper will go far in addressing these needs and help alleviate much of the continuing "anxiety"
being suffered by so many vibration analysts. Not only will this article present the theory on
how Narrowband Spectral Alarms should be specified, but also several examples using real­
world machinery will be presented to illustrate the techniques taught herein, to identify
important points (including mistakes) which can be made, and to recommend what steps can
be taken to ensure one builds meaningful alarm envelopes.

DEFINITION OF NARROWBAND SPECTRAL ALARM ENVELOPES

A. WHAT ARE NARROWBAND SPECTRAL ALARM ENVELOPES?

Reference 1 states that "strictly speaking, Narrowband Spectral Alarms have been described
as a system that gives the user almost an infinite number of spectral alarm bands". That is, if
one employs 400 lines in his FFT spectrum, he could, theoretically, specify 400 individual
alarms. However, this is not truly practical (and with the Hanning window, is not possible). In
essence, in those condition monitoring software systems that offer this capability, Narrowband
Envelopes are automatically generated after the user inputs certain data on how he wants
each envelope built (see Figure 5 for a sample data input screen used to specify the envelopes
to be generated). Figures 1A through 1 D show sample spectra outfitted with Narrowband
Envelope Alarms from each of four vendors who provide this powerful capability. Note the
specific frequencies which exceed the alarm envelopes on each of these example spectra, as
well as annotation indicating the most likely problem(s) causing the alarm violations.

B. WHY ARE NARROWBAND ALARM ENVELOPES NEEDED?

Today, there are several software systems which allow the user to specify 6 or more spectral alarm
bands (an example spectrum outfitted with 6 such spectral alarm bands is shown in Figure 2). These
spectral bands allow the analyst to break up his spectrum into separate frequency bands, thereby
allowing much higher amplitude for such problems as unbalance and misalignment, but much lower
amplitudes for problems such as rolling element bearing wear and certain electrical problems.
Reference 1 points out these systems generally are sufficiently capable of effectively handling up to
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 70% or 80% of plant machinery. However. this reference points out certain machines which
themselves generate many frequencies cannot be addressed by these limited numbers of
alarm bands. Types of machinery which most always generate many frequency components
include reciprocating machinery, diesel engines. rotary blowers, screw compressors, etc.
Therefore, in these cases, these machines demand many individual bands (or envelopes)
which can be placed around each of the many frequency components. Furthermore. those
systems offering only spectral alarm bands most always depend on the analyst to specify not
only the overall alarm amplitude, but also that of each of the individual bands. If he has limited
knowledge of the vibration behavior of these machines, he can be very hard pressed in
specifying such spectral band alarms (although Reference 1 can help in this regard).

Some software systems providing Narrowband Alarm capability allow the analyst to employ
powerful statistical tools which allow the analyst to automatically generate these alarm envelopes
based on his actual machinery running under the particular operating conditions in his plant.

Reference 2 states that "statistical alarm limits are based on gathering a small sampling
of data from plant machinery, analyzing the distribution of that data and using this
statistical characterization to set specific alarm limits. As applied to spectral data, the
same calculations are made for each FFT line of resolution. This analysis results in
alarm levels based entirely on actual vibration performance of plant machinery rather
than generalized severity charts (which almost never take spectral content into
account)."

Also, software having statistical capabilities allows one to effectively specify alarms even
during initial baselining when he has only limited knowledge of the machine's rotor dynamics,
operating history, etc. By grouping many of these baselined machines into "families" (see
Section 5 on "What Makes Up a Machine Family?"), statistical calculations of the mean and
standard deviation of each vibration peak within each spectrum will provide the analyst the
information he needs to specify meaningful envelope alarms based on how his particular
machinery runs, how it is effected by changes in load or speed, and how its amplitudes are
effected by the specific framing and foundation supporting the machines in his particular plant.

TYPES OF NARROWBAND SPECTRAL ALARM ENVELOPES

AVAILABLE TODAY

Several condition monitoring software systems are available today which allow the analyst to
specify Narrowband Alarm Envelopes. However, only a small number of such systems provide
the statistical characterization capability allowing calculation of the mean and standard
deviation (see Section 3) of each of the peaks within the spectrum of each measurement point
(or simultaneously, for many points on many similar machines grouped into "families"). That is,
some software systems allow one to work only on a "per point" basis, while others will perform
the calculations on a complete list of machines and points. "Per point" systems often perform
their calculations using all historical spectra captured to date and generate a specific alarm for
each specific point. On the other hand, if the software can work with many points from many
machines, this gives the user the choice of generating envelopes either on only the most
recent spectra collected, or again from all spectra captured to date for each point within the
list. Following below is a brief discussion of each of the major envelope types.

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 identical alarm for the outboard motor bearing in the axial direction for all 30 motors; and an identical
horizontal outboard motor spec, etc. Then, based on a user-defined "DELTA RPM", this software will
group the fans. For example, if the user specified a "DELTA RPM" of 50 RPM tolerance, it would
group together the fans running from 600-700 RPM; then those from 700-800 RPM; etc. Importantly,
slight differences in spectra from similar machines will tend to average out. This technique can be
used either after only one survey on this entire machine family, or after several surveys have been
taken (and can use either the most recent, or all spectra which have been acquired to date).

LAYMAN'S EXPLANATION OF STANDARD DEVIATION AND ITS

SIGNIFICANCE

Standard deviation (o) is defined as "a statistical term measuring how closelv data is clustered around a
mean (or average) value". In other words, it is a measure of how repeatable a measurement is, either
during one experiment (or survey), or over a large number of experiments which may be taken over a
long period of time. Normally, the smaller the standard deviation (o), the more repeatable and accurate
the measurement (or process). Standard deviation is used in the process industries, along with something
known as Statistical Process Control (SPC) which is a program for improving product quality and limiting
waste and rework, thereby improving productivity Both the mean value (x) and the standard deviation (o)
are defined in Equations 1 and 2 below:

n
IX; == X1 + X2 + X3 + ... xn EQUATION 1
X == i- 1
n n

Where:

x = Average or Mean Value

X, = Value of each individual sample
n = Number of Samples

(J = I (x;-x/ = _2
(X; - X) +
_2
(X2 - X) + (X3
_)2
- X
_
+ ··· + (xn-x)
Z
i·1 EQUATION 2
\ (n • 1)
\
(n - 1)

Where:

a = Standard Deviation

Figure 3 represents what is known as a "Normal Distribution Curve" which is widelv used in
statistics to describe processes or tests which are "under control". What Figure 3 and statistical
research shows is that, given such a process, over 68% of all data should fall within one standard
deviation (o) of the mean value (x). On the other hand, almost 95.5% of the data should fall within
two standard deviations (2o) of the mean; while 99. 72% should fall within three standard
deviations (3o).

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 In terms of vibration analysis measurements and machines operating in the "real world",
not all machines have amplitudes with true normal distribution. Reasons for this include:

1. Variations in load or process conditions.

2. Changes in the operating environment (temperature, humidity, etc.).
3. Changes in operating speed.
4. Changes in the amount of vibration transmitted from background machines or
other sources.
5. Use of a different measuring instrument (data collector) and/or transducer (ie.,
accelerometer or velocity pickup).
6. Measurement by a different analyst from one survey to the next.
7. Use of different transducer mounting methods from one survey to the next (i.e.,
magnet, stud or probe mount).
8. Measurements at slightly different locations from one survey to the next (possibly due to
the failure of the analyst to permanently identify each measurement location on each
machine).

Still, when one examines data over a large population of machines; and evaluates the vibration
amplitude and frequency changes on these machines, it has been found that if one takes great care
in using the same instrument and transducer, goes back to the same location, attempts to measure
the machine under a constant load (if possible; and if not, to record what the load is that day), and
especially uses a proper transducer mounting technique (almost never including the use of any size
extension probe ), such measurements are basically repeatable and "normal". Another important
finding is that while the overall vibration level might not necessarily change when a machine
develops a potentially serious problem, the actual vibration spectrum itself almost always will: and
will usually do so significantly if a change in condition has occurred. Normally, a significant change in
the spectrum means an increase in amplitude (although, with particular problems such as rolling
element bearings, actual amplitudes may not increase, but more and more defect frequencies might
appear, along with sideband frequencies modulating them).

Figure 4 is a layman's illustration of "standard deviation". It actually portrays two different

measurement exercises and shows the "average deviation". In measurement Exercise #1,
obviously the average deviation from the mean (10.0) is only 1.0. On the other hand, the
measurements in Exercise #2 are widely skewed (starting out with 19; then 1; then 18; then 2,
etc.). Figure 4 shows that the average deviation of this second group of 10 measurements is
about 7.0. Thus, although the mean value (x) of each of the two measurement exercises is
exactly the same (10.0), the "average deviation" is quite different (1.0 compared to 7.0). If one
were to employ Equation 2 to calculate the "standard deviation" (a), he would find that the
standard deviation for Exercise #1 was actually 1.05; while that for Exercise #2 is 7.53.
Incidentally, one might wonder why a2 is not closer to 7.0. This is due to the fact that the
denominator has the term "n-1" in it. In other words, the value defined by Equation 2 is called
the "sample standard deviation" which was adopted by the American Society of Quality Control
instead of using the "root mean square standard deviation" which only has the term "n" within
the denominator. The reason for this is that it has been found that the "n-1" denominator for a
relatively small number of samples from a large distribution provides a better estimate of the
actual standard deviation (Ref. 3).

In summary, if one has software which can employ statistical calculations of the mean value and
standard deviation, not only for overall levels, but also for amplitudes of individual frequency peaks, it
provides him a powerful tool in establishing meaningful Narrowband Spectral Alarm Envelopes.
Section 6 will further illustrate how standard deviation has been employed effectively on real-world
machines.

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