1

the condition monitoring magazine of PRFTECHNIK AG and Flender Service GmbH

Nr. 02 - September 2001
In this issue:
Encouragement of trainees at PRF-
TECHNIK AG & Flender Service GmbH
Application: A paper machine drive
with higher availability
Advantages of telediagnosis using
web technology
Level 1: Measurement locations on
standard machines
Level 2: Basic rules for the
measurement of frequency spectra
Laser-optical alignment of a vertical
turbine generator
News & trade fair dates
Condition monitoring application:
Paper machine drive
with a high degree of availability
Dr.Becker, N.Dahlhaus, Herne
Degree students and scientific trainees
are being encouraged and challenged in
the future world of condition monitor-
ing at both PRFTECHNIK and Flender
Service. At Flender Service, a degree
student has just completed his work on
the condition diagnosis of wind-driven
gears, with particular consideration of
the planet stages. Measurements on
wind force systems in Germany and
Holland, on Flender test fields and with
wind-driven gears from the retrofit pro-
gram at Flender Service provided the
field tests which resulted in amazing
results. Continued on page 8. 8
The fourth gear failure of a paper
machine! Teeth broken off, adjusting
springs thrown out, shafts cracked,
wheel seats not holding up despite
reinforcing measures. And a gear man-
ufacturer who is no longer on the
market ... . the nightmare of any main-
tenance engineer! And also the great-
est risk to the companys own survival.
Competent assistance is essential! After
all, paper machines de-
mand an availability of
100 % wherever possible.
The fact that measure-
ments of sound conduct-
ed through solids are not
sufficient in this type of
situation is covered in the
following report.
But one thing at a time.
Mr. Remmelle, the engi-
neer responsible for main-
tenance in this paper fac-
tory got in touch with
Flender Service after the
second gear failure with
a feeling of foreboding
to request support and a
replacement gear for the
belt-driven intersecting
pulp cutter. A replace-
ment gear was designed
by Flender Service and
production began in
Herne. Since failures oc-
curred again on the old gear in the
meantime despite the jointly determined
reinforcing measures that were carried
out, the responsible design engineer at
Flender Service, Mr. Schade, contacted
his colleagues at the Condition Monitor-
ing department, to request a customer
visit.
Figure 1 shows the gear that had
already become increasingly noisy again
during the on-site visit. However, it was
not just the noises alone that worried
Mr. Remmelle, but the number of defec-
tive parts. The adjusting springs of the
bevel pinion drive shaft had been
knocked out, the adjusting spring flute
had partially broken away, individual
teeth were completely broken off, shaft
seats had become loose, the axle-drive
bevel wheel was knocked out of its
PRFTECHNIK and FLENDER SERVICE
Joint encouragement of trainees
2
The condition monitoring magazin
precision fit. This amount of damage
clearly indicated that, not only noises
and vibrations, but also large forces are
having an effect here. And the machine
itself? The belt-driven intersecting pulp
cutter runs more or less continuously.
Depending on the quality of carton to be
produced, specific RPMs are set up and
production runs day and night. Since
special papers are also produced, new
frequency converters were used in order
to increase the speed of production.
Thus, RPM increases, e.g. from 600 m/
min to 1600 m/min are nothing special
in the paper industry.
Still within the framework of the cus-
tomer discussions, noise and vibration
measurements and, in particular, torque
metering were recommended and the
necessary preparations discussed. As
strain gages and telemetry components
would have to be installed on the rotat-
ing shafts for mechanical torque meter-
ing, a suitable date when the machine
would be at a standstill was immediately
looked for. There were only a few hours
available in a single night from Sunday
to Monday after all, there had already
been too many unscheduled standstills
of the paper machine.
Yet this was no problem for the staff of
Flender Service condition monitoring
department. Figure 3 shows the part of
the motor where the strain gages and
the telemetry components were in-
stalled. The drive shaft up to the gear
can be seen on the right. Noise, vibra-
tion and torque analyses were carried
out on the running paper machine and
the results were immediately analyzed
on site. Figure 2 shows the frequency
analysis of the gear noise with many
excitations that were, however, still ac-
ceptable for an emergency repaired gear.
But the measurement results in the
torsional moment signals were not so
typical. Figure 4 shows an example of a
high resolution time plot of the torque
with the subsequent system standstill. It
followed from the measurements that
the frequency converter continually at-
tempted to compensate for the drive-
shaft effect. As a result, there was con-
stant acceleration and braking of the
entire drive that, in some RPM ranges,
even led to heavy alternating loads. The
cause of the damage had been found!
Making the control device less sensitive
is not sufficient, as the whole control
sensitivity is required.
Lets replace the cardan shaft with a
RUPEX coupling and we can place the
motor nearer to the gear, was our
proposal that caused the worries of Mr.
Remmelle, maintenance engineer at the
then Holfelder Packaging, to evaporate.
The replacement gear also ordered
from Flender Service was no longer re-
quired and is now running in another
system. I
Figure 1:
View of the ta-
pered spur wheel
gear of a gear man-
ufacturer that no
longer exists
Figure 2: Frequency spectrum of the
gear noise at 1500 rpm
Figure 4: Time plot with increased dynamic in
the torque curve
Figure 3:
Torque measure-
ments on a rotating
motor shaft using
strain gages and
telemetry
3
The condition monitoring magazin
Mathias Luft, Roland Schhle, Franz Lebitsch
Telediagnosis enables innovative
maintenance and service concepts, for
both the operator and the manufacturer
of machines and systems.
However, practical experience to date
has revealed that the telecommunication
itself frequently presents a bottleneck
due to technical problems or for reasons
of cost, which handicaps the introduc-
tion of telemonitoring or telediagnosis.
Problems mainly arise as a result of
incompatible standards. Among other
things, this can lead to telephone mo-
dems not connecting or not functioning
due to incorrect bell voltages as the
modem frequencies in the telephone sys-
tem are suppressed.
The advent of the World Wide Web
and its standards, accepted around the
globe, and percolating right down to
manufacturing areas, enables problem-
free and economical telecommunica-
tion. At the same time, the term World
Wide Web stands not only for the Inter-
net, but also for Intranets, local net-
works and field busses, provided that
they are connected with one another by
the TCP/IP protocol.
The main advantages that result from
the use of web technologies are:
I Worldwide data transmission at local
tariffs.
I Significantly better transmission qual-
ity than telephone modems.
I Simple integration of web-capable
systems in existing networks.
I Availability of favorably priced stan-
dard components for setting up and
extending TCP/IP-based networks
that also enable data transmission by
mobile telephone, power supply net-
works, fibre optics, telephone and
ISDN.
I Short training periods because the
web technologies are generally
known and accepted.
I Platform-independence as browser
and eMail programs are available for
all current operating systems.
I Sending alarms and plain text
messages by eMail, SMS or fax.
I Prevention of software version
conflicts on user computers as the
Technology
Advantages of telediagnosis using web technology
application software is locat-
ed on the web servers.
I No requirement for special
software on user computers
standard browsers, eMail
and FTP programs are suffi-
cient.
I Simultaneous access to a sin-
gle web server by several us-
ers.
I On-site support by the Inter-
net provider. The provider
personnel speak the local language
and are specialists in all questions of
the country-specific telecommunica-
tion technology. They also provide
support for customary accounting
records.
To take advantage of this enormous
range of benefits, we have developed
our VIBRONET

and GearController

online condition monitoring systems to

be able to use the web technology.
The systems now have an integrated
web server that can use the TCP/IP,
HTTP, FTP and SMTP protocols. The
entire user software was converted to
web technology and is available in the
form of dynamic HTML pages and Java
applets on the web servers of the online
systems. The HTML pages form the user
interface of the system with graphics
that can be freely designed to meet
requirements. Integrated machine
graphics show the user the inner work-
ings of the aggregates to be monitored
as well as the sensor arrangement, an
important basis for an accurate machine
diagnosis. Java applets integrated in the
HTML pages visualize current alarm
conditions and provide access to analy-
sis functions and measurement data.
When the system is connected, the
HTML pages and Java applets are auto-
matically loaded in the browser of the
user computer and executed there on
the so-called virtual machine. Conse-
quently, version conflicts on user com-
puters have become a thing of the past.
Our web-capable online systems have
been frequently tried and tested in appli-
cations around the world where they
have proved that the consistent use of
web technology offers great benefits and
also contributes to considerable savings
in communication costs. I
4
The condition monitoring magazin
4
Level 1
Standard measurement locations
Condition Monitoring Grundlagen
The evaluation of the vibration severity
and the rolling element bearing condi-
tion of a machine requires measurements
to be carried out at suitable measure-
ment locations. At the same time, the
vibration severity is evaluated according
to the maximum value of all recommend-
ed measurement locations of a machine.
According to ISO 10816-1, this requires
measured values to be recorded in the
three main directions to the shaft center
(vertical, horizontal and axial) at all
bearing sites in the center of the bearing.
The main vibration direction in machines
with horizontal shafts and rigid founda-
tions is usually horizontal. In machines
with elastic foundations, this can also be
vertical. Maximum values only occur axi-
ally in special machines or in the case of
machine problems. The maximum value
usually occurs on the bearing of the
impeller or on the coupling where the
highest dynamic forces occur. ISO
13373-1 that was recently translated into
German describes detailed measurement
locations for different types of machine.
It also includes the uniform designation
of measurement locations that was taken
over from the MIMOSA standard. Exam-
ples of standard machines such as elec-
tric motors or pumps are shown in the
two figures.
To evaluate the condition of a rolling
element bearing, the measurement loca-
tion should be selected in the loaded
zone of the rolling element bearing. The
rolling condition of a rolling element
bearing is evaluated according to the
vibration accelerations that occur
counter to the direction of power trans-
mission at the places where the so-
called lines of force are highest. This
means that the loaded zone of a motor
with a horizontal shaft usually lies be-
tween the 4 and 8 o'clock positions on a
clock-type scale. The static load of the
rotor supports itself downwards by
some rolling elements. In horizontal
shafts with bearing cases, this means
selecting the measurement location at a
horizontal position somewhat below the
joint. For measurement locations on
rolling element bearings, the distance
to the load range must be as short as
possible, with no additional joints be-
tween them, and must not be measured
around corners. This ensures a good
signal level that is as high as possible,
which is essential for valid measured
values. More detailed information on
this is given in VDI 3839 sheets 1 and 2
and in VDI 3832 that is currently in
preparation. I
Glossary of
technical terms
Did you know?
Internet, World Wide Web or Web
The World Wide Web is the global network
of all networks that are connected with
one another by the TCP/IP protocol. It cov-
ers the whole world and now pervades all
levels of communication, ranging from
machine control to the mainframe com-
puter.
Internet provider
This is the provider of Internet accesses and
services. The provider realizes the transi-
tion from the local telephone network to
the Internet itself.
TCP/IP
TCP/IP is the abbreviation for Transmission
Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol, a num-
ber of protocols originally developed by
the US ministry of defence to connect
computers in different networks with one
another. The TCP protocol is used to trans-
port the data while the IP protocol takes
care of the delivery.
Web server
A computer that administrates HTML pag-
es, Java applets, application programs and
data stock and makes them available on
the computers connected via the web (cli-
ents) on request. In our VIBRONET

and
GearController

online systems, the web

server is an integrated component of the
system itself.
HTML pages
HTML pages are document pages created
with the HTML script programing language.
One of the most important features of
HTML is inserting Hypertext links into a
document. Hypertext links allow another
web document to be loaded in the browser
by simply clicking on the Hypertext link. A
document can contain links to many other
documents that are connected with one
another. These documents can be located
on the same computer as the intial docu-
ment, or on another computer on the
other side of the world.
Browser
A browser is a client program for calling up
and graphically displaying HTML pages. If
Java applets are contained in the HTML
pages, they will be handed over by the
browser to the virtual machine and execut-
ed there. The most frequently used brows-
ers are the Netscape Navigator and Mi-
crosoft Internet Explorer.
Preview
In our 3rd issue you can read about:
CM application:
High-speed gear service at a Danish
cement factory
Level 1 Basic course:
Further characteristic vibration values.
Level 2 Basic rules Part 3:
Calculating typical excitation and in-
terference frequencies
Technology: Digital and software-sup-
ported tele service
Application: Measuring thermal
growth on a low-temperature propane
compressor
Dieter Franke
5
The condition monitoring magazin
Part 2:
How to measure valid fre-
quency spectra
When dealing with FFT spectra, there
is a danger of incorrect measurements
that can result in diagnostic errors. In
fact, almost all suppliers of frequency
analyzers offer special training courses
and thick manuals. Still this does not
prevent false measurements occurring
very frequently particularly in the case
of gear analyses as a result of insuffi-
cient measurement technology. There-
fore, our introductory course describes
some useful standards and basic rules.
You should pay attention to the follow-
ing measurement settings in your mea-
surements or on your service provider:
a) Adequate
measurement periods
The effective measurement period is
decisive in the analysis of vibration sig-
nals. If loads change, e.g. as in wind-
powered systems as a result of gusts of
wind, measurement periods of up to 5
minutes may be required for reproduc-
ible measurements. For constant speed
rotors and RPMs greater than 200 rpm,
we recommend an effective measure-
ment period of at least 10 seconds and,
at RPMs greater than 20 rpm, a mea-
surement period of at least 60 seconds.
Because: a measurement period of 60
seconds at 20 rpm means 20 revolutions
are the basis for the technical estimation
of the rotating shaft vibration. Since
very few analyzers allow the measure-
ment period for measurements within
the frequency range to be adjusted di-
rectly, the number of averagings must be
set high until the measurement periods
given above are reached.
b) Frequency ranges that are
high enough
The requirement for long measure-
ment periods and high frequency ranges
places the highest demands on the fre-
quency analyzer. For example, if two-
channel vibrations up to 2000 Hz are
recorded for five minutes, 1 Mbyte of
measurement data are collected to be
processed. Usually, the upper limits of
the frequency range under consideration
have to be greater than the number of
Level 2
Basic rules for measuring frequency spectra
Condition Monitoring Grundlagen
revolutions by a factor of approx. 100.
Of course, alternatively, you can break
down the frequency range into several
sections and carry out several measure-
ments. However, this takes time.
c) Recommended
frequency resolution
The analysis of sidebands is an impor-
tant tool in machine diagnosis. For the
sidebands to be adequately resolved, the
number of lines must be corresponding-
ly high. Thus, a frequency resolution of
1600 lines is recommended for standard
machines, and 8200 lines for multiple-
stage high-performance gears. Alterna-
tively, you can break down the frequen-
cy range to be analyzed into several
small sections again and perform several
measurements with a smaller line count.
However, the time required increases
considerably.
d) Sufficiently high
amplitude resolution
If individual frequency components
are lost in the noise produced by the
measurement technology, the measure-
ment technician misses out on informa-
tion. On cooling tower drives, for exam-
ple, strong winds can cause vibrations of
up to 15 mm/s, while the actual gear
vibrations in the final gear drive stage
are 0.015 mm/s, i.e. 60 dB weaker.
Therefore, the measuring system should
have a significantly higher dynamic re-
sponse (e.g. 100 dB amplitude resolu-
tion). Alternatively, you can attempt to
find ranges where the interference vi-
brations do not occur so strongly, or
where the specific gear vibrations are
higher, by using more measurement lo-
cations. However, this also increases the
measurement overhead.
e) Correct window function
Harmonic and square-wave vibrations
must be evaluated differently in FFT
frequency analysis. Information is lost if
the correct window functions for the
FFT algorithm are not used. Just as in
the case of music with the introduction
of the CD, digital filters can be better
adapted to the specifics and give better
results. We recommend using a Hanning
filter as the window function, and not to
change this as far as possible.
A prerequisite of every good frequency
analysis is that you know the kinematics
and the excitation frequencies of the
machine before beginning the measure-
ments. How to calculate rotating fre-
quencies, blade frequencies, wobble fre-
quencies, mesh frequencies, etc. will be
explained in the next issue. I
Dr.Becker
Effect of presettings on the frequency analysis of a wind-driven gear
8200 lines
4-second measurement time
Square window
500 lines
64-second measurement time
Hanning window
8200 lines
4-second measurement time
Hanning window
8200 lines
64-second measurement time
Hanning window
Optimum Measurement period
too short
Resolution too low Amplitudes very small
6
The condition monitoring magazin
1
2
A vertical 40 MW pumped storage in a
pumped storage plant attracted atten-
tion as a result of unduly high shaft
vibrations. From the vibration spectrum,
the operator suspected the cause to be
shaft misalignment between the turbine
and pump. If this suspicion was correct
the shaft alignment needed to be
checked and corrected as necessary.
Due to the high level of accuracy
required, vertical alignment of aggre-
gates this type and size is very compli-
cated. Measuring the actual condition
for such aggregates is extremely time
consuming as the coupling flange be-
tween the turbine and pump can only be
accessed after dismantling the fixed gear
coupling and the starting turbine. For
precise measurement, the following fac-
tors must be taken into account.
I The turbine and pump rotors can only
be turned with the assistance of hy-
drostatic lubrication on the thrust
bearing and by means of turning
mechanisms.
I As the turbine and pump are uncou-
pled, several people must operate the
turning mechanisms in coordination
(a team at the top on the generator
that is coupled with the turbine, and a
second team at the pump).
I The distance of 983 mm between the
two coupling flanges is very large
I The turbine and pump must be turned
synchronously to measurement
positions of exactly 90, al-
though both rotors are uncou-
pled.
I To avoid an eccentric rotor
position due to design related
radial play, the pump rotor and
turbine rotor must be centered
using shim plates after each
new turn of the radial bearings.
I If possible, the shaft align-
ment should be corrected in a
single step as moving the radial
bearings requires a considerable
amount of manpower and time.
The period available for the
shutdown of the generating unit
is limited.
Under these constrictive condi-
tions, measurement using con-
ventional methods is almost im-
possible. For these reasons, the operator
elected to use a modern laser-optical
shaft alignment system for this critical
task. ROTALIGN

PRO shaft alignment
system with its integrated function for
vertical alignment
is ideally suited
for measurements
of this type.
The coupling
was opened with-
in the scope of a
scheduled inspec-
tion. First, the
current condition
of the shaft align-
ment had to be
determined to
confirm the suspi-
cion of the opera-
tor.
The turbine was
the stationary ref-
erence machine.
To achieve the
greatest possible
measuring accu-
racy, the RO-
TALIGN

PRO
emitter was fixed
with a stable mag-
netic jig on the
axial surface of
the turbine cou-
pling and the ROTALIGN

PRO receiver
opposite on the coupling flange of the
pump. The measurement could now be-
gin.
The problem of the synchronous posi-
tioning of the turbine and pump can be
solved in a very simple way with a laser-
optical system, as the laser beam can be
used to project the rotary position of the
turbine downwards onto the coupling
flange of the pump. Conventionally, ad-
ditional and specially adapted pointer
rods would have to be attached for this.
Measurements were carried out at
four positions using the single point
mode. The adjustable averaging time of
the ROTALIGN

PRO sensor enables the

elimination of interfering vibrations by
other aggregates and ensures the high-
est measuring precision. The pump rotor
was then rotated to the next 90 posi-
tion. The turbine rotor being synchro-
nously readjusted and the measured val-
ues were recorded again. The pump and
turbine rotors were centered precisely
beforehand with 4 shim plates in 8
Uwe Geyer (VEAG Pumpspeicherwerke, Hohenwarte), Mathias Luft (PRFTECHNIK AG)
Francis turbine
Lower radial bearing
Coupling flange turbine
Switchable coupling
Pelton
pony turbine
Coupling flange pump
Upper radial bearing
Francis pump
(2 stages)
Lower radial bearing
Axial bearing
Anwendung
Laser-optical alignment of a vertical pumped storage
7
The condition monitoring magazin
3
4
5
each of the radial bearings.
After approximately 3 hours, the re-
sult was determined. The shaft align-
ment had a radial displacement of 1.54
mm and 1.44 mm in the two perpendic-
ular measurement directions respective-
ly. These measurements lay outside the
approved tolerances by a factor of 10.
The vector sum of these two displace-
ments would result in the largest shaft
displacement of 2.11 mm (!) somewhat
below 45 degrees to these two main
axes. This was revealed as a major cause
for the increased vibration values.
Following computation of the above
results adjustment was to be carried out
to correct the misalignment. The conver-
sion of the coupling values resulted in
necessary displacements of 1.54 mm
and 0.67 mm respectively for the upper
pump bearing, and 1.54 mm and 1.52
mm respectively for the lower pump
bearing. This type of change in the rotor
bearing also necessitates checking the
clearance between the impellers and the
casing of the two-stage storage pump. In
this application a similar displacement
of parts of the casing was necessary to
restore the concentric impeller clear-
ance.
16 hours later, on the morning of the
following day, the control measurement
could be made. Tension was high. Had
the nightshift worked well enough to
move the parts that weighed several
tons precisely to fractions of a millime-
ter?
If a second correction had been re-
quired, this would have overrun the
schedule time for the inspection. In the
The figures show:
1. Machine room with 8 vertical
pumped storages power stations
2. Assembly of the turbine pump
3. The Pelton starting turbine is dis-
mantled which allowed the coupling
flange of the Francis turbine (top)
and Francis pump (bottom) to be
accessed.
4. ROTALIGN

alignment system
- ROTALIGN

laser on the top of

coupling flange of the Francis tur-
bine
- ROTALIGN

sensor on the bottom

of the coupling flange of the
Francis pump.
5. Log of the actual measurement.
afternoon, after final measure-
ments were recorded in the last
measurement position, relieved
faces all round! The radial dis-
placement in the two perpendicu-
lar directions was now only 0.03
mm and 0.22 mm respectively and
was, thus, reduced to a tenth of
the starting value in a single ad-
justment. An excellent result given
the numerous influencing factors
that can affect the accuracy of this
application.
After the generator was re-
turned to service, the shaft vibra-
tions were checked. They had
sunk to normal permissible values
a complete success for both the
operator and for ROTALIGN

PRO.
8
The condition monitoring magazin
News
GearController

data collec-
tor with network connection
GearController

data collectors were

developed for portable measurement ap-
plications where the service engineer or
service technician and not the diagnos-
tician records the measurement re-
sults, then reads them out and transmits
the measurement results to the diagnos-
tician as a file by eMail. In exactly the
same way, it is possible for company
workers to collect measurement results
independently and then transmit the
results via the network. The world first
here is that the network connection is
realized by the web server contained in
the GearController

.
The GearController

is enclosed in a
carrying case and can store approxi-
mately 300 spectra with a file size of
33 kB. The data can be further processed
by the OMNITREND

PC software.
The exceptional service offer of Flend-
er Service includes the preparation of
measurement routes and initial analysis
in the form of annual contracts. In par-
ticular, in the case of paper machines
and cooling tower drives, they have
extensive experience. I
8Continued from page 1:
Joint encouragement
of trainees
Another degree student at
PRFTECHNIK AG is currently testing
diagnostic methods such as Cepstral
analysis, time averaging and short-term
FFTs, both on the rotor seat and on
standard and wind-driven systems, and
to integrate them in our hardware and
software as standard methods. Natural-
ly, the initial tests and applications are
also being carried out on Flender gears
within the framework of our partnership
and underlines the strength of a venture
of this type. We will also welcome train-
ees and degree students in the future. I
VIBSCANNER

now also
available with Ex protection
VIBSCANNER

- the user-friendly data

collector and machine analyzer - can
now also be used in hazardous industrial
environments (e.g. refineries, chemical
industry, drilling rigs). The EX-proof (in-
trinsically safe) version immediately ful-
fills the protection class:
EEx em ib IIC T4: TV 01 ATEX 1699. I
PULLALIGN

:
Align belt pulleys with laser
Just call us: We will make you an offer
you cant refuse. I
Flender Service
Windtech Husum 18. - 22.09.2001
Halle 4 Stand A418
USA: 30th Turbomachinery Symposium
17. - 20.09.2001 in Houston, Lecture 11
PRFTECHNIK AG
Maintenance 2001: Salon de toutes les
maintenances
Paris Expo Porte de Versailles du 20 au
22 Novembre.
N
E
W
Events
Trade fairs and exhibits:
PRFTECHNIK AG
Postfach 12 63
85730 Ismaning, Germany
www.pruftechnik.com
Phone: +49 (0)89-99616-0
Fax: +49 (0)89-99616-200
eMail: info@pruftechnik.com
Flender Service GmbH
Condition Monitoring
Sdstrasse 111
44623 Herne, Germany
www.flender-cm.com
Phone: +49 (0)2323-940-220
Fax: +49 (0)2323-940-229
e-Mail: info@flender-cm.de