Bently Nevada LLC Hydroelectric Turbine/Generator Bearing Vibration - Rev. 1 Feb.

/2003

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Hydro Turbine/Generator Bearing Vibration Monitoring

Hydro machine operation has changed dramatically from historical base load operation.
Because of the operating flexibility of hydro machines, many hydro units are subjected to
load follow operation with continuous load changes and partial load operation. In some
cases, these hydro machines are also cycled on and off line eight to ten times per day.

Partial load operation brings into play operational considerations like rough load zone
and cavitation along with operating the unit far from peak efficiency. Continuous speed
and load cycling introduces thermal, mechanical, and electrical stresses on the operating
machinery that may not have been considered in the original design. These operating
factors will tend to reduce the unit’s operating efficiency and decrease reliability due to
the increased stresses.

At the same time, normal scheduled maintenance outages are being reduced or
eliminated. Reduced maintenance means the machines that are being subjected to
significant operating stresses are also not being inspected for signs of wear and damage
on a routine basis. Reducing or eliminating scheduled maintenance outages can lead to
forced outages.

A properly engineered machinery management system can help the hydro operator avoid
operating the machine in load zones where cavitation or vibration can cause premature
damage. In addition, the management system can provide early warning of impending
failures allowing time to schedule maintenance outages and make repairs before small
problems become large ones. The management system will also provide the operator
with sufficient information to make an intelligent decisions regarding maintenance
planning thus facilitating maintenance performed only on an as needed basis.

Among the conditions that can be detected with bearing vibration monitoring are the
following:

 Coupling defects show up as increased vibration at 1X and 2X where X is

operating speed.
 Shaft bow, mechanical unbalance, and offset rotor show up as increased vibration
at 1X.
 Stator winding or air gap anomalies can show up as increased vibration at 1X that
appears when the field breaker is closed.
 Vortex interaction in Kaplan turbines where flow disturbances in the penstock
produce vortices in the fluid which react with the runner blades can show up as
increased vibration at nX where n is the number of turbine blades.
 Vortex interaction in Francis turbines where perturbations of the runner is caused
by boundary layer separation and vortex formation at the downstream side of the
wicket gates can show up as increased vibration at nX where n is the number of
wicket gates.

Hydro Bearing Vibration Explained

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 Rough load zone is a flow induced vibration that usually occurs at part load
(usually between 25% to 75% of full load). Rough load zone operation produces
an increase in vibration at 0,25X

Low frequency vibration measurements:

Unlike higher frequency measurements where the energy being absorbed by the machine
is of interest, for measurements on low speed hydro machines the key concern is the
amount of vibration, i.e. how many mils is the machine moving. This means that ideally
we would use a displacement sensor to look at the vibration from 0.25 Hz to 120 Hz
(0.25x – 2 x line frequency), however, since in many cases we are measuring the absolute
displacement of components, we must use seismic transducers either velocity or
acceleration.

Current Technology:

Accelerometers:

There are several types of accelerometers available today, piezoelectric, piezoresistive,

shear mode, compression mode, variable capacitance, beam type, optical, etc. For the
purposes of low frequency measurements we are restricted to piezoelectric types in either
shear or compression mode (usually shear) and variable capacitance type.

Piezoelectric styles rely on a stack of crystals attached to the machine on one end and a
known mass on the other. As the machine vibrates, the mass is subjected to acceleration
and applies a force to the crystal stack, generating a charge proportional to the
acceleration. The crystal stack only produces a charge as the mass is in motion, there is
no output proportional to the displacement of the mass, this means a constant
unidirectional acceleration cannot be measured, so the low frequency response must be
greater than 0 Hz. The only method of increasing the low frequency output is to use a
larger mass or a more sensitive crystal material. Standard outputs are as follows

 Generic use: 3Hz – many kHz, output of 100 mV/g

 Low frequency industrial use: 0.3Hz – 10 kHz, output of 500 mV/g
 Low frequency industrial/lab use: 0.3 Hz – 2 kHz, output of up to 1000mV/g

Variable capacitance style transducers use a mass mounted on springs next to a rigidly
mounted plate, as the machine moves the mass is subject to an acceleration and
compresses the spring. The capacitance between the two plates varies with the
acceleration applied to the mass. This sensor is actually able to measure down to static
acceleration values since the output is a function of the distance the springs are
compressed. Larger mass or weaker springs increase sensitivity at low frequency.
Standard outputs are:

 Frequency range from 0 Hz – many kHz, outputs range from 100 – 1000 mV/g

Hydro Bearing Vibration Explained

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Velocity Transducers:

There are no direct sensing transducers available for low frequency measurements. All
velocity measurements below ~8 Hz are made using an accelerometer and then
integrating to velocity. Above 8 Hz velocity transducers are available that use coils of
wire to detect the velocity of a reference mass, but these sensors can only operate above
their natural frequency, limiting the low speed response. In order to get low frequency
velocity data the output of one of the two sensors explained above is integrated through
in-sensor electronics or at the electronics receiving the signal. Standard outputs are:

 Frequency range from 1.5Hz – many kHz, output typically 100 mV/in/s

Limitations:

At frequencies less than 5 Hz, it takes a large amount of motion to develop a detectable
amount of acceleration. An accelerometer with a scale factor of 500 mV/g has a
sensitivity to vibration of 0.051mV/mil of vibration at 1 Hz. The graph below provides
the sensitivity to vibration vs. frequency.

mV output per mil of vibration

0.06
0.05
0.04
mV

0.03 Series1
0.02
0.01
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
frequency (hz)

This signal is virtually undetectable unless the displacement values get very large.

Velocity is a much better detector of low frequency vibration. Looking at a sensor with a
scale factor of 100 mV/in/s this yields a sensitivity per mil of vibration at 1 Hz of 0.62
mV/mil, more than 10 times as sensitive as the equivalent accelerometer. The graph of
the sensitivity per mil of vibration vs. frequency is shown below.

Hydro Bearing Vibration Explained

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mV per mil vs frequency

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4 mV
mV

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
frequency (Hz)

We can compare the above two transducers and look at the sensitivity of each to see
when to use accelerometers and when to use the integrated velocity signal. The graph of
both sensitivities is shown below.

mv/ mil vs f requenc y

25

20

15

10

velocity probe 100mV/in/s

5
Accel 500 mV/g

0
0 5 10 15 20 25

f r equency (Hz)

Given the two sensors shown above, it is advantageous to use the velocity sensor below
approximately 12.5 Hz, and the accelerometer above. This cross over point is dependent
upon the scale factors of the two transducers selected, and each application would have to
be evaluated.

The above analysis is good as far as it goes, however there is still one piece of the puzzle
missing. Both sensors above are identical except for the post processing in the
electronics to convert the acceleration into velocity. The reality of the situation is that in
order to convert the acceleration signal into velocity requires huge gains at low

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frequencies. The closer to 0 Hz, the more gain required. Because at low frequencies the
acceleration signal is so small, it is close to the noise floor of the sensor and environment.
When the signal is gained, so is the noise. There are also issues with the noise floor
being higher at low frequencies. The result is that manufacturers have set a cutoff of 1.5
Hz (90rpm) for these velocity transducers based on acceptable levels of signal to noise
ratio.

Conclusions:

In general, if the goal is absolute vibration, the division of when to use accelerometers vs.
velocity probes at low frequencies looks like this

0 - 1.5Hz Accel
1.5Hz ~ 12 Hz Velocity*
> ~12 Hz Accel*
* Frequency depends on relative scale factors of sensors being compared.

The break from 0-1.5Hz is due to the practical limitation of integration gains and signal
to noise ratio.

The reality of this is that there is not a reasonable way to measure low absolute vibration
levels at low frequencies. As a practical limit, frequencies of > 1Hz are near the limit of
measurement, and anything below 1.5 Hz will have to be evaluated within the monitor
group as to the detectability of signal levels.

Hydro Bearing Vibration Explained