Vibration Analysis of Belt Drives in Rotating Machinery

Vibration Analysis of Belt Drives in Rotating Machinery
SpectraQuest Inc.
8205 Hermitage Road
Richmond, VA 23228
Abstract
Belt drives are commonly used in a variety of power transmission applications. Improper instal-
lation and maintenance of belt can have an enormous impact on the operation and degradation
of a machine. Vibration signatures are widely promoted for studying belt drive malfunctions.
This note presents the results of an experiment performed on a two belt drive system. The
effect of belt tension, speed, sheave eccentricity, and misalignment conditions were investigated.
The results indicate that eccentric sheave show amplitude modulation and produce high vibra-
tion. Sheave eccentricity also excited belt natural frequencies easily. Meanwhile, the effect of
misalignment on the vibration signature is not significant.
Experiment Setup and Procedure

Experiment Setup
The equipments used in the experiment include: One SpectraQuest Machinery Fault Simula-
tor (MFS ), two A42 V belts, a laptop with VibraQuest data acquisition and analysis software
installed, a SpectraPad portable data acquisition device, two PCB accelerometers, one Wilcoxon
tri-axial accelerometer.
The MFS and the accelerometer and channel configurations are illustrated in Figure 1
3
4
Figure 1: Experiment Setup

The two single axis accelerometers are mounted on the outboard bearing house in horizontal
and vertical directions respectively. The tri-axial accelerometer is mounted on the top of the
bearing house case which holds the shaft connected with the driven sheave. The numbers in
Figure 1 represent the channel numbers of the data acquisition system.
The transmission ratio of the belt drive is 2.56.
Experiment Procedure
First, baseline data is collected under different rotor speeds and different belt tension forces.
Then offset misalignment is introduced into the driving belt sheave and data is collected under
the same speed and belt tension force as the baseline. Finally, the driving belt sheave is replaced
by an intensionally made eccentric sheave and data is collected under the same speed and belt
tension force as the baseline. In the eccentric sheave test, rotor speed is increased slowly to
observe the resonance of belts and the data under resonance condition are collected.
The data acquisition frequency limit is 2000Hz and 8 seconds data is collected for each case.
The two rotor speeds tested are 20Hz and 40Hz. It should be noted that these speeds are read
from the motor controller and because there are errors in the controller, the actual speeds have
some deviations from the readings. The belt tension force can be adjusted by means of turning
a screw which will change the center distance of the two belt sheaves. The two belt tension force
cases, high and low, are determined by hand feelings.
Results and Discussions

The data displayed in this section is the raw data in time and frequency domains.
Baseline Data
The acceleration data collected on the outboard bearing house in the horizontal direction
under a high tension condition is displayed in Figure 2.Figures 2(a) and (b) are for nominal
rotational speed of 20Hz. Figures 2(c) and (c) are for nominal rotational speed of 40Hz. The
first observation from Figure 2 is that the vibration amplitude under a speed of 40Hz is larger
than those under a speed of 20Hz. Figures 2(a) and (c) are the time domain data in 0.1 seconds
duration. The selection of 0.1 seconds is not random. For a speed of 20Hz, the rotor will approx-
imately has two rotations in 0.1 seconds. Meanwhile, the rotor will rotate about four rounds
in 0.1 seconds for a speed of 40Hz. From the waveforms displayed in Figures 2(a) and (c), it is
difficult to distinguish the driving shaft 1/rev periodic feature. A careful study of Figures 2(b)
and (d) indicate that the high peaks are grouped around the driving shaft 1/rev frequency and
its harmonic frequencies. The vibration magnitudes around 120Hz in Figures 2(d) are extremely
high. It is speculated that there is a belt natural frequency located nearby.
The acceleration data collected on the outboard bearing house in the horizontal direction under
a low tension condition is displayed in Figure 3.Similar with the high tension case, the vibration
amplitude under a speed of 40Hz is larger than that under a speed of 20Hz. From the waveforms
displayed in Figures 3(a) and (c), it is also difficult to distinguish the driving shaft 1/rev periodic
feature. However, from Figures 3(b) and (d), it can be noticed that the grouping of frequency
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
Acceleration Magnitude(volt−RMS)
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Time(sec.) Frequency(Hz)
(a) rotational nominal speed 20Hz (b) rotational nominal speed 20Hz
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
(c) rotational nominal speed 40Hz (d) rotational nominal speed 40Hz
Figure 2: baseline data on channel 1(high tension)
spectrum around the driving shaft 1/rev frequency and its harmonics is not very clear.A careful
comparison of Figures 3(b) and (d) with Figures 2(b) and (d) indicates a significant variation in
the vibration spectrums. The frequencies corresponding to the maximum peaks are decreased.
Another observation from the comparison of Figures 3(b) and (d) with Figures 2(b) and (d) is
that highest peaks’ frequencies match each other for different speeds under both high and low
tension conditions. Because the only parameter changed is the belt tension force between Fig-
ures 2(b) and (d) and Figures 3(b) and (d), therefore the belt tension force should be the cause
of the variation of peaks’ frequency. The most probable factor which might be affected by the
belt tension force is the belt natural frequency. In summary, the highest peaks in Figures 2(b)
and (d) and Figures 3(b) and (d) is not affected by speed, but it is affected by the belt tension
force. It is deduced that the peaks correspond to one of the natural frequencies of the belt.
The acceleration data collected on the tri-axial accelerometer in the horizontal direction un-
der a high and low tension condition are displayed in Figure 4 and Figure 5 respectively. There
is no significant difference between Figure 4 and Figure 2. However, it should be noticed the
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 3: baseline data on channel 1(low tension)
maximum peak happened around 60Hz in Figure 4(b). Not as in Figure 2(b) where the maxi-
mum peak happened around 120Hz. Although the tri-axial accelerometer is mounted on top of
the bearing house which is connected with the driven sheave directly, the data does not show
the driven shaft 1/rev and its harmonic components in the frequency domain.
Comparing Figure 5(d) with Figure 3(d), it is not difficult to notice that the vibration mag-
nitude in frequency domain is very low on the accelerometer mounted nearby the driven belt
sheave. The dominant component in Figure 5(d) is the electric 60Hz. Comparing Figure 5(d)
and Figure 4(d), it can be argued that the decrease in the belt tension caused the significant
decrease in the vibration magnitude nearby the driven belt sheave. The explanation for this
phenomenon is the vibration created on the driving belt sheave side can not transmitted to the
driven side through belts because of the low belt tension force.
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 4: baseline data on channel 4(high tension)
Misalignment Data
A 40/1000 inches offset misalignment is introduced in the driving belt sheave. It should be
noted even in the baseline test, pidgeon toe misalignment is introduced unintentionally and un-
avoidably because the driving as well as driven shafts are deflected under the belt tension force.
When the belt tension force is large enough, the misalignment created by the tension force can
not be neglected. At least in this experiment, the misalignment caused by the tension force has
the same order as the misalignment introduced intentionally.
The acceleration data collected on the outboard bearing house in the horizontal direction under
40/1000 inches offset misalignment is displayed in Figure 6. As expected, Figure 6 is very similar
to Figures 2. The misalignment introduced in the experiment is too small to be detected by
vibration analysis.
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
3 4
3
1
Acceleration(volts)
0 2
−1
−2
−3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 5: baseline data on channel 4(low tension)
Eccentric Belt Sheave Data
The good sheave is replaced by an eccentric driving belt sheave and the test is carried out
under the same speed and belt tension force conditions.
The acceleration data collected on the outboard bearing house in the horizontal direction un-
der high and low belt tension force conditions are displayed in Figure 7 and Figure 8 respectively.
The most obvious observation from Figure 7 and Figure 8 is that the driving shaft 1/rev signal
can be distinguished in the waveforms, especially under a 40Hz speed. In Figure 7(c) and Fig-
ure 8(c), four cyclic waveforms can be identified easily.
Comparing Figure 7(b)(d) with Figure 2(b)(d), and Figure 8(b)(d) with Figure 3(b)(d), it can
be said that the driving shaft’s 1/rev signal becomes the dominant component in the vibration
spectrum, especially for the low belt tension force case. A careful comparison of Figure 8(d) with
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 6: misalignment data on channel 1(high tension)
Figure 3(d) suggests that the peak around 120Hz in the eccentric sheave case does not move as
it does in the baseline case. The reason is not clear and needs to be investigated further.
Resonance Data
It is noticed in the experiment that the natural frequencies of the belts are very likely to be
excited by an eccentric sheave. Several resonance data are displayed in Figure 9. The data
displayed in Figures 9(a) and (b) are collected when the belts bottom section are in resonance.
Figures 9(c) and (d) display the data when one of the belt top section is in resonance. And
Figures 9(e) and (f) show the data when the other belt top section is in resonance. Because the
tension force in the belt bottom section is lower than that in the belt top section, the resonance
of the belt bottom section happened at a lower frequency. The reason for the discrepancy be-
tween the resonance frequencies of the top sections of the two belts is the tension forces in these
two belts are not even and the belt natural frequencies are determined by belt tension force.
The natural frequencies of belts determined in this experiment agree with the values obtained
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 7: eccentric sheave data on channel 1(high tension)
from a hammer test carried out in an earlier experiment.
Comparing the vibration magnitude between Figures 9 and Figures 2, it can be noticed the
vibration magnitude on the outboard bearing house under the belt top section resonance con-
dition is one order higher than those under normal conditions. However, there is no significant
increase in vibration on the outboard bearing house when the belt bottom section is in resonance.
Summary and Conclusions

In this experiment, the effects of belt tension, speed, sheave eccentricity, and misalignment
conditions on vibration signatures were investigated on a two belt drive system. Belt resonance
excited by an eccentric belt sheave is observed.
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
−3 −4
x 10 x 10
4 6
3
5
2
4
Acceleration(volts)
0 3
−1
2
−2
1
−3
−4 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
Figure 8: eccentric sheave data on channel 1(low tension)
Some of the observations from this experiment can be highlighted as:
The effect of sheave eccentricity on vibration signature is significant. Although vibration mag-
nitude is not necessarily increased by a sheave eccentricity, sheave eccentricity will create strong
amplitude modulation. The natural frequencies of belts can be excited by a sheave eccentricity
easily. When the top section of a belt is in resonance, the vibration level of the machine is
increased. However, an increase in machine vibration is not significant when only the bottom
section of a belt is in resonance.
The effect of belt tension force on machine vibration signature is significant. The vibration
spectrum has the tendency to move to the higher frequency as the the belt tension force is
increased. The reasons might be: 1) by increasing the belt tension force, the whole machine
structure is strengthened. 2) the natural frequencies of the belt itself are increased by an increase
in belt tension force.
Future Works
It is argued belt misalignment will cause vibration in the axial direction. The data collected on
the tri-axial accelerometer in the axial direction need to be checked. Moreover, a single axial ac-
celerometer will be mounted on the outboard bearing house in the axial direction to collect data.
An analytical method to calculate the tension forces in the top and bottom section of a belt
needs to be developed to provide the theoretical support for the experiment findings.
−3
0.04 x 10
3
0.03
2.5
0.02
Acceleration(volts)
2
0.01
0
1.5
−0.01
1
−0.02
0.5
−0.03
−0.04 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
(a) resonance frequency 38.6Hz (b) resonance frequency 38.6Hz

−3
0.04 x 10
3
0.03
2.5
0.02 Acceleration Magnitude(volt−RMS)
Acceleration(volts)
2
0.01
0
1.5
−0.01
1
−0.02
0.5
−0.03
−0.04 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
(c) resonance frequency 47Hz (d) resonance frequency 47Hz

−3
0.04 x 10
3
0.03
2.5
0.02
Acceleration(volts)
2
0.01
0
1.5
−0.01
1
−0.02
0.5
−0.03
−0.04 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 0 50 100 150 200 250
(e) resonance frequency 51Hz (f) resonance frequency 51Hz
Figure 9: resonance data on channel 1(low tension)

Vibration Analysis of Belt Drives in Rotating Machinery

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Vibration Analysis of Belt Drives in Rotating Machinery

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Vibration Analysis of Belt Drives in Rotating Machinery

Experiment Setup and Procedure

Figure 1: Experiment Setup

Results and Discussions

Figure 2: baseline data on channel 1(high tension)

Figure 3: baseline data on channel 1(low tension)

Figure 4: baseline data on channel 4(high tension)

Figure 5: baseline data on channel 4(low tension)

Eccentric Belt Sheave Data

Figure 6: misalignment data on channel 1(high tension)

Figure 7: eccentric sheave data on channel 1(high tension)

from a hammer test carried out in an earlier experiment.

Summary and Conclusions

Figure 8: eccentric sheave data on channel 1(low tension)

Some of the observations from this experiment can be highlighted as:

(a) resonance frequency 38.6Hz (b) resonance frequency 38.6Hz

(c) resonance frequency 47Hz (d) resonance frequency 47Hz

(e) resonance frequency 51Hz (f) resonance frequency 51Hz

Figure 9: resonance data on channel 1(low tension)

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