Application

Making machine load visible

with torque measurements

Shaft fracture? – Learn why!

Increased system availability
Remote monitoring service concepts

Diagnostic monitoring system

Sensor signal Rotating
amplifier antenna

Strain gauge

Tension
belt

Stationary
pickup
antenna
Evaluation unit
Torque measurements make machine load visible
Machine manufacturers select
drive components such as gears,
couplings, motors and converters
so as to ensure that the machines
have the necessary torque avail-
able to them at the required op-
erating speed. For cost reasons,
increasingly lighter and smaller
gears and couplings must trans-
mit ever more power. This can
lead to sudden, dangerous tor-
sional vibration and even fatigue
fractures.
Drive specialists know that after
the second shaft fracture on
identical machines – at the latest
– it is time for torque measure-
ments with strain gauges. The
only way to measure static and
dynamic loads over several weeks
is by mechanical torque measure-
ment at high frequency. Critical
natural vibrations are also looked
for at this time.
Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of
measurement equipment used
for simultaneous torque mea-
surement on the upper and lower
spindles of a rolling mill drive.
Fig. 1: Arrangement for simultaneous
load measurement
Strain gauges (Fig. 2), connected
as a Wheatstone bridge and pro-
tected against humidity and con-
tamination, are applied to the
twisting shaft. The telemetry
Order numbers / Technical data
VIB 7.640SET - Components for torque measurement
see VIBROWEB® Catalog, page B4.18j
DIC 1.42 Mobile load analysis
DIC 3.22 Temporary load analysis
DMS
DMS
Fig. 2: Full-bridge circuit with
four active strain gauges (DMS) for
longitudinal strain
components that must addition-
ally be installed are shown in the
illustration on the front page. The
sensor signal amplifier and the
antenna rotate with the shaft.
The strain gauge bridge feed and
the modulated torque signals are
transmitted via the stationary
pickup antenna and the evalua-
tion unit. The measurement re-
sults can be continuously record-
ed with VIBNODE ®, VIBRO-
WEB® XP or VIBRONET® Signal-
master monitoring systems.
Torque in kNm
5s
< >
Fig. 4: Synchronous motor starting up with prohibited additional load.
Source: antriebstechnik 07/2001, page 70-73
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Productive maintenance technology
RS
R1 R4
U0 U1
R3
R2
Fig. 3: Electrical shunt calibration
Also possible are:
• Overload monitoring
• Load collectives, e. g. accord-
ing to the rainflow method
• Frequency & order analyses
Fig. 4 shows the startup behavior
of a synchronous motor on a
turbo compressor in Chile. The
measurements, automatically re-
corded when the motor starts
turning, are electronically trans-
mitted to drive specialists in Ger-
many for remote diagnosis.
© Copyright 2005 PRÜFTECHNIK AG – Printed in Germany VIB 9.110-1G
Rated torque
PRÜFTECHNIK
Condition Monitoring GmbH
Oskar-Messter-Straße 19-21
D-85737 Ismaning
www.pruftechnik.com
Tel: +49 89 99 616-342
Fax: +49 89 99 616-300
eMail: diagnostic@pruftechnik.com