.
SPE 6295
Machinery Vibration on Offshore Platforms
R. G. Mor)k, Acousticand VibrationTechnology, Ltd.
Introduction
Useful inspectiontechniques developed recently are con-
dition monitoring, particularly vibration monitoring and
analysis of operating equipment.
These techniques were developed mainly by the oil
and petrochemical industries, For long-term, continuous
operation of machinery, they saw the advantages of de-
tecting incipient failures in machinery without frequent
shutdown and inspection. Correct application of the
techniques has led to a reduction in the number of
machinery breakdowns in onshore installations. This re-
duction, in turn, yields considerable cost savings in (1)
the production sector, where unplanned shutdown time
caused by inoperative equipment virtually can be elimi-
nated, and (2) the maintenance sector, where repair costs
are reduced because of fewer breakdowns.“
Fewer breakdowns, particularly in hazardous areas,
mean less risk of fitv or explosion, which leads to
improved safety standards, This benefit from vibration
monitoring isconsidered rarely, but is of vital importance
in today’s emphsis on safety. All these benefits are
important to offshore installations, and operators should
be aware of the financial and engineering advantages
gained from using vibration monitoring.
However, the approach to vibration monitoring in on-
shore installations is not uniform and there is no single
philosophy that can be defined and applied directly to
offshore platforms. Major differences exist in the dy-
namic environment offshore that significantly affect the
technology,
This study describes vibration monitoring programs
0149.2126/78/0CQ4-62S5$UI.2!j
@ 1976 Society of Pefroleurn Engineere of AlME
Machine failures can be prevented by regular monitoring of machine vibration levels. This
paper presents details of recent field experiences indicating quantitatively that regular
monitoring reduces equipment failure and increases equipment reliability.
APRIL, 1978
onshore and machinery vibration investigations for
offshore installations. Based on this experience, we have
developed a rationale for machinery vibration monitori-
ng on offshore platforms.
Philosophy Behind Vibration . doring
A recent surveyl estimated that for industries with a high
capital investment in plant and machinery per employee
and with a high added-value output per employee, condi-
tion monitoring in general and vibration monitoring in
ptulicular can save about 1 percent of the total added-
value output per year. Of this saving, approximately 65
percent will be related to output and 35 percent will be
relatedto mamtenance,
The oil industry both onshore and offshore has ii itigh
added-valueoutput per employee, with much processing
equipment per location, including centrifugal pumps,
fans, compressors, and generator plants, This makes it
rmideal industry to apply vibration monitoring. Because
of the extremely high, unscheduled downtime penalties,
increasing maintenance costs, and decreasing margins,
investment in vibration monitoring is becoming more
essential. Protection of productive capacity is usually the
most important application for vibration monitoring, and
operating equipment for a refiiery can be categorized in
terms of priority to production.
Critical Equipment
Turbo-compressors and generators are the most impor-
tant equipment and are used unsparingly. Any break-
down of this critical equipment would cause a total loss of
plant throughput,
627

Essential Equipment
Many centrifugal pumps and fans fall into this category.
Whether used often or not, breakdown of this essential
equipment leads to a serious loss of plant throughput.
The remaining equipment in a plant usually is less
important and often operatee until breakdown before it is
repaired or replaced.
Critical equipment must be pro~cted against failure;
therefore, it is fitted with permanent monitoring in-
strumentation of either the proximity or seismic type,
or both. While these systems have alarm and shutdown.
capabilities and help protect the equipment against fail-
ure, their limited predictive capability cannot give much
advance warning of incipient failure.
To enhance the detection of incipient failure, system-
atic and detailed frequency analysis of shaft and bearing
vibration levels is essential,2-sThis sigmture analysis is
carried out best using rapid, digital-frequency analyzets
and computer-aidedtrend analysis.
However, most equipment falls in the essential cat-
gory, which usually does not require permanent monitor-
ing instrumentation. Systematic signature analysis
checks, therefore, can be performed manually with imp-
ortant quantifiable benefits.
Experiencewith refineries in the U.K. has shown that
about 3 ~rcent of the equipment that was monitored
systematically on a 45- to 60-day schedule was found
defective, In other words, every 45 to 60 days, three
of every 100 items of scheduled equipment that was
checked developed mechanical defects that required at-
tentiotl. In contrast, about 25 percent of the equipment
not monitored systematically, but checked about once
every 12to 18months, was found defective. This differ-
ence in the incidence of defect is to.be expected, but it
demonstrates that at any given time, equipment that is
monitored systematically has a lower incidence of defect
and, hence, a lower probability of failure than equipment
that is not monitored systematically. Monitoring reduces
the number of catastrophic failures and consequent
unscheduled downtime. This means that the reliability
of monitored equipment is improved. Furthermore, the
maintenance cost and the possibility of fire or other
hazrudsfrom breakdown are reduced also.
The reason for this improved reliability is sirr.plythat
monitoringgenerates more operating maintenance, shift-
ing the emphasis from scheduledpreventive maintenance
and workshop repair, with a relatively high degree of
140
110 s ,r,xe”.
100
.tpltd
.r
~ ‘,M.
m
40
ao
0
Fig. I—Percentage variationof pump repaim per year,
1970-1976.
628
breakdown maintenance, to a maintenance system with a
much higher proportion of predicted field maintenance.
Fig. 1 shows this effect at a large U.K. refinery where
there has been a 40-percent reduction in the number of
pumps undergoing workshop repair since the introduc-
tion of vibration monitoring. Other oil companies also
have realized substantial maintenance cost savings from
vibration monitoring,6Typical cost savings are as high as
30 percent,
Basic Technology of Vibration Monitoring
Criteria and Assessment
The criteria now in use by most operating companies are
based on VDI 20567 (Table 1). Most standards today
are derived from VDI 2056 (for example, 1S0 2372s)
and all recommend that a root mean square (ITIM) value of
the complex velocity, as measured on the bearing
housings, should be compared with the given criteria.
There w several limitations in working with gen-
eralized criteria, such as VJ312056. The most impor-
tant of these is the limited frequency range of interest.
Also, insufficient account is taken of the dynamic re-
sponse of different machines, VDI 2056, for example,
recommends highs limits for larger machines with the
tacit assumption that the larger machines can withstand
higher bearing loadings; no considemtion is given to the
effect of the mass of the machinecasing or the stiffnessof
the bearing supports, Practically, however, the dynamic
forces ~encrated by imbalance, misalignment, and bear-
ing damage on large machines are attenuated considera-
bly at tho bearing housing, where they can be measured
externally, because of extremely stiff bearing supports or
massive casings. Casing rotor-weightratios of 100:1, for
example, are not uncommon, Where the force transmis-
sion from rotor to bearing housing is small, the relevant
loads and stresses are correlated mom easily to shaft
movement relative to the beakings or casing. Also, it
often is more appropriate to work with vibration criteria
in terms of shafdbeating displacement levels on large
machines. The API specifications for machinery used for
general refinery services tsually give vibration limits in
terms of shaft displacement levels measured at the bear-
ings, and many of the permanent vibration alarm systems
now fitted to high capital-cost machines are of the eddy-
current proximity type that measure shaft/bearing dis-
placement. Indeed, there is now an API standard for
proximity-based monitoring systems that states the
minimum requirements for shaft vibration and,also axial
position monitoring using noncontacting eddy-current
1.
proximitydevices.9Finding vibrational forces important,
~,,m”
..1* API specifies that acceptable displacement levels shall
19’nl
not exceed a peak-to-peak amplitude equal to -Z
or 0.05mm (~200/Hz, 2 roils), whichever is less.
In using existing vibration criteria, assessment of
small- and medium-sized machines (up to about
1,000kW)generally would be based on measurementsof
velocity level on the bearing housings. These measure
ments can be taken with an externally mounted trans-
ducer, preferably of the piezoelectric type (accelerome-
ter). Because these traducers are externally mounted,
manual measurementsare takeneasily on many machines
with a single mansducerwithoutaffecting machine opera-
tion in anyway.
For larger machines, assessment can be based either
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUMTECHNOLOGY
 TABLE l-SUMMARY OF VDI 2056’
VibrationSeverity Ranges
(lOtol,OOO Hz) Examplesof EvaluationStagesfor IndividualGroupsof Machines
Effective -
Veloclty
Classification _ (mm/s rms) _ Group K Group M Group G _ Group T
0.28 0.28 Good
0.45 0.45 Good
0.71 0.71 Good
1.12 1.12 Usable Good
Usable
::: ::: Acceptable Usable
4,5 4.5 Acceptable Usable
7.1 7.1 Acceptable
11.2 11.2 Acceptable
18 18 Not acceptable
28 28 Not acceptable Not acceptable Not acceptable
45 45
Group Key
Group K — Individualdrive units of prime movers and processing machinesthat are rigidly fixed to the entire machine
when operating,particularlymass-producedelectric motors up to abut 15 kW.
Group M— Medium-sizedmachines,particuladyelectric motorsfrom 15-to75.kWcapacity, withoutspecialfoundations;
alSOrigidlymounteddrivecomponentsand machines(up to about 300 Iw) with rotating partsonly on specialfoundations.
Group G — Larger machines,prime movers or processingmachineswith rotatingparts only, mountedon rigki or heavy
foundationswith a high naturalfrequency of vibration.
GroupT— Largerprime moversand processingmachineswkh rotatingmassesonly, mounted foundationswith a low
t7WId frequencyof vibration, for example,
. tu~ine ~rou~s,
---- ~articiilartv those on foundations built on Iiaht construction
pr!nci@esc:

on bearing housing levels or on measurements of
shafubearing displacement. If bearing housing or casing
measurements are used, then the normal levels of vibra-
tion, established empirically for each machine, should be
used for assessment rather than quoted criteria; other-
wise, the mechanical impedance characteristics of the
casing or bearing supports must be taken into account,
Vibration Analysis
Vibration analysis may be defined as a means used for
detecting incipient failures — that is, predicted monitor-
ing that is distinct from the tmditional methods of surveil-
lance and assessment.
The accepted failure pattern of a machine is illustrated
in Fig. 2. Vibration analysis techniques can play a major
role in reducing failures during all phases of operation:
(1) during start-up to detect the presence of design, as-
sembly, and installation faults; (2) during normal opera-
tion for the detection of random failures; and (3) during
the wearing-out phase to monitor deterioration and to
extend the useful service life as far as possible before
component failures occur.
Analytical measurementscan be made routinely on all
types of machines, including those fitted with permanent
alarm-protection equipment, where failure or break-
down carries unnecessary risks in terms of lost produc-
tion, high maintenancecosts, or safety hazards, On such
machines, it is obviously advantageous to both oper-
long before they otherwise might affect the over-all
levels, as indicated by a simple level check or from
permanent protection equipment.
The frequency spectrum can be divided into two re-
gions. One is at low fnxpencies that contain the primary
orders and reflect the basic shaft dynamics and is ob-
tained eitherfrom bearing housing measurementsor from
proximity probes. The other is at the middle and high
frequencies and contains the gear-meshing and blade-
passing frequencies. Information in this region usually
can be obtained only from bearing housing or casing
measurements‘mdis useful in detecting blade and nozzle
fouling and gear problems,
Methods of frequency analysis vary enormously in
complexity, The choice of method depends greatly on the
m?chines being surveyed and the defects needing iden-
tification, A simple octave band or a one-third octave
band analysis can be most effective. Fig, 3, for example,
showsoctaveband vibration levels takenfrom a 7.5-MW
steam turbine. The increase in levels has occurred in the
octave band containing the rotational speed of the turbine
and an unbalanced condition was diagnosed. This was
USAR-OUT

ations and maintenance to have as much warning of

impending failure and as much information about a
mechanical problem as technically possible.
The essence of predictive monitoring is signature
analysis, where the over-all vibration signal is analyzed,
either in the time domain or, more commonly, in the
f~quency domain. By monitoring the various frequency
components in the vibration signal, spectrum changes
indicative of mechanical trouble can be detected long WC

before they become apparent and, more importantly, Fig. 2—Machine failure probabilityvs time.

APRIL, 1978 629

confirmed later when imbalance was found to be 1,400 axis to the rotational speed and plotting harmonics or
gin-cm (20 oz-in,), However, these simple, quick anal- orders instead of frequency, This often makes compari-
ysis methods are more suited to small- and medium- son and trending fqomroutine surveys much easier, par-
sized machines operating at fixed speeds. Frovided the ticularlyfor machineewith a wide operating-speedrange.
analysis is taken over a sufficiently wide frequencyrange An RTA is essential where there are several large
(up to 4 kHz), it is effective for detecting rolling-element machines at a location requiring systematic analysis. In
bearing deffcts in most process pumps, fans, and electric addition to the advantages of high-frequency definition
motors. Fig. 4, for example, shows an octave-band time and speed of analysis, most RTA’s now have digital
history of a 375-kW electric motor. Note the increase outputs and can be used with a computer for trend
in the 2-kHz octave bands before the bearing change. analysis and prognosis. As relative costs continue to
If a velocity probe with its restricted upper-frequency decrease, minicomputers are used increasingly for local
limit had been used, the bearing deterioration would have data stonageand processing. It is now feasible to incorpo-
been undetected, rate on-line frequency analysis into fixed surveillance
Other more sophisticated methods for detecting and monitoring systems, A number of computer-
rolling-element bearing damage (notably shock pulse, managed vibration monitoring systems incorporating
acoustic emission, and kurtosis) often can give mo~ on-line frequency analysis exist,10reflecting the state
advanced warning of failure. However, for most of the of the art and the future trend of machinery vibration
industry’soperating equipment, wisely applying conven- monitoring.
tional instrumentation and analysis techniques usually In addition to normal operation, analytical measure-
gives about 2 months lead time to failure, which is ade- ments are stronglyadvocated for all new equipment at the
quate for most operating situations. manufacturer’s plant and on the site before going into
For large turbo-machines subject to speed variations, a service. To assume that all new equipment will meet the
narrow-band analysis is essential. Fig. 5 shows a typical appropriate vibration criteria without verification even
analysis, using a real-time analyzer (RTA), taken from when defined by a contractual specification and that no
a 3-MW turbo-alternator, Such analyses are performed defects exist is intiting disaster. Fig. 6 shows a bearing
very rapidly, and the frequency components are iden- takenfrom anew 1,000-kW, four-poleelectric motor that
tified eaaily, Variations in speed among successive had been operating for about 2 hours before going into
analyses can be overcome by normalizing the frequency service, Although the measured vibration levels were
within the generalized specification limit of 3.0 mrrds
rms (Fig. 7), the vibration spectrum indicated a damaged
iune 19?3 datum levels bearing (Fig. 8). When the bearing was removed and
-‘- April 19X imbaionce widmt inspected, it was found as indicated in the figw-e. The
damage resulted fmm electrical arcing across the bear-
ing; six other motors had the same fault. If these motors
&!
had been allowed to go into service, the cost of repairs
and the downtime penalties would be incalculable.
Other times when analytical measurements are most
useful are before a plant shutdown. Then, they provide
positive selection of those machinesthat require attention
and those that can continue in service. Diagnosisof faults
on machinesrequiring attention enables maintenancede-
partments to schedule work loads more accurately and
reduces shutdowns.
n t I , 1 I I -1 Vibration measurements conducted on operating
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 40LM equipment after repair or overhaul screen out poor align-
Octave bond centre frcqumcy [Hz 1 ment, as well as badly fitted or even faulty bearings, poor
Fig, 3—Comparativeoctave-band analysestaken from a balancing, and human error. These are the more obvious
7.5-MW turbine. factors,but unexpectedproblemsdo arise, Figs, 9 through
11 show an interesting example of wave-form analysis
taken from proximity probes during the recommissioning
!&O — Oiall LWN
of a 7.5-MW centrifugal compressor after overhaul and
-- First Order Levd !
94
‘,— 2K Hx Lwol
bearing realignment. Fig.. 9 shows how the wave-form
~ 8.0
‘----- LK HZ Lov81
period changes after the onset of resonance caused by oil
f 7.0. whirl first critical excitation of the rotor. Fig. 10 shows
; co how the shaft orbit changes over the same time interval.
t
- %0, Fig. 11indicatesthe shaft response and the bearing hous-
:*
-b 0. ing response at the same instant after critical excitation.
$ The shaft motion is predominantly at half speed, while
j; ;
the bearing housing response remains predominantly at
.0’
/
.- ...-”
.) :\ rotational speed, allowing for phase shifts.
t 0, /’?*.:J<:--:-’ \ “\,
=-..i=,:,z,z,z#”y”y ----- ---- 1.-’
Vibration Monitoring Offshore
‘1 4 n $wl Ilwl ,Many major differences between offshore and onshore
Fig.4—Octave-band analyeistime history. installations affect the technology and application of vi-
630 JOURNAL OF PETROLEW TECHNO~Y
 E4AL
1! , , , 1 1 , , , 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1
U-4! I 1 1~1 ! 1 1 1

Fig.6—Bearicg damage caused by eleotrioalarcing.
PLANT
bration monitoring, TabI.?2 describes these differences.
The differences indicated in Table 2 mean that a radically
different approach is needed for vibration monitoring on
offshore platforms, First, machinery supports no longer
can be considered as either fixed or passive and inert.
Any condition evaluation of machinery must account for
external contributions. True machine signatures need
monitoring more than at a simple over-all level, thus
placing more emphasis on representative basdine data
needed before equipment is installed on the platform.
Because of the more active environment and the
greater contribution from external sources in offshore
installations, normal levels of vibration for most rotating
equipment generally will be higher than for the same
equipment onshore. This makes seventy evaluation more
difficult because none of the existing established criteria
apply to offshore installations. Indeed, 1S0 3945, the
measuring and evaluating standard for vibration setenty
of large rotating machines, specifically excludes equip-
WORKS No. (JNIT No, ~2@24??
I

Maint/
Repair
Wta:
Fig, 7—Vibration monitoringdata sheet.
.
I
632 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUMTEC*OL~Y
ment in marine or similar installations, where the envi-
ronment is active. An active environment exists when the
increase in vibration level while a machine is operating is
less than three times its level when not operating, Figs. 12
and 13 show analyses taken fmm two adjacent, crude
export pumps on a North Sea platform. The over-all level
on the operating pump (Fig. 12) is less than three times
the level on the inoperative pump (Fig. 13), indicating
that the environment is active.
As a general role, therefore, when assessing machine
conditions offshore, higher levels than those suggested
by present standards would be acceptable. More impor-
tant is the need for(1) representative base-line signature
when equipment is new and (2) continued signature
analysis on all critical and essentialequipment in service.
In this way, the true machine signature can be extracted
from the over-all vibration picture where slight speed
differences exist,

PLANT Works No. UNIT No, p90L&

I
Machine Speed : @ tt M/m Sketch:
Motor Speed ~ {+8? k@.4m
H.P,IK.W, : (30 ● M.F
Currmt : 2ao 444’

I Vibration Levelmm/s RMS

OCTAVE BAND CENTRE FREQUENCY (tiz)

L
BEARING COMMENTS
A 31.5 63 125 260 600 lK 2K 4K 13K 16K

~ -“
3 A ●,f# ●*J7 ● ●
Z7 ●.?s ● .Aa ●*,A * ●./& ●.2/
H

fl.~k H ~●
L & ..& /*& I* 4 ●.4 ●.7s 1*P ●.48
a@/*-
4’N$M4+ “
v /’? ●v’s ●.9 ●
* ●“ss ● .8 s●
S* 0“+ ●*4O
A

H
v

A
H
-- - .— . .— .
v
-.— .— — .
A

H
.- .— -
!/

H
..- .—. ..-— .—
v
-. ------- .- -.
A “ - ‘--- ‘“-
b.
Fig. 8—Vitwationmonitoringdatasheet.

APRIL, 1978
 before aft er
Vertical axis 0*2 Vldivision
Horizontal axis 20 ins/division

Ftg.fl-$haff vibrationbeforeandaftercriticalexcitation.

before 0s2V/ division after

Fig. 10—Shaftorbltbeforaandafteroriticalexcitation.

In essence, the active environment offshore leads to

more complex machine vibration signatures, with addi-
tional variables resulting from structural movement and
contributions from external sources. This means that the
instruments needed to monitor offshore will be more
complex than is generally the case onshore, and methods
of analysis tmd interpretations must be more refined.
The second factor that influences the approach to vi-
bration monitoring offshore is the high maintenancecosts
of as much as 10 times the onshore costs. Vibration
monitoring should be directed more toward containing
maintenancecosts than protecting production. Thus, ex-
penditures on vibration monitoring should be spread
more evenly over al! operating equipment, rather than
being concentrated on a few high-capital-cost machinm+
The operating costs of vibration monitoring onshore,
whether carried out in-house or by specialized wmfrac- U@per trace - Shaft displacement vertical
tors, are estimated as about 16 percent of the gross sav- Lower trace - Bearing house velocity
ings.* Our experience in U.K. refineries indicates that Fig. 1l—Shaft andbearin housingvibrationduringcritical
this is about right, 7
excitationroman oilwhirt.

634 JOURNAL OF F’ETROLFLJMTECHNOLOGY

635
 00NTRACT No.......... ..... ...... .. UNIT ...... &
. ...... Po ..... .. .. ..”......
SPEED ......=&Q..- .....L.....” ....- .....RpM FREQ. RANGE --- ~ &_Hz ~MMENTs .. ..n
...................... ............................

WoRxs ..lw..d.~”k
... . . BEARIN&..&?!&##k.. LOAD .... ...i%#ii%. ..... ....... ..... . .... ..... BAND WIDT’H......-. ..... . ...... ...HZ ...s............. ...... ......... ... .................. ....... ..... .... ......

P-NT ... .~Ofl.’

.... .. ... ....$.. ...... .......”.HmviJAcl O/ALL LEVEL .... ...St..*h .......mds RMS SPECTRA AVERAGED .. .... . ..... ....... ............. ...... ..... ... . ..... . .. ..... .. . ... . .... ....

@eh Fact6r X Full Salo o.xnnds RMS)

s

FREQUENCY ( Hz) C3czleFactor X FuN Scale Z< Hz)

Ffgf. 13-Analysii ofa crude01exporfpumpona NOnhSea pfatforrn.

 TABLE 2-DWFERENOES BETWEENOFFSHOREAND manual monitoring, but computer-managed, real-time
ONSHORElNSTALLATtONS monitoring systems are now a reality. We already have
— Offetxxe Onshore completed a l~$channel system design for a major oil
Steel platformoonstructbn and high Usuaiiyvery iittfe company that’tuldoubtably reflects the growing impor-
plantdensity leadsto greater duplex tranemisefonof tance of vibration monitoring throughout the entire
Interactbn betweenmachinesthrough vibrationthrough ir~.dustry.
the foundations. found@ions.
Machinesupportsare generaiiy more Machinesupports” Conclusions
compliant,albwing higher vibration are usuall hardwith Potential cost savings for condition monitoring on
ieveisand possiblemounting inettla bioi k
resonances,particularlywith foundatbns, offshore production platfo~:msare much higher than for
redprwatlng equip-nent. onshore installations, Realization of these savings de-
Differential~ovement of machine Machin9foundations m~ds the application of more advanced techniques on a
structuresaffect train ailgnment ens@ normaiiydc much wider basis $an is practiced onshore now.
and bearingbadings, particularly not suffer differential Because of the complexities of the dynamic environ-
on bng trains, movement, ment offshore, it is important to establish the intrinsic
Dynamicmotionof machinesupper! Machinefoundatbns signatures of machines before installing them on the
structures resdting from whd and onshore norrnaiiyare platform. Thereafter, regular signature monitoring is
wave loadingscan affect the vlbro- not eubjectedto
mechanicalbehavior. #jilMliC ioadings,
mx+dedto gain sufQcientlead time before failure,
Until reliable vibration limits can be specified for
There are no establishedvibration Moatexisting
Iimitsfor rotatingequipmenton vibatbn limits (APi, machinery in North Sea installations, the vibration en-
offshore structures. VDi 205E iSO 2372) gineer should be involved with operating equipment as
have beei! devised early as possible during dwigning to maintain continuity
for onshore from the procurement and testing phases to the eventual
installatbns,
commissioning and operation on the platform.
High planta+ ity and the semi- The consequential
permanencscrtpiatform structures hazardsof References
couid increasethe consequential catastrophicfaiiure
hfzards from catastrophicfaiiure usually are localized
1. Neale, M, J. and Wocdey, B. J.: “Condition MonitoringMethods
and Economics,’*ProC., SEE Symposium, London(Sept. 1975).
of rotatingequipment. only. 2. Nirnitz,W. and Wachel,J. C.: Vibrationsin CentrifugalCompres-
offshore maintenanceand repair Of the total savings sors and Turbines,” ProC., ASME Petroleum Mechanical En-
costs are as much as 10 times the resultingfrom gineeringand Rcssure Vessels Piping Conference, Denver (Sept.
onshorecosts, vibratbn monitoring, 1970),
approximately 3. Downham, E. and Woods, R.: “The RationaIe of Monitoring
one-third are Vibration on Rotating Machinery in a Continuously Opemting
maintenancerelated process Ham,” Proc., ASME Vibrations Conference, “l’orOnto
and two-thirds are (Sept. 1971).
output related. 4. Bannister, R. L, and Donato, V.: “Sigrtature Analysis of Turbo-
machinery,” SOurrdand Vibration (Sept. 1971).
5. Zierau, S. M.: “Machinery Vityation Spectrum Analysis — A
The operating costs offshore will be about 200 percent Blend of Problem Solving and Advancement of Diagnostic
higher than for onshore, at least from the contractor’s Knowhow,’’Proc,, Petrotech ’76, Amsterdam(April 1976).
viewpoint, But, assuming that savings in production 6. Hudachek, R. J. and Dodd, V.: “Retinery — MachinerySurveil-
lanceand DiagnosticProgramPaysOff,” OilarrdGasJ, (Oct. 18,
losses will be similar and maintenancecosts are about 10 1976).
times higher, the potential savings for offshore monitori- 7. “Evaluation Criteria for Mechanical Vibrationa in Machines,”
ng will be about four times higher. Thus, the operating Bull, VD1 20S6, Verein Deutscher Irrgenieure; West Gerrnarry
costs of vibration monitoring offshore are likely to be as (1964).
.3. “Mechanical Vibrationof Machines with Operating Speeds from
low as 8 percent of the gross savings. Pinally, any tech- 10 to 200 rev/s — Basis for Specifying Evaluation Standards,”
nique that gives advanced warning of potential failures or Bull, ISO 2372, International Organization for Standardization
mechanicalproblems benefits the planning and control of ( 1974).
any production process considerably. This is particularly ~. “Specification for Non-Contacting Vibration and Axial Position
relevant to North Sea production platforms that are re- MonitoringSystems,” Bull. 670, API, Washington, D.C. (1976).
10. James, R. and Bloch, H. P.: “Redictive Maintenance System
mote from ~e engineering and decison-making centers. Improved at Exxon Chemic@ Plant, ” Oif and Gas J, (Feb. 2,
Proven vibration monitoring techniques can provide a 1976), J3?T
vital element when predicting and controlling offshore CMghal manuacrpt mczWed inScciaty ofPetroleum Eng~aarsoffim May%,1976.
platforms, with due allowance for the offshore environ- Papar aceapwlfor publioatkm May 4, 1977. Ravisad manuscript raceivad Jan. 27,
1978. Pa@r (SPE6295, OTC 2552) was pmsantad at ma Eighth Annual Offahora
ment. Today’s techniques still are based largely on TadImbgj Conferanra, bald in Houe.km,May343, 1976.

APRIL, 1978 637