KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

YEAR 4

RELIABILITY AND MAINTENANCE ASSIGNMENT 1

GROUP MEMBERS

NAME REGISTRATION SIGN

NUMBER
OBBO BENJAMIN 17/U/18237/EME/PE
GEORGE
EKALUNGA BORIS 17/U/8760/EME/PE

MASEREKA SAMUEL 18/U/EME/8771/PE

KATIMBO ABDULLAH 17/U/16339/EME/PE
NSANJA DERRICK 17/U18285/EME/PE
KIZITO SIMON 17/U/8768/EME/PE
MUHEREZA 17/U/8732/EME/PE
BATURIMAYO
RELIABILITY AND MAINTENANCE
QUESTION 1 (A)

OIL ANALYSIS

For decades, oil analysis has helped diagnose the internal condition of oil-wetted components and
their lubricants in virtually every industry that involves heavy duty machinery or stationary
industrial equipment. While early test methods were shockingly simple, present-day processes
employ the most advanced analytical tools and technologies.

Oil analysis is a routine activity for analyzing oil health, oil contamination and machine wear, oil
analysis uses a combination of physical and chemical tests to monitor machine wear, fluid
condition and contamination. The purpose of an oil analysis program is to verify that a lubricated
machine is operating according to expectations. When an abnormal condition or parameter is
identified through oil analysis, immediate actions can be taken to correct the root cause or to
mitigate a developing failure.

Oil analysis benefits include;

 Optimum equipment life

 Extended oil life
 Reduced downtime
 Improved safety
 Environmental awareness.

Purpose of Oil Analysis

An obvious reason to perform oil analysis is to understand the condition of the oil, it is also
intended to help bring to light the state/condition of the machine from which the oil sample was
taken. There are three main categories of oil analysis: fluid properties, contamination and wear
debris.

Determining the physical condition and contamination of the oil.

Lubricant serviceability can be impacted by either reaching the lubricant’s life span OR
contamination levels have reached a point requiring a drain and refill, unless purification is an
option. When talking about contaminants, the objective is to detect the presence of foreign
components and to ask “What are they? Where did they come from (built-in, generated,
introduced)? How can I prevent further entry or generation?” Contaminants act as a catalyst for
wear. This generated wear debris further acts as a catalyst for additional component wear. If the
cycle is not broken, wear accelerates and downgraded serviceability results.

Wear Debris

Wear debris analysis relates specifically to the health of equipment. The main function of a
lubricant is to separate two surfaces, in relative motion to each other, from making contact.
However, it’s generally impractical to maintain a lubricant film that will keep those same surfaces
totally separated from each other. Thus, metal-to-metal contact can occur, even in today’s high-
tech equipment. In addition, boundary lubrication will always be present during start-up. At that
critical point in the machine’s operation, some normal and/or abnormal wear metals will be
generated, with the amount depending on equipment design and whether or not it has proper
lubrication, it answers questions relating to wear such as, is the machine degrading abnormally?,
is wear debris produced?, from which internal component is the wear likely originating?, how
severe is the wear condition?.

Keys to successful Oil Analysis.

 Clearly define program goals and requirements to be sure the test packages utilized are
appropriate for the application and the service is being fully utilized on a regular, on-going
basis
 Take representative samples that are indicative of the true condition of the lubricant and
the component so that the testing and analysis performed is accurate and reliable
 Promote frequent, two-way communication between laboratory and customer to optimize
both laboratory interpretations and recommendations as well as customer diagnostics and
maintenance action.
 Provide complete and accurate sample information so that data analysts may provide an
accurate interpretation of the test results with wellinformed, actionable maintenance or
diagnostic recommendations
  Review test reports promptly to be sure abnormal or critical machine or lubricant
conditions are addressed quickly and equipment damage and production losses are
minimized.
 The following are some of the considerations that should be taken into account so as to get
effective results during oil analysis;

Outline for an effective oil analysis program

1. Determine your primary objective.

2. Carefully consider your best choice for oil analysis.
3. Select proper tests for your application.
4. Determine the proper sampling point and method.
5. Determine the proper sampling interval
6. Establish consistent oil analysis baseline information.
7. Use laboratory interpretation of the test data properly
8. Provide proper feedback
9. Measure cost effectiveness.

Oil Analysis Tests

 Routine Tests
 Exceptional tests

Routine tests vary based on the component and environmental conditions but should almost always
include tests for viscosity, elemental (spectrometric) analysis, moisture levels, particle counts,
Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and acid number. Other tests that are based on the
originating equipment include analytical ferrography, ferrous density, base number testing and
demulsibility.
Viscosity.

Viscosity is a lubricant’s most important characteristic. Monitoring the oil’s viscosity is critical
because any changes can lead to a host of other problems, such as oxidation, glycol ingression or
thermal stressors.

Too high or too low viscosity readings may be due to the presence of an incorrect lubricant,
mechanical shearing of the oil and/or the viscosity index improver, oil oxidation, antifreeze
contamination, or an influence from fuel, refrigerant or solvent contamination.

Limits for changes in the viscosity depend on the type of lubricant being analyzed but most often
have a marginal limit of approximately 10 percent and a critical limit of approximately 20 percent
higher or lower than the intended viscosity.

Acid Number/Base Number

Acid number and base number tests are similar but are used to interpret different lubricant and
contaminant-related questions. In an oil analysis test, the acid number is the concentration of acid
in the oil, while the base number is the reserve of alkalinity in the oil. Results are expressed in
terms of the volume of potassium hydroxide in milligrams required to neutralize the acids in one
gram of oil. Acid number testing is performed on non-crankcase oils, while base number testing is
for over-based crankcase oils.

An acid number that is too high or too low may be the result of oil oxidation, the presence of an
incorrect lubricant or additive depletion. A base number that is too low can indicate high engine
blow-by conditions (fuel, soot, etc.), the presence of an incorrect lubricant, internal leakage
contamination (glycol) or oil oxidation from extended oil drain intervals and/or extreme heat.

FTIR

FTIR is a quick and sophisticated method for determining several oil parameters including
contamination from fuel, water, glycol and soot; oil degradation products like oxides, nitrates and
sulfates; as well as the presence of additives.

The FTIR instrument recognizes each of these characteristics by monitoring the shift in infrared
absorbance at specific or a range of wavenumbers. Many of the observed parameters may not be
conclusive, so often these results are coupled with other tests and used more as supporting
evidence.

Elemental Analysis

Elemental analysis works on the principles of atomic emission spectroscopy (AES), which is
sometimes called wear metal analysis. This technology detects the concentration of wear metals,
contaminants or additive elements within the oil. The two most common types of atomic emission
spectroscopy are rotating disc electrode (RDE) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP).

Both of these methods have limitations in analyzing particle sizes, with RDE limited to particles
less than 8 to 10 microns and ICP limited to particles less than 3 microns. Still, they are useful for
providing trend data.

The best way to monitor this type of data is to first determine what is expected to be in the oil. An
effective oil analysis report will provide reference data for the new oil so any amounts of additive
elements can be easily distinguished from those of contaminants. Also, because many types of
elements should be expected at some level (even contaminants in certain environments), it is better
to analyze trends rather than focus on any specific measurement of elemental analysis data.

Particle Counting

Particle counting measures the size and quantity of particles in the oil. Many techniques can be
used to assess this data, which is reported based on ISO 4406:99. This standard designates three
numbers separated by a forward slash providing a range number that correlates to the particle
counts of particles greater than 4, 6 and 14 microns.

Moisture Analysis

Moisture content within an oil sample is often measured with the Karl Fischer titration test. This
test reports results in parts per million (ppm), although data is often shown in percentages. It can
find water in all three forms: dissolved, emulsified and free. The crackle test and hot-plate test are
non-instrument moisture tests for screening before the Karl Fischer method is used. Possible
reasons for a moisture reading being too high or too low would include water ingression from open
hatches or breathers, internal condensation during temperature swings or seal leaks.
Oil Analysis Report

This refers to a written document which contains data about the equipment, the lubricate, processes
and recommendations used in oil analysis its usually prepared by the Laboratory personnel after
oil analysis tests to the personnel in charge of the machine component in question.

Key considerations of an Oil Analysis Report

1. Read and check the data on the oil type and machine type for accuracy.
2. Verify that reference data is shown for new oil conditions and that trend data is at an
understood frequency (preferably consistent).
3. Check the measured viscosity.
4. Verify elemental wear data and compare to reference and trended data. Use a wear debris
atlas to match elements to their possible source.
5. Check the elemental additive data and compare to reference and trended data. Use a wear
debris atlas to match elements to their possible source.
6. Verify elemental contamination data along with particle counts and compare with reference
and trended data. Use a wear debris atlas to match elements to their possible source.
7. Check moisture/water levels and compare to reference and trended data.
8. Verify the acid number and base number and compare to reference and trended data.
9. Check other analyzed data such as FTIR oxidation levels, flash point, demulsibility,
analytical ferrography, etc.
10. Compare any groups of data that are trending toward unacceptable levels and make
justifications based on these trends.
11. Compare written results and recommendations with known information on the oil and
machine, such as recent changes in environmental or operational conditions or recent oil
changes/filtration.
12. Review alarm limits and make adjustments based on the new information.

Factors that affect the frequency of analysis.

 The safety risk involved.

 The criticality of the equipment.
 The environmental conditions, and the operational conditions.
QUESTION 1 (B)

FAULT DETECTION IN MOTORS.

Introduction.

An induction motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to
produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator
winding.

The main parts of an induction motor are stator, rotor, and ball bearing.

a) The stator.
It consists of;

 The outer cylindrical frame of the motor made either of welded sheet steel, cast iron, or
cast aluminum alloy.
 The magnetic path.
 Set of insulated electrical windings, which are placed inside the slots of the laminated core.
The cross sectional area of these windings depends on the power rating of the motor.

For the three phase motor, there are normally three sets of stator windings, one for each phase.
Generally, stator contains feet or a flange for mounting of the motor.

b) The rotor.
This is the rotating part of the motor and is placed inside the stator coaxially. Mechanical power
is obtained from the rotor. It consists of;

 A set of slotted laminations made up of magnetic substance and are placed together in the
form of a cylindrical magnetic path and
 The electrical circuit.

The electrical circuit of the rotor is either wound-rotor type comprising of three sets of insulated
windings with connections brought out to three slip rings mounted on the shaft of the motor. The
rotor may be squirrel-cage type also, which comprise of copper or aluminum bars installed into
the slots, which are connected to an end ring at each end of the rotor.

c) The ball bearing.

There are two set of bearings to support the rotating shaft, one set at the driving end and the other
at non-driving end. Ball/roller bearings are used for properly placing the rotor inside the stator
bore and for minimizing the friction to run the rotor smoothly.

Besides the above three, the other parts that the motor consists are steel shaft for transmitting the
torque to the load, cooling fan located at the non-driving end to provide forced cooling for the
stator and rotor, and terminal box on top or either side to receive the electrical power supply
connections.

The construction of induction motor especially squirrel-cage motor is very simple and it is almost
unbreakable. Its cost is low; it is highly reliable and rugged, it has very high efficiency, but the
main drawback is that it is susceptible to different types of faults. Present day situation demand
rotor of electrical machine to be lighter in tolerances and for these reasons, rotating machinery is
becoming increasingly complex. With this increase in complexity, it is important to eliminate as
many sources of faults as possible. To reduce downtime and also for reliable operation, early
detection of motor faults is highly demanding. The effects of such faults in induction motors
include unbalanced stator currents and voltages, oscillations in torque, reduction in efficiency and
torque, overheating and excessive vibration. Moreover, these faults can increase the magnitude of
certain harmonic components of currents and voltages.

Induction motor performance may be affected by the following type of faults:

i. Electrical related faults.

ii. Mechanical related faults
iii. Environmental-related faults.

Main faults in induction motors are listed as follows;

i. Broken Rotor Bar

Broken rotor bar can be caused by thermal stresses due to thermal overload and unbalance,
magnetic stress caused by electromagnetic forces, electromagnetic noise, and vibration,
residual stresses due to manufacturing problems, dynamic stress arising from shaft torques and
environmental stresses caused by contamination and abrasion of rotor material due to
chemicals or moisture.
 ii. Bearing Failure

Bearing failure is usually progressive but ultimately its effect upon the motor is catastrophic.
Installation problems are often caused by improperly forcing the bearing onto the shaft or in the
housing. This produces physical damage which leads to premature failure. The mechanical
displacement resulting from damaged bearing causes variation in the motor air gap.

iii. Eccentricity

Eccentricity is defined as unbalanced air gap between the rotor and stator of an induction motor.
It may be caused by incorrect position of the stator or rotor. Some reasons for eccentricity are
elliptical stator inner cross-section and relative misalignment of rotor and stator in the fixing
and commissioning stage.

iv. Stator Core Related Faults

Stator core problems are rare and are not usually a major concern for small machines. However,
the repair or rebuild process is more costly in the case of the stator core failure, since it usually
requires the entire core to be replaced. Therefore, there has been interest in identifying the causes
of core problems and finding ways of monitoring the core in order to detect and prevent stator
core failure.

v. Rotor Winding Faults.

Short circuit turns in induction machine rotor windings cause operational problems such as
high vibration levels; therefore early detection is essential. Faults on the rotor windings of
induction motor have not been easy to detect because there is not necessarily an electrical
connection to the winding and it is difficult to measure the low-frequency currents induced in
the rotor winding.

vi. Stator Winding related Faults.

Majority of motor stator winding failure happens due to the destruction of the turn insulation
caused by the short circuit in stator windings. The shorts could be inter-turn shorts of same
phase, short between coils of same phase, short between two phases and short between phase to
earth.
Different fault diagnosis/detection techniques include;

a) Model Based Techniques.

In case of model based techniques, accurate models of the faulty machine are essentially required
for achieving a good fault diagnosis. Sometimes it becomes difficult to obtain accurate
models of the faulty machines and also to apply model based techniques. Soft computing
techniques provide good analysis of a faulty system even if accurate models are unavailable. On-
line inter-turns short-circuit windings and broken bars detection by parameters estimation
diagnostic method was proposed. Experimental rig is used to validate the on-line identification of
stator fault. An on-line technique has been proposed to detect rotor broken bars. This technique
was validated by using finite element software (Flux2D). Estimation results show a good
agreement and demonstrate the possibility of online stator and rotor faults detection.

Stator current spectrum of induction motor with broken bars. Base frequency of 50 Hz.

b) Signal Processing Techniques.

Signal processing techniques are applied to the measured sensor signals in order to generate
features or parameters (e.g. amplitudes of frequency components associated with faults)
which are sensitive to the presence or absence of specific faults. Calculation of simple
statistical parameters such as the overall RMS value of a signal can give useful information
(Chudasama K..J, et al 2012).
Motor Current Signature Analysis (MCSA) is the on-line analysis of current to detect problems
in a three-phase induction motor drive while it is still operational and in service. MCSA is
considered the most popular fault detection method at present because it can easily detect the
common machine fault such as turn to turn short circuit, cracked or broken rotor bars,
bearing deterioration etc. Figure 2(a) and 2(b) show the current spectrum of a healthy motor and
a motor with damaged rotor respectively. A work on detection of stator short circuit faults in
three-phase induction motors using motor current zero crossing instants presented a MCSA
based diagnostics of the stator winding short circuit fault. This type of fault happens due to
the destruction of the turn insulation, and can be very detrimental causing motor shutdown.
Instead of traditional MCSA using the motor stator current, in (Ukil A, Chen S, 2011) analysis
using the Zero Crossing Time (ZCT) signal of the stator current is presented.

(a)

(b)

Motor current spectrum of (a) healthy motor (b) motor with damaged rotor.
 c) Soft Computing Techniques.

Soft computing is considered as an emerging approach to intelligent computing, which

parallels the remarkable ability of the human mind to reason and learn in circumstances with
uncertainty and imprecision. Qualitative information from practicing operators may play an
important role in accurate and robust diagnosis of motor faults at early stages. Therefore,
introduction of soft computing to this area can provide the unique features of adaptation,
flexibility, and embedded linguistic knowledge over conventional schemes (Gao X.Z et al 2001).

REFFERENCES.
Chudasama K..J, Shah V, “Induction Motor Noninvasive Fault Diagnostic techniques: A
Review”, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), Vol. 1 Issue
5, pp. July – 2012

Gao X.Z, Ovaska S.J, “Soft computing methods in motor fault diagnosis”, Applied Soft
Computing 1, pp.73–81, 2001.

Ukil A, Chen S, “Detection of stator short circuit faults in three-phase induction motors using
motor current zero crossing instants”, Electric Power Systems Research 81, pp.1036–1044,
2011