VIBRATION BASICS

Beginner's Guide to Machine Vibration

What is vibration : What is machine vibration? Machine vibration is simply the

back and-forth movement of machines or machine components. Any component that moves back and forth or oscillates is vibrating. Machine vibration can take various forms. A machine component may vibrate over large or small distances, quickly or slowly, and with or without perceptible sound or heat. Machine vibration can often be intentionally designed and so have a functional purpose
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. At other times machine vibration can be unintended and lead to machine damage. Most times machine vibration is unintended and undesirable. This book is about the monitoring of undesirable machine vibration. Shown below are some examples of undesirable machine vibration. Almost all machine vibration is due to one or more of these causes: (a) Repeating forces (b) Looseness (c) Resonance Repeating forces in machines are mostly due to the rotation of imbalanced, misaligned, worn, or improperly driven machine components Looseness of machine parts causes a machine to vibrate. If parts become loose, vibration that is normally of tolerable levels may become unrestrained and excessive. Machines also tend to vibrate at certain oscillation rates. The oscillation rate at which a machine tends to vibrate is called its natural oscillation rate. The natural oscillation rate of a machine is the vibration rate most natural to the machine, that is, the rate at which the machine 'prefers' to vibrate. A machine left to vibrate freely

will tend to vibrate at its natural oscillation rate. A similar situation will arise the machine will vibrate more and more strongly due to the repeating force encouraging the machine to vibrate at a rate it is most natural with. The machine will vibrate vigorously and excessively, not only because it is doing so at a rate it 'prefers' but also because it is receiving external aid to do so. A machine vibrating in such a manner is said to be experiencing resonance.

Types of Vibration
Harmonic _ Periodic _ Impulsive _ Pulsating _ Random
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Sensors
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Physical Movement / Displacement Velocity / Speed Acceleration

Proximity Probes
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Velocity Transducers
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Accelerometers
Why Monitor Machine Vibration?

(a) Severe Machine Damage (b) (b) High Power Consumption (c) (c) Machine Unavailability (d) Delayed Shipments (e) Accumulation of Unfinished Goods (f) Unnecessary Maintenance (g) Quality Problems (h) Occupational Hazards
The amplitude of vibration is the magnitude of vibration. Vibration amplitude is thus an indication of the severity of vibration. In general, the severity or amplitude of vibration relates to: (a) the size of the vibratory movement (b) the speed of the movement (c) the force associated with the movement

What is Frequency? What is A Waveform? What is A Spectrum? Which Machines Need Monitoring?
When deciding which machines to monitor, critical machines should be given priority over other machines. This is much the same as monitoring the health of people. It is inappropriate to closely monitor the health of perfectly healthy people, and then to forsake the monitoring of others who genuinely need it. The same applies when monitoring the condition of machines. In general, the following critical types of machines should be monitored on a regular basis in order to avoid unexpected and costly problems: (a) Machines that require expensive, lengthy, or difficult repairs if broken down (b) Machines that are critical to production or general plant operations (c) Machines that are known to frequently suffer damage (d) Machines that are being evaluated for their reliability (e) Machines that affect human or environmental safety

Machine Vibration Basic

23.2 Vibration sensors
Sensors used to measure vibration come in three basic types: displacement, velocity, and acceleration. Displacement sensors measure changes in distance between a machines rotating element and its stationary housing (frame). Displacement sensors come in the form of a probe that threads into a hole drilled and tapped in the machines frame, just above the surface of a rotating shaft. Velocity and acceleration sensors, by contrast, measure the velocity or acceleration of whatever element the sensor is attached to, which is usually some external part of the machine frame7.

wires Time Displacement

Near Far

Time Velocity
Approaching Retreating

x = D cost v = -D sin t Time

Approaching Retreating

Acceleration a = -2D cos t Sensor sensor signal sensor signal sensor signal Rotating machine component
A design of displacement sensor manufactured by the Bently-Nevada corporation uses electromagnetic eddy current technology to sense the distance between the probe tip and the rotating machine shaft. The sensor itself is an encapsulated coil of wire, energized with high-frequency
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the perspective of measurement, it would be ideal to affix a velocimeter or accelerometer sensor directly to the rotating element of the machine, but this leads to the problem of electrically connecting the (now rotating!) sensor to stationary analysis equipment. Unless the velocity or acceleration sensor is wireless, the only practical mounting location is on the stationary frame of the machine.

1480 CHAPTER 23. MACHINE VIBRATION MEASUREMENT alternating current (AC). The magnetic field produced by the coil induces eddy currents in the metal shaft of the machine, as though the metal piece were a short-circuited secondary coil of a transformer (with the probes coil as the transformer primary winding). The closer the shaft moves toward the sensor tip, the tighter the magnetic coupling between the shaft and the sensor coil, and the stronger the eddy currents. The high-frequency oscillator circuit providing the sensor coils excitation signal becomes loaded by the induced eddy currents. Therefore, the oscillators load becomes a direct indication of how close the probe tip is to the metal shaft. This is not unlike the operation of a metal detector: measuring the proximity of a wire coil to any metal object by the degree of loading caused by eddy current induction. In the Bently-Nevada design, the oscillator circuit providing sensor coil excitation is called a proximitor. The proximitor module is powered by an external DC power source, and drives the sensor coil through a coaxial cable. Proximity to the metal shaft is represented by a DC voltage

output from the proximitor module, with 200 millivolts per mil (1 mil = 1 1000 inch) of motion being the standard calibration.

Steel shaft (end view) Proximity sensor Proximitor 24 VDC signal

High-frequency AC magnetic field Rotation Eddy currents

module
Out Com -V

Vibration (displacement)
(200 mV per mil)

Since the proximitors output voltage is a direct representation of distance between the probes tip and the shafts surface, a quiet signal (no vibration) will be a pure DC voltage. The probe is adjusted by a technician such that this quiescent voltage will lie between the proximitors output voltage range limits. Any vibration of the shaft will cause the proximitors output voltage to vary in precise step. A shaft vibration of 28.67 Hz, for instance, will cause the proximitor output signal to be a 28.67 Hz waveform superimposed on the DC bias voltage set by the initial probe/shaft gap. 23.2. VIBRATION SENSORS 1481 An oscilloscope connected to this output signal will show a direct representation of shaft vibration, as measured in the axis of the probe. In fact, any electronic test equipment capable of analyzing the voltage signal output by the proximitor may be used to analyze the machines vibration: oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, peak-indicating voltmeters, RMS-indicating voltmeters, etc. It is customary to arrange a set of three displacement probes at the end of a machine shaft to measure vibration: two radial probes and one axial (or thrust) probe. The purpose of this triaxial probe configuration is to measure shaft vibration (and/or shaft displacement) in all three dimensions:

Machine shaft Y axis X axis Z axis

Radial probe Radial probe Thrust probe

VIBRATION TRANSDUCERS
ACCELERATION-MEASURING TRANSDUCERS IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCELEROMETERS PIEZOELECTRIC ACCELEROMETERS5 TYPICAL PIEZORESISTIVE ACCELEROMETER CONSTRUCTIONS ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PIEZORESISTIVE ACCELEROMETERS PIEZOELECTRIC EXCITERS (DRIVERS) OPTICAL-ELECTRONIC TRANSDUCER SYSTEMS LASER DOPPLER VIBROMETERS FIBER-OPTIC REFLECTIVE DISPLACEMENT SENSOR ELECTRODYNAMIC TRANSDUCERS

ELECTRODYNAMIC (VELOCITY COIL) PICKUPS DIFFERENTIAL-TRANSFORMER PICKUPS SERVO ACCELEROMETER CAPACITANCE-TYPE TRANSDUCERS DISPLACEMENT TRANSDUCER (PROXIMITY PROBE) VARIABLE-CAPACITANCE-TYPE ACCELEROMETER

Vibration Sensors Glimpse of Its Development Trend and Their Aspects

Inductive Sensor Magnetic Sensor Piezoelectric Sensor Capacitive Sensor Optic Fiber Sensor Photoelectric Sensor

PROSPECT OF THE VIBRATION SENSOR:

Performance of real-time measurement Integrated, intelligent and modular Preferable Anti-jamming ability, low-impedance output Preferable environmental adaptability, remote Measurement

Vibration Measurement Sensors

Basic Vibration Sensors
A Noncontacting Displacement Transducer ccelerometer Electrodynamic

Eddy Current Probe - How It Works

 Three

matched components - Driver, probe and extension cable Voltage applied to the Driver causes an RF signal to be generated Signal is transmitted to the probe by the extension cable Coil inside probe tip serves as an antenna and radiates high frequency energy into free space Any conductive material within the field absorbs energy and causes output of probe to decrease proportional to gap distance

Types of Accelerometers
Piezoelectric
Charge

mode Internally amplified

Strain

Gauge Piezoresistive Variable Capacitance Others

Piezoelectric Accelerometer - How It Works

Piezoelectric

material (sensing element) is placed under load using a mass As stack vibrates, crystal is squeezed or

released Charge output is proportional to the force (and acceleration) Electronics convert charge output into voltage output
Piezoresistive and Piezoelectric MEMS Strain Sensors for Vibration Detection

Smart Vibration Sensor

skf vibration sensor basics
PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS: CERAMIC vs. QUARTZ

Primary Sensor Considerations

THE SENSITIVITY RANGE THE FREQUENCY RANGE

Environmental Requirements
TEMPERATURE RANGE HUMIDITY

Electrical Powering Requirements

AC COUPLING AND THE DC BIAS VOLTAGE AMPLITUDE RANGE AND THE SUPPLY VOLTAGE CONSTANT CURRENT DIODES

Other Sensor Types

HIGH TEMPERATURE PIEZOELECTRIC VIBRATION SENSORS HAND-HELD AND OTHER MOUNTING METHODS FOR INDUSTRIAL SENSORS

Vibration Sensor Installation Considerations

CABLE TYPE AND CHARACTERISTICS CABLE LENGTH AND CAPACITANCE CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE AMPLITUDE RANGE VERSUS CABLE CAPACITANCE

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED CABLE CHARACTERISTICS The recommended cable characteristics can be summarized as follows: Type: Twisted pair(s), shielded Capacitance across leads: < 20 picofarads/feet (60 pF/m) Impedance: 120 ohms for signal cable Wire gauge: 2024 AWG (American Wire Gauge) Shield type: Braided or foil Insulation material: As required by operating environment. Teflon has a higher temperature tolerance. Tefzel is recommended where fire retardation properties and radiation resistant cables are needed. POWERING VERSUS CABLE LENGTH CABLE GROUNDING AND GROUND LOOPS CABLE ROUTING AND ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE

Piezoelectric Materials for Vibration Sensors The Technical Advantages of Piezoceramics Versus Quartz

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES FOR VIBRATION AND ACOUSTIC NOISE OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES