separatIon technology

User guide TBSBal version 1

Single plane balancing using trial weights

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Conditions of Use
Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited license TBSBal and this User Guide for unrestricted use and
free distribution subject to the following conditions.
The program should only be used by experienced personnel who are familiar with the general
principles of operation of rotating machinery and who have read and understood this User Guide.
Every effort has been made to eliminate errors in the software but Thomas Broadbent and Sons
Limited accept no responsibility for any direct, indirect or consequential loss, injury or damage of
any kind that may result from its use or misuse.
In return for using this software, we simply request that you tell us if you have found it useful. Please
send your comments and any suggestions for improvements to the Engineering Manager at
tbs@broadbent.co.uk. Registering in this way allows us to send you any future upgrades or new free
software we produce.

Introduction
TBSBal is a Windows software tool to assist the on-site trim balancing of machines without the
need for sophisticated instruments. It is based on the principle of single plane dynamic balancing by
moving a trial weight in a methodical way and is quicker and more accurate than simple trial and
error methods. While designed principally for balancing centrifuges, it can be easily adapted for
other medium speed, rigid rotor machines such as motors, fans, and single stage pumps. It is not
suitable for balancing high speed machines with long, slender rotors that have flexural critical speeds
in the running speed range such as turbomachinery or multistage pumps.

Principles of Machine Balancing

Consider a machine rotor supported in a
pair of bearings with an unbalance part way
along its length. The centre of gravity of the
rotor plus unbalance is offset from the rotor
axis so, when stationary, the rotor will roll
on the bearings until the unbalance is at the
bottom. When the machine rotates, the
centrifugal force on the unbalance causes
the rotor to try and orbit in a cylindrical
path. This motion is restrained by the
bearings which are therefore subjected to a
once per revolution load cycle which is
apparent as shaft rate vibration. Since the
rotor has a net radial unbalance force, the
rotor is said to be statically unbalanced.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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Consider the same rotor with two

unbalances of equal size but on opposite
sides of the rotor and at different axial
positions. The centre of gravity of the rotor
plus the unbalances lies on the axis so when
stationary, the rotor will not roll on its
bearings. The rotor is statically balanced.
When the machine rotates, the centrifugal
forces on the unbalances are equal so there
is no net radial unbalance force but they are
not in line so there is a resultant rocking
couple which causes the rotor to try and
orbit in a conical path. This motion is
restrained by the bearings which are still
subjected to shaft rate vibration forces. In
this case the rotor is said to be couple
unbalanced.
Both static (radial) and couple unbalance
cause vibration and when either are
present, a rotor is said to be dynamically
unbalanced. In most practical cases, there
is a combination of static and couple
unbalance. This can be represented by two
unbalances of unequal size and unrelated
angular orientation at different axial
positions. A rotor is in dynamic balance
only when there is no net radial force and
there is no net couple along the length of
the rotor. Dynamic unbalance can only be
corrected by adding or subtracting
correction masses at two separated planes
along the length of the rotor. These
balancing planes are usually selected so
that the correction can be done with easy
access and without affecting the function or
strength of the rotor.
The correcting mass at one plane mainly affects the vibration at the adjacent bearing but it does also
affect the vibration at the bearing next to the other balance plane. For longer rotors, where the
balance planes can be widely separated, this effect becomes less so the balancing at each plane can be
done almost independently without significant error. As the rotor becomes shorter, the interaction
between the corrections at the two planes becomes more important. However, for extremely short
rotors that approximate discs, the couple unbalance can only be small so it is often acceptable in
these cases to correct the mainly static unbalance at a single plane.
The centrifugal force on any object is proportional to its mass multiplied by its radius multiplied by
the rotational speed squared. Once balanced at one speed, a rigid rotor will remain balanced at all
speeds. Unbalance is therefore usually expressed as a mass x radius at specific balance planes. For
example a correction mass of 100 gram at 300 mm radius (30 000 gram-mm) has exactly the same
effect as 150 gram at 200 mm radius provided it is at the same angle and in the same balance plane.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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Slight unbalances always arise in manufacture for various reasons related to material, fabrication, and
machining tolerances. All manufacturers balance rotors on special balancing machines with floating
bearings which detect the orbit motions of the unbalanced rotor and calculate the locations and
sizes of the required correction masses at the selected balance planes. The manufacturer adds or
removes material in these positions to ensure the rotor is balanced to the required grade.
In service, machine rotors can become unbalanced due to slight damage or failure to reassemble
parts in exactly the same angular orientation. In some cases, this can cause vibration high enough to
be troublesome and this necessitates in situ trim balancing. This can be accomplished by using
sophisticated specialised vibration instruments. Vibration sensors are attached to the bearing
housings and a marker is fitted to the shaft to give a once per revolution pulse to a pickup. When
the machine is run, the instrument detects the timing or phase between the vibration pulses and
the marker and gives the angular positions required for the correction masses. After a few trials the
sizes of the correction masses can be determined.
In many cases, this specialised instrumentation is either not available or the design of the machine is
such that it cannot be easily applied. In these cases, attempts can be made to balance the rotor
purely by trial and error by fitting trial weights of different sizes and in different positions. This can
be very difficult and time consuming. Fortunately, there is a more methodical procedure that gives
results much more quickly without the necessity for having sophisticated instruments.
Balancing at a particular plane without phase (angular) information can be carried out by measuring
the vibration amplitude first with no added correction mass and then with the same trial mass at 3
equally spaced angular positions. From these readings, TBSBal can calculate the required size and
angular position of correction. This procedure is carried out at each of the two balance planes.
Carrying out this procedure once normally gives reasonable results. For additional accuracy, the
correction masses should be fitted and the procedure repeated again at both planes.
All the above applies only for machines with rigid rotors where there is no lateral flexural critical
speed in the normal running speed range. These are usually fairly short rotors running at slow or
medium speed such as centrifuges, motors, fans, single stage pumps etc. High speed machines with
long, slender rotors such as turbines often bend in various shapes at critical frequencies less than the
maximum running speed and balancing these is outside the scope of this User Guide.

Caution
Trim balancing is usually carried out because the vibration performance of a machine has
deteriorated. Before attempting to in situ balance a machine, the reasons why the vibration level has
changed must be carefully considered.
If the machine has just been overhauled, the vibration probably results from errors in re-assembly.
This may be because the parts have not been fitted together in the same angular orientations as
when originally manufactured, because there is damage or trapped debris at locating faces, or
because the bearings have been damaged. In these cases, the obvious solution is to try stripping,
cleaning, and reassembling the machine again rather than balancing it.
If the machine has just suffered an accident, serious breakdown, or unusual operating event and the
vibration has suddenly increased, this indicates that the rotor is distorted or damaged in some way.
In these circumstances, parts may be seriously weakened and attempting to continue running the
machine could be dangerous. Always seek advice from the machine manufacturer.
In general, in situ balancing should only be considered if new parts have been fitted or if the vibration
has slowly increased over a long period. If in doubt, contact the machine manufacturer.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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Balancing a Centrifuge Basket

TBSBal has been developed primarily for in-situ trim balancing of centrifuges, which are used for
separating slurries into their constituent solid and liquid phases. The main component in a centrifuge
is a cylindrical basket or bowl into which the slurry is poured. In filtration centrifuges, the shell of the
basket is perforated with holes so that centrifugal force causes the liquid to drain out while the
solids are retained in the basket. In sedimentation centrifuges, the bowl is imperforate and
centrifugal action causes the denser solids to migrate outwards to the shell while the liquids float on
the inner surface of the cake.
In all centrifuges, the process materials are rarely uniformly distributed around the inside of the
basket or bowl and this gives rise to large unbalance forces. To cope with this, all but the smallest
centrifuges are usually suspended on springs or rods. This allows the whole suspended mass of the
centrifuge to move slightly to find a better balanced axis of rotation and thereby reduce the
transmission of these out of balance forces to the support structure or building. This movement of
the whole machine on its vibration isolators is at the shaft rate frequency and the amplitude of
movement is proportional to the magnitude of the unbalance. For safety reasons, a vibration sensor
is usually permanently fitted to the casing of most industrial centrifuges to automatically stop the
centrifuge if the unbalance becomes excessive. In addition to this trip function, most manufacturers
arrange for this sensor to continuously give a readout of vibration and this is ideal for trim balancing
using the TBSBal method. If a permanent sensor is not fitted, a simple hand held vibration monitor
can be temporarily attached to the casing or frame. The exact location is not important provided it
is above the vibration isolators.
The vibration levels on centrifuges are usually considerably greater than on other machines because
of the unbalance in the process materials and this is quite normal. However, the vibration level when
the centrifuge is empty and clean should be low and if it is not, trim balancing may be necessary to
avoid excessive vibration when process materials are added. The procedure is as follows,
(1) Thoroughly clean the basket or bowl to ensure that there are no traces of process materials
that may cause unbalance.
(2) Put 3 marks on the centrifuge equally spaced about the circumference at 0 o, 120o and 240o.
(3) Run the empty centrifuge to a convenient speed
and note the reading on the vibration sensor.
(4) Select a trial weight about 0.1% (1000 gram per
Tonne) of the weight of the basket or bowl.
This should be a fairly flat shape and ideally bent
to roughly the radius of the inside of the
cylindrical shell. A small piece of lead sheet is
ideal. Place this in the bottom of the basket at
the 0o position and hold it in place with
adhesive tape (Centrifugal force will hold it
firmly in place once rotating). Run the
centrifuge to the same speed as (3) above and
note the vibration reading. If the centrifuge
vibrates excessively, try a smaller weight or
reduce the speed.
(5) Repeat (4) with the weight in the bottom of the
basket or bowl at the 120o position.
(6) Repeat (4) with the weight in the bottom of the
basket or bowl at the 240o position.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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(7) When a set of vibration readings at the same
speed and with the same trial weight have been
obtained, enter the information into the
TBSBal program. This will suggest a size and
angular position for a correction weight in the
bottom balance plane.
(8) Repeat (3) to (7) but this time with the trial
weight taped inside the top of the basket or
bowl and enter the details into the TBSBal
program. This will suggest a size and angular
position for a correction weight in the top
balance plane.
(9) Compare the results from (7) and (8). The best
correction is the one requiring the smallest
mass of the two results. (For various reasons,
this usually turns out to be a correction at the
top balance plane). Make a correction weight of
the correct mass, tape it in the indicated
position and run the centrifuge without the trial
weight to check that the vibration is reduced.
(10) A single procedure as described above is usually sufficient but if greater precision is required,
repeat (3) to (9) again but with the first correction weight always fitted and this will result in a
second correction weight suggestion.
(11) Having reduced the vibration to an acceptable
level with the temporary correction weights,
these must be replaced by permanent
correction weights. This may be achieved by
welding or bolting on weights at the same
angular positions as the temporary weights.
Alternatively, equivalent mass may be
subtracted by machining or grinding off material
diametrically opposite the temporary weights.
It is important that this is done correctly since
either welding or reducing material thickness
may affect the strength and safety. It is
recommended that the basket is inspected to
see how and in what locations the original
balance corrections were made by the
manufacturer and that this method is copied. If
in doubt, consult the manufacturer. In either
case, if the permanent correction is done at a
different radius from the trial weights, the
permanent masses must be adjusted so that
mass x radius is the same.
The procedure above, placing weights in both a bottom and a top balance plane is recommended for
baskets with a reasonably large height to diameter ratio. If the height is less than about 25% of the
diameter, it will usually only be necessary to balance in one plane.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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Balancing Other Machines

Rotors on other machines can be balanced in a similar way to centrifuge baskets but with some slight
differences outlined below.
If the machine is mounted on vibration isolators, the vibration sensor can be attached anywhere on
the suspended frame or casing as with a centrifuge. Quite often, the machine may be rigidly bolted
down to a foundation. In this case, the sensor should be attached as close as possible to the bearing
housing next to the plane being balanced.
An important consideration is the position and method of attaching the trial weight and temporary
correction weights. The trial weight must be at the same radius in the 0o, 120o, and 240o positions. In
centrifuges, these weights are restrained inside the basket or bowl and naturally are at the same
radius. On other types of machine, these weights will usually have to be attached to the outside of
the rotor by strong fastenings which will have to carry the full centrifugal force on the weight. It is
important not to underestimate just how large these forces can be because if these fastenings break,
these weights will be ejected with sufficient energy to cause serious damage or injury.
The centrifugal acceleration G (number of times normal gravity) at radius R (millimeters) and
rotational speed N (revolutions per minute) is,

G =

N2R
895000

The centrifugal force on the weight will then be G times normal weight. A competent engineer
should check that the proposed fastenings are capable of carrying this force safely.

Using the TBSBal Software

TBSBal can be used on any IBM compatible personal computer with the Windows 95, 98, NT,
2000 or XP operating system and a screen resolution of at least 800 x 600. To install, copy the
TBSBal.exe file to a convenient location on the hard disc drive and create a shortcut on the Desktop
and/or Taskbar as required. Double click the TBSBal.exe file (or shortcut) to run the program. The
conditions on the opening screen must be accepted to move to the working screen.
The data required to run the program are the vibration readings with no trial weight, the vibration
readings with the trial weight in the 0o, 120o, and 240o positions, and the size of the trial weight. The
vibration readings can be in any units as displayed by the vibration sensor such as amplitude in
microns or mils, velocity in mm/s or inch/s, and acceleration in m/s2 or G but the same units must be
used for all four values. Similarly, the mass of the trial weight can be in any units such as grams or
ounces (but note that the output only has 2 decimal places so values less than 1 unit should be
avoided).
A mouse can be used to navigate between the input fields but it is also possible to use the keyboard
alone. The TAB key cycles between the fields. It is possible to move directly to a particular field by
pressing the ALT + X keys simultaneously where X is the underlined letter in the legend next to the
input field. Data is checked for validity (no letters or negative numbers) and entered on leaving a
field. Changing any field automatically clears any existing results. The CALCULATE and RESET
functions are initiated by moving to the relevant button and clicking with the mouse or pressing the
ENTER key.

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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The screen shot above shows the actual results for moving a 1400 gram trial weight around the top
balance plane of a large filtering basket centrifuge. The vibration readings are RMS velocities in mm/s.
The display on the right is the calculated vector diagram that best fits the measurements. The thick
black line represents the residual unbalance with the star of equal vectors for the trial weight in the
0o, 120o, and 240o positions added to the end of it. The radii of the thin arcs represent the actual
vibration readings. In this case, all the arcs intersect almost exactly at the black dot representing the
truly balanced position and so the consistency of the readings is excellent. The vector from the
centre of the star to the black dot therefore represents the required correction weight. This is
displayed in the result box on the left. The comment box on the left confirms that the results are
good and recommends placing a correction weight in the suggested position.
The screen shot below shows actual results for a similar basket around the bottom balance plane
but with high out of balance. In this case the arcs fail to intersect at a single point by quite a large
margin. This is partly because the residual unbalance represented by the thick black line is much
larger than the trial mass represented by the thick star lines and so the differences between the
120o and 240o position vibrations are small making the result sensitive to slight errors in
measurement. Although the result box suggests a correction mass, the comment box cautions that
this may be inaccurate. The trial weight is already quite large so in this case, the best option would
be to try balancing in the top plane (As mentioned earlier, baskets are usually more responsive to
corrections in the top balance plane).

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England

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Centrifuges for solid-liquid separation

Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited
Queen Street South
Huddersfield HD1 3EA
England
Tel: +44 1484 477200
Fax: +44 1484 516142
E-mail: tbs@broadbent.co.uk
www.broadbent.co.uk

2006 Thomas Broadbent and Sons Limited, Huddersfield HD1 3EA, England