Rotating Equipment Roundtable 2012

Field Balancing of Steam Turbines to

Improve Reliability and Reduce Vibration
By: Abdulrahman Alkhowaiter- CSD
Field Balancing Basics Are Critical To
Understanding Vibration Reduction
Unbalance is Caused by a Shift in Mass Center
Away From the Geometric Center of Rotation
Field Balancing Basics Are Critical To
Understanding Vibration Reduction
Balancing is the Process of Finding the Mass and Angle
of Unbalance, then Adding an Opposite Weight at a
Correct Radius from Center of Rotor.
Field Balancing Basics Are Critical To
Understanding Vibration Reduction
Static Unbalance is When the Unbalance Mass only Occurs at
One Plane. When Radial Unbalance Occurs at Several Planes,
this is a Dynamic or Couple Unbalance.
1500 KW Power Generation Turbine Parsons-
Westinghouse Year 1899
Notice the Large Length of Radial Bearings Needed to Damp
Rotor Unbalance Vibration; Insufficient Balancing Technology
 Improvements in The Art of Balancing
Machines US Patent # 110259, Year 1870
A state of the art balancing machine of the 19th Century. The
lack of electrical instrumentation to measure fine vibrational
unbalance vibration led to a limited mass balance capability.
Modern Mechanical Drive Multistage Steam
Turbine Dresser-Rand
Large 750 MW STG Unit With Three Casings
Operating At 3000 RPM
Siemens HP/IP Turbine Rotor Undergoing
Shop Balancing
Accurate shop balancing does not always lead to successful low
vibration of turbine rotors at installation. This holds true for both low and
high speed balancing. The reason is that apart from balancing errors,
thermal growth of rotor components can lead to mass unbalance and
also wheel looseness, shaft thermal bowing, or blade radial movement
at attachments cause new unbalances.
Major Sources Of High Vibration In Steam
Turbines
Steam Turbine Units High 1X RPM Vibration
Complete List of Causes: 1-7

1. False vibration signal from probe or transducer: probe track error,

instrument fault. Use shaker for ultimate probe-circuit testing.
2. Unbalance of rotor: poor shop balance, fouling-deposits, missing part
such as blade loss, or foreign object.
3. Bent or bowed shaft with high runout at bearing or coupling hub.
4. Looseness of a rotor component such as disks, including coupling
hub.
5. Looseness of machine to foundation such as anchor bolting
looseness or cracks.
6. Looseness of bearing housing attachment bolts to casing.
7. Looseness of radial bearing inside housing or tilt pad pivot
looseness.
Steam Turbine Units High 1X RPM Vibration
Example of Possible Wheel Looseness
Steam Turbine Units High 1X RPM Vibration
Complete List of Causes: 8-16

8. Resonance in vertical or horizontal support footing.

9. Resonance of bearing housing structure.
10. Resonant operation of rotor at or near a lateral critical speed.
11. Misalignment of bearing housings to shaft centerline: Incorrectly
machined housings or doweling errors, piping strain on casing, soft
foot, stuck thermal expansion keys.
12. External Misalignment at shaft coupling to adjacent machine.
13. Incorrectly machined coupling hub-spacer: Face runout, register offset
to spacer, excessive clearance, or bore offset.
14. Gear couplings: Spacer looseness, Lockup or unbalance.
15. Radial bearing damaged or excessive clearance to shaft.
16. Damaged shaft surface at bearing or tapered Shaft Journal.
HP/IP Turbine Cross-Section for Modern 150
to 600 MW Turbogenerator Units
 The Field Engineers Approach to Solving
Steam Turbine High Vibration Problems

1. From the vibration 1X source list, inspect each possible point to

confirm or disprove as the root cause of vibration. Note: Dont try to
apply field balancing to a mechanical drive or STG unit based only
upon a high 1X vibration. A detailed investigation into the other
sources of once per revolution vibration is necessary by searching for
evidence which removes these fifteen other possibilities.

2. For example a steam turbine bearing housing with loose fasteners to

casing or loose to its foundation will cause a high 1X vibration. Trying
to balance this out will be a waste of time as the non-linearity caused
by looseness will excite the rotor and added balancing weights will fail
in stabilizing the vibration as phase angle difference is high. The same
phenomena occurs with coupling misalignment; False 1X unbalance
vectors result since misalignment causes shaft bending and offset
mass which both exhibit 1X excitation.
The Field Engineers Approach: Understanding
The 1X RPM Vibration Vector
 The Field Engineers Approach to Solving
Steam Turbine High Vibration Problems

3. Another tool to assist in resolving the 1X vibration source is of course

analyzing the shaft orbit using proximity probes at each bearing using
non-contacting proximity probes. However, a circular orbit alone is
again not a true indication of pure unbalance as for example a bearing
with excess clearance will still produce a large circular orbit of the
shaft.
4. Start by inspecting external potential vibration sources to minimize
effort. See external causes in list.
5. Note that multiple root causes can occur such as unbalance and
looseness at same time. Study the 1X cause list. If this problem is
present since commissioning, then suspect a manufacturer design,
assembly, or an installation error.
Turbine Unbalance Due To Loss Of Blade
Shroud Ring Section From Fatigue
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing: Part-1

1. Field Balancing: Once you have confirmed that rotor unbalance is

causing at least 50% of the 1X frequency vibration, then the next
step is field balancing. This step is only taken after the engineer has
done his best at removing all external possible causes of 1X
vibration. If high suspicion of internal damage, then open casing for
inspection. The following points are made to guide the field engineer
and vibration specialist to ensure a high probability of success in
reducing the vibration levels.

2. The decision to make a single plane balance or multiple plane

balance depends upon the amplitude of 1X vibration at each bearing.
If the high vibration is primarily at one bearing only, its
recommended to apply a single plane balance only.
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing
Decide Whether to Perform a Single Plane Balance or
Multiplane Depending upon Bearing Amplitudes
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing: Part-2
3. At any bearing its important to have two vibration amplitude readings;
one for the bearing vertical and one horizontal using casing
accelerometers reading velocity. For proximity probes there will be X
and Y probes 90 degrees apart. Perform a separate balance
calculation for each probe and average out the required balance
weight & phase angle location. This gives highest accuracy.

4. Check the phase difference angle between the horizontal and vertical
X and Y probes on the bearing housing. When the 1X vibration is
caused by unbalance, the phase difference should be 90 Degrees in
an ideal situation. If this phase difference exceeds 125 Degrees, then
there are strong additional sources of 1X vibration other than
unbalance which will lead to inaccurate balance calculations and small
improvements in overall vibration. Why?
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing: Shaft Vibration Probes
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing: Trial Weight Attachment
Attachment Of Trial Balance Weight for Two Plane Balance
How to Achieve Very Low Turbine Vibration
Through Balancing: Part-3

5. Runout compensation on proximity probes is recommended to provide

higher accuracy.
6. When the final balance weight is requested by the calculation program,
dont use the weight calculated by the program or from graphical
methods. Instead, multiply this mass by a factor 0.80 and install this as
the final balance weight. The reason is that when balancing a machine
in its own bearings, it is impossible to achieve the same accuracy in
measuring the 1X unbalance vector because bearing looseness and
internal misalignment, coupling misalignment, and others combine to
deform and amplify the 1X amplitude measured on the bearing
housing or on the shaft by proximity probes. If the reduction factor of
0.80 is not used, the balance weight calculation program applied will
overcompensate for the true rotor unbalance. The 0.80 factor allows
for 20% of 1x vector from other excitation sources.
Result Of In-Situ Field Balancing On 340 MW
Turbogenerator
 Coupling Unbalance is a Hidden Factor in
High Speed Turbines Above 4000 RPM

Notice That
Register Fits
Between Hub
& Spacer
Can Lead to
Major
Unbalance,
When
Diametral
Clearance
Exceeds
0.003 Inch
Coupling Misalignment Must Be Held To Strict
Limits With Hot Measurement Methods
Hot Alignment methods such as Laser Alignment
immediately after shutdown are ideal for accuracy. The
other accurate choice is measuring temperature growth of
bearing housings and footings under turbine and using dials.
Coupling Misalignment Must Be Held To Strict
Limits With Hot Measurement Methods

Misalignment
Forces at
Couplings
Cause a 1X
and
Sometimes a
2X Force,
Depending
Upon Bearing-
Housing
Flexibility &
Coupling Type
A Highly Flexible Dry Coupling Reduces
Misalignment Which Reduces 1X Forces
Coupling Corporation of America Solves The Problem of
Short Spacer Length By Using Very Flexible Diaphragms
Smaller STG Units are Typically High Speed
Geared Operating Above 5000 RPM
High speed units are more sensitive to misalignment and
unbalance. Rotordynamic design including stiffness and bearing
type has a major impact on such vibration [Fincantieri STG]
Field Balancing of Steam Turbines to Improve
Reliability and Reduce Vibration
Thank You And Any Questions Please?