Bearings

-90% of bearing failures can be predicted months beforehand.

-10% of bearing failures that are abrupt and unforeseen
-10% of their rated life.
-100 to 1000 years conditional yield
-lode-carrying member and will continue to carry the load even into the final stages of failure
Causes of Bearing Failure
1.
2.
3.
4.

Contamination
Overstress
Lack of lubrication
Defects created after manufacturing

The Goal of the Vibration Analyst

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Analyze data
Look for patterns
Apply reasoning to find the root cause
Redesigning the bearing
Specifying a baring that is bigger or rated for a higher speed

Ball Bearing 4 distinct tones

1.
2.
3.
4.

Fundamental train frequency

Ball Spin Frequency
Outer race
Inner Race

Two types of vibration

1. Repetition rate of balls encountering a defect
2. Bearings can be installed in a misaligned condition
-high axial vibration at 1X rpm and 180 degree phase differences
Some additional techniques need to be used to separate out the true fault
1. Run driver solo
2. Measure shaft runout w/ a dial indicator while hand tuning
3. Carefully inspect shaft and bearing surfaces

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Gears
-The presence of non-perfect gears is what gives rise to vibration
-A single defect on a singular gear tooth will cause a force perturbation at 1X running speed.
Gear Faults
1. As load-bearing member wear, they get louder and louder(increased amplitude) but they will
continue to carry the load
2. Gears are designed to last the life of the machine
Vane Passing
-pressure fluctuation as a vane passes a discontinuity within its chamber
The discontinuity can be:
-edge of the discharge opening
-propeller fan structural support
-trailing edge wake of an airfoil fan
Fans
1. fans handle air, and if that were all that they handled, then they would operate clean
2. fan cause so much trouble in the field are their flimsy construction
-Fans move air and create turbulence w/in ducts when the air velocity is too great.
Duct rumble
-when sheet metal vibrations are not a concern in terms of life or damage to the fan or its bearings.
-they are problem when they transmit to a sensitive receiver
-very low frequency, less than 100 Hz
-can be felt in the walls or floors
-caused by failure in architecture and space planning by locating sensitive receiver in close
proximity to an air handler

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Motor Vibration
Magnetotriction
-cause by the magnetic field expanding and collapsing in the iron laminations of transformer and motors
Reduction of Motor Vibration
1.
2.
3.
4.

Isolate the motor better

Change to a higher quality motor
Go to a three phase motor
Replace w/ a sleeve-bearing motor

Vibration due to electrical problems can be easily determined by disconnecting electric power to the
machine and seeing if the vibration immediately disappears or gradually winds down. An abrupt
decrease in vibration upon power disconnection indicates an electrically related vibration. If the vibration
remains high and gradually decreases as the rotor spin down, a mechanical cause due to rotation is
indicated, possibly imbalance, misalignments, or bearings.
Speed drives on AC motor
1. Exposes a possibility of resonance
2. It pulses the motor windings
Cavitation
-vaporization of fluid within the pump.
-occurs when the fluid pressure is less than the vapor pressure at that temp.
-boiling of fluid at ambient temp. due to reduced pressure
Oil Whirl
-vibration of less than one-half rotational speed.
-caused by lightly loaded bearing riding up on its high-pressure wedge and going up over the top and
around
Cure to Oil Whirl
1. Increase the load on the bearing
2. Change oil viscosity
3. Run the machine in a more loaded condition
Oil whirl is aggravated by excessive bearing clearance. Should be recognized as a condition of looseness

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Test for Oil whirl

1. Increase the load on the machine and observe subsynchronous vibration
2. Measure bearing clearance
When oil whirl becomes severe, there is a potential for the shaft to rub the inside of the journal
A rub is a symptom and because by other factors, most notably heavy imbalance or severe misalignment
-metal to metal contact
-effect of rubbing is localized temp. rise followed by metal particles in the oil
Pipings
-passive elements and cannot produce any vibrations
The piping will vibrate at one two frequencies:
1. The frequency of the source
2. Its own natural frequency
Resonance can be verified by turning off the machine and performing a bump test on the pipe
Consequence of pipe vibration
1. Fatigue cracking at high-stress points
2. Inducing vibration into the structure
Best solutions to piping vibration problems
1.
2.
3.
4.

Find source and balance or align it

Install flexible pipe connectors to isolate pipe from machine
Detune it, if its resonating, by stiffening
Isolate pipe from structure

Bent Shaft and Bowed Rotor

-develops when allowed to sit stationar for about 6 months after then, deflection will have been per
monthly set
-an imbalance condition
A bent shaft can be detected by measuring runout on the shift w/ a dial indicator

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Protection against bent shaft bowed rotors

-dont let a motor sit stationary for any length of time
-store motor with the shaft vertical
-Measure for a bent shaft before installation and not accept those motors w/ more than 0.001-in runout
Looseness
-mechanical looseness shows up in the frequency domain as a large number of harmonics of running
speed when lightly loaded
-clipping of the waveform when the loose parts hit against their limits of movement
-the vibrating parts is not allowed to swing to the full extreme of motion that it would like because it hits
up against the physical stops
-looseness can be detected by a decrease in amplitude at higher load
-all kinds of machine, looseness can be confirmed by changing the load and observing the vibration
Belts and Pulleys
-stretched belts can resonate like a plucked string. Pulley that wobble in the axial direction create an
axial vibration
Eccentric pulley
-egg-shaped or has a bore that is not concentric w/ the diameter of the pulley groove.
-will also stretch the belt momentarily, which will then resonate at its own natural frequency
Good pulley - TIR of < 0.002 IN
Acceptable - 0.005 IN
Bad - >0.005 IN
Practice to check the belts and pulley before beginning balancing:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Look at the belts and pulley w/ the naked eye while operating
Observe them w/ a strobe light
Stop the machine and check the pulley runout w/ a dial indicator
Start the machine and adjust the belt tension while running for min. vibratopn as observed on a
vibration measuring instrument
5. Balancing can proceed w/ a fair chance of success

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Fix the source or the Symptom Vibration Sink

-vibration seeks a position of equilibrium
-its equilibrium is on a part where max. motion is achieved
-vibration energy flows through a structure seeking a place to settle, w/c is inevitably on a resonant or
flexible part
8-in rule
-when the resonant part is smaller than 8 in cross-section, the vibrational energy is also small, and
bracing may be successful in eliminating the problem.
Structural Vibration
-due to earth movements & buildings natural frequencies.
Source of vibration
1. Earthquakes
2. Wind
3. Machinery that is part of the buildings utility systems
Illustrate several points about structural vibrations

The source of many structural vibrations is mechanical rotating equipment

w/ improper isolation the machines vibrations are transmitted directly to the structure where
they travel far
the frequency of vibration is unchanged as it goes through the structure
the amplitude decreases farther fr. Source
furniture can vibrate into resonance
dont rely entirely on what anyone says.
Turning off equipment while monitoring structural vibrations
People are more sensitive to higher frequencies.

To solve existing structural vibration problems:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Measure the frequency of vibration

Move throughout the structure tracking that frequency
Correct the machine vibration by balancing, alignment, or other fix
Isolate the machine better from the structure
Move the machine across the street
Replace it
Move sensitive optical equipment closer to columns
Foot traffic, vehicular traffic, construction activity and other transient
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Foundations
-structure that supports the gravity load of mechanical system
Two kinds of foundation
1. Rigid
2. Flexible
The deciding criterion is really deflection, and if the floor deflection is more than 0.1 in, then the floor
should be considered flexible
To be effective, the mass of the concrete block should be 4 to 6 times the supported mass.
Flexible foundations are usually not a good situation because w/ such foundations, there is no longer a
single-degree of freedom system
A final concept concerning foundations is their ability to transmit, absorb, and reflect dynamic energy
Foundation simple demonstration illustrates 2 related points:
1. Changing foundations grossly affects amplitude and phase measurements
2. Vibration measurements can easily detect a changing foundation hold-down system
Maximum Energy
-transmitted when mechanical impedance is well matched
Sympathetic Vibrations
-roller elements are not rolling but stationary in one spot against their races, and brinnelling damage
accumulates.
The only effective protection that vibration monitoring can provide is to closely monitor the bearings in
the time domain for shock pulses
Alternative steps to alleviate problems
1. Stiffen the machines such that motion is restricted
2. Break the transmission path by cutting the common support
Machinery Soft Foot
-phenomena whereby a machines vibration level can be decreased dramatically

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Procedure when vibration level cannot be reduced by balancing or alignment:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

While monitoring the vibration level, loosen and retighten each bolt, one at a time
Note w/c ones produce a dramatic decrease in vibration
Go back to the ones noted and see if the decrease is consistently repeated
Determine the amount of shimming w/ a dial indicator
Repeat procedure 4 until there are no more dramatic vibration decreases
Proceed to balance or align the machine to get further vibration decreases

Assembly Variables

Bearing
Key- full , half, no
Couplings/Coupling Bolts

To maintain this good balance, parts of variable weights must be reassembled in their original locations.
How do you guard against assembly variables?
1. Trim balance the rotor in-place in its own bearing, w/ all of its own coupling, keys, bolts, and
other accessories that have weight
2. Measure the vibration amplitude at 1X running speed before and after any maintenance work
Beats
-2 waveform and produces a new vibration that has a frequency w/c is the diff. bet. the 2 source
frequencies
Turbulence
-fluid flowing around an object will generate vortices downstream of the object
This turbulence is a random vibration and shows up in the frequency domain as broadband noise
Cause many problems on aircraft such as:
1. Flutter
2. Loosening of fasteners
3. More energy consumption
To analyze the problem on increasing vibration
1. Listen w/ stethoscope
2. Observe the vibration in time waveform

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Turbomachinery
Most common problem that cause vibration on turbomachinery
1. Imbalance
2. Misalignment
3. Resonances
Some vibration problems can be connected w/ the changing of oil viscosity
Two vibration problems unique to centrifugal compressors
1. Surging
2. Choking
Surging
-occurs when the discharge pressure is too high
-sounds like screeching elepant
Choking
-opposite of surging
-occurs when discharge pressure is too low
When the velocity in the diffuser section approaches MACH 1( 700 mph), a turbulent on circulating flow
between the blades will occur w/c has the effect of blocking the flow of gas
Partial Surge/Choking
-can take place where compressor is approaching the conditions for a full surge or choke but is not fully
there
Torsional Vibration
-oscillation twisting of shaft
-Torsion occurs only when there is differential rotation between sections
Two causes of torsional vibrations in reciprocating machinery
1. Gas pressure forces
2. Unbalanced mass in the connecting rods

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Torsional vibrations are difficult to measure. One must use:

Strain gauges on the shaft and slip rings or telemetry

Gear modulation
Optical methods

Gear modulation involves attaching a gear to the shaft at the location where torsional vibrations are of
interest

Typical Vib. Problems and Their Approximate % of Occurrence

Imbalance

40

Misalignment

30

Resonance

20

Belts and Pulleys

30

Bearing

10

Motor Vibrations(120Hz)

Cavitation in pumps

Fan and duct turbulence

Oil Whirl

Sympathetic vibrations

Gears

False brinnelling

Piping

Bent Shaft/bowed motor

Looseness

Soft foot

Torsional vibrations

Vane passing

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