Proceedings of the IMAC-XXVII

February 9-12, 2009 Orlando, Florida USA

2009 Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc.

Identification of Torsional Vibration Features in

Electrical Powered Rotating Equipment
Martin W. Trethewey
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
USA
mwtrethewey@psu.edu

Mitchell S. Lebold
Complex Systems Monitoring and Automation Department
Applied Research Laboratory
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
USA
lebold@psu.edu
ABSTRACT
A common torsional vibration sensing method in rotating equipment is the Time Interval Measurement System
(TIMS). The method utilizes the time passage of discrete intervals on a rotating element from an incremental
geometric encoder (i.e., gear, optical encoder). Ideal measurement conditions consist of a constant shaft running
speed, an encoder with identical segments and no transverse motion between the sensor and shaft. In practice,
these ideal conditions are rarely achieved resulting in measurement errors. Torsional vibration sensing in internal
combustion engines benefits the large inherent responses which produces a high signal to noise ratio and tends
to minimize the effects of some measurement issues. In electrical motor applications the torsional responses tend
to be smaller and the measurement issues may become more pronounced. For health monitoring applications
(i.e., shaft crack growth diagnostics) it is imperative to accurately identify and track the fault sensitive torsional
features. Tracking torsional mechanical shaft line dynamics can become challenging because of the lower signal
to noise ratio, high harmonic content induced from the motor speed controller and processing artifacts from the
Time Interval Measurement System. This work will discuss a number of potential measurement and data
processing issues in the application of TIMS for health monitoring applications. The work will focus on separating
the desired shaft line health features from all apparent in the torsional response. Of particular interest will be
practical items related to installation and analysis on large electrical driven equipment. Examples from laboratory
and field tests will be used to describe the identification and compensatory methods that have been successfully
used.
INTRODUCTION
Torsional vibration is important in analysis and diagnostics of rotating equipment. Applications are plentiful,
including the automotive [1,2,3], and the electrical power industry [4,5,6]. As the measurement of torsional
vibration on a rotating shaft is inherently more difficult than translational vibration, a significant body of work has
focused on effective torsional measurement techniques. A variety of schemes have evolved including lasers [7,8],
in line torque sensors [9], angular accelerometers [10] and time passage encoder based systems [11,12,13]. The
time passage encoder based systems have gained popularity. The method uses a fixed angular encoding device
that rotates with the shaft, such as a gear or optical rotary encoder. A transducer senses the passage of each
encoder segment. Optical encoders use a light based system to sense the passage of a rotating grating whereas

gear type shaft encoder systems have used a number

of transducers including, Hall Effect, fiber-optic
reflective light intensity, inductive and capacitive
sensors. The sensor output is a pulse train type signal
in which the passage times vary as a function of the
shaft rotation and the torsional oscillation. Either an
analog [14], or a digital Time Interval Measurement
(TIM) approach [15] can be used to determine the
torsional vibration from the pulse train. The analog
method uses a frequency to voltage converter to
change the pulse train into an analog signal
proportional to the vibration. The digital method uses a
high-speed timer to record the passage of each
encoder segment. The encoder passage times are
then compared to a reference and the time difference
between the encoder and the reference signal is used
to compute the torsional vibration. Because of the
involved
processing
TIM
torsional
vibration
Figure 1. Typical torsional vibration spectrum via
Digital Time Interval Measurement method with high
measurement is more susceptible to algorithmic
order content.
artifacts and errors such as 1) reference signal
corruption; 2) non uniform sampling intervals; 3) timer
resolution, and 4) transverse shaft movement with respect to passage sensor.
Torsional vibration sensing in internal combustion engine applications benefits from the large amplitude
responses. The larger magnitude torsional responses result from the fluctuating torque created by the inherent
design of the crank shaft and the forces transmitted through the connecting rods from the cylinders. The high
fluctuating torque excites readily the elastic torsional vibration. This tends to minimize the effects of some
measurement issues. Most electrical motors run under steadier operating conditions experiencing much smaller
torque fluctuations than an internal combustion engine. The excitation torque may come from the speed control or
the driven device (i.e., hydrodynamic forces from a pump). The torsional vibration in electrical motor driven
equipment is much smaller compared to an internal combustion engine. As such, the torsional vibrational
measurement is further compounded by a lower signal to noise ratio.
For health monitoring applications (i.e., shaft crack growth diagnostics) it is imperative to accurately identify and
track the fault sensitive torsional feature. In electric motor applications it can be difficult to extract low level natural
frequency related signals because of the presence of high amplitude order content. A typically order spectrum is
shown in Figure 1. The ratio of natural frequency to the order component amplitudes can be greater than 60 dB.
The order content can easily mask the resonances in the spectra. Hence, the order content can be viewed a
corrupting feature when attempting to identify torsional natural frequencies.
Tracking torsional mechanical shaft line dynamics can become challenging because of the lower signal to noise
ratio, high harmonic content induced from the motor speed controller and processing artifacts from the Time
Interval Measurement System. This work will discuss a number of potential measurement and data processing
issues in the application of TIMS for health monitoring
applications with electric motors. The work will focus on
Timer/Counter
Transducer
separating the desired shaft line health features from all
apparent in the torsional response. Of particular interest
Angular
will be practical items related to installation and analysis
encoder
on large electrical driven equipment.
TORSIONALTIME INTERVAL MEASUREMENT
METHOD
Conditioning amplifier
Figure 2. Digital Time Interval torsional vibration
measurement schematic.

A time interval measurement system used for torsional

vibration is seen in Figure 2. The transducer output is a
high or low voltage depending on whether it detects
white or black regions of the transducer segments. If

the shaft rotates at a constant rate in the absence of torsional vibration a periodic carrier wave is produced.
When torsional vibration occurs, it causes a fluctuation in the rotating shaft speed. The output signal is a carrier
wave modulated by the torsional vibration. A time interval measurement approach is used to demodulate the
torsional vibration from the carrier wave [15]. The technique is based on the encoder segments passage times
with respect to a stationary transducer. A triggering sensor is used to a record the times when the reference
signal has a zero value with either a positive or negative slope. Note, the term zero crossing is used for
descriptive purposes. An array containing the zero crossing times (tref) may be computed by:

t ref (n ) =

n
N f shaft

1 n N.

( s ),

(1)

When negative slope zero crossing detection is applied to the encoder signal an array (tencoder) indicative of
respective passage times is created. The difference between the encoder and reference zero crossing times are
computed by equation (2).

t (n ) = tencoder (n ) - t ref (n )

(seconds),

(2)

The angular variation due to the vibration, in degrees, can then be calculated from the time difference array:

(n ) = t (n ) f shaft 360

(deg rees).

(3)

Equation 3 can be used to create a discrete array containing the torsional vibration amplitude at the respective
time corresponding to passage of each encoder segment. Since the shaft is assumed to rotate at a constant
speed and an equal segment encoder is employed, the array is sampled on uniform angular increment basis.
With the assumption that the time interval associated with the torsional vibration is much smaller than that due to
the shaft rotation, a constant time sampling interval corresponding to the angular increments is:

t sample = f shaft N .

(4)

By combining equations (3) and (4) the shaft torsional vibration sampled with a constant interval time basis over
one revolution becomes:

where:

(t (n )) = (n ),

(5)

t (n ) = t sample n .

(6)

Although theoretically feasible, this measurement procedure has several potential problems [11,12,16,17].
Reference signal corruption: The ideal encoder reference expressed in equation (1) assumes 1) an encoder
with exactly equal geometric segments, and; 2) a constant rotational speed. In practice both these assumptions
are usually violated causing errors in reference signal used to compute the torsional vibration.
Non uniform sampling intervals: Any variations in encoder segment geometry cause the torsional vibration
signal to be sampled on a non-uniform angular increment basis. Furthermore, equation (4) assumes the shaft
speed is constant. During normal operation the shaft speed can change for two reasons 1) inherent operation of
the drive motor, and; 2) torsional oscillations in the shaft. These conditions can combine to cause the torsional
vibration to be sampled on a non-uniform interval basis (both angular and time). Therefore, spectral analysis
using constant interval algorithms such as the Discrete Fourier Transform is problematic if not precluded
depending on the severity.
Timer resolution: The derivation of Equation (2) is based on the assumption that it is possible to resolve
infinitesimally small time differences between the reference and encoder signals. However, the achievable time

resolution is governed by the clock rate used in the zero crossing detection circuit. The clock rate affects the
angular resolution of the measurement system.
Transverse shaft movement: If the transducer experiences any lateral movement with respect to rotating shaft
the zero crossing times will be affected inducing errors in the torsional vibration.
ORDER EFFECTS
The source of the order content can be either the normal operation of the rotating equipment or artifacts of the
torsional vibration instrumentation and processing. The torsional vibration computed via the Time Interval Method
[15] requires an accurate reference signal. The reference signal is assumed to; 1) have equal encoder segments
and 2) operate with a constant shaft rotational speed, sans any torsional vibration. Unless a high precision
encoder such as an incremental optical encoder is used, assumption 1 is violated. Other than synchronous
motors, the running speed does not remain constant, so assumption 2 is also questionable. These conditions
create difficulties in establishing a suitable set of reference times to calculate the torsional vibration for a non
uniform encoder (i.e., zebra tape). Furthermore, these deviations from the ideal conditions introduce
computational artifacts in the form of extraneous order content as seen in Figure 1.
To compensate for the deviations from ideal encoder segments the time interval differences used to calculate the
torsional vibration uses the measured circumference as the reference. The resulting torsional spectrum is shown
in Figure 3 and there is a marked reduction in the order content.
However, some low level order components remain. The unequal encoder segments causes the angular based
sampling to occur on a non uniform basis, even if the shaft running speed is constant. The non uniform angular
sampling is further exacerbated by running speed changes. Hence, both the encoder segments and changing
shaft speed leads to torsional vibration signals that are not sampled with a constant angular increment basis.
Recall, a premise of the FFT algorithm is that the signal to be transformed has been discretized with a constant
sampling interval. Hence, the use of a waveform sampled with non constant intervals will produce errors in the
spectra. These errors manifest themselves as the order content apparent in Figure 3. Therefore, to eliminate the
error the torsional signal is resampled to a constant time basis before application of the FFT. The resampling
method directly uses the algorithm developed in [17]. The resampling method may be outlined as follows:
1. The shaft speed is calculated and cataloged once each revolution over the acquisition of the entire torsional
vibration data array.
2. Using the shaft speed and the measured encoder angular increments the discrete torsional vibration array is
converted to a variable increment time basis.
3. A time array is created with a constant interval.

Figure 3. Torsional vibration spectrum of high

speed turbo-machine in using encoder interval
correction via the Digital Time Interval
Measurement method.

Figure 4. Torsional vibration spectrum of high

speed turbo-machine using encoder interval
correction, and constant time resampling via the
Digital Time Interval Measurement method

4. The non constant time interval discrete torsional vibration array is interpolated to obtain signal values at the
constant time intervals created in step 3.
The result is a torsional vibration array which is sampled on a constant time basis appropriate for application of a
FFT algorithm. The resampling adjusts for the non constant angular sampling and variations in running speed.
Figure 4 shows the frequency domain spectrum after application of the resampling algorithm. Note the further
elimination of the low level corrupting order content that was apparent in Figure 3. The application of the order
reduction process has now made the interpretation of the torsional spectrum much easier than the original in
Figure 1.
ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVEN OPERATIONAL EFFECTS
Torsional vibration measured from internal combustion engines and turbo-machinery tend to be dominated by the
forced responses and mechanical resonances. In addition, electric motor driven rotating equipment often contains
harmonics of the power mains frequency and speed control artifacts. The power and speed control torsional
artifacts can be strong and obscure desired mechanical shaft line features. Two electrical driven laboratory test
beds are shown is Figures 5A and 6A. Both are driven be variable speed motors. The corresponding torsional
spectra are shown in Figures 5B and 6B. A mechanical resonance is readily apparent in Figure 5B as are many
additional discrete line frequencies which are attributed to the electric drive. Figure 6B shows the corresponding
spectra for the test bed driven at several different RPM. Again a torsional resonance is identified but is obscured
by the higher amplitude speed controller related spectral components. As the spectrum from each different speed
is presented by a different color, the speed related effects are readily apparent. The presence of the electric
power harmonics and speed controller responses make it difficult to identify other desired features in the spectra.
The ability to vary a motor speed can be beneficial in separating controller artifact from mechanical related

Figure 5A. Variable speed electric motor driven

test stand.

Figure 6A. Variable speed electric motor driven

test stand.

Figure 5B. Torsional spectrum from equipment

in Figure 5A.

Figure 6B. Torsional spectrum from equipment

in Figure 6A at various rotational speeds.

TVA RCP 1 4, Theta

-3

10

torsional responses as evident in Figure 6B. For

constant speed electrical driven equipment the
separation and identification can become more
difficult. Consider the torsional response in Figure
7 from a large nuclear reactor coolant pump. This
spectrum was calculated using the algorithms
previously mentioned to address encoder
irregularities and non constant time sampling
issues. The harmonic content induced from the
power and controller is readily apparent. These
results are typical and illustrate the added level of
interpretation difficulty in evaluating torsional
responses from electrical driven equipment.

4Mar05 20:36 (S17R1)

9Mar05 1:09 (S25R1)
14Mar05 6:51 (S35R1)
19Mar05 12:33 (S45R1)
22Mar05 3:24 (S50R1)
-4

Degrees peak

10

-5

10

-6

10

50

100

150

200
250
300
Frequency (Hz)

350

400

450

500

EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION AND OPERATING

EFFECTS

Figure 7. Torsional vibration from a constant speed

driven electric motor.

A premise of the incremental time sensing

approach to measure torsional is that the 1)
transducer is remains stationary, and 2) the shaft
rotates about its centerline without lateral movement. Violating either of these assumptions can cause errors in
the incremental time passage sensing and subsequently the computed torsional vibration. In smaller equipment,
as depicted in Figures 5 and 6, these are reasonable assumptions. However, in larger equipment the possibility
of transducer or shaft movement is higher. A toothed gear encoder with Hall Effect transducers is shown in Figure
8. The transducer mounts are apparent and are designed to be adjustable, yet stiff in the tangential direction. In
this application the mounting hardware was acceptable and no elastic mounting artifacts appeared in the torsional
response. Figure 9 shows a transducer bracket constructed to hold a Hall Effect transducer on a nuclear reactor
coolant pump. The attachment locations to the pump frame were very limited and dictated the cantilever type
bracket. Although designed to be stiff as to minimize the tangential motion, during operation artifact of the bracket
lateral resonance was observed in the computed torsional response. Elastic lateral motion of the rotating shaft
can cause similar corrupting effects on the torsional data. Again, for the smaller table top size equipment seen in
Figures 5 and 6 the shaft motion is not an issue. However, in larger industrial scale equipment in Figures 8 and 9

Figure 8. AREVA IRIS loop torsional vibration

instrumentation used for seeded fault testing.

Figure 9. Bracket for torsional vibration sensor

on large electric motor driven pump.

Toothed Encoder Wheel

Hall Effect
transducer

10

-3

R C P 1 -2 9 M a r0 5 1 :0 9 (S 2 5 R 1 )
R C P 1 -2 2 2 M a r0 5 3 :2 4 (S 5 0 R 1 )

-4

Degrees

peak

10

10

Hall Effect
transducer

10

Timer/Counter

10

-5

-6

50

100

150

200
250
300
F re q u e n c y (H z )

350

400

450

500

R C P 1 -2 9 M a r0 5 1 :0 9 (S 2 5 R 1 )
R C P 1 -2 2 2 M a r0 5 3 :2 4 (S 5 0 R 1 )

B
0

(mils

peak

10

10

10

10

-1

-2

50

100

150

400

450

500

peak

10

(mils

Figure 10. Instrumentation for 3 three probe torsion

and translational vibration measurement.
some magnitude of lateral shaft movement is natural.
Consider the torsional sensing instrumentation shown in
Figure 10. By measureing the encoder time passages at
three locations around the circumference, the respective
response computed from the time passage sequences
can be related to the orthogonal elastic shaft motion and
the pure torsional motion by Equation 7 [12].

350

R C P 1 -2 9 M a r0 5 1 :0 9 (S 2 5 R 1 )
R C P 1 -2 2 2 M a r0 5 3 :2 4 (S 5 0 R 1 )

C
Signal Amplifier &
Analog/TTL

200
250
300
F re q u e n c y (H z )

10

10

-1

-2

50

100

150

200
250
300
F re q u e n c y (H z )

350

400

450

500

Figure 11. Torsional and translational spectra from

three probe transformation method; A) Torsion; B)
xaxis translation; C) y-axis translation.

(7)

v1(t) is the computed the response from transducer 1 as computed by the TIMS approach, likewise for v2(t) and
v3(t) respectively. [T] is a transformation matrix that relates the sensor positions to the leading edge passage
detection with lateral movement of movement of the shaft mounted encoder. To solve Equation (7) requires the
following measurement and preprocessing steps:
1. The TIMS torsional vibration method is applied to time passage arrays acquired from each of the three
transducers; (v1(ti), v2(tj), v3(tk). Note, the time arrays for each response are different.
2. Resample the v1(ti), v2(tj), v3(tk) arrays with a constant increment time sequence creating (v1(tn), v2(tn),
v3(tn)).
3. Solve Equation (7) at each time increment resulting in time variant arrays for the torsional response,(t),
translational response, x(t), in the x direction as defined in [T], translational response, y(t), in the y
direction as defined in [T].
4. Estimate the spectra of the torsion and two translation responses.

Figure 12. Translational spectra illustrating the identification of response features.

The solution process is computational intensive. The spectra resulting from the processing is depicted in Figure
11. The coordinate separation process greatly enhances the respective vibration features associated with the
respective motion measurement direction. By further combining with the following information:
1. Torsional finite element model analysis.
2. Bump tests on the transducer mounting brackets.
3. Operational vibration, including shaft proximity sensor spectral data during nominal operation.
4. Pump and frame natural frequencies.
additional insight into the dynamic response of the electric motor driven pump can be found.
Inspection of the torsional spectrum in Figure 11A in conjunction with a finite element model results allows modes
to be identified. The responses of modes 1 (30 Hz) and mode 3 (134) Hz are strong and well defined. However,
the response of mode 2 (46 Hz) is less obvious. Also apparent are some unidentified responses (e.g., around
80Hz), along with ever-present power mains components at 60 and 120 Hz.
Integration of this information with the intermediate spectral results (i.e., cross probe coherence functions, order
spectra, etc.) allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the captured vibration features. As an example,
Figure 12 shows a typical lateral response, with the identification of several features marked resulting from the
analysis. The effects of the transducer mount resonant motion can be more readily identified. Also the effects of
both the shaft lateral movement and the pump frame motion are separated and identified. Without the multi
channel processing these responses would be artifacts contained in the computed TIM torsional response.
Obviously, their appearance in the torsional spectrum would cloud the ability to interpret the results.
SUMMARY
Torsional vibration is inherently more difficult to measure than translational motion, it is susceptible to a number of
measurement and processing issues. High amplitude order content introduced from measurement and/or
processing of torsional vibration signals can obscure the fixed frequency components. Corrupting order content
can be produced in time interval measurement schemes from a variety of sources. Corrective algorithms have
been implemented to alleviate transducer and speed related computational errors.

Line power mains harmonics and speed controller artifacts can make torsional vibration measurement with
electrical motor drives difficult. The dynamic response of sensor mounting hardware, the shaft line and framework
can add further corruption and artifacts. The measurement and processing of multi channel TIMS sensors can be
used to separate two dimensional lateral movement and torsional responses. While the processing is
computationally intensive, the results can significantly enhance the ability to separate the respective directional
dependent features.
Although torsional vibration is more difficult from both an instrumentation and computational perspective, the data
is very useful in understanding the dynamics and responses of rotating equipment. Continued improvements to
instrumentation, installation methods and processing algorithms should improve the capabilities and
implementation costs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI Contract EP-P9801/C4961). The content
of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the EPRI, and no official endorsement
should be inferred.
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