Raj B. K. N. Rao (auth.), Raj B. K. N. Rao, A. D. Hope (eds.)-COMADEM 89 International_ Proceedings of the First International Congress on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management (C.pdf

COMADEM89
II
International
II
COMADEM89
II
International II
Proceedings of the First International

Congress on Condition Monitoring and
Diagnostic Engineering Management
(COMADEM)
Organised by Birmingham Polytechnic, 4 to 6 September 1989

Co-sponsoring Organisations
The British Institute of NDT
The Institute of Measurement & Control
The Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institute of Acoustics
The British Society for Strain Management
The Safety & Reliability Society
The Institution of Diagnostic Engineers
Shells Thornton's Research Centre
Lucas Engineering & Systems Ltd
The Society of Environmental Engineers
Conference Director
RajBKN Rao
Proceedings Editors
RajBKN Rao
ADHope
&
KOGAN
PAGE
B K N Rao, A D Hope and contributors, 1989

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or
transmission ofthis publication may be made without
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1956 (as amended), or underthe terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 7 Ridgmount Street, London
WCIE7AE.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1956
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation
to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution
and civil claims for damages.
First published in 1989 by Kogan Page Ltd,
120 Penton ville Road, London N 1 9JN
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
COMADEM International 89. Conference

COMADEM International 89: proceedings ofthe First
International Seminar on Condition Management and
Diagnostic Engineering Management.
1. Manufacturing industries. Management
I. Title II. Y. A. D. III. Rao, Raj B K N
658.5
ISBN 978-1-4684-8907-1
ISBN 978-1-4684-8905-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4684-8905-7
Dedicated to Eng, Laxmi, Aruna
Acknowledgements
This international proceedings couldn't have been produced at such

short notice without the total support, dedication, sacrifice and true
professionalism that are displayed by all the authors representing
various organisations from many parts of the world. We are indeed
very grateful for their invaluble contributions. We are also grateful to
Mr Piers Burnett and his efficient staff at Kogan Page for putting up
with our excuses and for producing such high-quality workmanship in
such a short time.
Raj B K N Rao
A D Hope
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................... 13
RajBKNRao
Key Note Lecture I
Total Quality in NDTand Condition Monitoring ..................................................... 15
JMFarJey
Key Note Lecture 2
Condition-based Maintenance - Where to Next? ..................................................... 20
D S T Rllubenheimer
Key Note Lecture 3
Condition Monitoring in Manufacturing ................................................................ 25
DA L West
Machinery/Systems Health Monitoring

Assessment of Symptom Limit Value in Vibration Condition Monitoring ....................... 29
CCempe/
Turbomachinery Failure Detection - Combination of Transfer Matrix and
Finite Element Method ...................................................................................... 34
Hengjun Zhu and R Firoozian
Diagnostic for Mechanical Systems through Analysing Variations in
Vibration Signatures ......................................................................................... 40
WJWang
Identification and Digital Control of a Turbo-charged Marine Diesel Engine ................... 45
JDForrest
Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic of a Diesel Engine through
Detecting Changes in Estimated Dynamic Models ...................................... ............. 50
Z Ding llnd J M Edmunds
The Fulmer Method of Monitoring Fluid Abrasivity as an Indication of
Fluid Condition and Machine Health ............................................
R Santilli
............ 55
Practical Gear Fault Diagnosis Using Vibration-based Methods ................................... 68

A Penter
COMPASS: A Generalized Ground-based Monitoring System ................................... 74
MJProvost
Computer-Aided Machine Health Monitoring .................................. .
BZoltowski
............... 88
A Revolution in Rotating Machinery Monitoring ..................................................... 93

TC/ark
Quality, Reliability, Health and Safety

Inspection of Re-manufactured Gearboxes Using Noise Analysis ................................. 98
DE Johnson and G J Trmal
Reliability of Aircraft High Lift Devices ................................................................. 104
K W Chan, G J Trmal, A PH May and G Southcombe
A Design Study of a Production Centrifuge with Respect to Maintainability
and Condition Monitoring .................................................................................. 111
Xu Yuankai and G Thompson
A Personal Computer Based Burn-in System ........................................................... 117
T H Ooi, K Kumar and R Lim
Development of a Micro-computer Based System for On-line Monitoring
of the Reliability Characteristics of a Recycle Gas Compressor .................................... 122
M J Harris, R S Mann and T R Moss
A Fiscal and Process Controller for a Hardboard Mill ................................................ 127
D F Pearce and A W Self
The Assessment of Availability through Simulation .................................................. 134
TTWongandSL Tang
Automatic Environmental Monitoring .................................................................. 139
A TDadd
A Supervisory Officer's Guide to Effective Interviewing/Counselling of
Personnel Suspected of Having an Alcohol Dependency Problem ................................. 144
GHVPaviour
Plant and Process Health Monitoring

System for Real Time Process Monitoring and Adaptive Control
during CNC Hole Drilling
........................................................................ 148
Y Kavaratzis and J D Maiden
Plant Health Monitoring Using a Turbine Flowmeter
J E Amadi-Echendu, E H Higham and P J Hurren
Real Time Monitoring of Roll Cooling Water Flow Rate
H Kaghazchi and R Hilliard
Health Monitoring of Motorised Valve Actuators and Similar Devices
J J S Derry and R C Waterfall
..... 154
................ 159
................... 165
Blanking Process Characterization Using Acoustic Emission

A S Mardapittas and Y H J A u
...... 170
A Monitor for the Cooling System of a Large Electrical Generator ....

M P Jenkins and S G C Hadden ct al
...... 175
Pump Performance - Its Application to Condition Monitoring.

BGMurray
The Monitoring of the Alignment of Continuous Casting Machines
W D N Pritchard and G Hyde
..... 182
...................... 187
Application of Expert Systems in COMADEM

The Adaptive Acoustic Monitoring of Aircraft Engines
R C Witcomb. P J C Skitt and P D Hewitt
.................................. 194
Power System Network Loadflow Management Using Fuzzy Knowledge-based

Expert System ..........................................................
.. .............................. 199
TChui.1 Esat. DChui and B Parsons
Towards Unmanned Manufacture: Applications of an Expert System ............................ 206
S Sadeque. R Benhadj. M M A Safa and B Dawson
Expert Systems Applied to Gas Turbine Condition Monitoring.
R M DunlopandJ Davis
............................ 212
Post Flight Analysis of EH 10l Helicopter Maintenance Data

1M ReasonandJ Davis
........ 219
A Strategy of Knowledge Elicitation for the Monitoring and Control of

Industrial Processes
BE Sanders. B A Lewis. SAC Sanders and J E Cherrington
....... 226
Computerised Technical Documentation

S Toole and M Winfield
........ 231
......... 238
A Diagnostic Expert System which Generates Explanations.

S Ghallab and J Efstathiou
The Application of Expert Systems and Computer Simulation Technologies
to Process Monitoring and Control ............................ .
K Maughan and W Walker
Computer-assisted Analysis of Evoked Transients
A S Sehmi. N B Jones and N L Robinson
.......... 242
.............................. 247
Information/Data Management
Development of Computer-aided Data Acquisition, Control and Analysis System
(CADACAS) for Remote Condition Monitoring
....................................... 254
CONwagboso. TL WhomesandPBDavies
Data Acquisition System for High Strain Fatigue Testing ............................................ 260
P Adkin. R J Rider and SJ Harvey
On Maintaining and Reasoning with Incomplete Information
NObeid
Decision Support Systems for Manufacturing Management
E J Fletcher and P Smith
...................... 266
............................... 271
Concurrent System Behaviour ............................................................................. 276

SSawyers
Condition-based Maintenance Management

Inspect or Monitor? - How to choose Maintenance Policy by Matrix Algebre
DJSherwin
.... 281
Maintenance Management Technique for Small-sized Road Construction Companies ....... 290
MEl Shabrawy
Condition-based Maintenance System Engineering .................................................. 303

GAllenby
Effective Machinery Fault Diagnosis Avoids Unnecessary Gearbox
Maintenance (Case Study) .................................................................................. 308
AHEISherif
Automatic Condition Monitoring in the Hot Strip Mill of
Rautaruukki Oy Raahe Steel Works ..................................................................... 314
MPajukoski
On-line Surveillance for Predictive Maintenance in a Hazardous Environment ................ 325
PWHills
Cost-effective Condition Monitoring ..................................................................... 335
CNicholls
Debris Counting for Consistent Monitoring ............................................................ 348
TMHunt
Monitoring Liquid Levels ................................................................................... 353
TMHunt
Why Put Up with Bearing Failures? ...................................................................... 358
S N Harvey and A G Herraty
Computerised Maintenance Scheme for a Process Industry
Using Monte-Carlo Simulation Technique .............................................................. 364
M Ananda Rao. K R Divakar Roy and K Satyanarayana
The Fundamentals of, and the Application of Computers to, Condition
Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance ................................................................ 372
JTranter
The Use of Thermography in Industrial Predictive Maintenance ., ................................ 378
CNicholl.s
Set Vibration Alarm Levels without Guesswork ....................................................... 386
R GSmileyandT J Murphy
Advances in Instrumentation and Control Technology

Sampling Techniques for Monitoring Sinusoidal Waveforms ....................................... 397
GDBergman
Surface Temperature and Heat Flow Measurement .................................................. 402
TKimber
High Quality Non-contact Measurement Using Capacitance Gauges ............................. 409
J M Hale. H Walton and G McCarten
Analysis of Sigma Delta Modulators ..................................................................... 414
C P Lewis and C M Gordon
Dynamic Tip Clearance Measurements in Axial Flow Compressors .............................. 419
CJParrish
A Portable Scanning Laser Vibrometer for Surface Vibration Analysis .......................... 424
C J D Pickering. N R N Gant and N A Halliwell
Clean Window Design for Optical Access

P 1 Foster lind P Panaka
Numerical Solution of the Matrix Riccati Equation for a
Time Variant Jet Engine System
S M Mahmoud and I H Farhan
Non-linear Optimal Tracking Problem for Jet Engine Control
..... 429
..... 434
....... 439
Advances in Diagnostic Technology

Technical Diagnostics of Shafts and Bearings by Analysing Relative Speeds
A Sturm and T Kid
Ferrogram Quantitive Analyser - Its Application in Industn
Huo Yuxiang and Xu Xiaodi
Methods and Experiences in the Application ofTechnieal Diagnosis for
Prevention and Early Detection of Damages to Components of the
Water-Stearn-Cycle of Thermal Power Stations
...................... .
H Kalina and B Hahn
. .444
.450
. .453
Energy Monitoring and Management

An Experimental Facility for Investigation into the Control and Monitoring of
Energy Consumption of V A V and CA V Air Conditioning Systems
A Soon and A Ameen
... .458
Advanced Control Techniques for Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) .......... 463
GS Virk. K I H Alkadhimi. 1 MChcungandD Loveday
Energy Management and Optimisation Using Adaptive Control Techniques
TT AI-Shcmmcri and C Bouchalis
..... .469
Condition Monitoring of Offshore Structures and Installations

Monitoring and Control of Unmanned Machinery at Sea
DGRedpath
Condition Monitoring for Fatigue - Implications of Fatigue Crack Shape.
RASmith
Biofouling on Offshore Installations - An Impact and Monitoring Assessment
S Kapoor. K 1 Chauhan. A K Srivastava. R Saxena and K L Goyal
... 477
.......... .483
..... 488
Advances in Non-destructive Testing (NDT)/Non-destructive

Evaluation (NDE)
The Monitoring of Industrial Processes Using Ultrasound
B C Haywood. C B Scruby and K A Stacey
Condition Monitoring of British Gas Pipelines
M1Thomas
..... 494
.499
Novel Application of COMADEM Techniques

Research on Quantitave Ferrography Technology .................................................... 508
Xu Xiaodi. Qiao Yufei and Huo Yuxiang
Wear Detection of a Vane Using a Novel Flowmeter Phenomenon ............................... 513
K Watkins and J Watton
Condition Monitoring Using Conventional Process Instrumentation ............................. 520
P J Hurren, J E Amadi-Echendu and E H Higham
Condition Monitoring of Bends in Pneumatic Conveying Systems ................................. 525
R M Henry and M S M AJ-FaysaJe
Stress Wave Sensing - A New Measurand for Condition Monitoring ............................. 530
T J Holroyd and S King
Novel Adaptive Control Schemes for Peripheral Milling ............................................ 535
F Gajendran and M A Joseph
A New Technique for Condition Monitoring of Rolling Element Bearings
Using a Portable Data Collector ........................................................................... 539
G A Ratcliffe
Continuing Education and Training in COMADEM

On Condition Monitoring and Maintenance ............................................................ 545
TMEZaal
Computer-based Training in Statistical Quality Control ............................................. 550
D Holmes. K McKelvie. D Meehan. A Price and D Rush
A Project to Examine the Use of Open Learning Techniques in COMADEM .................. 555
RHarding
Author Index .................................................................................................. 559
13
Introduction
RajB KNRao
Conference Director, Birmingham Polytechnic
Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management (COMADEM) is a relatively

new field that has already made its mark in a wide range of industries. But all the signs are that
even more will be required of researchers in the field over the next decade, for COMADEM
directly addresses a whole range of issues that are likely to become increasingly important to
companies as competitiveness increases along with the uncertainties resulting from rapid
technological change. Already for example, businesses are having to scrutinize the economics of
plant and machinery in greater detail than ever before; reliability is becoming a crucial factor as
the costs of unscheduled breakdowns rise and there is increasing pressure on companies to
demonstrate and assure improved health and safety conditions, especially in light of the growing
number of catastrophic accidents that have occured throughout the world.
Because it offers solutions to these and similar problems, COMADEM is now gaining an
international reputation as a problem-solving, user-friendly and financially beneficial
multi-discipline with immense potential. Many people at the senior management level are now
convinced that COMADEM has much to offer and are wasting no time in reaping maximum
benefit from the latest developments. The fact that the first UK informal seminar on
COMADEM - COMADEM 88 - proved to be a great success and had a truly international
flavour reflected this growing interest in the new field. In organizing this year's conference we
were fortunate in having the ready cooperation and friendly support of many major professional,
scientific and engineering institutions and some enlightened industrial establishments. On the
basis of this healthy collaboration we are very proud and privileged to launch The First
International Congress on Condition Monitoring & Diagnostic Engineering Management
(COMADEM 89 International). As is evident from the contents of these proceedings, both the
national and international response to this grand event has been simply magnificent. I am sure that
the readership will derive the maximum benefits from these invaluble contributions which are
designed to solve the many challenges posed to COMADEM by industry.
Next year's event, COMADEM 90 International, will be held at Brunei University in July. May
I take this opportunity of inviting you to join us in this great and exciting venture.
Total Quality in NDT and Condition Monitoring
J M Farley
Babcock Energy Ltd, Technology Centre, Renfrew, UK
ABSTRACT
NDT, Condition Honitoring and Diagnostic Engineering services each
provide engineers and management with information on which decisions
will be based.
These decisions potentially have health, safety and
economic consequences.
These consequences can be very great and
measured in monetary terms will often far outweigh the cost of the
service.
The resultant cost benefit is often the reason why NDT or
condition monitoring is attractive. Conversely the cost consequences of
incorrect diagnosis are the reason why everyone involved in NDT or
condition monitoring COMADEM must be acutely conscious of quality.
A
key objective in developing and providing NDT, Condition Monitoring and
Diagnostic Engineering services must be "Total Quality".
This paper concentrates on this theme, and will be illustrated by
examples drawn from the experience of a Technology Centre which serves
the energy industries and provides a wide variety of NDT, condition
monitoring and diagnostic services.
1.
THE VALUE OF NDT AND CONDITION MONITORING

NDT, condition moni toring and diagnostic engineering each seek to
provide engineers and management with information on which to base
their decisions. These decisions potentially have economic, health,
and safety consequences which can be very great and hence the
quality of the information on which they are based is paramount.
Examples abound :
*
*
*
*
NDT of nuclear reactor plant

vibration monitoring of large turbo generators
in power stations
condition monitoring of gas compressors and turbines
leak and pressure monitoring of pipelines
16
COMADEM 89 International
*
*
fire detection in jet engines

fault detection in railway signalling
monitoring of emissions from incinerator plant
remanent life assessment of boiler pressure parts
security checking of airline baggage.
In many cases significant economic benefits accrue from extending

the life or operating time of plant or machinery.
Maintenance can
be planned.
Unneccessary shut-downs can be avoided.
The cost of
the service will frequently be orders of magnitude less than the
cost of stopping or closing the plant.
Health and safety benefits similarly can be enormous. The scale of
modern engineering (eg power stations, oil rigs, petrochemical
plants, jumbo jets, and high speed trains) is such that failures can
be extremely costly and lead to loss of life on an quite
unacceptable scale.
Such failures have to be avoided.
NOT,
condition monitoring and diagnostic engineering each have important
roles to play in preventing failures and avoiding disasters.
For these reasons we seek by conferences such as COMADEM 89
INTERNATIONAL
and
through
bodies
such
as
the
sponsoring
organisations to promote awareness of the technologies of NOT, of
condition monitoring and of diagnostic engineering.
Increased
awareness should bring increased economic,
health and safety
benefits to society.
There are many examples of such benefits
described in the Proceedings of this conference, and that held in
1988 (Rao and Hope, 1988).
2.
THE NEEO FOR QUALITY

As
society
increasingly becomes dependent
on NOT,
condition
monitoring and diagnostic engineering it becomes ever more important
that the technologies and the information they generate can be
relied upon.
In other words, the quality of the information
supplied to the customers of our services is paramount.
The
consequences of errors or lack of quality in the information
supplied can be disasterous in terms of economics or loss of life.
It is only necessary to review the unfortunate disasters of the past
year and to imagine how each might have been caused by a failure of
NOT,
condition monitoring or diagnostic engineering to
focus
attention on our responsibility to seek exemplary quality. Consider
for example :
*
*
*
the Piper Alpha platform explosion

the Clapham rail crash
the Lockerbie air disaster
17
Key Note Lecture 1
the Ml plane crash
the USSR gas pipeline explosion.
Can we be sure that none of these disasters was caused by a lack of

quality in NDT, condition monitoring or diagnostic engineering?
We certainly wish to claim that these technologies have an important
role in preventing such accidents.
We need to be confident of the
"total quality" of the services we offer.
3.
DEFINITION OF TOTAL QUALITY

"Total Quality" has its roots in the practices of Japanese
manufacturing industry but it is now invoked world-wide and applied
to services as well as manufacturing.
A recent book on Total Quality Management (Chase,
readers with the foreword :
1988) exhorts its
"Commitment to Total Quality is a way of life.

It is the
fundamental ingredient which makes all business goals attainable at
a competitive cost.
Where the question is survival, the answer is
quality."
The author continues "In the increasingly competitive
world of the late 1980's quality is no longer an optional extra, it
is an essential strategy.
Without quality an organisation cannot
survi ve.
The generation of quali ty products and services demands
total commitment from the entire workforce.
It requires Total
Quali ty Management."
In the
context
of NDT,
condi tion monitoring and diagnos tic
engineering technologies, "Total Quality" may be defined as the
"overall ability of a product or services to meet the needs of a
customer".
The inclusion of the adjective overall is
very
significant. Each stage in the overall service is important
Specification
Are the customer's needs properly

defined and understood?
Product/Service
Does the product/service properly

meet the customer's needs? Will the
service be correctly executed?
Results
Are the results definitive?

Are the results properly qualified
and communicated to the customer?
Total quality clearly requires close co-operation between the

customer (user) and the supplier of a service. Whether the customer
and supplier are within the same organisation or separate companies
it is vital that they communicate fully.
Commercial pressures have
to be taken into account.
The customer will get what he pays for
18
and if this is less than he needs the supplier of the service must
make this clear!
4.
ASSURANCE OF QUALITY
Whilst the first stage in attaining total quality is certainly
achieved by training, awareness and motivation of staff, full
assurance is only possible through the application of formal quality
management systems designed to ensure that each stage of a project
is adequately executed.
Guidance on such quality systems is given
in the British Standards for quality systems (BS 5750) and in their
international equivalents.
These standards give guidance against a set of criteria which affect
quality.
Relevant to NDT, condition monitoring and diagnostic
engineering are
Organisation
Specification
Control of documents
Control of test equipment
Qualification of test equipment

and procedures
Training and Qualification of
personnel
Reporting of results
Audits
In the particular case of NDT, initially because of the requirements

of manufacturing industry in the energy, defence and aerospace
sectors, an extensive quality infrastructure has been built up
against these criteria.
As condition monitoring and diagnostic
engineering grow in use it can be expected that a similar
infrastructure will develop to serve the quest for quality in these
technologies.
In the NDT field test procedures have been developed and formulated
into national standards, calibration and assessment techniques have
been designed for many types of equipment, methods for training and
qualification of inspection personnel have been developed and
operated for several years, and moves are in progress towards
establishing systems for qualification of companies which provide
NDT services.
In each of these areas developments in the UK have
been
mirrored
by
developments
on
the
international
scene.
Particularly important is the development of an International
Standard for qualification and certification of personnel in NDT.
This new standard will provide an umbrella under which the various
existing national schemes (PCN, ASNT, COFREND) can be harmonised.
In the formulation of the international standard much debate has
taken place between those who believe that personnel certification
is the responsibility of the employer and those who consider
independent central certification to be an essential.
The
Key Note Lecture 1
19
international debate appears to have come down on the side of

central certification, at least at the higher Levels (Levels 2 and
3) of personnel.
At its meeting in Amsterdam in April 1989 the
International Committee for NDT endorsed in principle the latest
draft of the standard.
Many companies have established full quality systems covering their
NDT operations.
This includes companies providing field services
(McNulty, 1988; Gallagher, 1988).
There are many examples of
projects where
full
quality
management
principles
have
been
followed.
The inspection of the vessels of pressurised water
reactors for the UK nuclear power programme provides several such
examples (Farley, 1987).
Unfortunately it is not difficult to find other examples where NDT
and condition monitoring services have failed to satisfy the needs
of the customer.
Generally in these cases the problem would have
been avoided if the principles of Total Quality Management had been
followed.
5.
RECOlfMENDATION
One of the objectives of the C0l1ADEM 89 INTERNATIONAL conference
should be to focus attention on the achievement of "total quality"
especially in those situations where a lack of quality could have
serious consequences: economic, health or safety.
6.
REFERENCES
BS 5750 "Quality Systems" published British Standards Institution in
several parts.
Chase R L (Ed), "Total Qual! ty Management", IFS Publication UK 1988.
Farley J M, "Automated Ultrasonic NDT of Reactor Pressure Vessels
during their manufacture" in Volume 1 of Non-Destructive Testing the Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on NDT, Pergammon
Press, 1988.
Gallagher M E and Bosward M E, "Quality Assurance applied to NDT" in
Volume 1 of Non-Destructive Testing - the Proceedings of the 4th
European Conference on NDT, Pergammon Press, 1988.
McNulty A L and Calow P, "The Role of Quali ty Assurance wi thin a
Service Inspection Company in Volume 1 of Non-Destructive Testing the Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on NDT, Pergammon
Press, 1988.
Rao R B K M and Hope A D, "COMADEM 88" Proceedings of the First UK
Seminar
on
Condition
Monitoring
and
Diagnostic
Engineering
Management; Kogan Page 1988.
Condition-based Maintenance - Where to Next?
D S T Raubenheimer
Shell Research Ltd, Thornton Research Centre, UK
When I was invited to present the keynote address to this conference, it

gave me an opportunity to take a step back and review the scene of
condition monitoring and diagnostic engineering management as it is in
1989. Having attended gatherings of a similar nature and perused the
proceedings of several others, seasoning the mix with the experience in the
Shell Group I find the scene rather bewildering. Improvements in tools for
maintenance strategies have improved markedly over the last 10 years,
however, there is confusion in the industry about how to select and manage
a condition-based
maintenance system
appropriate to
a
particular
application. This is perhaps due to the plethora of new kit on the market,
the proliferation of consultants and advisers, and because there is no
unanbiguous revelation how or where significant savings can be made by
adopting condition-based maintenance.
Confusion is compounded by variant advice, such as the situation where in
one conference contradictory papers were presented.
One paper concluded
that there was no substitute for human senses for condition monitoring, and
recommended that personnel inspection of operating equipment was preferred
to automatic data logging and analysis. Another paper dismissed personnel
intervention and went on to describe an instrumented scenario with fully
automated, intelligent
logic for
data acquisition
and
diagnostic
maintenance. Which author are we to believe?
Let me add some experiences from the Exploration and Production division of
the Shell Group.
To set the scene, Shell operates worldwide, from the
frozen arctic to tropical jungles, on and under many seas and oceans.
Within this division the operating cost in 1987 was
approximately
U.S.$3 billion. Of that, one third was spent on maintenance, involving
some 12 000 staff. Putting a magnifying glass to those figures to see
where we spent the maintenance budget is like looking for an electron; the
closer you look, the more fuzzy it becomes.
I have however, exposed one
small fragment of this expenditure. In the United Kingdom, in the same year
we spent U.S.$4 million on replacement mechanical seals for centrifugal
pumps. You will begin to realise that maintenance is a vast overhead on
our operations.
We are not unique in this respect.
I have not seen any company balance
sheet where the cost of maintenance is listed as an item, I suspect that
the maintenance budget is regarded by most accountants as simply another
overhead on the operating cost. A maintenance department is seen to have
fulfilled its task if it remains within its budget, yet its impact on the
cost of production is several orders of magnitude greater than its direct
Key Note Lecture 2
21
cost. Inadequate attention to the cost of maintenance has been the funeral
of many an organisation.
Turning our attention to the application of condition-based maintenance,
condition monitoring is seen by some as measuring every parameter that is
measurable without a proper understanding of the reason why. To add spice
to the cocktail, alarms and shutdowns are fitted to each measuring point to
ensure maximum nuisance value.
Let us look at one gas turbine driven
centrifugal compressor installed on a platform in the North Sea for an
example of this practice.
This machine was fully instrumented for
diagnostics and condition-based maintenance. There were shaft proximity
probes, keyphasers and bearing metal temperature thermocouples, amounting
to no fewer than 60 instrumentation points on the rotating train alone.
Each detecting point was, of course, equipped with alarm and shutdown
limits. The mean time between failure of these delicate sensors or the
wiring to them in an industrial invironment is in the region of 2000 to
5000 hours. It was calculated that the machine would suffer a spurious
instrumentation trip every 2 hours from these elements alone. The total
number of instrumentation sensors on the complete compressor installation
runs into several hundred, the overall reliability can be, and is in
practice, very poor. There was no predetermined plan for condition-based
maintenance on this installation, the operators hoped that the monuments of
computer printouts the system produced would somehow magically reduce
maintenance effort and cost. As to be expected, it did nothing of the
sort.
Pursuing the subje~t of gas turbine instrumentation a little further, we
find that many operators are now calling for fitting proximity probes to
gas turbines for rotor vibration measurement.
This is primarily for
detection of bearing deterioration.
Our experience suggests however that
gas turbine bearings are inherently very reliable; we have no recorded
failures of main shaft bearings due to intrinsic bearing faults in a fleet
of more than 500 engines over a 10 year period.
Bearing failures are
almost exclusively the result of a failure elsewhere, notably of the
lubrication supply. On many engine designs, a proximity probe within the
engine can only be accessed for maintenance on complete strip-down.
When
the probe inevitably fails, the maintenance manager is not going to get a
sympathetic hearing from operations if he proposes taking the machine out
of service for several days, or weeks, for a probe change. Inevitably the
machine will be left to run without operational shaft proximity probes
until the next engine overhaul. What value can be gained from a poorly
placed sensor, and then ignoring it when it fails?
Would it not be far
better to provide monitoring only on the functions which have known modes
of deterioration and manifestation, and then only to use sensors which can
be easily accessed for repair to maintain the integrity of the whole
system?
In one of our operations, the report by the team charged with implementing
lube oil condition monitoring on large gas turbine driven compressors,
pumps and generator sets concluded that nothing could be found in the lube
oil samples. The report recommended that lube oil condition monitoring was
inappropriate. The management of that operation is now convinced that
there is no value in implementing such a scheme. You may be as surprised
as I am, until their report is probed a little deeper. The sampling of the
22
oil for analysis was left to unskilled personnel without giving them
precise instructions as to where the samples were to be drawn.
They
naturally took the samples from the most easily accessible points - which
were test cocks on the bearing oil supply lines, downstream of pumps,
coolers and high efficiency filters. Needless to say that the input data
to the monitoring system was unrepresentative of the areas of interest, and
therefore quite useless for a condition monitoring strategy.
You would not be faulted for believing that the situation I have described
to you is chaotic.
However, from the gloom a few signposts emerge
indicating the way ahead. First, delicate and sensitive sensors mounted in
inaccessible locations are the
cause of many hard-wired
condition
monitoring systems falling into
disrepute.
Laboratory or
test-bed
instrumentation will
not suffice
for a
production or
industrial
environment. Simple, robust, reliable and accessible sensors measuring
only essential parameters will provide the input to a useful condition
monitoring system.
Secondly, data is not information; it only becomes
meaningful when there is the time and skill to analyse it and decide
whether it is of any relevance. There have been many systems which were
over-sold with the result that the users were flooded with either too much
or the wrong data for their application.
Thirdly, users are too often
presented with new techniques without an accompanying explanation or
discussion of their appropriate
application.
Fascinating as
these
techniques may be, it is disturbing that they are presented in a way that
leads us to believe that we can pick and choose between the offerings
without proper guidance as to the appropriateness of the techniques to the
application. Users are persuaded to concentrate on the means rather than
the needs, yet it is only through proper matching of techniques to needs
that the goal of successful, efficient management of maintenance can be
attained. All too often the driving force appears to be instrumentation
and/or data analysis techniques
not the efficient management
of
maintenance. Could it be because there is a lack of clarity of objectives?
Yet a further question begs attention. Where does condition monitoring end
and diagnostics begin? An operator of equipment requires to know with a
reasonable level of confidence that his equipment is in a satisfactory
condition for continued operation. The condition monitoring system should
give him that assurance.
When the condition monitoring system tells him
that equipment deterioration has reached a level demanding attention, the
diagnostic system must be called into play.
The diagnostic package will
tell the maintainer what is deteriorating, and when repair will he
required.
Condition monitoring need only be screening of the most
important operating parameters of the equipment, the diagnostic package
will inevitably be more sophisticated to fulfil its purpose.
The two
systems should be considered separately; the condition monitoring system
permanently attached to the equipment, perhaps recording the information
received to assist in fault diagnosis, the diagnostic equipment possibly
portable and only brought into operation when needed.
I recognise that
there is an overlap between the two concepts, perhaps we would secure a
better distinction by redefining the two phases of condition monitoring as
screening and diagnostics.
23
Key Note Lecture 2
The operating companies of Shell have experimented with various forms of

condition monitoring and condition-based maintenance. There was sufficient
concern that discernable benefits were not being achieved to prompt a call
for a condition monitoring research programme. The goal of the project" was
to develop a methodology whereby equipment could be analysed to determine
whether the equipment under consideration had modes of deterioration with
understandable properties, whether these properties could be detected, and
finally how they were best detected. The fundamental question being asked
by operators was: "What is the condition of my equipment, and how long can
I run i t without risk of unexpected failure?" This question led to the key
requirements of any condition-based
maintenance plan and
condition
monitoring package, namely:
1.
Determination of the equipment on which condition monitoring will

yield improved availability.
2.
Results must be repeatible using low skill levels.
3.
Does not confuse equipment protection with condition monitoring.
4.
It must not
shutdowns.
5.
There must be a high yield for a low expenditure.
6.
The package must

maintainers.
interfere
be
with
operations
acceptable to
by
causing
management,
spurious
operators
and
We have successfully developed a methodology for identifying the principal

modes of deterioration of running equipment, and of determining how these
deteriorations are revealed.
Only at this stage do we seek methods of
screening these manifestations in the simplest manner possible.
Positive
screening of a deterioration calls in the diagnostic capability.
Our
objective has been to achieve practical condition-based maintenance on
equipment where it will be effective when using the simplest, most
effective techniques available on a foundation of a sound, methodical
analysis of the equipment's characteristics.
One of the issues affecting condition-based maintenance is not the
determination of how to introduce condition monitoring, but whether to
introduce it.
The activity must be driven by the equipment operating
stategy, and not by instrumentation or data processing technology.
The
monitoring must
be
target ted at
specific,
life-limiting
machine
deteriorations, with the objective of bringing demonstrable improvements in
reliability and operating costs.
Condition monitoring will not prevent failures. What it will do is to
enable progressive deteriorations to be detected and appropriate remedial
action to be planned. The most likely time for a spurious failure to occur
is right now; the malfunction detection and protection system is there to
prevent component failure from becoming a catastrophe.
Malfunction
detection and condition monitoring are thus separate functions and should
24
be treated
accordingly.
There
will often
be a
commonality
of
instrumentation for practical reasons but that does not change the concept.
It is important to realise that in any situtation of change, particularly
when new systems are being implemented, any problems in the introduction
can quickly lead to reverting back to old ways. Unless e~efully managed,
installation of the new idea or technique can fall into disrepute. This is
confirmed by the large number of instruments and systems purchased to
conduct a monitoring function that are now out of commission, not because
the system failed to perform the task it was purchased for, but because
there was no overall plan for execution of condition-based maintenance.
We live in an exciting age when many organisations are critically examining
their operating costs and manning practices. The microchip is presenting
many challenges to accepted practices, yet we still have a very long way to
go in accepting that many cherished customs are no longer valid.
The
windows through which we can see and perhaps absorb the technological
advances being made are at conferences such as this one.
In this conference an international audience will hear some 95 papers by
learned authors. There will be much to be learnt from the presentations,
but perhaps the finest opportunity for learning is by discussion with
fellow practitioners during the breaks and social events. One point does
strike me, however.
In the past year I am aware of no fewer than five
congresses, conferences or seminars on the same theme as this one.
I
wonder if the art would not be better served by some consolidation, as many
people who should be here cannot spare the time to prepare presentations
and attend several events on a similar subject.
Condition monitoring and condition-based maintenance must be the way ahead
for improved plant operability and reduced operating costs. A conference
such as this offers opportunities for discovering some of the techniques
available. Those techniques that succeed and enjoy wide acceptance will
follow the K.I.S.S. principle - Keep It Simple, Simon.
I wish you a
successful conference.
Condition Monitoring in Manufacture
D A L West
Chairman, Manufacturing Assets Management Working Party,
Institution of Production Engineers, UK
Abstract
The potential benefits of condition monitoring to present-day competitive
manufacturing are outlined, together with future trends and the need for
well integrated factory maintenance management policies. It also highlights
the Institution's leading initiatives in these activities.
1. TODAY'S MANUFACTURING SCENE

1.1. In recent years condition monitoring has developed into an exact
science and is still rapidly advancing. This is largely due to the
introduction of modern electronics, sensing devices and data capture
equipment, and success stories of it's application exist in many areas,
mainly in the processing and service industries. Looking specifically at
manufacturing, which mainly concerns production operations and supporting
activities, under present-day international conditions it is not enough to
be good at operations - companies must be better in many respects than
their other worldwide competitors. If they are not then customers will not
choose their products. Why should they buy goods which are more expensive,
less well designed, or of lower quality, not promptly delivered and maybe
unreliable in service?
1.2. So manufacturing profitability and efficiency are linked, and high
performance of factory facilities is vital. It is here that condition
monitoring can really come into its own, and be very cost-effective in
securing reliable and economical manufacturing results. Many manufacturers
are also realising that maintenance can also be a large cost-centre and a
drain on profits. Whilst one safeguard is to ensure asset condition and
reliable production, on the other hand many are seeking maintenance costcutting in order to stay competitive or improve their productivity. Here
again there is growing awareness that a predictive policy employing
appropriate condition monitoring techniques is the solution.
26
2. THE INSTITUTION'S ROLE

2.1. Adoption of best practices is now a much used topical term in industry
yet it is still one which best sums up the aim behind the Institution of
Production Engineers' initiatives on condition monitoring - and quite a lot
has happened in the past two years since the first steps were taken to
focus attention upon it. Condition monitoring in manufacturing is
unquestionably here to stay, and is likely to make a significant
contribution in the application of predictive maintenance and the quest for
excellence in competitive manufacturing. In the manufacturing field, quite
rightly it is this Institution which aims to bring together all the facets
of condition monitoring to all forms of production. It entirely
concentrates its efforts on these matters and has adopted a positive role
in these endeavours to date - some of which are outlined later.
3. A GLIMPSE AT THE FUTURE
3.1. Although many manufacturers are aware of the benefits of condition
monitoring and have in fact adopted it as part of their maintenance policy,
there is still a largish majority, both those using advanced technology or
batch systems, who are uninformed or apparently disinterested in its
application. Yet potential maintenance savings in UK industry are really
significant, and a good proportion of this can possibly be readily reaped
through predictive maintenance via condition monitoring techniques. It is
now fairly common knowledge that the recent industrial maintenance study
commissioned by the Department of Industry revealed a potential saving of
1.5 billion yearly, and suggested that a modest 5% increase in machine
availability could secure a 30% profitability improvement for some
companies. But condition monitoring's total thrust is aimed at increased
availability of manufacturing assets, and it is the condition of factories
which is an important key factor in our manufacturing future.
3.2. Quite noticeably now in factory maintenance the old practices of
operating until failure have at least been revised to use planned
maintenance, with time-based preventive methods, and encouragingly more and
more manufacturers are adopting the multi-factor approach, incorporating
both plus predictive techniques - but more remains to be done, not the
least of which is still to get the message across!
3.3. Yet facts speak for themselves and are supported by those who have
applied predictive methods. Responding only to failures can be very
draining on profits and a time-based approach can also be wasteful. Claims
are now made that although time-based maintenance is 30% cheaper than
running to failure, a policy based on health checks is 30% cheaper again,
with a resulting considerably greater impact on production results. So
into the future the technology and methods do already exist to safeguard
and upkeep factory assets to the standards demanded by the market place.
However it is apparent that several features are important in the years
ahead to promote the wider application of predictive maintenance in
manufacturing via condition monitoring. Amongst these are Awareness and total commitment at board levels to the potential benefits
and application of predictive maintenance, and to the formulation of
maintenance policies which reflect its importance.
Manufacturing systems designers and providers must also recognize more
the life-cycle economics of their end-products. Inherent reliability is
paramount, so more emphasis is needed on built-in monitoring features
and the maintainability of manufacturing machinery.
Key Note Lecture 3
27
Shop floor changes are also needed to bring about closer integration
between producers and maintainers at every level - from line managers to
the workforce. Market forces may dictate the total integration of
maintenance as an element of the whole product and not isolated as a
separate service.
Then there is the question of human understanding and training.
Predictive maintenance is far removed from the old perceived image, so
substantial training efforts are essential. Historically maintenance
has been a neglected activity so persuasion to change and the bridging
of skills gaps for predictive practices are valid topics, and
manufacturers with foresight will be seeking ways in which production
and maintenance tasks can be merged into their product lines and
business units.
As to condition monitoring itself the way forward will include new and
improved techniques and other means of making it more user-friendly,
reliable and simpler to interpret results. So in summary developments
will result in: - fewer measurements being needed - greater application of machine
minding - better detection of imminent failures - more simple and
and easily operated equipment - greater reliability and robustness
of kits - increased use of trend monitoring - further use of auto
data collection, with less effort and reduced paperwork - and more
expert systems aid.
3.4. Of necessity this is only a brief outline, but if many were adopted
then really great progress would be achieved in turning factory maintenance
into a profitable activity. As is often the case it is usually a question
of attitudes and the human dimension, so here too condition monitoring as a
modern manufacturing tool will either fail or be an acclaimed success.
4. CONDITION MONITORING AND FACTORY MAINTENANCE POLICY
4.1. In competitive manufacturing maintenance aims concern securing
economic benefits through deliberate actions by top management. Sadly
maintenance policy formulation is not normally regarded as high priority.
Apart from safer operations, use of condition monitoring will lead to
reduced maintenance costs, improved availability and factory performance,
but it must complement other methods, perhaps even being only justifiable
for critical or bottleneck plant.
4.2. New thinking is therefore highly recommended - the deliberate action
of defining, setting-down and control of policy in a well written published
statement for all those involved. This must include management indicators
which are simple and easily understood and to which everybody can relate
and appreciate.
5. MANUFACTURING ASSETS MANAGEMENT
5.1 The Institution promotes good factory management as a step towards
production efficiency - hence the development for the original Condition
Monitoring Working Party's activities into a wider spectrum, including
economic factors such as optimising life-cycle costs from original design,
construction to operation, maintenance and eventual redundancy. Because
maintenance features so strongly in cost terms - often considerably outweighing initial capital outlay - predictive techniques are an important
part in keeping these in check. The real need is to concentrate on
reliability and maintainability especially in automated factories involving
large capital sums.
28
5.2. Many sites have developed product or cellular units, and this again
strengthens the case for maintenance not being a watertight compartment,
and it seems quite sensible that future manufacturing systems and
industrial engineering functions should take responsibility for all asset
management activities - another step towards total integration.
6. THE INSTITUTION'S INITIATIVES
6.1. The Institution has pioneered the cause in manufacturing for
predictive maintenance adoption. Set-up in 1987 and titled the Condition
Monitoring Working Party it operated within the Technical Policy framework.
One of the first tasks was compiling its own Policy Statement, and in brief,
a number of events and actions have already been successfully completed or
are well in hand; these are summarised.
Three seminars concentrating on condition monitoring application mainly
as awareness events.
Publication of a Management Guide to Condition Monitoring in Manufacturing
which is available shortly.
Publication of an Information Pack. The second edition should be
available this year.
Regular quarterly updates in Manufacturing Engineer which also gives
informative news by way of new applications and techniques. The next
one in the series, Condition Monitoring Review, will be this autumn.
Formation of a CMM Club is being considered and the idea promoted within the
membership and externally.
Annual Condition Monitoring Award under industrial sponsorship, as a
prize for practical application by a post-graduate manufacturing trainee
is being explored.
6.2. Earlier this year the new name of Manufacturing Assets Management was
adopted to cater for the wider role, but condition monitoring still has a
prominent place. Amongst future new initiatives are A seminar next April entitled 'Availability - A Key to Competitive
Manufacturing'. This will focus on how to achieve high reliability and
maintainability for good factory performance.
Possibility of a conference on factory assets management when latest
maintenance and predictive techniques would again strongly feature.
Possible involvement with the DTI's 'Managing Into the 90's' programme
on maintenance best practice awareness and promotion.
7. INTO EUROPE
7.1. Manufacturing maintenance must inevitably become an increasingly
important feature for sustaining that competitive edge - in fact, the
predictive method is the 'Just in Time' approach for the new maintenance
era. Then there is 1992! How does British maintenance fare against this
arena? In some other European countries it is well to the fore or is
nationally sponsored. Manufacturers in France, Sweden, Holland and Germany
are deploying condition monitoring techniques in maintaining their
production lines and the hope is that some rapport will emerge within a
truly European spirit.
7.2. For it's part the Institution will continue to assist, encourage and
fully support efforts leading to better upkeep of factory facilities and
is already establishing some European liaison with common interests and for
interchange.
Assessment of Symptom Limit Value in Vibration

Condition Monitoring
Czeslaw Cempel
Poznan University of Technology ,3 Piotrowo str. 60-965 Poznan, Poland
Summary
Several techniques of vibration symptom limit value asse8ament, which follol'l ito.1I1 Neyman-Pearson formula, are introduced and assessed. based on real diagnostic data. It results
that symptom reliability technique and also technique based on
J'e.reto distribution of symptom are best sui ted. for plant / machines condition data.
1. Introduction to diagnostic observation
The d.etermination of pre-break-doVin vibration symptom value /limit value/ Sb vor condition monitoring is not an easy
task. Of course there are several concerned standard.s IISO ,BS,
VDII but they' can serve only as ~uidelines. The reason for
that may be explained as below.
Let us observe vibration symptom value S of some number
of machines M ~'> 1 of the same type, or one machine in very
many operation/overhaul cycles. In reality vie are observing
four parameter stochastic process S (~, W l' W 2' W:3' w 4) ;
where G = machine life time, W 1 = machine manufacturir:g
quaU ty t W 2 = found.a tion dynamics quality, W:3 = working
load intensity, LJ 4 = maintenance quality, are random deviation parameters.
Observing /measuringl the-vibration symptom of this machinery set over some running Ilifel time span, one can determine
several parameters of this process as below.
- Avialability of machinery set
me + average mac
- Averaee symptom value
~me
30
M
S"~L
1
Sn Sn = symptom read.ings of machines vibration amplitude in different condition
- Standard symptom deviation
- Symptom density histogram

ng (s o'?
s) N
ng (s;-
S+
LI
S)
ng (.) = number of
readings above
prescribed limit
b. S of a machine
in good condition
N = total number of readings

LIS = symptom amplitude interval
- Symptom reliability
R (s)
=1
S
Pg
(so)
2. Symptom limit value assessment
Going to determine the symptom limit value Sb we have

to use statistical decision theory ancl Noyml\n-Pearnon formulll
in the form [1]
00
Pg
pg
(s)
ds
'" A
S"
Here A means permissible probability of needless repairs in
order to avoid break-down Usually the vlllue of A is understood as plant maintenance policy.
Solving above equation in different ways one can come to
four techniques of symptom limit assessment 2r:2;_\",
- Chebyshev assessment of above integral

"c
<:
r- "\ 0?;'
ub '" oJ + \) V~A-
31
- Weibull model of symptom density

SW = S
.m
Sm = minimal value of system.

- Pareto model of
s~
pes)
(1 - j;) s
IT
t . 1+ y1+( ~)
- Symptom reliability technique

S~
) R( S~) =
(N)
-,ng,",--,--s_~_'7_S-"b_
N
=~
Here maintenance POliC~ A/P g determines minimal allowable

reliability level R Sb which gives break-down value S~ directly from histogram p(S)
Going to analize the first three techniques on a common
bane let uSdefine bronk-down ratio
S~ /:i nnd nnnlizo
Fig.1 It io Doen here thnt for tho mon t common vuluoLl k;; 1
we have: jJ 5~b ;J ~~ "v;J ~;h But Weibull approach is complicated a Ii tIe and together with Cheby'shev they ei vo 1:00 high
values of
for k
1 So Pareto approach due to aimplicity and its modesty seems to be theoretically most appriopriate.
!J '"
"J
<
32
132%
~%
(3 = ~A
S .~("Io)
P
~
~1% ....
~ ,
\J
-:nS
135%
()
CD
'.J
I .
~: .,><:
~
.. i:::-:=-~~::;::;~.;-.::~~~::
_'<:
~ '''.
2~----00<,5;---~1----~\5~~~~2~b~~'~~~~5-~
distriibution shape lactor .
Fig." Breake'down rat io a ccording to models by Chebyshev { C)

Welb~ ll (WI, PoretolP) fo r dif ferent allowed needles
.
repairs percent .
3. Case study and conclusion

There QYe. many application of above formulae to real vib
ration monitoring data, and the most typical case is shown in
Pig.2.
ni
20
N=56
<.) 18
~ 16
<II
'5
l:l
o
Pg=O.BS
K= 2,3
f= ~ ,~S
"
III
~10
>.
I 'fl,
Vl
I'f;' <:0 I
I ~ <D'I '
"
I~~" I
I Vl ~I
e}
~o 8
,?
iJ',
~11'~:1
cQI
I
I
o
o
,0
z: .D
V)
u:
II
~.D
E 12
' &'
QI
<:0
'$.
N
1~
Vl I
II Vl
II
II I
II I
I II
1 I I
II
L
,0
II<.)~t
III
n.'i: 1 ~
I
I
I .. _ I
'0
Fig . 2
Histogram of vibration
velOCi ty in point 06 o f
a ra il way Diesel engine
and its li mit volues
according to models : C'w.P'N .
I _ V'
RISHb)=A
_
Pg
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Vp[cm / s)
Peak vibration ve loci ty
33
The guidelines for symptom limit value assessment may be specified as below. Having only the knowledge of average symptom vc.lue S, standard deviation () , a.nd. maintenance policy A/Pe;
of f~w percent order it is good to apply Pareto approach ~ith
A/Pg = 2 - 3% or Chebyshev approach with A/P g = 5 - 10;G Both
are close to real maintenance policy. The real percent of needless repairs gives only symptom reliability approach which 1D
mostly advisable if one has enough data to construct symptom
density histogra.m p/S/ not influenced by sampling effect.
4. References
[1]. Cempel C., Determination of vibration symptom limit value in
diagnostics of machinery, Maintenance Menagement Internntio~, No 5, 1985, 297-304.
f2.
Cempel C., Limit value in practice of vibration dinenostic~
l-J
of ma.chines, 9-th EPN!.lS Congress, Helrdn%i, Muy, 1988, 154113.
[~. Cempel C., Passive diagnostic experiment, symptom reliability and their application in vibration condition monitorirG,
/gent to Mainten~nce ~enagement IntcrnRtion~l/.
Turbomachinery Failure Detection - Combination of Transfer

Matrix and Finite Element Method
Hengjun Zhu and R Firoozian *
Visiting Research Fellow, Northern Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, P R China and
*Oepartment of Mechanical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S 1 3JO, UK
ABSTRACT
In this paper a specific nlll1lcriC,'lI caklllatioll procedure is outlined for a general turborotor rolling-elelllent-bearing systc1I1 in which distributed inf'rtia and elasticity as well
as discrete mass and damping error( ill'(' consistcntly represcllt.ed, Considering distributed
mass inertia and elasticity, tllE' tra[ISr"r [llat rix for plain shaft/beam is deduced from finite
element method so as to use transfn lllatl'ix lllethod to reduce the computer storage size
needed, It is showll tIl at by lllollitorillg t 1[(' cilitllge ill natl1l'al frequencies the components
failure can be reliably predicted, This is hasc'd 011 the theory that the stifflless of machine
parts changes when wear am! crilck lake placc, Vibratioll amplitude levcllllonitoring which
is comlllonly used may not be satisfactorily reliahle. for sometimes high amplitude level
does not mean any sllbstillltial condit ion change in machille pill'tS ilnd some dillllages do
not cause apparent variation ill ani pI i t l[(\e Ic\'('1. Dalll pi Ilg faclor is introduced to obtain a
realistic model of the rotating lllacllin('f'Y. The illfluence of damping OIl frf'quency shift is
highlighted by varying the damping coe[ficiellt.,
NOMENCLATURE
Vector {y,O,:1f, V}:

Translate c1ispla,cclllellt 01' tlI(' ]"'illll/s!Jaft at t he station;
Slope of the beam/shaft at tl[(' Stilt ion:
. Bend mOlllent of (he Lei11ll/sl1ilft ilt tile stid ion:
-- Shear of the llC'alll/slli1i't ill t 1[(' st ill iO[I;
-- force \'eclo[' {(dJ, ((2. Cdj Cd tl:
DispIaC(>[j!(:nt \'('c(or {(/[, 1/2, '1<, ,/ < ):
-- AC'cclroratioll \'('ctor;
Vector of ('xtel'llal e:\cilid JOI[ (D,IJ, U. /):
I1arl1lonic c:\C'ition forc,,:
_. Transfer lIlatrix fur plilill L('il[[l "').',1[[('111:
Trallsfer matrix for point st ilt i(!I[;
o -
1\1
Ii
Q
q
q
F
B
P
R
K
M
. R=PB;
Stiffllf'ss Illiltrix for pLlili I"'il[[l "').',[1[('[11,[2 1:
-- f.,lass lllatrix for plain I)('il[ll s(,).',[[I(,[[\,12];

S
E
I
L
m
w
Md
Fs
Rs
J
35
Force-displacement relation matrix for plain beam segment;

Young's modulus of elasticity of the beam segment;
Area moment of inertia of the beam segment transverse cross section;
Length of the beam segment;
The mass per unit length of the beam segment;
Angle speed of shaft rotation;
Lumped mass;
System vector for non-displacement-related excitation force;
System transfer matrix for displacement-related force;
Damping coefficient;
-A
1. INTRODUCTION
Vibration level is commonly considered an essential method of predicting the components

failure. As this signal often appears too late to predict the gradual failure, the investigation
of frequency shift has been carried out. An assumption of failure mechanism is that the fault
in turboshaft/bearings results in a reduction in the stiffness of element, hence a stiffness
reduction in the whole system. This subsequently increases the vibrating level and changes
the natural frequencies of the system. In an undamped model, it is simple to reason that
amplitude may increase and resonant frequencies may shift as a result of a component
failure. Damping factor influences vibration in great deal and there are very few systems
in which damping is not involved. The analysis in this research shows that damping gives
the frequency shift no apparent variation, but affects vibrating level such that the vibrating
amplitude of damaged system, with certain value of damping coefficient, may be even lower
than that in normal condition.
Transfer matrix method, first developed by N.O. Myklestad and M.A. Prohl[ll, was used
to compute progressively the deflection, slope, moment and shear from one station to the
next. It does not, however, consider the distributed mass inertia of each segment, which
makes it less consistent with the reality. Finite element method, another computing method
developed by J.S. Archer in 1963[2J, considers distributed mass inertia thus that it gives a
complete form of mass matrix of each beam/shaft segment and the way of forming the global
mass matrix and stiffness matrix. It provides a more precise algorithm for turbo machinery
modelling. When modelling a system consisting of many segments, computerizing with
this method needs large computer storage size as well as machine time for inverse matrix
calculation.
Combination of both above-mentioned methods develops a hybrid method, the essential
part of which is transforming the force-displacement equation of a segment in finite element
method to establish a more consistent transfer equation which relates the parameters of one
end of the segment with those of the other, i.e. translate displacements, slopes, moments
and shears. Therefore it considers distributed mass inertia and maintains conciseness and
efficiency by avoiding inverse matrix calculating and global matrice formulation.
2. TRANSFER MATRIX METHOD

There are two categories of load for a turborotor model. One is caused by distributed
mass and stiffness of a segment of plain beam/shaft. The other is pointed force which will
be analysed later. The transfer matrix method model is illustrated in Fig 1 (a).
36
A continuous beam can be divided into i segments with i + 1 stations. We consider

parameters on the left and right side of each station separately. These parameters are
displacement y, slope 8, moment M and shear V. They are represented by a vector X with
subscript and superscript, i.e. xf = {y, 8, AI, v}f, which means the parameter vector on
the right side of station i. For a segment of beam, the equilibrium equation is
(1)
And for a certain station
(2)
X~ = Pixf
The original matrix B in transfer matrix method does not take distributed mass of the
segment into account.
e !
""I
I Mol
Ib:cW)"0
STAntif I
LEI'T
RIGHT
STATJDH I_I
LEI'T
"11iIT
Y.
(a)
0.1Sa
Cz q,
Y.
Y.
Yz
y,
STATION 0
(I L--I
I!) c.
E _L I------,m
0.250
0.3S0
0.250
q.
(b)
Fig.2 The Model of Calculation System.
Fig.! The Model of Beam Segment.
(a) Transfer Matrix Method;

(b) Finite Element Method.
3. FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR PLAIN BEAM/SHAFT
In finite element method, Archer gave an equation of matrice in 1963 showing the relationship between forces and displacements of a segment of beam. His model is illustrated
in Fig. 1 ( b) and his equation is as follows
(3)
Q=M<i+Kq
Assume q is harmonic, then <i =
_w 2 q.
Let S = K -
w 2 M,
Q = Sq
the equation (3) becomes
(4)
Comparing Fig.!(a) with Fig.l(b), we find
XEl = {Ql,-q2,Q2,Qd
Xf
= {Q3,-Q4,-Q4,-Q3}
(5)
We can deduce matrix B in equation (1) from equation (4) and (5). This only involves
linear transformation of equations.
37
4. POINTED FORCES
Pointed force can be sub-divided into two kinds:
(1) Lumped mass (disk) inertia and damping force which are proportional to the acceleration and velocity of the point respectively;
(2) External excitation which has no relation with the movement of the point.
Lumped mass A1d causes pointed force of -w 2 A1dy at the station where the mass IS
located. Damping force is described as -Gil or -jwGy when movement is harmonic. For
equation (2), we can write
P=
1
0
0
w2Md - jwG
0 o 0
1 o 0
0 1 0
0 o
(6)
External excitation force is quite different from that caused by lumped mass and damping
effect. As such force cannot be expressed with y, 0, A1 or V, it can only be added to equation
as a separate item. If all kinds of pointed force mentioned above are exerted on station i,
we can pack them together to write
xf=Pjxf+F j
And
(7)
(8)
Equation (8) is the relating equation which enables the transfer procedure to be carried on
from one station to the next.
5. ANALYSIS OF FREQUENCY RESPONSE
Starting with a simple case, the rotor bearing system considered in this paper is schematically shown in Fig.2. Fig.3 and Fig.4 display the relative frequency response of station 0
and 4 respectively taking static deflection as unit.
In spite of changing the excitation load exerted on the shaLt, the natural frequencies
do not vary. This is because the systematic stiffness does not change. When a bearing
is supposed to be damaged with 50% stiffness reduction, the resonant frequencies shift in
different amount. But the frequency shift of each resonace remains the same, no matter
how load changes, lOON at station 2 alone, or with another load of 50N at station 3, or
the loads at five stations are in the function of f(:1') = 100x 2 + 10. The variety of load
only causes the amplitude to increase or decrease. According to the theory of damped
vibration, resonant frequency is determined by mass, stiffness and damping coefficeint.
Fig.3 and Fig.4, however, do not show apparent changes due to damping effect variation
either in natural frequencies or in resonance shifts. Compared with the shift caused by
bearing failure, the variation in resonant frequencies due to damping coefficient alteration
can be neglected. Examining the shifts of the four resonaces within the frequency domain
from 0 through 12000 rpm while damping coefficient G changes, one finds that the second
resonance has the largest shift to the left. As the dashpot is located almost at the centre of
the span, it gives the first and third mode strong damping effect. On the other hand, the
higher the frequency is, the more easily it is damped out, which explains the fourth mode.
38
The failure in either left or right bearing causes the same value of shift from a certain
resonant frequ ency. But the amplitude at that resonant point, when left bearing fails, differs
from that when fault takes place in the right bearing.
In non-damped frequency response in Fig.3 and Fig.4, we see every curve reaches horizontal axis either on the right or left side of resonant frequency. The response displays the
absolute value of amplitide and we know at each resonant point, as well as each point where
the curve crosses horizontal axis, vibration phase changes to the opposite. In damped condition, phase variation is progressive. Comparing Fig.3 with Fig.4, we see they are symmetric
and there must be some relations between failure location and phase variation. Therefore
we can anticipate that it is possible to identify the location of failure by the analysis of
frequency response. This cannot be done by merely monitoring the amplitude level, frequency shift, or phase change. They should be monitored simultaneously and analysed
comprehensively so as to indicate the accurate location of failure.
SiAiICN 4
fREQUENCY R!:S?ONSE AT STATION 0
I c.
I
I
! c..
0.0
"'" i
CONCJlI
F
EAAlp..~
B EARi ~ ti
COSO. 0
EXCIT A tl~'
FR:OtJOICT
C. O
c..'SO.o
r".p ....
Fig. 3 Frequency Respons e at Station 0
Fig. 4 Frequency Response at Station 4.
6. CONCLUSIONS
Damping factor does not change the resonant frequency shift due to bearing failure.
Neither changes of location and value of excitations affects this shift, nor does the variation
of damping coefficient.
Resonant frequency shift is a reliable signal to be monitored in order to predict impending
fault in bearings. The most apparent natural prequency is the second mode which has the
largest shift and not easy to be damped out .
Vibrating level alone is not satisfactorily reliable to predict bearing fault. High order
resonant vibration is easy to be damped out and so is the fundamental one. With certain
damping effect, the second resonace may have even lower vibrating level than that in normal
condition.
Resonant frequency shift alone is not sufficient to identify which bearing is out of order.
Only when frequency shift and change of amplitude, as well as phase variation, are taken
into consideration, can the diagnosis of turbomachinery suspension be implemented.
39
It is shown that for a rotor bearing system with a significant structural damping, which is
usually the case for most industrial machines, the vibration level does not reliably indicate
the propable components failure. However, by monitoring the location of a particular
resonant/natural frequency it is possible to identify the failing component and the extent of
the damage. For the simple uniform shaft, supported on bearings at both ends, a significant
change in the second natural frequency is observed when one of the bearing is subjected to a
gradual failure. A similar behaviour is expected for a complex rotating machinery with many
disks, bearings and varying cross-section. Further work is required to establish a systematic
trend between the change in natural frequencies and the corresponding failing component.
To this end, work is in progress to develop an expert package for condition monitoring
and diagnostic analysis of rotating machinery in general form in which by combining the
theoretical model and the measured vibration at an appropriate location, a list of diagnoses
is produced. The final aim is to be able to identify the failing component, the extent of the
damage and to advise the operator on the actions required to remedy/repair the component
before a disastrous breakdown.
By combining the finite element and the transfer matrix method, a powerful algorithm is
developed which facilitates an efficient way of vibration analysis and vibration monitoring
for general rotor bearing systems. This algorithm uses the accuracy of the finite element
method' and the speed of the transfer matrix method which results in a software package
with maximum accuracy and minimum computer storage requirements. This paper is the
first step towards the development of an expert system in which the computer storage requirement is crucial for industrial applications where desk-top microcomputer is commonly
used.
After this investigation, the following research might be tackled:
- Modelling the system with distributed dalllvillg fador.
- Phase variation analysis for fault location identification;
- Shaft crack recognition by the assumption of stiffness reduction.
REFERENCES
[1] Prohl, M.A., "A General Method for Calculating Critical Speeds of Flexible Rotors",
Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vo1.12 Trans. ASME, Series E, Vol. 67, 1945, p. 142.
[2] Archer, John S., "Consistent Mass Matrix for Distributed Mass Systems", Journal of
the Structural Division, Proceedings of the ASCE, Vol. 89, ST4, 1963, p.161.
[3] Thomson, W.T., "Vibration Theory and Applications", Prentice-Hall Inc., USA,
1965.
[4] Ruhl, R.L. & Booker, J.F., "A Finite Element Model for Distributed Parameter
Turborotor Systems", Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vo1.94, Trans. ASME, Series B,
February 1972. p.126.
[5] Firoozian, R., & Stanway, R., "Influence of Suspension Parameters on Vibration
Control in Rotatory Machinery", ASI\lE Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise,
Cincinnati, paper 85-DET-125, 1985.
[6] Loch, N.E., "Vibration Analysis of Rotating Shaft Systems Using Transfer Matrices",
Course of Vibration Response Calculations for Real Rotors, HEROIT-WATT University,
1985.
[7] Church, J.M. "Condition Monitoring of Rotating Machinery Using Vibration and
Identification Analysis", Thesis of Dept. I\lech. Eng., Univ. Sheffield, 1988.
Diagnostic for Mechanical Systems through Analysing

Variations in Vibration Signatures
W J Wang
Department of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT, UK
ARSTRACT
'l'his paper
presents a monitoring and diagnOSIS strategy and

methodology
for
mechanical
structures
through
analysing
variations in vibration SIgnatures. As tor dynamic behavior of
structures In machinery, equipment and installations, they are
all considered as the linear mechanical systems.
'J'he occurrence
of
faults
causes
changes
In
physical
parameters
and/or
excitation dlrectly. 'l'hen, It is followed by variations in
natural teatures and response. These variatIons in vibration
signatures retlect the existence and property ot faults to some
extent. Based on the relationships between faults and varIatIons
and sens.itivity analYSIS, the methods to monitor and diaqnose
faUlts in mechanical systems are described.
1.
INTRODUCTION
large number of operating machines,

installations and
facilities are accompanied with dynamic behaviors, including
vibration phenomenon. Like pulse in a human body, it is this
signal that carrIes condition information inside the system. By
monitoring and analysing changes in these Signatures, using
modern available instrumentation rather than the way connecting
a
technician's ears to a machine,
the
condition can be
scientifically assessed and mechanical faults are detected.
'fhe damage occurrence of a mechanical structure is reflected
by its dynamic characters.
It is obvious that there are
advantages to diagnose damages by USIng vibration Signature in
operating state, including the property ot on-line, remote and
convenience in mak ing measurements. I!:ven in the case where no
vibration SIgnal is available, such as static or idle state, the
signal can be acquired by a certain excitation to the system in
various ways. Those enable the technique very ettective in many
pra~tical
cases.
USlng the technIque,
structures,
such as
A
41
spacecI:att, ship structures,

or VaI:lOU5 machinery,
can be
monitored
by micI:ocomputeI:-based
centralized
data
analysis
systems or self-carried monitoring systems, preventing from
accident at incipient stage. The technique also can be used to
non-destructive inspection of products and to diagnose the
condition ot machining process.
For cI:itical components In structures, it is veI:Y necessaI:Y to
detect any damages in early stage, in whiCh the variations in
vibI:ation signatuI:es are small. Ubviously, the necessity ot
predicative
WaI:nlng
requires
to
adopt
sensitive
observed
quant:ities. :';0, timely measures aI:e posslble f.or operators to
take tOI: aVOIding dIsasters.
2.
DI AGNOSTI CS
2.1 !'AHAMETl';H HE;LA'1'10NSH1PS 1N A SYS'l'EM
We consider the system concerned as a

linear mechanical
system, in terms ot small tluctual:lon vibI:atlon behaVIor HI most
practical cases. Fig.l shows the relatIonships ot m Inputs, n
outputs, system function and physical paI:ameters In fI:equency w
domain.
Usually,
the
taults
In mechanical systems can be
classified Into two types:
the ones which dIrectly cause
physical parameter changes and the ones which directly cause
changes in input signal (excitation).
system
Input:
[ S(II(W) 1
__________m~~~
!:<'aul t sourse I:
[6S(I) (w)l
l<'ault SOUI:ce 2:
Output:
PhYSical paI:ameteI:s:
Stlftness [ K 1
Mass
I M 1
vamping
I C I
System functions:
l H (w~)~)________~
----
I bK__l_,__1_6_M
___I_, I 6C
---
:;(0) (w)
nxn
'l'ype 1
Type I I
IPhysical parameter change fault

(lK+6K], [M+L:.Ml, lC+6Cl)
Excitation change tault
+ 6{<P n }
{<P n
H ( w) J + [ L:.H (w) I
wn + 6Wn '
[Sm
(w)l +~~~)
[S
(w)
(0)
1 + I 6S
(0)
(w)
[o'ig.1 (a) System parameteI: relationships

(b) Two different tault sources and consequences
through
'rhere are two ways in which the faults aI:e retlected:
system's natural teatures and through response. The tormeI:
includes modals and system functions. For tault source 11, the
42
system natural property does not change but the response does.
For the fault source 1, the system natural property changes, the
response chanqes as well.
In general, the system function can be represented as a
function ot [KI, IMI, Ie) and w
[
H(w)1
[t
lK
I,
The relationship between the

functions is
M ),
[ C
I, w ) J
(l)
input and output spectrum density
i,j
2.2
Hri (w)
HSJ(W)
r, s
1, 2,
... ,m
(2 )
BY MODAL !>ARAME1'ER VARIATIONS
One of very important and easIly extracted features is the

modal parameter, including the modal frequency and the mode
shape.
By monitoring their values,
the condition of some
critical components can be possibly assessed.
Most common faults in structures ,such as crack, peel-oft, may
causes some changes in natural frequencies. The assessment can
be done by one station measurement. 'rhe mode shapes also can be
used to play the same function and can be used to determine the
location of the damages.
However, since modal frequencies are insensitive to physical
parameters, it is very difficult to detect a damage at incipient
stage. If there are no very closed modals in a structures, the
mode shapes are insensitive as well.
The definition of a complex dimensIonless sensitivity and a
sensitivity analysis for vibratIon characteristics are presented
in reference I j ) . 1 t has been shown that mOdal parameters are
not sensitive at all, but there do exit sensitive regions in
system functions and in response functIons (they are represented
in frequency domain). If "early" demand is not so strict,
measurement ot natural frequencies is still an effective method
tor condition monitorinq. r'or example, ExperIments show that
when a f law near fixed end of a cant i lever beam expends up to
80% in transversal width, its first order natural frequency
drops by only about 10%
2.3 BY SYS'I'EM FUNC7'10NS
There are sensitive

regions around resoant frequencies and
anti-resonant
frequencies
in system
functions.
'l'ypical
sensitivity
curves
of the function to
physical parameters
in single-degree ot
treedom are shown in
fig. 2.
]';.'o,.------ - -----,r--- --- - -- - ,
~--
1---7.'0.-':;;:0.::..:.:c-~Oa;,g:;::o~......::::;I"".z:;:o=-~-:-1,'hll
-- - 2.l.nI (i.i
a-'~(H'k)',
Fig.2
b-I~<f"m) ' ,
c -'~(HIC)'.
Typical sensitivity curves

of system tunctions
43
Using observed variations of system function in the sensitive

region, i.e. ~H(w) or its modulus ~IH(w) I, at a measurement
station, further judgment can be made by pattern-recogni tiondiagnosis method in which ~H(w) can be classif ied into three
types of conditions: stiffness reduction, inertia reduction and
normal, or by parameter-variation-diagnosis method in which the
location and magnitude of damage can be worked out, employing
least square filtering algorithm where ~H(w) is an observed
quantity and a set of physical parameter variations [MI, [6111
are state arguments to be determined [!i, 'J
considering a
spec1al case where the structure has stiffness reduction damage,
others can be ignored, the system function (l) can be changed
into:
(3 )
H (w) 1 = ( [K 1 + g ( I 11 J, [ c J, w ) 1 -1
'l'he basic equation group with m unknowns
stiffness parameter variations 1S
m
6H
rs
(w)
=E
1
- E
Hri(w)' HSj(W)
i, jeID
~PI
which represent
"k ij
"PI
where k ij are elements in stiffness matrix IKJ,
(4)
i,jeID means i,j
run through diagnosed area in a structure. Each equation is set

up by selecting specific w in sensitive regions.
2.4 BY RESPUNSE FUNCTIUNS
Some of damaqes cause additional excitation to the system. r'or
example, in rotatory machinery, a rotor or a wheel subjects to a
periodic shock from a failed bearing, or a gear box gets extra
excitation from collision of a pair of damaged teeth. In these
cases, a system itself is considered unchanged. Analysing output
signal by spectrum analysis, including Eo'ourier spectrum, power
density spectrum and cepstrum analysis which are powerful means
to detect additional signal caused by defects, the fault can be
tound out.
Since a system's response is a some kind of combination of
system functions, sensitive frequency regions stlll exist in a
response function. lt will be clear after simpllfying eq.(2).
Suppose there is only one extra white noise input at station i
with constant spectrum a, then, for output spectrum at station
r, there is
... S ( 0) ( "')
rr ~
= a
IH
r i( w )
In order to detect tiny incipient damage, observation for

variation in response must be taken in sensitive regions of
the system function. i.e., the frequency w get values from
sensitive frequency regions.
Obviously, it there is no doubt that l~S(I) (w) 1
0, the
response is capable of playing the same rule as the system
function in sensitive regions.
:.!.
CUMB1NA'l'10N 01" 'I'WU SOURCb:S
In the case that both the input and physical parameters change
44
simultaneously, it is sure that the natural features of a system

can be used to diagnose type I faults. 'l'hen, what part of change
in response caused by type II is clear. Actually, in many cases,
only through response variation analysis, two different types of
faults can be distinguished
in accordance with ditterent
relationships ot causes and effects.
3.
SUMMARY
In general, there are two fault sources in a mechanical

system. One changes physical parameters. 'l'hus, monitoring and
diagnosis can be made by analysing variations in natural
characteristic, including modal parameters and system functions.
The other kind ot taults cause additional excitation to the
system at input. In this case, the variation in characteristics
ot a response function can be use to assess the condition of
system and
to diagnose
faults
according
to
analYSIS
of
causality.
In order to detect tiny damage at early stage of tailure, both
system function and response tunction must be observed in
sensitive frequency regions.
Monitoring the values of modal parameters can be employed in
the cases that relatively serious damage does not put the system
in danger, because they are not sensitive to damages.
REl"ERENCES
[11 Cawley,
P. et al., " 'l'he Location of Defects in structures

Measurements
of
Natural
F'requencies",
J.
ot
Strain
AnalYSiS, Vol.l4, No.2,19'/Y
(2) Richardson, M.," Detection ot !.lamage structures from Changes
in their !.lynamic (Modal) Properties -A Survey," UCRL-l!:)-03,
April 1980
(3) Wang, Weiji et al.," 'I'he Sensitivity ot Structural Vibration
Properties to ~ailure and Failure !.liagnosis," Journal ot Nanjing
Aeronautical Instltute, No.4, lYij!:)
[4J Wang, Weiji et al.," Structural ~ault !.liagnosis by Measured
Sensitive Vibration Characteristics," Journal ot Vibration and
Instrumentation, No.2, 198b
[5]
Wang,
Weiji et al.,"
Structural ~ault
Diagnosis and
Monitoring with Sensitive !.lomaln ot Vibration Characteristics,"
Aerospace Engineering, No.3, 198~
[6) Wang, Weiji et al.,"Sensitivity Analysis in r'ault Vibration
Diagnosis of Structures," Ttle 5th international Modal Analysis
Conference, April 6-9, 19ij~, Imperial College, London
[7J Wang, Weiji et al.,"lncipient ~ault Vibration !.liagnosis for
Mechanical Structures by the pattern Hecogni tion Method," The
2nd International Conference on Machine DIagnostiC 'I'echniques,
August lYijij, Shengyang, Liaoning, China PH
from
Identification and Digital Control of a Turbo-charged

Marine Diesel Engine
J D Forrest
Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, Plymouth, UK
Abstract:
of
This paper describes the identification of the dynamic response
turbocharged
techniques.
The
marine
diesel
implementation
engine
of
using
simple
parameter
3-term
estimation
microcomputer-based
controller is also described.
The turbocharged diesel engine has been familiar to marine engineers
for
many years and it is well known that their dynamic characteristics can vary
greatly with load and speed (Wellstead et aI,
hydraulic
speed
control
governors
used
on
1978).
many
The mechanical and
diesel
engines
however, take little account of these varying characteristics.
today,
The current
trend towards microcomputer-based digital engine management, however, means

that mechanical and hydraulic governors will almost certainly bp replaced
by
digital
speed
regulators
sophisti.cated control
these variations.
which
algorithms
offer
which
the
would be
opportunity
able
to
of
employing
compensate
for
This would lead to improvements in both fuel economy and
transient response thus motivating the study reported in this paper.

2.
Identification Study
The engine used in this study was a six cylinder two stroke, medium speed,
turbocharged Foden FD7 Diesel engine installed in a test cell at the Royal
Naval
Engineering
hydraulic
type
College,
Plymouth.
speed governor
and a
The
engine
Holset Mark 4
was
equipped
with
turbocharger and was
instrumented to monitor the signals required for the identification study.
46
These were:
demanded speed,
load.
engine
The
actual engine speed,
test bed computer was
fuel
Kemi tron
rack position and

(K2000
ED)
general
purpose laboratory microcomputer.

The test signal chosen for the
Binary
Sequency
second.
(PRBS)
signal
identification study was a

of length
127
bits
and bit
Pseudo Random
interval
l.0
The test perturbation signal was applied directly to the fuel rack
with the engine governor overridden.
Tests were conducted on the engine at
low, medium and high speeds which also corresponded to low, medium and high
engine loads as shown in Table. 1.
Table 1
During each
Selected operating points for identification study

Speed (rpm)
Load (Nm)
Low
1200
447
Medium
1600
668
High
2000
887
identification test
the
Kemitron microcomputer
recorded
500
samples of both the PRBS input signal and the engine speed response at a
sampling interval of 0.1 seconds.
The recorded data was transferred to the
College CYBER 840 mainframe computer for subsequent analysis by a
system
identification
Oxford
(Clarke,
software
1985).
package
acquired
Application of the
instrumental variable (IV)
from
the
University
generalised least squares
of
(GLS)
and
algorithms to the various engine response data
produced z-plane and s-plane engine transfer functions as follows:

Low speed
GLS
C(z)
0.0334(z + 0.288)
(z - 0.8810)(z - 0.3068)
G(s)
0.5215(1 + 0.017s)
(1 + 0.789s)(1 + 0.084s)
IV
G(z) -
0.0336(z + 0.1:36)
(z - 0.8996)(z + 0.1295)
G(s)
0.5444(1 + 0.015s)
(1 + 0.945s)(1 + 0.49s)
0.0444(z + 0.424)
0.9091)(z
0.1024)
G(s)
0.7756(1 + 0.002s)
(1 + 1.049s)(1 + 0.044s)
0.0456(z + l.079)
(z - 0.9074)(z + 0.3547)
G(s)
0.7561(1 + 0.073s)
(1 + 1.029s)(1 + 0.096s)
Medium speed
GLS
G(z)
IV
G(z)
(z
High speed
GLS
G(z)
0.0997
z - 0.8854
G( s)
0.8705
1 + 0.8216s
IV
G(z)
0.0955
z - 0.8875
G(s)
0.8489
1 + 0.838s
47
A comparison of the engine response output and predicted response output to

the PRBS input signal is shown in Figure I
for the medium speed condition
using the generalised least squares algorithm.
As can be seen, correlation
betwe e n the actual and predicted responses is good and similar results were
obtained for the two other models.
PRBS Inpu
r"'1
II
IU '5 00
lI--
'-
10dified Output
~DC
Predicted Output
500
Figure 1
PRBS
input,
speed
output
and
predicted
output
for
medium
speed di ese l engine over 500 data points.
3.
Di e sel e ngine control
The u s e of the electronic speed control governor has been growing rapidly
in
r ece nt
years
advant a ges.
as
These
designers
include
have
the
begun
to
improvement
recognise
of
fuel
their
potential
economy
and
the
reducti on of exhaust e missions brought about by running the engine as close

as
po ss ible
transient
to
the
response
controller
is
easily
optimum
to
operating
both
speed
incorporated
point,
and
into
together
load
a
with
wider
based
an
improved
Moreover,
changes.
engine
the
management
system concerned with engine health monitoring and surveillance.
Three
term
methods
(PID)
of
unde rstood.
algorithm
algorithms
determining
For
was
these
selecte d
are widely used
their
control
reasons ,
a discrete
for
study,
this
throughout
parameters
vers ion of
modified
industry and
are
by
well
the
the
known
standard
addition
the
and
PID
of
constant term (MR) representing the value of the control signal m(k) in the
steady-s tate, thus giving:
48
m(k)
where
Th e
Kpe(k)
s(k)
s(k - 1) + e(k)
digital
Kis(k) + Kd(e(k) - e(k - 1
controller
was
(1)
+ MR
being the sum of errors .

developed
remotely
from
the
engine
on
the
Kemitron microcomputer interfaced to an analogue model of the Diesel engine

derive d from the earlier identification study.
The controller software was
writte n in PASCAL a nd operated in r eal time on the Kemitron via it's A/D
and D/A convertors.
accounted for by
The
il~luding
dynamics
of
the
fuel
rack servo actuator were

By means of
the actuator in the control loop.
this a rrange ment a suitab l e value for MR was established and the controller
co e fficients Kp, Ki, and Kd were tuned using the Ziegler - Nichols technique.
Following satisfactory testing on the analogue simulation,
the controller
was instal l e d on the Diesel engine.
The testing of the digital controller on the engine produced a large number
of r es ults which ar e fully discussed elsewhere (Forrest, 1987).
An example
of a typical step response produced by the two term PI control ler with the
engine operating about
The
change
in
demanded
the medium operating point

speed
of
app roximately
is
1 50
shown
rpm
in Figure 2.
was
effected
by
injecting a voltage step of magnitude 0.6V into the desired speed channel
of the Kemi tron.
Ki
0.421 and Kd
IVL
o
The controller coefficients were c hos en to be Kp

~
0 with a samp ling interval of T
4.5,
0.07s.
Engin e
Spe e d
Is
----------~,,~----------------~~
Signal
Dcsit"'cd
Speed
Is
Figure 2.
Sign al
Step response of Diesel engine using digital PID controller
49
The controller produced an acceptable transient performance in response to

a step change in desired speed which can be seen to be direction dependent
due to the engine dynamics and in particular the effects of turbocharger
lag.
The
addition
of
derivative
action
greatly
increased
the
control
signal activity but did little to improve the transient performance.

Future developments
4.
The work reported in this paper has been extended recently to
include a
study of deadbeat and rule-based controllers together with the development

of an on-line engine protection and monitoring facility (Mort
1989).
& Langbridge,
It is intended that future work will extend the health monitoring
facility
to
include
diagnosis
of
diesel
engine
faults
using
on-line
identification techniques.
Conclusions
5.
The
work
discussed
in
this
investigation involving the

used in ships
digital
paper
of the Royal Navy.
controller
relates
to
the
early
identification and control
provides
The
results
considerable
stages
of diesel
obtained indicate
scope
for
of
an
engines
that
improving
the
performance of such engines.

References
Clarke,
D.W.
(1985)
"A system identification package
for VAX and LSI 11
computers", Report OUEL 1569/85, Dept. of Eng.Science, University of Oxford

Forrest, J.D.
(1987) "Identification and computer control of a turbocharged
diesel engine", MSc. Dissertation, University of Sheffield.
Mort,
N.
&
Langbridge,
D.C.
(1989)
"Digital control
and monitoring of a
marine diesel engine", IMech E Seminar 1989-1 on the benefits of electronic

control systems for I.C. engines. pp 33-40.
Wellstead, P.E., Thiruarooran, C. & Winterbone, D.E.
of a turbocharged diesel engine", Proc.
Finland.
(1978) "Identification
7th IFAC World Congress, Helsinki,
Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic of a Diesel Engine through

Detecting Changes in Estimated Dynamic Models
Z Ding and J M Edmunds
Control Systems Centre, UMIST, Manchester M60 lQD, UK
Abstract
In this paper an approach to condition monitoring and diagnosis by comparing identified
dynamic models is considered. Dynamic models are estimated and a statistical test is
used to test for significant differences. As an exarnple a diesel engine model was simulated
and analysed with various pertubations to five of its physical parameters, The patterns
of changes in dynamic model coefficients caused by changes in those physical parameters
were found ancl used to diagnose the changes,
:'dost of tlw changes introduced were
detected and diagnosed correctly,
1 Introduction
Condition monitoring needs to start early in tl1P life of an enginf'. The condition can
be monitored from parameters which can be measured such as the speed, pressure and
temperature and from other things which can be sensed by the operator such as its sonnd.
A change in the condition of the ellginc may then be df'tected from these values. After
a change has been detected the diagnosis of the calise of tl1P change lmgdy depends
on the operator's experience. TIccently attempts made at ill('orporating this experience
in the knmvledge bases of engine monitoring and diagnostic systems were reported by
.J enkins (1987), .Jones et al. (1087), and Katsolllakos et al. (1987). However most of these
detection methods concentrate on tIl<' change of the static condition of the engine, because
the decision made is only based
Oll
the knowledge of the stearly state performance.
To monitor the transient beha,"iollr a knowledge of t.he transient performance
IS
51
needed. The transient performance depends on the operating point of the engine and is
described by dynamic models around the operating point. The aim of this paper is to
show how to detect and diagnose changes in an engine at an operating point -from the
observed input/output data by detecting and diagnosing changes in system dynamics
from the estimated dynamic models.
2 Dynamic model identification

The engine performance was investigated through an engine simulation programme developed by Winterbone etc.(see Jai-in 1987). The results from the simulation have been
shown to be quite close to those with the actual engine and have been used to do research
about the engine dynamics. The programme can simulate a diesel engine with the fuel
rate (fl') and the turbine inlet area of the turbo-charger as manipulated inputs. and
several parameters such as the engine speed (N e) and the brake mean effective pressure
(Emep) as measured outputs. In this paper we concentrate on the dynamic relations
between the the input fl' and outputs 1Ve and Emfp. The operating point of the engine
dynamic models is defined by a fuel rate of 0.00011 /,g / sec with the propeller load such
that when the speed is 1800 rpm the load is 10 bar Emep.
A detailed discussion of the identification of the diesel engine was described by Ding
(1989). A linear least squares method with trend removal was used with the model
Yt=G(z)Ut+
tt
"na
__ i+dl+d2t
1 + L..,i=l a.~
where Yt is the output. ttt is the input and et is the noise disturbance at time t, d 1
(1)
+ d 2t
is a time trend in the output. G( z) is the system z-transfer function.
G( _) =
T
z-nd 1
L~l biz- i
1 + L?~l ai z - i
(2)
The time advance operator z and the Laplace operator s, are related by z = e sboT
with 6T as the sampling interval.
ai
and bi are dynamic model coefficients. The least
squares estimation method was used to obtain the estimated model coefficients and their
covariance matrix. Model structures of N e/fl' is (n nb. nk) = (2,2,1) and (2,1,0) for
Emep/ fl' were used.
3 Patterns of changes
The changes which can be observed from the system input/output relations cause changes
in the estimated dynamic model coefficients.
Associated with changes in a physical
52
parameter, the corresponding changes in the model coefficients will lie along one curve in
the model coefficient space. If those curves are approximately straight lines, patterns can
be built for changes in model coefficients corresponding to changes in physical parameters.
Although many parameters of the engine may influence the engine dynamics, only the
following five parameters will be discussed in this paper :
1.
Engine rotating inertia.
2.
CV
Fuel calorific value,
3.
Fmep
Mean friction effective pressure,
4.
Vin
Inlet manifold volume,
5.
Vex
Exhaust manifold volume.
These five parameters were chosen because they are easily changed in the simulation
programme and also they may be easily related to faults in the engine. For example, one
kind of fault that may happen in the engine is the exhaust manifold may be blocked.
The patterns of changes in the lineal' model coefficients for changes in the physical
parameters were obtained by identification using noise free experiments for the dynamic
models with nominal and perturbed physical parameters.
4 Detecting changes in dynamic models

The dynamic changes were monitored through the comparison between the two sets of
model coefficients which were estimated fro111 the two groups of data. As discussed in
Ding (1989), assuming the estimated model coefficients are Gaussian variables with the
actual model coefficients as the mean and the estimated covariance as the covariance
matrix, changes in the tiystem dynamics were det.ected by a chi-squared test with the
decision rule
(3)
where {h and
81
are vectors containing the estimated model coefficients,
estimated covariances, 1 -
C\'
is the confidence level of the test and h, =
RI , R2 are the
net + nb is the
number of degrees of freedom.
5 Diagnostics
After a change in the system dynamics was detected an attempt was made to diagnose
the most likely origin of cliange. The most likely cause of the change is the physical
53

parameter Pi corresponding to the biggest value of lli which is calculated by
(4)
where
oiJ = iJ2 - iJl
and
H= HI + H2
However many changes were not cliagllosed correctly from the indiyiclual dynamic
models. To combine the information obtained from both the dynamic models Bmep/ fr
and N e/ fr' for the diagnosis we used the following statistic
ll. =
( '(jAIRA -I
U"
Po.i
AU
Po,i
R-I
a
.
pa,l
+ U'(jA'RA/'-I jJ&.i )2
(5)
(0
+ Pb.it R-b I jJ&,1.
where the subscripts a and b denote the two dynamic models.

In order to evaluate the expected influence of noise in the real real engine data, noise
was added to the simulated outputs. To achieve a ratio of 1000 : 1 for the ratio between
the mean square value of the output and the noise variance. Gaussian noise with standard
deviation 0.5 was added to the engine speed data (N f') and Gaussian noise with standard
deviation 0.015 was added to the brake lllean effective pressure (Bmep). For each change
of -10%, -5%, 1%, 5(lr, 10o/c and 15% of each physical parameter 100 tests were formed
by adding different sets of noise to the data before detecting the changes in the engine
dynamics N e/ fr and Bmep/fr with the confidence level 1 -
95%. After a change
had been detected from one of the two dynamic models, the diagnosis among the five
possible causes of the change was carried out with the results shown in Table 1.
Table I-diagnosis from the changes of models N e/ fr & Bmep/ fr' for 600 times
changes in the five physical parameters.
paramo
.J CT Fm Vi Fe
times
5g5
detected
514
times
376
166
491
.J
513
of
Ct'
410
179
50
cause
176
183
Fill
decided
Yi
136
34
by test
'Vf
25
406
54
6 Conclusions
Most changes tried in the five physical parameters were detected and diagnosed correctly
from the estimated dynamic models. Some changes such as changes in Vex are very
difficult to monitor from steady state data were detected successfully. This suggests
that the analysis of the estimated dynamic models offers another means for monitoring
some aspects of system performance which are difficult to monitor using the steady
performance.
The diagnosis of the cause of the system change depends on the patterns associated
with the parameter changes which may vary if a large magnitude change happens in the
system. In this cases, other techniques such as expert system and artificial intelligence
may have to be incorporated in the diagnosis.
7 References
Ding, Z. 1989. Ph.D. Thesis. UJ\lIST.
Jai-in, S. 1987. M.Sc. Thesis, UlvIIST.
Jenkins, E.G. 1987. Digital simulation of the fault diagnostics in muiticylinder engines. IMechE Conference; Computer in Engine Technology, Cambridge.
Jones, A.D., S.J. Charlton and A.R. Daniels 1987.
Multi-processor simulation
of diesel engines for condition monitoring applications. IMechE Conference; Computer in Engine Technology, Cambridge.
Katsoulakos, P.S., J. Newland, J.T. Stansfeld, and T. Ruxton 1987. Monitoring, databases and expert systellls in the development of engine fault diagnosis.
IMechE Conference; Computer in Engine Technology, Cambridge.
The Fulmer Method of Monitoring Fluid Abrasivity as an

Indication of Fluid Condition and Machine Health
R Santilli
Fulmer Systems, UK
Introduction
The Fulmer Wear Debris Monitor detects on-line the presence of
abrasive particles in non-conducting fluids,
by measuring the
abrasivity of the fluid.
The method is not restricted to ferrous particles, the sensor
responding to non-ferrous and non-metallic particles depending on
their size and abrasive nature.
It is particularily suitable for
continuous on-line operation, and does not require the extraction of
fluid samples for laboratory analysis.
It does, however, require a
pressurised flow of fluid.
The sensor consists of two thin metallic films deposited
ceramic substrate.
For on-line monitoring it is normal to
the sensor in a bypass line.
onto a
install
The sensor is located in a special housing which accurately

the fluid,
firing the particles at hi8h velocity onto one
metallic films, wearir.g it away.
directs
of the
As the film is worn its electrical resistance will increase.

Therefore, monitoring the change in electrical resistance
will
indicate the presence of abrasive particles in the system.
This is
accomplished by an electronic instrument which processes the signals
from the sensor to provide a measurement of the abrasivity of the
fluid system.
Sensor
The sensor design is based on thin film technology.
The thin metallic films forming the sensor element are made of
electrically resistive material, vacuum deposited upon an insulating
substrate (Figure 1).
Two
thin films
are deposited, on
opposite sides of
the
substrate.
One of the films,
the I'active" or
wearing film,
is
positioned
into
the
pressurised
fluid stream with
the
aid of
a
special housing,
so
that
any
particles present
will be 'fired'
Fig. 1.
SENSOR
Mil spec connector
Temperature
Sensor film
Siainiess steel tube
Sensor film-passive
aClive
56
at its surface, and wear it away (Figure 2).

The other identical film, the "passive" or reference film, is
deposited on the downstream side of the sensor and is unaffected by
the particles in the fluid.
It is there purely for temperature
compensation.
Changes in resistance due to temperature
are
corrected by continuously comparing the resistance of the active film
with that of the passive film.
The abrasivity of the fluid is defined as the rate of change of
the resistance of the wearing film
~,
It therefore provides an instantaneous indication of the presence of

abrasive particles.
~ is useful for long term trends.
The sensor also has in its core a thermistor for monitoring the fluid
temperature.
Sensor life is expressed in ohms.
A new sensor will have a
resistance of approximately 50 ohms and is replaced when this has
increased to 450 ohms in a high wear situation - AB >30 - or 100 ohms
in a low wear situation - AB <30.
The time taken for this wear to
occur depends entirely on the environment to which the sensor is
exposed, i.e. the level of abrasive particles in the fluid.
Sensor Housing
The sensor housing (made of brass) accurately directs the flow of
fluid through a 2mm orifice plate onto the active sensor film.
A
pressure drop across the housing generates a fluid velocity through
the housing.
The sensor is located in the housing with two pins,
'O'-ring and held in place with a 3/4" BSP Nut.
Fluid factors to be considered before
installing the sensor housing
sealed with
an
CUT AWAY OF SENSOR IN HOUSING
Fig. 2.
Pressure
A differential pressure across the
sensor housing is needed in order to
generate a fluid jet of the required
velocity. Pressures are typically in
the range 40 to 140 psi but may be
higher cepending on the application
and the sensitivity required.
The
housing should never be subjected to
more than 250 psi.
Inlet
High pressure differences enable:

(i)
Improvement in sensitivity to small particles
(H)
Improvement in the ability to
(Hi)
Improvement in sensitivity to less abrasive particles.
detect low particle concentration
57

Temperature and Viscosity
The sensitivity of the system rises as fluid viscosity decreases.

Therefore, fluids should be sampled at the highest temperature
available.
For example if, say, an oil cooler is fitted to the
lubrication system, the sensor housing should be fitted upstream of
it so that the oil is sampled at the higher temperature, and hence
lower viscosity.
The normal viscosity range for satisfactory operation is up to
400 cS. Sensitivity suffers at higher viscosities.
High viscosity
fluids can also be subject to frothing and cavitation if not properly
pumped.
Flowrate
The flowrate of fluid through the sensor housing should be noted
because in most cases the sensor housing will be installed in a bypass circuit and it is important to know how much fluid is being bled
from the main system. This is done as follows:(i)
Determine pressure difference
(ii)
Determine fluid viscosity
(iii) Then use figure 3 to determine the flowrate through the housing
Fluid Sampling
Careful selection of
the "pick-up" point
is needed to ensure
that the sensor is
supplied with fluid
from an "active" part
of the system.
This
will ensure that it
is representative of
the system fluid as a
whole including its
debris content.
'1------------------,
-----ICOO'"
~6
".,
1. ---------
50J)si
25 eli
:l
Systems Without Fluid

Pressure
If the fluid to be
monitored
is
not
pressurised, e.g. in
a splash-fed gearbox,
an auxilIary pump is
required to
supply
fluid to the sensor.
V'~C:O:lly.
rt, .. ro
cS
) FI .. .,uu .n. lIolo<:Uy of Oil ""roll.It" S... ur H..... tnll "if"1 _ H021"
ae
Varlou. Pr ur and VIHO.HI,. .
A strainer (1 rom mesh) should be fitted upstream of the pump

protection and also to prevent blocking of the sensor housing.
for
58
Figure 4 shows a general plumbing arrangement for

fluid pressure.
Holding tank. sump or
pipeline allow pressuri".r
Measurement
The measured
and calculated
resistances are
defined as
follows;
The
The
The
The
The
systems
_I
without
Wm.1 senser
Q=/'and hcusir.g
Fluid from active

parI of syslem
Sirainer
Pump
3-way
Pressure Gauge
Fig. 4.
valve
resistance of the wearing film is ~ (measured resistance).

resistance of the non-wearing film is Rr (reference resistance).
normalised resistance for the wearing film is ~.
"standard resistance" Rs is the value of Rr at 25 0 C.
sensors are manufactured so that Rs ~ 100 ohms.
The above are related in the following equations:

R.r
Rr + ~
~.Rs/(R.r-~)
~.Rs/Rr
The resistances ~ and Rr are measured every 0.5625 seconds.

The abrasivity index or AB value is the rate of change of ~, where:
lAB - 0.1 ohmjhr or
27~
ohms/sec.
The AB value is calculated over a 36 second period (0.01 hr).

64 readings are taken and averaged in this period,
every 0.5625 seconds as above.
i.e.
one reading
Long Term AB Values (L~B)

Long term AB values (LTAB) are values calculated
integration periods, from 72 seconds to 60 minutes.
over
The period is operator selectable and the AB value is updated

18 seconds, to give a rolling average.
longer
every
Sensor Response
Flow cross-section,
fluid pressure and viscosity (and therefore
temperature) will determine flow velocity at the sensor surface.
Viscosity will also affect the boundary conditions between particles
and the sensor film surface.
These,
together with the physical
nature of the particles (concentration, size, shape, hardness,
density) form a complex set of physical variables governing the
response.
Effect of Viscosity
Figure 5 shows the effect of viscosity on 'small' particles (50
~m).
59
Machinery/System s Health Monitoring
The higher the fluid viscosity, the thicker the boundary layer between
the particle and the sensor film and the greater the tendency for the
particle to be swept around the film without abrading the surface.
Larger particles (-150 ~) are less affected, by virtue of their
increased momentum (see Figure 6).
Increasing the particle velocity
has the same effect (see 'pressure' below).
Effect of Pressure
Figures 5 - 7 all clearly show an increase in sensitivity resulting
from an increased pressure difference across the sensor housing .
A general rule of thumb is that if the pressure is doubled, the
sensitivity increases by a factor of 3 to 5.
This increase is due to
an increased flowrate through the housing, i.e. a larger number of
particles per second, and also to the higher effectiveness of any
smaller particles pr esent in hitting the target.
Effect of Particle Size
Figure 7 clearly shows the fall-off in sensor response to
below 50 ~ .
particles
The sensor response will continue below 35~, though particles below
this size are not readily available for testing.
Limit of Detection
Figure
sizes.
gives the limit of detection in ppm for
various
particle
EFFECT OF VI SCOSITY - LARGER P ARTIC LES

EFFECT OF VISCO SITY
~O\.lf1\
..
- SMA LL PARTICLE S
150&Jl'l'lF.
Fe
_..
.............
~
~
---...........
'-.....
...
.......
----
....
..
..
.....,
..,
100."
..
0""'-. "
0 ,
'"
rt". . u
S S. n,o r Ou tp ut v .
~O
".. h
" t[ t cl ~
""
'.0
Vlsco llc y .>t 2 ~ . ~ O e nd 100 PJI fo r
rt f,u rl ~ S ~n'Of Out put v i
1)0 ".. h
VI'eo, lt y It n . ')0.1'14 100 pl l f c r
'arel d ..
60
EFF ECT O F PARTICLE SIZ E ANO PRESSURE
100 psi
..
.
~
-: ,
: '
;.
/'"
_.1 /
..1/
/--
/.,
..
'"
u.
/
-- -- "
~ .",
LoG 1_0 _
./
..
'.
f
,.
:-:$
'"
..,
~,."...
.-
'"
..
n&vr. 1 Sen.or Output vs. Pantele SIze (Fe ) at ~OCS VbCo'lty
'"
Fleur. II LDv.at D"tl' <:c&bl. ConcentratIon va. V1sC OS1ty .at 100 psi
and 2), ) 0 and 100 psi
fot' Vartou. r..rtlc h
Stu.
Two thresholds of detection are given :

1.
The left-hand scale is for a minimum recognisable response

10 AB.
of
2.
The right-hand scale is for a minimum recognisable response of

1 AB, a more stringent condition. For ex ample, 35 ~ particles
of Fe in 50 cS fluid at 0 . 1 ppm will produce a 1 AB change in
sensor response.
Though most of the sensor response work has been carried out with
particles of Fe, the figure also shows the relative abrasivity of Fe
particles and AC fine test dust.
(See 'A Guide to Sensor Characteristics - Sensitivity/Performance',
obtainable from Fulmer for full documentation on the detection of Fe,
AC fine test dust and catalytic fines at various pressures, particle
sizes and viscosities.]
Under the right conditions:
The sensor is capable of detecting very small amounts of abrasive
debris .
E.g. for an output signal of 1 AB and at a pressure of 100
psi:
AC fine test dust (silica) . . .... <0.1 ppm
Catalytic fines (AI silicate) . . <1 ppm
Fe 35p - 150~ . .. . ... .. . .. ...... <1 ppm
Respons e to other particles is extrapolated,
depending upon
whether
61

they are more or less abrasive than Fe.
Maximum sensitivity
fluid viscosity.
is
achieved with high fluid pressure
and
low
Understanding Sensor Output

Quantifying sensor response using laboratory-generated test and
calibration data,
is to help the user to decide if the sensor is
suitable for a particular task.
The Wear Debris Monitor will accurately measure a fluid's abrasivity.
It should be remembered that this output cannot be translated into an
output of particle size, type, concentration, ISO code etc.
The WOM will monitor on-line an abrupt change or trend in the
condition of a fluid/machine.
The significance of this change will only be realised with experience
and/or further investigatory procedures,
such as chemical/particle
analysis.
Successful Monitoring
For successful monitoring the following are required:
1.
2.
Sensitivity to debris
Debris transported to
generated.
sensor.
Sensitivity
The type of debris produced by the system, both in normal and abnormal
operation (particle sizes, type, hard or soft, etc.) should be
determined.
This can be done by analysisng fluid samples or debris
taken from filters.
Critical and problem areas and possible modes of failure
identified if possible.
should
be
Ideally, fluid samples that represent "Go" and "No-Go" situations

should be. acquired and tested with the WDM to see if they can be
distinguished.
It should be decided whether the instrument is to monitor 'normal'
wear as well as 'abnormal' wear, since different sensors may be
needed.
One sensor may be adquate for a specific application (the WDK is
biased towards hard, abrasive particles approximately 35 ~ and
above).
If a system can also produce smaller, softer particles,
another monitoring system may need to be considered.
Debris Transport
The sensor must be located in an active part of the system. Thus, if
debris is generated in one area,
the design must allow it to reach
the sensor.
One may also need to consider how long newly-generated
debris will take to reach the sensor position.
62
Debris traps in the system must be avoided.

These might include
large baffled sumps or tanks that promote settling. It should be
realised that particles may settle quite quickly, depending on size,
density, and on fluid viscosity.
(Stokes law can be used to
determine how quickly).
Some failures, such as piston scuffing, occur very quickly and there
may not be enough time for the debris to reach the sensor.
(A blowby meter, for example, will respond immediately).
The sensor should always be fitted upstream of any filters when
monitoring for wear debris.
The sensor is installed downstream of a
filter only if it is the filter or the downstream fluid that is to be
monitored.
Case Histories
Engine During Running -in - Effect of Cold Starts
Petrol
engine
during run-in period.
V8
- Effect
starts (see
c;
of cold
figure 9)
The
shows
figure
clearly
the
relationship between
the
three
sensor
outputs, Resistance
Abrasivity -AB
~,
and Temperature
Tp.
Graph of Ab. Rw & temp. against time
90
~
80
Rw
70
e 60 ~
K
S
" 50
~
II:
40
30
20
10
.;
0(
10
"~
J1.Ab
o
During the first cold
o
start,
the
oil
temperature rises to
Figun 9
45 0 C,
the release of
debris has increased
the sensor resistance by approx.
ohms/hr.
Tp
12
16
L
20
Time (hrs) from a starl lime of 16:27

---Ab - - - Rw - - To
0.12 ohms and AB shows a peak of 5
The engine was then shut down, the oil t~mperature cooling to -lOoC.
is no longer increasing and is showing a permanent increase in
resistance. AB is zero. Approximately 19 hours after the first cold
start, the engine is started up again. There is a further release of
debris which increases the sensor's resistance, and produces a peak
AB of -15.
The temperature of the lube oil this time increases to
over 70 0 C.
~
Note that in this second cold start the resistance drops slightly,
when the engine is shut down, this is due to the high rate of change
of fluid temperature which momentarily overrides the temperature
compensation circuit.
In this and in the following automotive applications the sensor was
plumbed into the oil cooler circuit, before the filter, via a
sandwich plate.
Running-in Wear
63
See figure 10 .
The first example is of an experimental,
engine.
natural gas, spark-ignition
SOX of the running-in in this case seems to occur in the first 100
hours, and the remainder in the next 400 hours.
The second example
monitors the running - in of a new set of pistons and rings fitted to a
2 litre petrol engine.
The running-in in this case occurred over a much shorter period of
time (10 hours).
This figure also shows a more detailed plot, which
reveals the larger release of debris after a cold start, this feature
becoming less pronounced as the engine becomes run-in.
The running - in debris from a new engine will consist of wear debris
generated by conforming reciprocating and sliding compone nts, and
also of debris present in the engine after manufacture, e.g. casting
sand and swarf.
Other tests tend to suggest that the latte r debris
is 'cleaned up' in the first few hours of running .
Cam and Tappet Wear
See Figure 11 .
C AM AND TAPPET . WE AR ON A TEST RIG
Belt & ouun s
Fig. 10.
O'S~'USUII!'30PSi
TEsT eM..
A/o"' m s.
""::L '""""~'>"
o
..
f _ ... t
"r rV
.. . ..
HOuts
'2
IIOU ' "
12
Fig. 11.
. . . . .. ......... ..., .... ,

,~
64
A cylinder head under test on a rig was turned over by an electric

motor.
Oil and water were supplied to the head.
The oil returning
from the head was pumped at high pressure (130 psi) past the sensor.
(In this case the sensor was not installed in a by-pass loop but in
such a way that the complete oil flow passed through it, in-line).
In this way the debris transport was guaranteed, with all debris
produced flowing past the sensor.
To shorten the life of the cams, the oil temperature was raised to
-113 0 C.
The low viscosity thus produced, along with the high
pressure drop across the sensor, ensured good sensitivity to the
small particles.
This arrangement enabled differences to be seen
between production and test camshafts.
Gear Scuffing
See figure 12.
The wear debris generated
during an FZG gear test
was detected by a Fulmer
Wear Debris Monitor at
Ethyl Petroleum Additives
Limited.
Extreme
pressure
(EP)
additives in gear oils
can prevent the onset of
scuffing during runningin.
The FZG test is
designed
to
enable
critical
loads
for
scuffing to be detected,
and provides a means of
comparing
EP
additive
efficacy.
~;6
Load ..n:telSlt1g 1-12
load cycres
0'
~-::-
-!
______________
FZG TeS! COUIIC!Sy 01 Elny' Pelroleum A60I~
uo
Fisure 12
FZG gear test results.

In the FZG test, gear loading is increased
running for 15 minutes at each load cycle.
incrementally
after
Load cycles 1 to 4 show a gradual decrease in the amount of debris

generated, even though load is increasing. This phase corresponds to
normal running-in of the gear surfaces.
Load cycles 5 to 12 show a
progressive increase in debris generation indicative of the onset of
scuffing damage.
Bearing Failure
See Figure 13.
RHP Bearing Research Centre incorporated a Fulmer Wear Debris Monitor
in a rolling bearing test rig,
to monitor the incipient failure of a
bearing.
Trials were made at a number of oil flow rates and sensor
pressures.
65

Figure
tests.
13
shows
results
from
two
OO}
At these sensor pressures, the hard

particles produced as bearing failure
commences cause instant and rapid
wear of the sensor, measured as a
change in resistance.
Contamination in Hydraulic Systems
See Figure 14.
Hydraulic fluid was contaminated with
AC fine test dust,
in a test rig at
Fairey ArIon .
00'
..... 13.
00>
i oo~
~.
OQ I
~
:;.
o~"":"-'-"""'--'--'--'-'-',--'---'--Y
0
~
10
~ 0) r -_ _ _A.:."""---'..,c.:'_~.:.._':.::
.._ ___,
~
r
To lol oiuol l'
01
5
0'
The contaminant was injected into the

system at a rate of 25 mgjmin and the
system monitored.
The
results
show
an
excellent
correlation between fluid abrasivity
(AB) and the number of particles
present in the fluid .
A knowledge of fluid abrasivity does
not, however, allow the number of
particles
or
ISO
code
to
be
determined.
10
20
Au""".-Q
I,.,t; "','
2Z/I'
,.r--------------:---.l~O
2'1119
~C Q
150
'co
20/17
191 IS
00
0..
0'
0G
1.0
1.1
1, 4
NB An ISO code, by definition, is a

particle count and therefore cannot
be measured by any other means.
This response allows good application on production test rigs for
product cleanliness,
and in the field for early warning and
contamination alerts, thus protecting system performance and integrity.
The fluid abrasivity in this instance is a particularly relevant
parameter .
The
higher the abrasivity,
the more damage the
contaminant will do to the system.
For example,
in the mining
industry the WDM is being used to guard against the ingression of
very abrasive quartzite into hydraulic picks.
The quart2ite would
destroy this costly equipment in a very short Lime.
Apparent Failure of Sensor to Detect Debris
Apparent failure to perform may be caused by :ack of understanding or
implementation of either of the following rules :
(i)
Ensuring debris is transported to the sensor.
(ii)
Matching sensor sensitivity and operating range with the

of debris generated .
Examples of (i) found in the field.
type
1.6
1. a
<
66
a)
Incorrect installation
e.g. sensors plumbed in downstream of a filter.
b)
Blocked sensor housing

e.g. the sensor plumbed into a system capable
particles larger than 1 mm without a strainer
upstream.
c)
of producing
being fitted
Fast failures
e.g. the time taken for the debris to reach the
longer than the failure time.
sensor
is
or soft for the sensor
to
Examples of (U)
a)
Trying to monitor debris too small

detect
e.g. white metal bearing debris
operation.
released
during
'normal'
(Such bearing failures may be detected,

but only in the later
stages when concentrations are higher and particles larger).
b)
Trying to monitor particles in high viscosity fluids

operating pressures.
at
low
NB High viscosity fluids (> 400 cS) can cause problems, e.g.
cavitation and frothing when handled with the wrong type of
pump.
In these cases use a large-volume, slow speed pump.
A good example showing a lack of understanding of debris transport
and system sensitivity, is a case in which oil from a failed engine
was placed into a drum. The oil was not agitated.
The oil was drawn
from the side of drum, and pumped to the sensor.
This set up promoted the debris to settle out,
laden only with small particles of wear metals
leaving the oil above

-<10~.
SOAP analysis revealed the presence of Fe and AI, etc., but the WOK
gave no response.
(SOAP will only detect 5-l0~ particles, too small
for the WDM).
The result was that the WOM was being supplied with fluid containing
particles less than 5-10 ~ in size.
When the drum was agitated, the
sensor produced a large response.
Summary
Objectives should be carefully defined

Machine health - failure prediction
Condition-based maintenance
Fluid quality
Product cleanliness
Sensor performance and operating range should be matched with
debris to be monitored, remembering that the WDM is normally
used for detecting abrasive particles of greater than 35~.
*
*
67
Debris transport should be carefully considered.

The YOM will provide an accurate, continuous measure of the
fluid abrasivity.
This will enable a status or trend to be
established for a particular machine.
A change in this status
or trend will be immediately recognised, but the significance
of that change will become apparent only through experience or
with the use of further investigatory procedures.
It should be realised that no one sensor alone can reliably
monitor overall machine health.
A combination or package of
different sensing systems is needed.
Practical Gear Fault Diagnosis Using Vibration-based Methods
AlanPenter
Stewart Hughes Ltd, School Lane, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, SOS 3YG, UK
1.0
INTRODUCTION
Vibration based methods for gear fault analysis have been in
existence now for many years.
Many methods rely on the
production of one measure to determine the condition of a
gear. A number of workers have recognised the benefit of
incorporating more parameters and to assist in arriving at a
realistic estimate of the gear condition and thereby reduce
false alarms. (1,2,3]
At Stewart Hughes Limited (SIIL) there has been a positive move
towards integrated systems utilising more measures than just
one. (4, 5]
The SIIL methods for gear an4 bearing fault diagnosiS using
vibration typically
generates
8 to 12 measures from the
signature [6]. These range from broad band energy measures to
narrow band pattern indicators for specific machinery faults.
Recent experience has shown that if this range of measures are
utilised as a team a highly reliable diagnosis of low level
faults can be made leading to increased lead time to final
failure.
This paper gives four examples of cases where the 'team'
approach has led to the successful diagnosis of gear fault~
where commonplace single parameter methods have or would have
failed. This 'team' approach is being successfUlly used for
gearbox quality checking at a gear repair facility and also is
being implemented as part of the ongoing development of
Helicopter Usage and Monitoring Systems (IWMS).
The four cases described are taken from recent work undertaken
by SIIL as part of their contract business and therefore
specific reference to the user of the gearboxes cannot be
made, however the gearbox description will be as full as
possible.
A guide to the analysis and measures used for this work can be
found in Reference 6.
2.0
THE CASE STUDIES
2.1
Case 1 - Shaft cracking
69
The gearbox was a heavy

duty conveyor drive with one
accelerometer fitted as shown in Figure 1. The gearbox was
run as part of a test series and the signal from the
accelerometer analysed to indicate failure. On day 69, in the
test the second reduction shaft ruptured causing a complete
failure of the gearbox.
The test was allowed to run to
destruction to give an indication of the prediction of failure
available from pattern matching techniques.
At the 39th day the misalignment indicator on the 12 tooth
gear showed a rise which exceeded the upper failure threshold
of the indicator. See Figure 2.
At the same time the ratio
of the fundamental mesh energy to the second harmonic also
rose beyond its lower failure threshold.
See Figure 3.0.
This latter indicator has no diagnostic value of its own and
can only show a change in the vibrating system dynamics. This
change was sustained for the remainder of the gearbox life.
The narrow band pattern indicator however reduced as the
gearbox 'ran in' to its new situation, ie impending failure.
The diagnosis given at day 39 was 'severely misaligned gear,
cause unknown'. The pattern had targeted the gear and the
failure. The other team member had confirmed it, thus giving
a reliable diagnosis and prediction of failure.
2.2
Case 2 - General gear wear

The gear used for this case study is a 21 tooth input gear
rotating at 1500 RPM and transmitting 220Kw.
The data
collected was over, six builds of the same machine. Each
build was tested four times over a two hour period. The mesh
ratio parameter began to exceed its thresholds at build 4. See
Figure 4. (Note: This parameter can go either +ve or -ve to
indicate a change in vibration character).
The pattern
parameter indicating general wear shows a rise from build 4 to
6 and at the end of the build 6 tests the gear was found to
have pitch line pitting on most teeth, see Figure 5. This is
gear was not run to complete destruction but it is likely to
have caused much consequential damage had it proceeded.
Again the confidence in the diagnosis given by two parameters
signalling a fault cannot be overstated.
If the general wear pattern indicator is used on its own,
false alarms can occur, but if a second parameter can be sited
then the fault detection is enhanced.
70
2.3
Case 3 - Build debris on an idler gear
This gear is further down the train of the case 2 gearbox.
The gear speed is 300 RPM and the power is still nominally
220Kw.
The gearbox on this
occasion had been running
continuously over a 100 hour test period. During this time 20
test points had been taken.
Between test points 5 and 17 the
multi-mesh impact parameter, a broad band pattern indicator,
gave high levels, see Figure 6.
This parameter is the only
one of the 'team' that can be used with a high degree of
confidence on its own.
The reason for this is that in its
calculation the automatically acquired signature is compared
to an expected pattern should there be multi-mesh impacts. In
the case of this idler gear there are two interacting meshes
180 apart. Therefore two impacts have to be found in the
acquired data in order that the parameter will rise in value.
These two impacts are corroborating evidence and can be
treated in the same way as the measures in the previous cases.
The fact that the indicator returned to a 'good gear' value
after test point 17 gave some problems of interpretation at
the time of the test. The most favoured scenario at the time
was debris in the mesh and indeed after test point 20 the
gearbox was stripped and a witness mark, probably caused by a
piece of swarf, was found on one tooth of this gear.
2.4
Case 4 - Tooth loss on double helical gearbox

This gearbox in a process plant has an input speed of 1500 RPM
and transmits 3mw. The gearbox had been surveyed when in a
good condition and parameter thresholds established.
On the next survey the base energy ratio parameter had risen
well above this threshold for the high speed shaft, 5500 RPM,
but no other parameter had risen. The only diagnosis possible
at that stage was that something was wrong but the fault had
not been targeted. A closer examination of the data showed a
lot of resonant activity obscuring the mesh frequencies. Once
the gear information was enhanced by the removal of this
resonant information the single impact pattern indicator also
increased to a level which exceeded the established 'good
gear' threshold.
This
gave
rise to a 'local damage'
diagnosis.
On removal of the gear it was found to have suffered a tooth
loss. At recommissioning the levels of these indicators again
returned to normal. See Table 1.

3.0
71
CONCLUSIONS
In
each of these cases encompassing a variety of gear
configurations the benefit of using at least two measures of
gear condition has been illustrated. Using this team approach
to gear diagnostics SHL automatic test systems can now
identify many different gear fault conditions with a high
level of confidence.
Such systems can provide the operator with lead time to
failure in order that a scheduled repair can be made also
ensuring that consequential damage costs are lower.
In
where technology is now able to
target
the
addition
maintenance action to the facility gear.
This paper has described how multiple analysis of one acquired
parameter, vibration can lead to increased confidence in
diagnosis. Systems are now becoming available to not only
make use of this experience but also additional data from
other sources some test, eg oil debris, temperatures; and some
process parameters, eg flow, thickness and surface finish.
Using these tools in this integrated 'team
increase machine availability and safety.
4.0
approach'
will
REFERENCES
(1)
Report of the Working Group on

Monitoring CAA Paper 85012, 1985.
Helicopter
Health
[2]
Astridge,
D, Vibration Health Monitoring of
the
Westlands 30
Transmission-Development
and Service
Experience, MFPG 1986 (Patuxent River, USA).
[3]
Pratt,
J, Engine and Transmission Monitoring
A
Summary of Promising Techniques, MFPG 1986 (Patuxent
River, USA).
(4)
Fisher C E,
Baines N C,
Incorporation of Modern
Vibration AnalYSis Techniques in Condition Monitoring
Systems, SHL408, March 1987.
[5]
Ephraim C P, A Systems Approach to Plant Management,

SHL515, May 1988 (Published in 'Production Engineer'
April 1988, p50.)
[6]
Gearbox Test System (GTS), G264
72
COMADEM 89 Inte rnational
I mpact
Par ame te r
Huh
Energy
Ratio
lot Survey
Cood
Cood
Znd Survey
Failed
Pai led
Cood
Cood
Recocrml.ssion
Oiatnosh
Cood
Local
Damag e
Cood
Table 1 1 Impact results from double he lical gear
Fl1" U I : C.. rbo. b)'out
O.OOl
00Ci1
o,oso
.. 616
o. lt z
-I . UI .
OOll
001 7
0."""
-5.IU
10
20
00
l"' ", l cctttll'l" I " l l
. , l ll1l'.l . r , .. , ... , ....... 1
73
.
:......J
..
uaail ..........:.............lHP.U~. C.~~.l ... ..... . . . : .B

.
:
:
:
:
!.taa ........ t............ t...... .... 1...... ...... : .....
U p~or
:~ B~f~Fr ~;;;
-5.669~I
-8.RBllr .. ....
5.090
1.980
:/2.
: c:. .. ._.
~ ::l ::
r. . . . . t .. .. "'f" .. .. ' ........ -L
.. ... .... : ............ : ......
10 .60
I ::::: :
IS.(\.1
ZlJ.OiJ
l
L
2i .00
TEST NUMBER
Figure 4
Me&h ratio for 2 tooth input gear
l . . ;;. . . . ; . . .
INPUT CUR
us I
! .. .... .. ! ..
Jr
::kLJ=ktb1
rr r . . :. . . 7f. . . -:- r. . }
::r r r rIr
LOIJe r
8. 000~ :t: ~ t
5.[190
1.000
10.BO
15 .00
2i .00
29 .00
TEST NUMBER
Figure 5 General wear pattern parameter for input gea 1"
0.IQ8 ,
8'388]::;:::::::::::r:::::::::: L,\T;\1-:.::. (::::: r::': :f
:j1 1t 11/.\1 1..1 ~

h' .j,.. ,... .i... ..
I '
. J\ .
T..~... .. .~ .... rh"
9.li~s1 : " .. :.. / ~ ..
1j' ,. ,. :'.,. ..\...., ,.:'., ..>~-
.a09
l.WO
v~'\ .. .~... .. .i
'.F'v-.... :' .;. ,. .~ . \
_3 . IOllr:i~J ~ . ,
Un)l)
10 .00
I ~ .al)
1~.Oo)
Test point
Figure 15
Multi-mesh impact indicator, idler gear
~~~:~
;:~.oo
COMPASS*: A Generalized Ground-based Monitoring System
M J Provost
Performance Systems Specialist, Rolls-Royce pic, PO Box 31, Derby DE2 8BJ, UK
This paper is an abridged version of that presented to the

AGARD Propulsion and Energetics Panel 71st Symposium on Engine
Condition Monitoring - Technology and Experience, held in
Quebec City, Canada, from 30th May to 3rd June 1988.
* COMPASS is a Registered Trademark of Rolls-Royce plc
1. Abstract
COMPASS (COndition Monitoring and Performance Analysis Software

System) is a ground-based computer system developed by
Rolls-Royce plc for application on the Rolls-Royce RB2ll and
Tay and IAE (International Aero Engines) V2500 turbofans. This
paper describes COMPASS, its sources of data and its analytical
functions, including details of new techniques developed to
improve the usefulness of the analysis that is done. The paper
also shows that COMPASS is designed in two parts:
- Analytical functions specific to a given application.
- General host routines, providing all the "housekeeping"
functions required in any monitoring system.
The use of the general host routines could be extended to cover
any operation (aerospace or non-aerospace, civil or military,
etc) which is to be monitored. The paper concludes by outlining
the approach Rolls-Royce plc has adopted to enable the COMPASS
host to be made available for widespread application.
2. Introduction
Many airlines over the last several decades have recognized the
benefits of in-service monitoring, and have developed condition
monitoring systems ranging from simple hand recording and
analysis of cockpit instrumentation to the use of electronic
on-board data gathering systems which select and record a
75
multitude of engine and aircraft measurements for onward

transmission to ground-based computer systems which store and
analyse data from an entire fleet. These systems have become
more complex as the amount of data to be processed has
increased, the data quality has improved and user requirements
for better analysis routines and more user-friendliness have
emerged: the aim is further reduction in equipment operating
costs, together with increased equipment availability.
COMPASS is a ground-based computer system developed by
Rolls-Royce plc for initial application on the Rolls-Royce
RB2ll-524G and Tay and IAE (International Aero Engines) V2500
turbofans, and which will be made available for use on future
civil and military engines (and, retrospectively, on earlier
versions of the RB2ll and Spey turbofans), airframes and APUs
(Auxiliary Power Units). The paper describes COMPASS, its
sources of data and its analytical functions. It also describes
the concept of COMPASS as a Neutral Host, ie a general system
providing all the "housekeeping" functions (data input, output
and storage, smoothing/trending, alerts and statistical
calculations) necessary to turn any set of analytical functions
for any application into a powerful condition monitoring
system. The approach Rolls-Royce plc has adopted to enable
COMPASS to be used with other (non Rolls-Royce plc) functions
is also discussed.
3. What is COMPASS?
COMPASS is a ground-based engine health monitoring system with

built-in flexibility to allow the user to select those
functions he requires to maximize the benefits to his
operation. These range between the extremes of simple trending
of cockpit parameters (eg shaft speeds, temperature, fuel flow,
vibration) and full module performance analysis plus mechanical
analysis, with or without alert message generation. Input data
to and output data from the analytical functions can be stored
within the system and displayed on a terminal or printer.
Depending on the user's operations, COMPASS can be configured
to run either on-line on receipt of data or in batch mode. It
76
is important to note that COMPASS is a system that reports by

exception, only alerting the user when it is necessary; the
user's attention is focussed on exceptional events, rather than
distracted by the process of searching through large quantities
of normal output in order to discover the exceptional events
manually.
The COMPASS/Aircraft interface is shown diagrammatically in
Figure 1. Data from the electronic engine control unit and/or
other engine parameter measurement devices is gathered by the
aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS), which also takes
in flight data, aircraft data and other engine data available
on the aircraft data busses. The output from the ACMS is then
transferred, by some means which is operator dependent, into
the operator's computer system, within which COMPASS is
installed.
ji
rOthe~ngin~l
r~_dat~ __________ l
I
I
Airline computer data
I
I flight/aircraft I
I data
~r---'
r----~
L~
Aircraft
condition
Other
system (ground based)
COMPASS
DB_taL
I- J'
I monitoring f- _ ..... .>j

I system
J Transfer
I
'- T - - - Ale to L!...........-.-L...Io--,~-L-l..-,...,......L.l-..,...,.....L!J
L_____ J
ground
Engine manufacturer responsibility
Airframe/airline respO:1sibi!ity with
er:g:ne manL,;fact~ ... er invol . . . ement
COMPASS-~ircraft
Alert
Trend plots,
Fleet average
messages
tables,
c"''T';~r&SSiOnl
bar char13,
system
X~Y
pl:>ts
rr:3~;~Er'l!'::e
Interface
COMPASS can be considered to consist of four modules:

- An Analysis Module, where all calculations for the
performance and mechanical functions take place.
- A Trend Module, where data input to and output from the
Analysis Module can be processed through a
Smoothing/Trending routine to produce alert messages if
changes outside predetermined limits (in terms of
77
levels, steps and rates of change) are detected.

- A Plot Module, which enables all information within the
COMPASS databases to be displayed on a screen and/or
printer in trend, tabular, bar-chart or X-Y plot format.
- A Utility Module, which handles items such as system
maintenance, generation of statistical data, data
compression and data validation.
4. Sources of Data for COMPASS
Data for COMPASS is generated from four main areas: on-wing
data, ground data, test-cell data and maintenance action data.
An appropriate operator/COMPASS interface system is provided,
ensuring compatibility between COMPASS and the outside world.
On-wing data is provided by the ACMS on board the aircraft.

Outputs typically produced today are in the form of reports,
generated during flight phases such as engine start, take-off,
cruise, on-request and ground run. The exact format, content
and criteria for generation of the output is agreed between the
engine supplier, the airframe supplier and the operator.
Typically, COMPASS analytical functions will carry out analysis
of data from some report types, while merely storing data from
other report types for future interpretation by the operator.
Ground data covers such items as oil uplift, entered manually
into COMPASS.
Test-cell data, corrected to standard conditions prior to input
into COMPASS, can also be entered. Analysed test-cell data can
be used as start points for the in-flight trend plots.
Maintenance action data typically includes date, time, aircraft
identification, engine number, engine hours and/or cycles,
engine installation position and recorded maintenance actions,
expressed as coded words. Maintenance actions which affect
performance and mechanical behaviour can be identified, and used
to reinitialise the Smoothing/Trending routines on parameters
affected.
78
5. COMPASS Analytical Functions

Depending on the instrumentation available on the engine and
the data-gathering system on the aircraft in which the engine
is installed, the functions described below are all available
in COMPASS. Some functions are, of course, available either
within existing monitoring systems or as separate stand-alone
programs; one of the advantages of COMPASS is that all
functions are integrated into one system, making it easier to
combine and correlate output from different analysis functions.
5.1 Module Performance Analysis and Sensor Bias Determination
This is the main performance analysis function; data recorded
from on-wing or test-cell running of an engine is compared with
that expected from a model of the engine at the observed power
level and flight/test-cell conditions; the differences from
expectations are used to estimate the efficiency and capacity
changes of the turbomachin,ery making up the engine, as well as
resolving any sensor bias which may be present.
This function uses Optimal Estimation techniques (Kalman
Filtering); however, the Kalman Filter has one inherent problem
in that measurement differences appropriate to known subsets of
component changes and/or sensor biasses tend to be analysed as
a combination of all possible changes and biasses. This can be
confusing when the user is trying to decide on remedial action.
Rolls-Royce plc has developed a proprietary addition to the
basic Kalman Filter which overcomes the above mentioned
characteristics, and focusses attention on the significant
items. Two examples for a two-shaft turbofan are illustrated in
Figures 2 and 3.
The upper portion of each figure depicts the results from the
basic Kalman Filter analysing a set of measurement differences
consistent with each of the figure captions; it shows the
assigning of these differences as being due to changes in all
the possible component changes and sensor biasses. The lower
portion of each figure shows the results from the proprietary
addition; it is seen that the output corresponds to the changes
used to generate the measurement differences.
79

BASIC
0' 6
FIL ER RESUL 5
~ALMAN
..... '~ ... ".... '...... ...... ;...-... ..;'....:......~ ...... !.. .
04
O' 2
. -.~.1i .....:.~~_
0100' 0
0 2
- 0.:
-0 6
H:CH IG H E RES UL TS
O' 6
..... 'j- -"":' -" ' ' ;' '" .. -- -, ' .... - .. ,.- 'j -. "'j" .... ~ ... "
0 4
. ' _,II ,..

! ""' r' .... ,.,i ......,:I .... ;' ,.,,'
! !
- O 2
! '1! .
...... !j.......! ...... ...... !!..... '.! ..... '!j... '.' ... ....
0 , 2
/0 0 ' 0
'1," '-" ",' , . .. :- . . OJ.' ':' , ,
L.
'':' ,
, .-., -.. - . _.- - -.. . -...... '"
.... :...... '~ '" ... .:. .... :. ... ".i, .. , .., ~ .... , ..:. ..... , .... ,...:..... -~ .. -... - .,' ........ o'
1
,,., '. !.,..
'
..,;, ..... .' .. " .,
.... , .. ,.,; ...... ..... ;.... ; ..
0.: -
.............. .. ,. ..
_, .. _ ,..... , 1, ~ , , _ ............. 1 .
~
U
'"
'0
N
~
U
'f
~
'f
W
til
'f
a::
a.
'
Cl.
l-
til
N
til
lL.
lL.
a.
I-
M
f-
'"
0..
I'-'
t/l
0..
r-.;
Analysis of -0 .5\ lIP Compressor Efficiency and

-0.5\ lIP Turbine Ef f iciency
~
DEI2: Fan Tip effic iency change

Fan Root / Booster efficiency change
HP Compresso r effi~iency change
HP Compressor capa city change
HP Turbi ne efficiency change
C"4
HP T'J.rbine capacity change
DE45: LP Turbine effici ency change
Exha ust Pressure Ra: io bias
EPR
P2
Inlet total pressure bias
T2
:n!et tota l tempera:ure bias
BASIC
0 '6
Fuel flow bias

HPC inlet total pressure bi as
HPC inlet tot al temperature bias
P)
HPC exit tot a l p ress ure bias
T)
HPC exit to tal temperature bias
EGT
Exha ust Gas Temperature bias
PI2S: Fan Tip exit tot a l pressure bias
Nl
Low Pressure shaft speed b i as
N2
High Press ure s haft speed bias
FF
CWl2 : Fan Tip capacity change
DE2 :
DE26:
CW26 :
DE4 :
P25
T25
KAL~A
FILT~R
RES UL S
04
O' 2
0 0
010
- O' 2
- 0,4
0 6
O' 6
0 4
Q 2
010
0 4
- O 6
: ' .... ,- ;
...... .....,.......
f f,
:~ :. : :JI': , ~:' j . : :I:~: :i,:: : ~l... ,j ..... ~ ......
:- :
.... :.... ,
~ ~.,
l .,; .. _... .
c"
1
.- . -
..... .!. .... j ... _.. l ,... ,.L .... J .......~ ...... l. .....L .... J. . .l.._ .. .:. ..... J..... ,l......l." . . l .....:...... ,t ......... . ............. ,-'
N
ILl
HI CHL ICH EO RES UL TS
-.. -!--; . : . I!.:. :.:.:..,::,.::,..
'0
- O 2
Ii:!!:1
. _i
. ....
N
ILl
'"
f'I
ILl
-0
'f
ILl
a a u a
'f
til
'f
ILl
u a
a::
a.
ILl
N
0..
f'I
f-
"-
"-
til
N
a.
II>
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a.
Analysis of -0 . 5\ BP Turbine Efficiency and

0,5\ BP Compressor Exit Total Temperature Bia.
1-
f(J
ILl
t/l
N
a.
z z
80
5.2 Overall Performance

In this routine, gas path parameters (pressures, temperatures,
fuel flow, shaft speeds) are compared with the engine model,
and deviations monitored.
5.3 Parameter SLOATL/Margin Calculations
This function estimates temperature and shaft speed margins at
take-off for an engine that is operated at full power.
Additionally, the function estimates the SLOATL (Sea Level
Outside Air Temperature Limit), which is the sea level ambient
temperature at which the engine would have zero temperature or
speed margin when operated at full power.
5.4 Thrust and EPR Derates
Percentage derated take-off thrust can be calculated from data
gathered at take-off, and delta EPR (Exhaust Pressure Ratio, a
thrust-setting parameter) at take-off and at three climb
altitudes can be input into COMPASS for accumulation into
grouped frequency tables. All this data can be used to monitor
engine usage.
5.5 Simulation
In this function, the engine model built into COMPASS can be
used in the predictive mode to give expectations of performance
parameters both with and without user-defined component
changes; this is particularly useful for "what-if" studies.
5.6 IP Speed/EPR Monitor (RB211 Only)
In this function, the operation of the VIGV (Variable Inlet
Guide Vane) controller is monitored by comparing IP speed and
EPR values, taken during engine acceleration to take-off power,
against "tramlines" or limits.
5.7 Vibration
Tracked shaft speed and broad-band vibration readings are
normalized and trended.
81
5.8 Fan Trim Balance

In this routine, vibration, phase angle and speed data from the
fan, gathered at take-off and cruise or in the test-cell, can
be analysed at user request to provide balance weight and
position information for fan trim balancing without a dedicated
ground run.
5.9 Engine Start
This function analyses data taken during engine start, by
comparing normalized temperatures at selected HP speeds with
expectations and monitoring deviations.
5.10 Flight Profile
Shaft speeds recorded during various flight phases can be input
into COMPASS for statistical analysis and engine usage
evaluation.
5.11 Oil Pressure/Temperature, Nacelle/Pylon Temperatures, etc
Several functions are provided to normalize oil pressure and
temperature measurements, nacelle and pylon temperature
measurements and, on the V2500 only, the No 4 bearing pressure
measurements, for comparison and monitoring against
expectations.
5.12 Oil Consumption
In this function, oil consumption is either calculated from oil
tank levels recorded during taxi (taking into account oil
temperature, burner pressure and HP shaft speed) or calculated
from manually-entered oil uplift figures.
5.13 Oil Analysis (SOAP)
Information from SOAP (Spectrometric Oil Analysis Program) can
be submitted to COMPASS; wear particle generation rate can then
be calculated, making appropriate allowances for dilution due
to the addition of oil during routine servicing.
5.13 Magnetic Chip Detector Data
In this function, qualitative comments are submitted to COMPASS
82
based on chip detector inspection. If a debris tester is used

to quantify chip detector material, the function will calculate
debris accumulation rate for trending purposes.
6. COMPASS Smoothing/Trending and Alert Functions
As stated earlier, COMPASS is designed to report by exception;
this philosophy demands sophisticated routines for assessing
the significance of changes and trends in the input data and
the results from the analytical functions described earlier.
The two functions that do this are the Smoothing/Trending
function and the Alert function, which are described here.
In choosing a Smoothing/Trending routine, a set of basic
requirements were laid down:
- The routine must use the current data point and
estimates from the immediately previous point only, ie
it must be recursive.
- It must have a small computational overhead.
- It must produce useful output from a limited amount of
data.
- It must cope correctly with unequally spaced data, since
it is highly likely that data points will arrive with
varying time periods or cycle numbers between them.
- Ideally, the routine should estimate trend (ie rate of
change) directly.
Of the available methods, only Optimal Estimation satisfies all
the requirements; more traditional methods, such as Exponential
Smoothing, only satisfy the first three criteria. The routine
produces best estimates of the true level and trend (rate of
change) of the parameter being monitored; the response of the
algorithm can be "tuned" to achieve the required balance
between sensitivity to genuine changes and over-response to
noise in the raw parameter values. In essence, the
Smoothing/Trending routine quantifies the "character" of the
time series in terms of level and trend, as well as giving
assessments of possible outliers or sudden changes in the
series. Given a direct estimate of rate of change, prediction
of events (over the short term) becomes possible.
83
Comprehensive alert facilities are available in the Alert

function to warn the user when parameters have moved outside
limits. Two levels of alert (denoted "yellow" and "red") are
provided for both maximum and minimum values of any parameter
being monitored. In addition to such "absolute" alerts, a
similar system for "relative" alerts is provided; in the case
of "relative" alerts, the parameter is compared with an initial
value generated at the start of the series, and alerts
generated when the difference from the initial value exceeds
defined limits. By applying the Alert function to the output
(level, trend and difference between actual and predicted
parameter value) from the Smoothing/Trending function,
sophisticated alerting of the user to significant events is
provided.
An important point to note is that all aspects of the
Smoothing/Trending "tuning" and alert level settings are
entirely under user control, and can be set up to meet user
requirements without reprogramming.
7. COMPASS Software Architecture
COMPASS has been designed to run on a variety of mainframe or
super-mini computer systems, and provide a flexible environment
within which the analytical functions and utilities may be run.
The architecture of COMPASS is shown schematically in Figure 4.
It is seen that the system to operate COMPASS consists of three
basic elements:
- Operator environment software, which provides the
environment within which COMPASS operates. It has to
supply COMPASS with data and commands defining the
processes to be carried out, and accept from COMPASS the
outputs from these processes. The operator may provide
this to suit his hardware and operating practices,
although recent developments have seen some of this
software become part of COMPASS.
- COMPASS software, containing the COMPASS analytical
functions and utilities.
- Interfaces, providing the linkage between COMPASS
84
software and the operator environment software. These

would normally be written by the operator according to
specifications supplied; however, if the COMPASS filing
system is used, the associated interfaces are supplied
as well.
r-----------------------I
Supplied filing system
and interface rT"oy be
rc~i'J~ed
~~~~ec,,)
own f",.".g
ic~~e,.'=~orll
~I
c/
:;Je.'"::;:'s
SjS~~,"""
ir"1tericce
r------------~I~IIrr____'-------,
~~s~r_S!le=.rc:..d~n~Tt.'i!.-_,
r---~--
L User Selected Ana!i'sis

2l Smoothing,
I
I U-;e;" s-;I;ci;d- A~olysT, - '31 trend recog. :
1- - -
- - - -
- - - ~ and alert
)
I
c .... :j
II IJ
r----~
- - - - - - - - - - - ....J generation
..J
I : ~S!.r ..?e..!.e.te~ ~n5!ly~is__n.1 _ _ _ _ _ _ J i :])-1.,
I
I
Plotting module
,r- I-------------------,
I
~ - - - lIWitin ~t,-, - --=_= -=---=-=-=-'-J
COMPASS System Architecture
8. Concept of Neutral Host

The above section shows that COMPASS is modular in design, and
essentially consists of two distinct classes of routines:
- A set of application-dependent analysis routines
specific to a given piece of equipment.
- A set of application-independent routines providing
general facilities, eg smoothing/trending, alert
generation and processing, compression, maiden point
generation, fleet averaging, data management and data
plotting and display.
In this context, it should be noted
th~t
the creation of the
application-independent routines represents 75%-85% of the

total task of creating a monitoring system.
85
This leads to the concept of a Neutral Host, within which

application-dependent routines reside, providing all the
general facilities required to turn a set of analysis routines
into a fully-fledged monitoring system, as illustrated in
Figure 5. A useful analogy is a hotel: private rooms are
provided for each occupant with access to general services
(restaurants, bars, swimming pools, etc) that are not
duplicated in each room.
Su;::.olied fi:ir,g sys:e.'7"I
cr.d interface rT'oy
rep'c:ed by
t;~
o~e~c~::rs
C.'"!:
fi:;,"g 'l,te"':1
::"",te'"ic :e.
C,lw' ....,
Eng;::e/ A:,.. ,: . . aft Uo . . -,f::;-:~.~..-~rs
Engine,l J...:rc:c:t Se;::e.- :er, t

P;ct):<etcii ~.~on:~cr:''1g
~D_i_o_gn_o_s_t_;c__R_o_u_tin_e_s_____ ~
Figure 5
COMPASS Neutral Host Concept
It is therefore possible for any OEM (Original Equipment

Manufacturer) to implant his own specific analysis routines
within the host, with only minor changes to cope with
particular specialized measurements. In this way, COMPASS can
be extended from being an engine monitoring system to a total
equipment monitoring system, providing the operator with a
co~mon tool for engine, airframe, APU and environmental control
system monitoring. Taking the idea a stage further, COMPASS can
be configured to monitor civil, military, industrial and marine
gas turbines, or indeed any other operation requiring data
analysis, smoothing/trending of data, alert generation and data
storage and display.
86
9. Licensing COMPASS
If the generality of application of COMPASS described in the

previous section is to be exploited to the full, OEMs require:
- commercial confidentiality to protect their proprietary
data and analytical functions.
- professional software support for the COMPASS host.
- user satisfaction with the whole system.
To meet these requirements, Rolls-Royce pIc has licensed
COMPASS to a third-party software house (SD-Scicon pIc); this
ensures:
- professionalism of software creation and support.
- independence from OEM suppliers, leading to the required
level of confidentiality.
Benefits to the OEMs include:
- concentration of software effort on equipment analysis.
- reduced cost of creation of monitoring systems.
Benefits to the users include:
- a single method of operation for all equipment being
monitored.
- host improvements are available for all equipment being
monitored.
- reduced implementation and support costs.
- better software support from a dedicated software house.
All parties benefit from the avoidance of re-invention of the
general functions each time a monitoring system is created,
with all the cost savings this implies.
Under the above arrangements, COMPASS will have numerous users,
be installed in various computer environments, monitoring
different equipment supplied by a variety of OEMs using a
variety of diagnostic routines. The user will receive
in-service support which recognises all these aspects and
ensures that problems indicated by COMPASS are correctly
resolved; in addition, the support will be tailored to suit the
87
needs of individual users and OEMs. The software house will

establish the necessary communications with users and OEMs,
cross-refer problems where relevant, carry out COMPASS
modifications where necessary to benefit the user/OEM
community, and maintain COMPASS documentation.
10. Conclusions
COMPASS is a state-of-the-art ground-based condition monitoring
system containing all the necessary software to store and
analyse data for an entire fleet. Several new features in the
Module Performance Analysis and Smoothing/Trending functions
have been incorporated to improve the quality and usefulness of
the analysis, and to enable COMPASS to report by exception;
this relieves the user from the task of manually reviewing a
multitude of plots to determine significant events. It is
designed to be highly flexible in operation, with standardized
interfaces such that any OEM can, through third-party business
arrangements, implant specific diagnostic routines appropriate
to the equipment being monitored. COMPASS provides one system
for both equipment manufacturers and users, not only in the
field of civil aviation but also in military, industrial and
marine gas turbines; indeed, the system is applicable to any
industrial or transport operation which requires data to be
analysed, smoothed and trended, with alerts generated and
output displayed as appropriate.
11. Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank M J Barwell, R J Self, J A

Chantry, P A Mucklow and other colleagues in Rolls-Royce plc
for their assistance in the preparation of this paper.
Computer-aided Machine Health Monitoring

Bogdan Zoltowski
Academia Techniczna-Rolnicza, Bydgoszcz, Poland
BYDGOSZCZ - POLSKA
The paper presents problems of computer aids in machine
diagnostic experiments.
It includes questions on coupling the
object under investigation with the computer data bases,
processing diagnostic information and diagnostic inference.
1.
INTRODUCTION
The enormous demand for technical diagnostics in machinery
requires modernisation of the methods used in diagnostic
procedures.
It is possible only by computerization of
diagnostic experiments in which the role of the computer
is determined in:
indirect control upon the experiment;
processing and gathering diagnostic data;
taking up diagnostic decisions.
2.
DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATIONS
The realization of technical diagnostic tasks is closely
connected with the possibility of acquiring information
about changes of parameters of physical, mechanical and
thermodynamic quantities describing the state of the tested
object.
An estimation of the state of the machinery is possible
only by diagnostic experiments which should give answers to
the following questions:
- how do sub-assemblies of the machine work and how does
the machine work as a whole?
- what are the qualities of diagnostic symptoms?
- to what degree are technical requirements fulfilled?
- how to evaluate stability of the machine?
- where to seek defects?
what are the causes of occuring defects?
89
- what are the ways of restoring nominal state of the

machine?
- how to resist recurrence of defects?
Therefore technical diagnostics should enable quantitative
valuation and an in depth analysis of destructive processes
and also of processes occurring during servicing.
It
should include the answerSto the following questions.
- how to recognize effectively the technical state of the
machine?
- how long and under what loads can the machine work until
the subsequent service?
- how to change the load of the machine to maintain its
technical availability?
- how to use the most advisable ways and means of
restoration of the machine?
- how to protect machines against destructive influences of
external factors?
The answers to these and to other questions are provided by
conducting diagnostic investigations which can be divided
into passive, active and passive-active categories [1].
Demands for the use of diagnostics directly in production
provide specific conditions favouring the usefulness of the
passive experiment.
The general specification for diagnostic experiments is
presented in Figure 1.
3.
COMPUTERS IN DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATIONS

A great amount of information accompanying the experiment
requires a wide use of computers for gathering information,
processing and taking decisions. In diagnostic evaluation
the computer acts as an effective medium, aiding
experiments and is used to solve three groups of problems.
Group 1
Identification, modelling and computer
simulation of machines for diagnostic requirements.
COM ADEM 89 International
90
Cont.rol E
Machine
product. , [working]
lprocess
GCS.X.Z.E.N>ooO
St.at.ics and Dynamics

int.erference N
supply Z
energy
raw mat.erial
{ume
range
"t."
u
r "
Wear
dest.ruct.iVel
(t.ime '".e",slale x<:&
Diagnost.ic
, {residual)
process
SCX.Z.E.N.t.>-o
'feedback
Experiment.s
Ipassi ve-act.! ve I
X-.._Iced
E.Z-const.Cgiv.nl
r-accident.al
-cho ce
-choice or places or receiving

t.he signal
-choice or measures or t.he
5i nal
St.at..
presumed
:. :'~~~~. ~~~?~:
sympt.om
...........
probable
ir--------:.~~~~~.~~~?~.
ISCQr) ACr) xCQ)+NCQ.r)
Diagnost.ic model or t.he machine

t'rom aclive
and passive-act.ive expeTlrrteTlt,C.
Diagnost.ic model or the

machine rrom pasSive
experiment
Figure 1
Model of the Machine requiring diagnostic analysis
91
- optimization of the system utilization by means of

computerized methods and devices for technical
diagnostics.
Group 2 - computer diagnostic experiments;
- processing of information on working machines;
- computer aids for taking diagnostic decisions.
Group 3 - computer analysis of results of experiments;
- setting up computerized data bases;
- forming the control system
experiments.
for diagnostic
The main technical problems relating to condition monitoring of

machines are:computer collection and processing of diagnostic
information;
interfacing and testing of machines with the computer
["measuring channel"].
designing a software system for particular diagnostic
experiments [passive, active, passive-active].
4.
CONCLUSION
The increasing importance of technical diagnostics in
controlling the conditions of machines requires
computerization. The benefits of such operations are:- immediate access to data base;
processing of a great amount of measured data in a
relatively short time;
- visualization of measured data;
- optimization of didactic processes;
- expert systems - artificial intelligence;
- properly designed and working systems must be developed
and effectively utilized by technically trained
personnel.
92
This work was sponsored by the Central Research Programme CPBP

02.19. Text 04.19
LITERATURE
1.
Zoltowski B:
diagnostics.
2.
Zoltowski B [and others]: Foundations of computer system

servicing experiments in machinery diagnostics. Report of
CPBP 02.19. Text 04.19. Bydgoszcz. AgriculturalTechnical College. 1987.
Projecting experiments in machinery

WSOWRiA. Torun 1984.
A Revolution in Rotating Machinery Monitoring
Tom Clarke
Computer-aided Test/Data Acquisition Sales Specialist, Hewlett-Packard Ltd, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berks
The largest instrument manufacturer in the world, Hewlett-Packard

are about to introduce a system specifically to monitor Turbine
Generators. The paper discusses the practical benefits and
issues surrounding the monitoring of vibration on large turbogenerated sets. The system, based on industry standards and
unique measurement capability utilises patent technology to
provide full monitoring of the tJbine as defined by VCM/7.
Due to advances in computational speed, it is now possible to
replace the tracking ratio synthesiser and tracking filters, used
for order analysis in rotating machinery, with a system that uses
a fixed filter and samples at a fixed rate for all shaft rotation
speeds. This new technique called computed order tracking uses a
digital tracking algorithm and re-samples the original data,
using a linear interpolation filter at constant shaft angle
increments.
In addition to eliminating the tracking synthesiser and filters,
this new method can follow rapid changes in shaft rpm with no
time delay and has no phase noise due to phase locked loops.
AGENDA
i.
ii.
iii.
i)
Justification and Experience

Implementation Issues
Software Techniques
JUSTIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE
In the interest of controlling costs it has become

increasingly important for Power Generation utilities to
improve plant availability and to minimise outage times.
Privatisation will not diminish that requirement.
It is
therefore
important to achieve early detection and
understanding of operational problems and faults, so that
informed decisions can be taken on operation and maintenance
matters. In this respect the vibration behaviour of turbinegenerators, during run-up, run-down and steady state
operation, provides the chief source of symptoms by which the
mechanical state of the rotating components can be judged.
Turbo-Supervisory Equipment is provided on turbine-generator
units so that the plant can be controlled to operate within
specified limits. The data presented include bearing
vibrations and shaft eccentricities.
First indications of
problems can be discerned from these readings as trends or
abrupt changes. However, theIr value is limited as the
readings are of overall (rms) levels, and information on
94
frequency content and phase components, which are critical to

fault diagnosis, are not available.
In order to derive more information from the TSE data the
practice has been to tape record the signals at plant
run-down for off-site analysis at central laboratory
facilities.
The assessment of this data, together with spot
readings taken at steady-state conditions, constitutes
routine monitoring of the plant. This is clearly not
satisfactory compared to an on-line vibration monitoring
system.
ii) IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

Having taken the decision to install an OLVM system at a
station, it is then necessary to face up to the issues which
will have a direct bearing on its future usefulness
Amongst these matters are the specification of the system,
bearing in mind the specific turbine-generator plant
involved, the signal sources, the location of the system, who
will use it, service it, be responsible for data assessment,
and so on.
The development of an advanced vibration monitoring system
currently being undertaken is described. This system uses a
new multi channel high performance data acquisition card
which is able to automatically track variable machine speed
including start ups and run downs.
On board firmware
(protected by patent) calculates directly the phase and
vibration amptitude data in the order domain. This avoids
the smearing experienced in the frequency domain with
variable speed machines. Comprehensive data management and
display facilities will be provided via a host HP9000 Series
300 work station. These will include multi channel real time
on-line displays plus historic/trend displays of data
retrieved from database storage. The range of displayed data
will include mimic diagrams showing machine status, time
histories, shaft orbits, spectra and, for transient
operation, Bode and polar plots.
IN ROTATING MACHINERY TESTING, spectral displays are often needed
relative to the number of cycles per revolution of a reference
shaft (called orders), instead of to the number of cycles per
second (Hz). Any signal components that are strictly functions
of shaft angle will appear as stationary lines in the resulting
order spectrum, independent of shaft velocity. Order tracking
means that signals are sampled at constant shaft angle
increments, instead of constant time intervals.
If a suitable shaft angle encoder is available, then external
sampling pulses at constant angular intervals are available.
95
However, in many cases, only a P-per-revolution synchronizing

(sync.) pulse is available, where P is a positive (non-zero)
integer.
The conventional approach is to obtain external
sampling pulses from an oscillator that is phase-locked to the
sync. pulse train.
In addition, the bandwidth of anti-aliasing filters in each
signal path must be adjusted to track shaft velocity, which
implies accurate measurements of shaft velocity.
An alternative is to use data sampled at constant time intervals,
using fixed anti-aliasing filters, and to measure the arrival
times of each sync. pulse. The~ using some assumed model of
shaft rotation between sync. pulses, a set of new sampling times
can be calculated, corresponding to uniform shaft angle
increments.
Data values at these new sampling times can be
obtained from the original data by using a linear interpolation
filter.
A buffer memory is needed to store records of data, and
a fast arithmetic processor is needed to perform all required
calculations.
This latter alternative will be discussed in this paper.
It
eliminates time delays, bandwidth limitations, and phase noise
that plague phase locked oscillators, resulting in clean order
spectra (especially at high orders), and performance that is
independent of (constant) shaft acceleration. Not only is the
phase-locked oscillator eliminated, but tracking filters and
frequency counters are no longer needed.
The theory behind this computed order tracking technique is
discussed first, and experimental results comparing the old and
new methods are given last.
COMPUTED ORDER TRACKING - Assume that the reference shaft is
constantly accelerating. Then the shaft angle e can be modeled
as a quadratic function of time.
where e is shaft angle expressed in units of liP revolutions.

Higher order polynomials may be used, but add extra complication.
Three contiguous sync. pulse arrival times are needed to
calculate the three b coefficients in Eq.(l).
This results in
three simultaneous equations that are linear in the unknown
coefficients.
Once these coefficients are calculated, Eq. (1) can be inverted to
give the new sample times for any given 8.
96
This equation gives rpm at any shaft angle, or shaft angle for
any given rpm.
In practice, a new quadratic is calculated every time a new sync.
pulse arrives. To avoid overlap, only the interval is used
within each polynomial segment, although this choice is somewhat
arbitrary.
Note that constant value of shaft acceleration do not cause any
errors, no matter how large the acceleration might be. There are
no delays in the calculated re-sampling times,and the uncertainty
in these times depends only upon the accuracy of the sync. pulse
arrival time measurements, and upon the precision of the
subsequent computations.
In addition, instantaneous shaft
velocity is known for every shaft angle at all times, allowing
very accurate velocity triggering.
DATA INTERPOLATION AND RE-SAMPLING - If a signal is band-limited
before sampling, so that no power exists above half of the
sampling rate, then there is no information loss in the sampling
process. Thus, the original continuous signal can be exactly
reconstructed (except for computation errors), and can
subsequently be re-sampled at arbitrary times, as long as the
re-sampling rate is at least twice the signal band-width.
One possible reconstruction method is to convolve the sampled
signal with (1/ t)sin ( t/ t), where t is the sampling interval.
Unfortunately, the infinite width of this functions means that
all original data samples contribute to the value at each
re-sampled point.
A more practical technique is to oversample the signal by a
factor m>l. Then, a finite impulse response (FIR) filter can be
designed such that the convolution of the filter impulse response
with the sampled data will give an arbitrarily good approximation
to the original signal. The width of this convolut~on kernel
depends upon the oversampling factor m, and upon the tolerable
error in the signal approximation.
As an example, if m=2, an FIR filter can be designed with a
passband accuracy of about +1.6% and a stopband rejection of
nearly 43 dB, with an impulse response that is only 4 samples in
width.
In contrast, a 10-point interpolation filter can be designed
(m=2) to give a passband flatness of about +0.08% and a stopband
rejection of greater than 104 dB.
stopband rejection is particularly important for reducing
aliasing errors that result from re-sampling. Note that filters
can be designed for any m>l. but more data points are needed in
97
the interpolation process to preserve signal accuracy as m is

reduced in size.
The general procedure for designing an FIR interpolation filter
will be described next. Assume an infinite set of uniformly
spaced zeros along the frequency axis, resulting from the Fourier
transform of a rectangle having the width of the desired filter
impulse response.
For an n-point filter, these zeros occur at
multiples of fs/n, where fs is the sampling rate. As long as
these zeros are simply moved around in the complex frequency
plane, the width of the resulting filter impulse response will
remain unchanged.
For example, the passband can be adjusted by moving the pairs of
zeros nearest the origin to new locations off of the frequency
axis, and symmetrically spaced around the origin.
The stopband
can be adjusted by crowding the remaining zeros into a suitable
stopband interval.
For an oversampling factor of m, the ratio
between stopband and passband boundaries is 2m-I, and passband
width is fs/m.
For the 4 point filter described in Eq.(I.}, the first pair of
zeros were moved to +iO.3I75875fs to flatten the passband in the
region between O.25fs.
The stopband begins at -O.75fs with
zeros uniformly spaced at O.25fs intervals. The second pair of
zeros were moved to O.919760fs to improve stopband rejection.
The minimum re-sampling rate if fs/2.
Once a continuous reconstruction of the sampled data is obtained
by this interpolation process. It is possible to re-sample at
any frequency above fs/m, since the original signal bandwidth was
restricted to +fs/2m. Any new aliasing errors will be controlled
by the stopband of the interpolation filter.
Thus, any data
redundancy due to initial oversampling can be eliminated during
re-sampling, if desired.
In the next section, some experimental comparisons will be
described between this computed order tracking technique and the
conventional method using a phase-locked tracking oscillator with
external sampling.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES - There are several additional advantages for
the computed order tracking method. The major additional
features are tied to the fact that the data is sampled at a
constant time interval. This gives the ability to throughput
data to a disk so that the data can be processed at a later time.
This allows the user to change the processing parameters and
reprocess the data.
Another feature is the ability to do both
order and frequency domain processing simultaneously, such as
both order tracking and third octave analysis.
Inspection of Re-manufactured Gearboxes Using Noise Analysis

D E Johnson and G J Trmal
Department of Engineering, Bristol Polytechnic, Bristol, UK
Quality of remanufactured autcmotive gearboxes

is to be det:enni:ned by OOOtpllter aided objective
analysis of noise. Techniques for seperatirg and
identi~ individual faults based on emitted
no~ has been achieved for the gears.
RepetabHity of the analysis techniques has been
oonfinood by
interchanging gears between
gearboxes.
Autarotive gearboxes can be remanufactured when they fail or simply wear

out. Parts such as bearings, which will probably be nearing the end of
their useful life are replaced regardless of their condition. Gears and
other components, if found worn or defective, will be replace~
Experienced inspectors assess the quality of the remanufactured gearbox
by running the unit on a test bed and listning to the noise generated.
HCMever, the subjective judgement of quality is made more difficult as

inspectors must discriminate between gearbox generated noise and
background noise. Individual inspectors will have their own personal
standards of acceptance which will be difficult to establish. Subjective
assessment makes it impossible to refer to the record in case of a later
canplaint.
A computer aided system for noise inspection of the gearbox which is
under development, will overcome the problems of subjective assessment.
The system will provide documentation of a comprehensive objective
analysis of gearbox noise [1].
99
The system for testing the gearbox noise at Bristol Polytechnic has been
explained adequately in the authors previous paper [2]. The main problem
of noise from gearboxes is that the signal is composed of components
from all sources, all gears and bearings. In addition there is also the
background noise. These components of noise must be suitably seperated
by the detection and analysis techniques in order to identify individual
faults.
Generally, faults can give rise to noise with an impression of
uniformity and a noise of periodic but non-uniform character ("knocks").
The detection techniques must be able to deal with both types of noise.
Signal averaging with the aid of a shaft encoder is employed to extract
noise signal due to individual gears from the total gearbox noise.
Relative proportions of frequency components of averaged signals can be
calculated by application of a Fast Fourier Transform.
2.1 Assessment of Ncn- uniformity.
During this investigation, a parameter called Power Deviation (pD) has

been developed specifically to determine quantitatively the level of
non-uniformity of a Signal average (see appendix I for the def ini tion).
Kurtosis (the normalised fourth statistical moment) is used to detect
peaks in signals. But t wo signal averages with exactly the same value of
kurtosis, can have different pressure time s e ries. The power deviation
parameter is more reliable in assessing non-uniformity.
3.1 Results of signal
averag~
Figure 1 shows results

of signal averaging
over 100 revolutions
of the gear. The six
results are grouped as
non-unifrom (a, b, c )
and uniform signals
(d,e,f).
The nonuniform
s i g n a 1
averages range from
very non-uniform sound
pressure level (a) to
the one approaching
uniformity (c).
1IOil-Ulii FORH
UIH FORH
~1~1I~~~~~~
e
I 'I.'
Figure 1
~~rW~1~.I~'(ll1I,Nk,~\~~ iil'\~
Uniform and non-uniform

gear signal averages.
100
3.2 Cllaracterizaticn by
Magnitude of the power
deviation depends on
the position of the
non-unifonnity in the
record. Figure 2 sh:)ws
seperation of uniform.
and !X)n-uniform signal
averages by plotting
minimum
power
deviation
ag a i ns t
maximum (see appendix
I).
Each
cross
represents the power
deviation value for
one signal average.
High values of maximum
and minimum power
deviation represent
high degree of nonunifonnity. Sinusoidal
signals (very uniform)
are situated near the
origin of the graph.
Power Deviaticn
l'
M
ax
Figure 2
4.0
In~ing
PO ~ !r
Deuiation
Graph of min against

max power deviation .
gears
Gears have been interchanged between gearboxes in order to verify that

the characteristic signatures belong to individual gears and not to a
conbination of factors in a gearbox.
The gears interchanged are as follows
1
Gear with damaged tooth (29 teeth)

Gear with several damaged teeth (25 teeth)
Good gear from a passed remanufactured gearbox (29 teeth)
Gears are labelled

as follows to distinguish between orginal position
and interchanged position:
Gear(o)
Gear(t)
Gear 1 in orginal gearbox.

Gear 1 after transplanted into a!X)ther gearbox.
4.1 Results of interc::harYJed gears
Values of kurtosis (K) and power deviation are sh:)wn in Table 1. Gear 1
has nearly identical values of kurtosis and power deviation. Gear 2
however, shows increased values of kurtosis and power deviation once

transplanted into a!X)ther box. Gear 3 (the good gear) has similar values
of both parameters.
101
Quality , Reliability, Health and Safety
Table 1
Gear
(0)
(t)
pD
pD
107.9
101.9
10.0
9.4
58.4
80.9
pD
4.0
6.7
20.7
16.4
3
K
3.1
2.9
For the faulty gears (1 and 2) power deviation and kurtosis values are
high. When gear 1 is interchanged, both values remain essentially the
same. Gear 2 shows increased values after interchange corresponding to
an increase in non-uniformity. Parameters for the good gear (3) remain
lCM .
115
1(0)
2(0)
orgimll
49
3(0)
50
.~,..,
'-'
2( t )
le t )
liS
tran~plant"d
3(t) 50
N(ll
~
127
shaft hannonics
Figure 3 Order spectra for interchanged gears.

Order spectra are consider to be characteristic of the gears wear [3]. A
new gear has a strong first tooth meshing harmonic that decreases with
wear while other harmonics become prominent [4]. Figure 3 shows the
order spectra before (0) and after the interchange (t) for the three
gears. Results show spectra are essentially the same for all three gear
pairs. Gear 1 (29 teeth) shows peaks in both cases at 115 orders which
corresponds to the first lower sideband due to modulation by the shaft
frequency of the third upper tooth meshing harmonic. Gear 2 (25 teeth)
sh:Jws peaks at 49 orders in both cases. This corresponds to the first
lCMer sideband of the first upper tooth meshing frequency (modulated
again by the shaft frequency). Gear 3 (25 teeth) shows peaks in both
102
cases at the first tooth meshing hannonic (50 orders).

Table 2 shows ratio of tooth meshing hannonics plus associated upper and
lower sidebands to the total signal power.
Table 2
Gear
PO
Pl
P2
P3
1(0)
l(t)
2(0)
2(t)
3(0)
3(t)
0.01
0.01
0.05
0.02
0.11
0.06
0.03
0.04
0.28
0.26
0.18
0.34
0.05
0.14
0.06
0.03
0.06
0.07
0.22
0.21
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.02
PO = ratio of fundamental Tooth meshing order + 3 upper and 3 lower

sidebands to total power.
Pl
ratio of 1 upper tooth meshing harmonic + 3 upper and 3 lower
sidebands to total power.
(P2 and P3 calculated from second and third tooth meshing hannonic)
5.0 DIsaJSSICN AND aN::LUSICN
'!he process of signal averaging is effective at extracting the noise due
to individual gears from the total gearbox noise signal. The level of
non-uniformity of the gears signal average can be quantified by the
power deviation value which is able to give better discrimination
between the gears than the more normally used kurtosis value.
Results from the interchanged gears show that the fault mainfests itself
in a similar way in different gearboxes. This would be expected i f the
magnitude of the fault is high enough to reduce elements of noise due to
differences in transmission error between gear pairs. '!he level of nonuniformity remains similar as power deviation and kurtosis values show.
The noise generated by the gears in different gearboxes sounds the same,
and the similarity between order spectra pairs show this. '!he two faulty
gears show peaks in all situations at modulated upper tooth meshing
harmonics, whereas the other "good" gear shows peaks at a tooth meshing
harmonic.
Future collaboration between gearbox inspectors will enable limits for

acceptable non-uniformity and amount of gear wear to be established.
1.Trmal G. J., Johnson D. E., Longdon A. R. K. The use of noise

signature for the inspection of reconditioned gearboxes. CXl1ADEM 1988.
2.Johnson D.E., Trmal G.J. Use of noise as an inspection tool. 20th
lSATA conference, 1989.
3.Boarer L. J., Gearbox testing in top gear. (ME Dec 1985.
4.Randall R. B., Cepstrum analysis and gearbox fault diagnosis.
Bruel and Kjaer applicaion note 233-80.
Quality, Reliability. Health and Safety
103
APPENDIX 1
Definition of power deviation
Signal
(pO)
average sound pressure squa red to obtain power content
The pO~Jer
i s
then
summed
thr-oughout
the re'/ol ut i on
(1).
(2).
t ..,- 7":)::;
TF'
l---'CI
P~
Ihe power function
f-P
f" (p)
Deviation
IS
l-::n
I:
l =O
(1)
then normalized
15
(3).
P: - P~
the n calcul a ted as follows .
pO
Typic al
p ':''Jp.r
minimum
el f
r.ormali.zod
obla\. n
do?vi..o.li.. o n.
"
Ueviation is th e n calcLllated
obtain
pt 6 t
f'.JT I-: ti. ,:>, -, to
function of
pOl'Jer
for
the
shif ted
deviation over
power
shift (5).
sig n al
and
va lues recordetl.
'L;\
fr(p[)
pO
to
Ma:-:imum
, (!
lYPi.-:::ol
{ur.c. tier.
of
p0vor
dovi.oti..on.
-----&~"-'-I~
,--(-.
, ->-----------,
PO\"Jer deviation
is then r-ecorded
as
the
geometric
mean
o f
the
maximum and minimum values(6)
pO
Reliability of Aircraft High Lift Devices
K W Chan, G J Trmal, A P H May and G Southcombe

Department of Engineering, Bristol Polytechnic and British Aerospace pic, Commercial Aircraft, Bristol, UK
ABSTRACl'
The installation of high power computer hardware on the present
of civil airliners has enabled the introduction of

&J{iristicated airtJorne diagn=tic systems to assist in the maintenance
of critical aircraft a:nb:ol systems.
The paper describes the current research work underway at British
Aerospace Commercial Aircraft (Filton) in developing a real time
condition monitaring system for the complex mechanisms used to actuate
aircraft "high lift" moving surfaces. In parallel with efforts to
design cut some of the in-service problems , the paper reviews the need
for and perceived benefits of a condition monitoring system. The
described monitoring system is intended not only to warn of the
approaching failure of these devices but also identify the cause and
tlrus facilitate ccnvenient and rapid correction.
g~ation
1. INl'RCXXJCI'ICN
Aircraft maintenance is expensive and one of the fundamental factors

which determines the overall running costs of an airline. However, its
quality directly influences aircraft safety, reliability, operating
efficiency and ultimately, passenger appeal. Thus,whist reduced
maintenance costs are attractive to airlines, it must be accompanied by
an increase in quality.
The expense and complexity of monitoring modern airborne electronic
systems have become accepted necessities, particularly with the new
generation of fly-by-wire aircraft and the widespread introduction of
the "glass cockpit".
Mechanical system fault diagnosis and
rectification still relies heavily on an intuitive understanding with
multiple components being changed until correct operation is restored.
105
Present on-board diagnostic systems serve only to highlight faults and

system failures as and when they occur, without forewarning of the
impending failure or of which component in the system is about to fail.
This invariably leads to unscheduled stoppages for maintenance,
resulting in frustrating flight delays and cancellations.
The advent of the "glass cockpit", with its powerful digital computers
and CRT display screens, not only reduces display complexity, but for
the first time provide real on-board computing power. This on-board
computing facility render the development of an expert maintenance aid
both feasible and highly desirable.
2. <DIDITICN M::M:'IORllf} OF AIRCRAFT SYSTElotS
As mentioned earlier, on-board electronic systems are constantly
monitored for correct function.

In addition, critical engine
performance parameters are automatically recorded in flight to detect
any deviation from normal (healthy) conditions. Other notable aircraft
systems or functions which are monitored in real time are tyres (warning
of deviation from upper and lower pressure limits), hydraulics
(temperature, pressure, volume and fluid cleanliness indications) and
cyclic stresses in aircraft structures (under development).
This proposal is to extend condition monitoring to the complex
mechanisms used to actuate aircraft "high lift" moving surfaces. The
high lift surfaces are the leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps on
aircraft wings which increase lift at low speeds in order to achieve
short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities.
Most actuation systems use a hydraulic motor to produce rotation, which
is converted to the necessary translation by means of either a
screwjack, a rack and pinion or a crank type mechanism. The ability to
predict impending failures of these systems coupled with diagnosis would
allow appropriate maintenance at convenient times with minimal loss of
revenue .
3. HIm LIFT DE.VICES (SLATS AND FLAPS)
3.1 Design functicn
Slats and flaps produce increased lift and prevent wing stall at low
speeds during take-off and landing. In aircraft cruise mode, they are
required to be stowed (or retracted) to produce an aerodynamically
"clean" wing surface to minimise drag and thus increase fuel economy.
The principle is shown in Figure 1.
Deployment and retraction of slats and
<-- ~~
flaps is by manual selection from the
~
pilots control lever unit which sends
--~---_
"
an electrical Signal to the Electronic
Control Unit (on the 146) or the Slat SLAT
FLAP
and Flap Control Computer (on Airbus)
to activate the Central Power Unit in
the selected mode. Power is then
supplied to the transmission drive
"'~
system running outboard along the wing
~~~_~
to provide simultaneous operation of
the surfaces on both sides of the
aircraft.
Fig I.Function of Slats & Flaps
. f\ '
r " \
106
3.2 Slat arxl flap system architecture

discussions
will
principally focus on the Airbus
family of aircraft (namely the
A300. A31O. A320 and the yet
unlaunched A330/340) and the
British Aerospace 146. All the
Airbus aircraft employ slats at
the leading edge and flaps at
the trailing edge of the wing.
The B.Ae 146 has trailing edge
flaps only.
Qrr
Figure 2 shows the principal

elements within the Airbus A310
slat system. This arrangement
is repeated for flaps and is
typical of all the Airbus type
aircraft.
" SlM ~ (lRY
p pu
Fig 2.00ntrol of the Slat system.
The architecture of a typical slat/flap system comprise of the:

(i) Aerodynamic Surfaces.
(ii) Support Tracks (load support and guidance of the surfaces to preset positions.
(iii) Carriages (moving mechanism fixed to slat/ flap surfaces, driven
by the actuator on the path of the support tracks).
(iv)
Actuator:
(a)
Screwjack type on A300, A310 and B.Ae 146 (see
Figure 3)
Fig 3. Screwjack driven mechanism for Flap actuation.
107
Quality , Reliability , Health and Safety
(b)
Rotary, driving a rack and pinion arrangement on
f.320/ f.330/340 slats (see Figure 4).
Fig 4 . Rack and pinion

Sl at mechanism.
0'-
(c)
Rotary,
.0"
driving a lever/link arm arrangement on
f.320/f.330 / 340 flaps (see Figure 5) .
(v) Transmission drive (consisting of torque shafts on steady bearings
and angled gearboxes on Airbus aircraft or universal joints on B.Ae

146)
(vi) Power Control Unit (Airbus) or Flap Control Unit (B.Ae 146). These
are electro-hydraulic power units.

3 . 3 Safety and protecticn devices
There are various sensors
installed at s t rat e g i c
positions to detect slat/flap
position, speed and direction
of transmission rotation. The
tv,Q main safety devices fitted
on the wing on all the
aircraft mentioned are the
Wing Tip Brakes (or the
~try Brake Unit on the
146) and the Torque Limiters.
The function of the brakes is
to stop and hold the wing
torque shafts under certain
failure conditions. The most
severe failure condition is
wing asymmetry which could
result if a torque shaft
suffers a disconnect failure
on one side of the aircraft.
In such an event, the brakes
(at the wing tip and in the
power control unit) would be
autanatically activated, to
lock both wing slat/flap
surfaces simultaneously.
..
r ~ .~
\.110111.
C....... I. G[
,e ..(_
Fig 5. Crank driven Flap mechanism.
Each individual actuator is equipped with a mechanical Torque Limiter
\08
device. Its design function is to limit the maximum induced load into
the transmission system and the aircraft wing structure. When the load
torque on the Torque Limiter exceeds the pre-set limit it locks the
system. The load torque has three components:
( i)
Torque from actuator friction.
(ii)
Torque from mechanism friction (eg carriage, track).
(iii)
Torque as result of Aerodynamic Loads.
If arr./ one or combination of the three parameters produce a load greater

than the setting of the torque limiter then the system will lock up.
I~ed friction is caused by in-service wear and tear,

but if
obstructions are presented to any of the moving mechanism, instant
seizure occurs producing a lock up response.
3.4 Operating envira1ment arrl oooditi<XlS
It is generally accepted that slats and flaps used on large civil

airliners, together with hydraulics, landing gear, wheels and
brakes, give rise to the highest maintenance costs on airframe systems.
Their design function and operating environment tend to dictate the
frequency of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. The following are
the main operating conditions under which slat and flap systems must
function:
(i) Intermittent use; extended for take-off and landing only (must be in
stowed position during cruise phase).
(ii) High loads due to aerodynamic forces; aerodynamic forces are in

opposition to extension load but assist in retraction.
(iii) Employment of sensitive torque limiter devices for overload
protection.
(iv) Harsh environmental conditions; gross variations in temperature and
pressure.
(v) Exposed actuation mechanisms that are susceptible to water and
debris contamination.
Typical modes and causes of slat and flap system failure were identified
from an analysis of the trouble shooting reports generated by
maintenance crews. Failure of the slat or flap system is defined as the
failure of the aerodynamic surface to move to the selected position.
Usually, the faults manifest themselves through a system lock-up. The
most common causes of failure are :
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Ineffective lubrication or water ingress into the screwjack.

Torque limiter lock-Up without an identifiable cause.
Unexpected high aerodynamic loads in certain operating conditions.
Flexing of the wing resulting in dynamic loads.
109
5. SOLlJl'I(H)
5.1 Maintenance
'!he inability to sustain satisfactory operation for a "2A" check
interval (500 flying hours on the Airbus A310) indicates that the
screwjack actuators are unreliable. This has subsequently caused
airlines to reduce the maintenance interval to 'A' checks (250 flying
hours on Airbus A31O; doubling the maintenance effort). '!he cleaning and
greasing of slat/flap mechanisms during the winter months are as
frequent as "weekly" or after 50 flying hours for some airlines.
Present on-board diagnostic systems will only highlight that either the
slat or flap has jammed. '!he maintenance crew has to physically locate
which torque limiter has locked up, by means of observing pop out
indicators on each screwjack (12 on slats and 8 on flaps for A310).
'!he maintenance routine will invariably require resetting of locked
torque limiters, which is time consuming and involves the dismantling of
adj acent transmission torque shafts to release the trapped torque in the
system. If faults are not readily apparent, maintenance crews sometimes
replace good components in order to quickly despatch the aircraft and
reduce the likelihood of a re-occurance.
5.2 Design modificaticns
Design modifications and retro-fits after in-service experience are a

fact of life. Airbus Industries together with its member companies and
canponent suppliers have implemented modification schemes to improve the
reliability of the slat/flap system. Notable modifications include:
(i) Installation of a "damper shaft" to relieve the induced
accelerations in the drive system that can cause torque limiters to
activate when pronounced wing flexing takes place.
(ii) Mcxlified seals, made from a fluorosilicone material were introduced
on screwjack and in-line gearboxes to prevent lubricant loss and water
ingress. 'These seals offer better flexibility at all temperatures, are
resistant to ozone and hydraulic fluid attack and are compatible with
the gearbox oil.
(iii) The problems of the screwjack ball nut sealing system have been
addressed in two ways:
(a) '!he use of improved water resistant grease.
(b) The introduction of a combination seal design that incorporates a
metallic ice breaker, thermoplastic scraper and spring loaded rubber
seal.
'lhese improvements, while offering a solution to the fundamental
problems encountered in service, create another; they increase the drag
of the ball nut over the screw shaft thus producing an unacceptably
high torque load.
6. PROFCSED KNI'lOOThG SYSTEM
'!he proposed monitoring system involves installing torque sensors at
each actuator/torque limiter station. Many other possibilities were

considered but assessed as less likely to be successful. The margin
between "normal" (good condition) operation and torque limiter trip can
110
be closely monitored using on-board maintenance computers. As components

begin to degrade the "normal" operating torque signature will change
accordingly. Depending on the defective component and the nature of the
defect, the magnitude and nature of the sensed torque will vary. The
location of faulty components can be identified by relative changes at
different stations. The torque sensors will give a real time measurement
of the operating efficiency of the actuation/tramsmission drive system
evey time the slats/flaps are operated. The aim of the monitoring is to
flag up the first signs of "distress", usually the loss of
grease/lubricating oil, so as to enable corrective action to be taken at
the earliest convenient time. By acting on the first distress warnings
should prevent the torque limiters from activating and thus increase the
reliability of the slat/flap system. The proposed monitoring system is
also aimed at a sufficiently wide field of diagnosis to identify defects
within the (i) torque limiter,(ii) screwjack actuator and (iii) carriage
mechanism.
7.
RESULTS
Results so far suggest that the proposed method of monitoring is likely

to be the successful. Experimental work, where various 'jams' or
disconnections were introduced to a wing test rig have been carried out.
The results show certain trends from which i t may be concluded that:
(i) The input torque at a particular torque limiter shows a consistently
low figure in the tests for a heal thy system. For other torque limiters
there were some deviation according to the position of thetransducer
along the wing. It also shows a distinct periodic waveform in the
nonnal state.
(ii) The rise upon 'jamming' is significant and easily detectable.
(iii) Input shaft disconnection was also tried and in this case, the
input torque showed little average change but the periodic nature of the
signal was lost, which could be detected with some Simple signal
processing .
(iv) Screwjack end loads (thrusts) and torques were also measured.
Whilst these signals usually made an identifiable response, the
magnitude of change was usually less than that for the input torque
signal and much less consistent.
(v) The torque limiters effectively lock up the system, but do not seem
to control the maximum torque within the transmission drive.
At present, the monitoring system suggested in Section 6 appears to be
sensible, simple to introduce and reliable. There is much more work
needed to confirm this view and establish coherent reasons for all
types of system behaviour.
8.~
Thanks are due to British Aerospace Commercial Aircraft (Fil ton) for
their collaboration and use of facilities.
A Design Study of a Production Centrifuge with Respect to

Maintainability and Condition Monitoring
Professor Xu Yuankai and Dr G Thompson*

Quingdao University, People's Republic of China and
*Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMTST, Manchester, UK
Starting from basic design data referring to process conditions, a simple centrifuge has been
designed for use in production processes involving radioactive liquids,
separate fine solids from liquid,
The centrifuge will
The design study is not concerned with the mechanics of
the centrifuge process, previous experimental work had decided the speed (20000 rpm) and
centrifuge type (open bowl, 125 mm diameter),
service,
it
must
be
maintainable
within
For a centrifuge to be used successfully in

radioactive
environment
and
fault
diagnosis
equipment should be incorporated to a useful, but not overcomplicated, level.

The paper describes the design work carried out subject to process and environmental
constraints,
A systematic approach is taken to incorporate condition monitoring equipment at
the design stage,
Maintainability requirements feature prominently and a complete design of
the centrifuge is presented,

1. INTRODUCTION.
In certain processes involving radioactive liquids, impurities had been found in the form of
small solid particles in suspension.
The process fluid has approximately the same viscosity
and density as water and the flow rate through this process line was 3Qlmin.
The solid
particles (non-active) were very small, less than 5 micron, and were found to be present in
quantities up to 0.4 gmtQ.
The suspended matter had a density of 4.5 gmtcc.
filters were not considered suitable.

operational difficulties.
Disposable
Their initial cost was reasonable and they presented no
However, the disposal cost of contaminated filter elements did incur
112
A better environmental solution involving no disposable parts was called
a high expenditure.
for.
Laboratory tests had shown that a simple centrifuge would clean the process liquor quite
satisfactorily.
The centrifuge would take the form of an open cylindrical bowl which is
rotated about its long axis, figure 1.
The contaminated liquor is fed into the bottom of the
cylinder which is rotated at 20000 rpm.

The liquid is thrown outwards, the solids
CLE/;A!
are deposited on the sides of the bowl
L/QcJ!..D
the top edge.
ou-'-
and the clean liquid is sprayed out from

Periodically the bowl is
removed for cleaning.
There is no
radioactive waste generation.
Therefore,
the mechanics of the centrifuge

operation were clearly defined.
The
requirement was for a design study to

produce a centrifuge for production
operation.
Fig.1 Centrifuge Principle
2. DESIGN
2.1 Constraints
The centrifuge will be operated inside a glove-box.
This is a sealed containment structure
used for handling toxic and radioactive substances.
The atmosphere is kept at -40 mm
water gauge to ensure no out-leakage.
Maintenance and other operations are carried out
using rubber gloves let into the sides of the containment.

for the designer.
This poses a significant challenge
Operators work with arms outstretched and have only flexible membranes
separating their hands from process materials.
This is a perfectly safe working practice
provided that, at no time, procedures are carried out which may cut the gloves, trap fingers
or require high forces for their execution.
It is preferable to place as much equipment as
possible outside the glove-box to facilitate maintenance operations.
Also, replaced parts may
then be readily disposed of since they will not have been contaminated by radioactive
material inside the glove-box.
There were many detailed constraints pertaining to the process fluid properties and materials
selection which need not be described here.
Two relevant factors which significantly
influence the design should be mentioned: the process fluid must be kept clean and the
113
maximum diameter for any component which can hold liquid (no drain) is 125 mm.
The
latter constraint is to prevent a criticality incident and defines the bowl diameter.
2.2. Component design
Two functional requirements were first identified, speed generation and bearing type, and
suitable components selected. The centrifuge arrangement was then designed paying attention
to the constraints described above.
The complete assembly is shown in figure 2, and it is useful to identify the principal features
of the design.
Shown in this figure are the components which are located in the glove-box.
Basically, this is a simple bowl, 1, fixed to a shaft, 2, by a quick release device, 3.
The
25 mm diameter shaft is held in two deep groove angular contact ball bearings, 4.
The
bearing assembly is comprised of a single module, 5, held by a simple release lever-cam

mechanism, 6.
The shaft is driven by a magnetic coupling, 7, with the electric motor and
speed control being located outside the glove-box.

The bearings are of the light series 205 type, sealed for life using grease lubrication.
They
have a limiting speed of 26000 rpm, and being within their load-speed rating, they have a
very high reliability.
The use of sealed for life bearings ensures that process fluid is not
contaminated by lubricant, (note the collection tray in case of leakage).
Pressurised air
bearings necessitate an air supply which is unsuitable for glove-box applications because a
potential leak path is created.
Self pressurising air bearings have been tested for this
application, but proved unreliable and their assembly was unmaintainable.

A magnetic coupling is used to drive through the glove-box wall.
The ensures a 100% gas
tight seal and is preferred to a through wall drive using shaft seals.
Two multi-pole
permanent magnets arranged face-to-face are used in this design, which is based on the
empirical method described in reference 1.
The centrifuge is driven by an
electric motor, manually controlled using a variable frequency
controller (proprietary device, max, freq. 500 Hz).
It is recognised that the life of the
standard motor bearings may be limited at 20000 rpm.
However, the motor is not in an
active environment and can be readily maintained. Also, the bearings can be replaced by a
more expensive, high speed series type.
of speed increasing gears.
This solution was considered preferable to the use
Laboratory experiments have been performed, including the back
driving of a low ratio worm gears.
Feasible solutions were found, but the drive systems
were not simple, the gears required a controlled lubrication regime and were noisy.
114
(--k::1
, I '
~--~.-L,
:-.. L __
'
+I___ .L_-:
_ __ _ . _ . _ _ ______ ____ ~:==:d=_=:=_=:~ ____ __ _ _ _ _
0,-------t~L,.~
Fig . 2 General Arrangement of Centrifuge
115
3. MAINTAINABILITY
It can be seen from figure 2 that the centrifuge is very simple to repair.
most likely to fail are the bearings.
The components
In the event of such a failure, the bearing module
consisting of housing, bearings, end covers, shaft and magnetic coupling (one half) is released
by the lever-cam mechanism and pulled down
through
the
support bralcket,
8.
replacement bearing module is then fitted.

The only routine maintenance is bowl cleaning.
The liquor collection dish, 9, is removed by
unscrewing the toggles (wing nuts) to gain access to the bowl.
The quick release device, 3,
is then pulled down to allow the balls (3 off, equally spaced) to unseat.
pulled down off the shaft.
The bowl is then
Note that at high speed the centrifugal force provides a high
seating pressure for the balls, the device does not rely on the spring loaded rod.
tools or high forces are required.
No special
All fasteners are of a "chunky" design and easy to handle
in a glove-box environment.
4. CONDITION MONITORING.
The following
methodology was used to determine,
at the design stage,
the condition
monitoring requirements:
1.
List all possible modes of failure.
2.
Construct a morphological chart showing the alternative methods by which each failure
3.
Derive an optimum set of monitoring methods, by inspection, for the application.
mode may be detected.
An illustration of the method is given in figure 3.
the details considered.
This figure is simplified with respect to
For example, vibration may be monitored by velocity pickups or
accelerometers and their signals processed in different Ways.
After a full examination of the
alternatives, it was decided to adopt the following condition monitoring system.
Firstly, it
was considered unsuitable to have any instrumentation in contact with the process fluid.
This
eliminates the possibilities of contaminating the fluid and damage to the instrumentation due
to high local levels of alpha radiation.
appropriate.
Three condition monitory devices were considered
An accelerometer, 10, mounted on the outside would identify high vibration
levels associated with a damaged or loose bowl, part structural failure of the magnetic
coupling (causing an imbalance) and possibly worn bearings.
A capacitance transducer. 11,
would identify worn bearings by detecting shaft displacement, also large vibrations due to
116
FAULT
DETECTION METHODS
Tight bearings
Temp. of
outer race
Increase In
motor current
Lubricant detection
Worn bearings
Vibration of
housing
(accelerometer)
Displacement of
shaft (capacftance transducer)
Lubricant detection
Detached bowl
Vibration,
increase or
decrease?
Quality of
process fluid
Debris In process
fluid
Magnetic cplg.
fai lure
Shaft vibration
increase
Decrease in
motor current
if drive lost
Fig. 3 Condition Monitoring Methods

bowl or coupling problems would be detected.
A permanently positioned temperature probe,
12, would be used to check if the lower bearing was overheating.
This bearing will take the
larger out of balance force due to bowl imbalance and is most likely to fail before the top
bearing.
The
motor current would
be
monitored
tightening, bowl detachment or coupling failure.
to detect any incidents of bearing
The process fluid is monitored automatically.
It will be noticed that the system proposed has built in redundancy.
Each failure mode has
two methods by which it may be detected, this is advantageous for this application.
5. CONCLUSIONS
centrifuge
has
been
designed
specifically
to
meet
the
monitoring requirements of a particular production operation.
maintainability
and
condition
The solution has been achieved
not by the pursuit of any special high technology, e.g. exotic bearings, but rather by
identifying and paying attention to the critical requirements of the design.
approach to the design process has been adopted throughout.
A systematic
The result is a sensible design
which satisfies the constraints posed by this demanding application.
REFERENCE
Thompson,
G.
and Cooper J.M.,
magnetic couplings.
An
introduction to
the
Engineering Designer, 21-23, Jan. (1984).
mechanical
characteristics of
A Personal Computer Based Burn-in System
T H Ooi *, K Kumar * * and Richard Lim * * *

'School of EEE, Nanyang Technological Institute, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 2263;
'Faculty of Engineering & Computer Technology, Birmingham Polytechnic, Perry Barr,
Birmingham B42 2SU, UK and
"'Trio-Tech Pte Ltd,S Kian Teck Road, Singapore 2262
Abstract
Burn-in is an operation used to ensure product reliabi li ty and has
become a standard feature of semiconductor industry,
commercially
MIL-STD-B83C.
available
only
partially
fulfill
Most burn-in systems

the
requirements
of
This system. the Computer Operated Burn-in Network (COBNET)
System. to a large extent. overcomes the limitations of the existing system

and
reduces human
intervention
increased reliability,
to a
bare minimum,
This
results
in
This paper describes the COBNET system and some of
its main features,

L
Introduction
A burn-in
test
is
used
to
screen
infant
mortality
electronic devices and assemblies in their life cycle,
failures
for
During burn-in.
these devices are thermally stressed in an environment of 125C to 200C

while being electrically exercised,
The required burn-in processes are
performed by a burn-in system which is designed to meet most. if not all.

of the guidelines as stipulated in the MIL-STD-883C,
operated burn-in system.
is capable of a
COBIS. the computer
fully automatic operation in
controlling. monitoring and supervising pre-programmed burn-in processes,

COBIS has been proven to be adequate but has the following limitations:
a, unable
to
comply
with
industrial
requirement
of
carrying
out
temperature and power steppings automatically,

b, unable to differentiate between static and dynamic burn-in processes,
c. unable to recover from temporary shutdowns or power failures.
d. monitoring and controlling of more than one burn-in system by a
single personal computer is impossible.
118
2.
<XlBNET system
The COBNEf system

existing COBIS system.
is developed
to overcome
the
limitations of
the
It operates on the IBM personal computer (PC) or
its compatibles and is able to configure to control ei ther a
single or
mul tiple
of
three
(iii)
COBNEf
burn-in
sub-systems:
the
systems.
(i)
The
COBNEf
burn-in system.
system
(ii)
comprises
multiplexer and
software package.
The heart
of
the burn-in system
controller (OVC).
chamber under the control of its OVC.

the COBNEf software selects
address
is
the oven chamber and
oven
through a
In a mUltiple burn-in COBNEf system.
the required burn-in system wi th a
mul tiplexer.
Thus.
specific
data communication channel
established between the PC and the selected burn-in system.

a
its
The process of stress testing takes place in the oven
is
In this way.
single PC is allowed to control and moni tor up to a maximum of seven

For a single burn-in COBNET system.
burn-in systems.
the mul tiplexer is
not required.
The developed COBNET software package enables the system to control.
monitor
and
temperature
manage
and
the
power
burn-in
stepping.
process.
recovery
Through
from
software
temporary
design.
shutdown/power
failure. and static and dynamic system recognition can be implemented.

3.
System implementation
The COBNEf system is software implemented at Trio-Tech Singapore.
This
easy-to-use menu-driven package can be broadly divided into two parts. the
(i) main program and (i i) major modules. as shown in Figure 1.
The major
modules consist of the (i) COBNET system configuration program. (ii) setup
editor.
(iii) manual execution module.
monitoring
module.
These
major
(iv) auto-execution module and (v)
modules
are
further
decomposed
into
manageable functional routines which serve as basic building blocks for the
COBNEf software.
deve I opmen t .
The C programming language was used in COBNEf software
It can be accessed by three different types of personnel.
The system engineer and maintenance technician are able to access all the
modules
except COBNEf system configuration program.
The
setup editor.
auto-execution and moni toring modules are only accessible by the qual i ty
engineers.
However.
the production operators are only allowed to initiate
the auto-execution of burn-in processes.
Quality , Reli ability, Health a nd Safety
r_
MAIN
PROGRAM
--j-l<--___-----,
SETUP
EDITOR
MAN UAL
EXECUTION
USrn' ltlT EFf"ICE

ROUIIHES
IAMlSU.IOO AMINE
1RN<SIA1Cil ROVl N[
IRNlSlAIOO Rrul WE
()\lA CCMUfCAlllNS
ROJIIl( S
OA1.1 C().IM~CAlIONS
ROUl lNES
HPNWIER
COIIIl OOlhC BIRr
OOwtUIIIl!G IllRH-IN
FIGURE 1
119
PNWoIElER romltE
p,w,w(l[R R
tIE
()I.1A OOGN-IlA1ON
()\TA 0RGAItlA11CJt
FOOl
ROU1lIE
ERFICE ROOl NE
STRUCfURE OF COBNIT SOFTWARE PACKAGE
3.1 Main program

When this program is initiated.
loaded
from
configuration.
configuration
file
the COBNIT system parameters will be
for
setting
up
the
required
system
To preserve system integrity. a password . which is used to
run the software and serve as an indication for access level. is needed.
Then it reads in the oven status file. OYENFlLE . FIL. which contains the
status of the system since last shutdown .
determines
whether
prematurely.
the
last
process
FolloWing this. the main program
had
been completed or
terminated
Any unfinished process data will be displayed for user to
take appropriate action.

shutdown or power failure .
This allows the system to recover from temporary

The program proceeds and displays the main menu
according to the access level.
The five major modules link to the main
program through this selected main menu .

3.2 CORNET system configuration program
This program is used to generate an encoded system configuration file
from the required system specifications.
The configuration file consists
of the COBNIT system parameters and the oven parameters .
The type of oven
used. either static or dynamic. is defined in the oven parameters.

the COBNIT software is started.
from
the
configuration
file.
When
the oven characteristics will be loaded

Thus.
the
COBNIT
software
recognizes
120
immediately whether the oven selected is static or dynamic.
If a static
oven is selected. all software routines supporting the clock boards for
generating clock patterns would be invalidated.
This allows the type of
the oven to be recognized automatically.

3.3 Setup editor
The burn-in parameter files which define the burn-in process operating
data can be generated and
edi ted by
the
setup edi tor module.
Upon
selecting the setup editor module the user will be asked to select an oven.
Subsequently.
the selected oven parameters are
configuration file.
loaded
from
the
system
Then the user is asked to decide whether a new burn-in
parameter file is to be created or an existing file is to be loaded for

editing.
The setup editor would then be activated and the entering and
edi ting of burn-in process data can be carried out in an user-interative

envi ronmen t.
3.4 Manual execution module
Through
this module.
required
to perform
manually.
This
the
system
the burn-in process can be controlled and
tested
module
the
is
individual
used
by
functional
the
part of
maintenance
engineer
for
trouble-shooting purposes.
3.5 Auto-execution module
This module executes the burn-in process by activating the required
burn-in functions in sequence automatically.
3.6 Monitoring module
After a
burn-in process has been ini tiated by
the auto or manual
execution module. other tasks in the monitoring mode selected by the user
can be attended
through
this module.
Hard copies
of
the monitoring
information for different ovens at fixed intervals can be generated upon

request.
On completion of this module. an oven status file. OVENFlLE.FIL.
will be generated or updated.

3.7 Functional routines
They are the basic building blocks used in the coding of the major five
modules and are assigned with the following tasks:
- Data organization routine
This routine organizes the required data in an appropriate format for
communication between the PC and the selected
ove.
- Data communication routines

Two communication routines. (sending and receiving). are used to send
and receive data from the
ove.
121
- Uploading and downloading burn-in parameter routines

These routines initiate and supervise the uploading of the monitoring
data from and downloading the control parameters data block to the
ave.
- Translator routine
It converts the current monitoring data (oven temperatures, power
supply
values,
etc.)
from
the
DVe into meaningful data to be
processed by the monitoring module.

- User interface routines
Onscreen menu and text message, either in block or bar format, are
provided by these routines.
- Software polling routine
When the oven is polled by this routine, it is checked to ini tiate
the monitoring module if required.
then checked for completion.
The current burn-in segment is
Otherwise, the burn-in parameters of
the next burn-in segment will be loaded and initiated automatically.

When all the burn-in segments have been completed,
the power-down
routine
this way,
is activated
to shut down the oven.
In
the
temperature and power steppings are carried out automatically.

Full description of the COBNET software implementation is given in [1].
4.
Conclusion
The
COBNET
system
has
been
demonstrated
to
be
effective.
Its
implementation in the burn-in environment will enhance product reliability

and increase yield.
production cost.
The cumulative effect will eventually reduce
the
Further work can be done to link all the COBNET systems
to a central host computer.
It is then possible to monitor and control the
burn-in operation at the touch of a button.

5.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Trio-Tech for providing funds and resources
to enable the project to be undertaken.
This project was successfully
carried out by Ong Chee Beng, Poong Cheng Chiang, Pok Kheng Ann and Quah
Shou Yuh.
6.
The authors also acknowledge their valuable contribution.
Reference
1 Ong e B,
system",
Poong e e,
Final
Year
Singapore, Feb 1989.
Pok K A and Quah S y,
Project
Report,
Nanyang
"An intelligent burn-in
Technological
Institute,
Development of a Micro-computer Based System for On-line

Monitoring of the Reliability Characteristics of a Recycle Gas
Compressor
M J Harris, R S Mann and T R Moss*

Department of Engineering, University of Manchester and *RM Consultants Ltd, UK
ABSTRACT
A method of continuously up-dating system reliability prediction, from
on-line monitoring of relevant process parameters, is proposed. A current
prototype study assessing the feasibility of the design proposals, on a
recycle gas compressor, is presented.
1. PREDICTING MECHANICAL FAILURE
The main methods employed for anticipating major failures of
mechanical equipment are condition monitoring and theoretical reliability
analysis. However, the link between these two has not been strong. A
combination of both approaches, where the prediction of system failure is
continuously up-dated on the basis of changes in system operating
parameters, seems to have a number of advantages.
In SHARP (Statistical Hazards And Reliability Predictor) the initial
step uses reliability analysis to construct a mathematical model of the
reliability of the system. This model is input to the computer and
evaluated using generic failure data. On-line surveillance of the process
parameters affecting the equipment failure characteristics is maintained
during operation and changes fed back into the model. The effect of such
changes on the probability of system failure can then be evaluated.
2. A SHARP EXAMPLE
A prototype practical study is currently being carried out upon a
123
recycle gas compressor. The reliability of the compressor, in this case

its probability of failure per unit time, is modelled via a fault-tree.
Figures l(a) and l(b) show firstly the logic of the top gate and
secondly an example of a fully developed fault-tree for one of the
contributing branches.
FIGURE 1. FAULT TREE FOR COMPRESSOR

For this example the condition leading to main bearing seizure is
total failure of lubricant, or at least a drastic reduction in lubricant
pressure. The available, i.e. routinely monitored, process parameters,
which can provide information on the likelihood of occurrence of the basic
fault events modelled are as follows:
FAILURE CONDITION
DIAGNOSTIC PARAMETER
blocked oil filter
lubricant pressure
oil relief valve

malfunction
lubricant pressure
oil cooling system

fa il ure
lubricant temperature
crankcase heater
malfunction
lubricant temperature
oil pump failure
lubricant pressure,
voltage and current
124
Each of the above parameters would be sampled randomly with respect to

time by the SHARP system, thus generating and subsequently up-dating
probability density distributions for each parameter. When changes in the
mean or standard deviation of a specified parameter become significant
their up-dated values would be used to evaluate performance shaping factors
(stress factors, see below) which would operate on, and hence modify, the
generic failure rates used initially in the fault-tree. The estimated
probability of occurence, per unit time, of the top event, failure of the
compressor, would then be re-evaluated. The problem arises in calculating
the stress factors.
3.
THE EFFECT OF STRESS

Carter (1) has proposed non-dimensional measures of mechanical
component reliability, viz.
Safety Margin (SM)
Loading Roughness (LR)
(S-L)/(oS + oO~
0L/(oS +O[)~
where
S = mean strength
r = mean
0L,S
load
standard deviation of load, strength
The Safety Margin is a logical refinement of the traditional Factor of

Safety. Loading Roughness is a measure of the variability of the load and
strength distributions which can be shown to reflect the vulnerability of
the system to dependent failures.
4.
ESTIMATING STRESS FACTORS

The usual approach in modifying generic failure data used in
reliability models is to multiply a base or 'normal', failure rate by a
number of stress factors for different environmental and operating
conditions where these may be appropriate.
Green and Bourne (2) suggested a failure rate prediction model of the
form
125
where
AX = failure rate under specified conditions
Ab = generic (base) failure rate, average conditions
ki = stress factor for specific stress i
In a study of valve reliability Moss (3) proposed, an improved
failure rate prediction model of the form
Ax = Ab exp {(Sx/Sb)-ll
where
Sx' b stress for specified, average condition
Ax'b failure rate at specified, average condition
It is therefore proposed to use a more robust version of this model to
adjust, as operating conditions change with time, the generic failure rates
used in the initial system reliability prediction. This robust version has
the form:
n
At = AO
exp (k i - l)Qi
.-1.
where
Ao,t = predicted failure rate at time zero, time t

ki
stress factor for stress i at time t
Qi
= a scale parameter for stress i
It is suggested that the individual stress factors would be based on the
ratio of Carter-type Safety Margins at times zero and t, i.e.
The scale parameter, Q i ' would reflect the influence of Carter-type

Loading Roughness on the impact of the stress factor at time, t, i.e.
where
LRo,t
~
Loading Roughness at time zero, t
= a constant - initially assumed unity but

variable in the light of experience
126
In the prototype study reported here no attempt will be made to

estimate changes in component strength, S,. The assumption will be made
that regular maintenance will ensure that degraded components will be
replaced before the effects become critical and that minor changes in
component strength will be reflected by increased variability of the
monitored load parameters.
THE SHARP PROGRAM
In the present prototype study it is envisaged that the SHARP
programme will provide the following facilities:
i) Calculation of system (compressor) failure probability
from the reliability fault-tree model.
ii) Routines for random sampling of process parameter values.
iii) On-going estimation of component stress factors.
iv) Up-dating of fault-tree reliability prediction.
v) Trend, alarm and display routines.
vi) Reliability notebook recording inservice failure details.
5.
Once the SHARP system has been interfaced with the compressor most of
the collected data will be used to refine a) the basic reliability faulttree model, b) the methodology of calculating stress factors and c) to
examine the validity of the generic failure rate modification equation.
6. REFERENCES
(1) Carter A.D.S. - Mechanical Reliability. Macmillan 1986.
(2) Green A.E. and Bourne A.J. - Reliability Technology. Wiley
Interscience, 1972.
(3) Moss T.R. - The effect of operational loading on the failure
characteristics of mechanical valves. UKAEA, NCSR R11, 1977.
A Fiscal and Process Controller for a Hardboard Mill

D F Pearce and A W Self
Brighton Polytechnic, UK
THE PROCESS
Hardboard is manufactured by feeding wood chips into a

pressurised preheater (digester). The dry heated chips are
separated into fibre by grinding discs (defibration) and
mixed with water to form pulp. The pulp is fed into a series
of chests where it is mixed with a number of chemicals and
water.
The pulp is then dewatered on a machine wire screen
to form a wetlap.
The wetlap is pressed and heated to form
hardboard sheets. A plant diagram is shown in Figure 1.
Elements of the process such as tank levels and stock
flowrates are successfully controlled by conventional PIO
controllers.
The remainder of the boardmaking process has
remained fundamentally unchanged since Arne ASplund built the
first defibrator in 1931. Artisans still take a handful of
pulp, taste it for PH and feel it for consistency and adjust
the digester dwell time accordingly.
The final thickness of the dry hardboard is currently
manually controlled. The machine operator acts as a manual
feedback in attempting to maintain consistent dryboard
thickness by adjustment of the wetlap thickness prior to the
press.
Unfortunately there is not a simple correlation
between the wet and dry board thicknesses. The final board
is dependant on wood type, fibre quality and the long and
varying time delays between the control action and dryboard.
The dryboard is tested from time to time for other qualities
and if these are incorrect the chemical flowrates are
adjusted.
The exact correction to the various chemical
flowrates and the time taken for these corrections to take
place are not known.
The difficulty is that the effect of
the adjustments cannot be felt until the existing incorrect
stock is used.
The above difficulties are common to all hardboard mills and
the manufacture of other pulp based products. The mill is to
supply high quality mouldable hardboard to the motor industry
throughout Europe. A method must be found to keep the mill
in trim, avoid wastage and customer rejection.
THE AIM
The aim was to build a plantwide expert process and fiscal

control system to:
a. Keep the product in trim.
b. Maximise profit.
The aim is to keep all the board qualities in trim at all
times regardless of the varying wood feedstock quality.
To
achieve this each stage of the plant must be operating in
harmony with the remainder of the plant.
A PC based local
area network (LAN) has been installed to monitor and record
128
the enti re process.

Fi fty eight plant variables, moving
mimic diagrams and history graphs are displayed at various
operator terminals. A plant window is provided for the line
manager. The LAN network is shown in figure 2. Parts of the
plant are ill-behaved and systems are being built to control
dryboard thickness and fibre raffination.
WETLAP THICKNESS CONTROLLER
Thickness Control
Thickness of the hardboard is of major importance to ensure
successful secondary processing into a wide range of products
varying from automobile parts to doll's houses.
The
thickness of the finished board is governed by fibre type,
structure, density and thickness of wet-lap and press cycle
condi tions.
Al though there are problems in maintaining
consistent properties of naturally produced materials, such
as wood, the main cause of inconsistent board thickness was
found to be the inadequate control over the wet-lap
thickness, figures 3 and 4.
The traditional method of
control has been a wood slurry flow control system using a
pr"oportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller. with
the wood slurry consisting mainly of water with wood fibres
held in suspension it is difficult to maintain a steady
consistency of fibre density and as a result fluctuations in
wet-lap thickness occur.
Closed loop control using the
measured wet-lap thickness appeared to be the solution but to
achieve this a considerable distance and hence time delay
between the flow valve and the wet-lap measuring location was
necessary.
The time delay, of approximately 3 minutes,
results from waiting for the surplus water to drain from the
wood slurry, a process which must be performed slowly in
order to produce a good interconnection of fibres.
Use of a predictive model of the flow valve and wet-lap has
been used to overcome the problems of long time delays and
allowed the design of a compensating function to improve the
performance of the control loop.
System Theory
The problems of pure time delays in control loops are well
known [1] in terms of poor time response and potential
instability. A Smith predictor 1 is one method for improving
the system performance by eliminating the influence of the
time delay element within the control loop.
The method by
which this can be achieved is shown in figure 5, where
G (s)e- SD
is
the
combined
transfer
function
of
the
mahufacturing process and the pure time delay, and G (s) is
the transfer function of the Smith predictor modeP
If
G (s) is equal to G (s) the effect of the time delay, e- SD ,
is P removed from themPcontrol loop feedback path.
with the
time delay removed the compensation function can be designed
using standard methods, such as root-locus, to give an
improved performance for the manufacturing process.
Computer Control
The BBC micro computer with an appropriate ADC and DAC
interface was chosen to operate as the wet-lap controller.[2]
It was programmed to model the wet-lap process, calculating
feedback errors and applying the appropriate compensation to
the flow valve command signal. Additional subsidiary tasks,
for the computer, were to supply a graphics display of the
129
last 2 hours of wet-lap thickness together with the current

values of critical parameters such as valve opening.
Analysis of the wood slurry flow valve and manifold time
response showed this to be first order with a time constant
of 15 seconds. The chosen sampling period for the computer
was based on this time constant and was set to 3 seconds.
Although a faster speed might be desirable a compromise was
necessary between following the process response and allowing
sufficient time between samples to run the real-time model
and update the graphics display.
The time delay between
manifold and wet-lap thickness measurement is dependent on
board type and thickness and necessitates an operating range
between 100 and 300 seconds. The computer model of the time
delay therefore had a maximum memory length of 100 data
items.
The flow valve was pneumatically operated and
required a voltage to pressure converter from the computer
output.
Wet-lap thickness measurement was by means of an
ultra-sound gauging transducer with communication to the
computer via a RS232 serial line.
The software was structured around the 3 second real-time
Gontrol loop, with the need for three main computing tasks.
These were, calculation of the model state variables,
communication via the RS232 and analogue interfaces and the
refresh of the operator's graphical display.
The graphics
display required the major part of the sample interval time
and proved to be a constraint on achieving an optimum control
performance.
Compensator Design
The purpose for using the Smith predictor model was to allow
the use of a compensation function to improve the general
performance of the wet-lap thickness control.
with the
variation in slurry consistency and hence drift in thickness
an obvious requirement was for an integral action controller
within the control loop.
In more general terms the basic
requirements of the control system were zero steady state
thickness error and a maximum of 5% overshoot resulting from
a step change in thickness demand. The system design using
root-locus methods is shown in figure 6 and features
proportional,
integral and derivative
control
action.
Compensation is represented by the two zeros on the real axis
and the pole at the origin. The other two poles on the real
axis represent the slurry flow valve and the thickness
measuring transducer. with a loop gain of 0.15 the closedloop poles are shown in figure 6; these lie within the sample
limit of the digital control loop and suggest a fast response
with only a small overshoot.
The limitation restricting a faster response to thickness
demand is the sampling interval of the computer.
If a
shorter sample period was available a further improvement of
system design could be achieved with a much faster response
and a small overshoot. This speed could be achieved with BBC
micro by sacrificing the graphics.
Plant operation
Technical installation of the control loop was comparatively
easy and the subsequent improvement of the wet-lap thickness
control can be seen in figure 7.
The previous method of
operation made use of closed-loop control of the flow valve
with manual control over the set point. As might be imagined
130
the flow rate was continually being changed with the result
that the wet-lap thickness was subject to continuous
variation and rarely was there a period of consistent
thickness.
Tuning
One problem that immediately became clear was the effect of
variation in slurry consistency. This in control terms meant
that the process gain was subject to change with resulting
variation in control performance. Although by definition the
closed-loop system would adjust the valve to correct errors
the computer simulation would also require a correction to
the model equations.
To overcome this problem it was
necessary to measure the change in process gain.
This was
achieved by comparison of the wet-lap thickness with the
model prediction. The difference between these two values is
represented by the variable Z in figure 5.
The value of Z
was then used to update the gain of the computer model and
hence that of the transfer function G (s). This enabled the
Smith prediction to be kept in step Jfth the wet-lap process
and permitted the compensation to be tuned to the required
gain and hence desired closed-loop characteristic behaviour
DRYBOARD MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL
The wet-lap controller keeps the wet-lap thickness in trim
regardless of wood type.
The system has been worki~g
successfully since the summer of 1988.
The wet-lap 1S
pressed and heated to form dryboard, the difficulty is that a
set wet-lap thickness may press into a range of dryboard
thicknesses.
An IMAL transducer has been installed to
measure the dryboard thickness as shown in figure 8.
The
transducer is monitored by an AID and a BBC computer.
The
board profile for each board and a histogram of the past
fifty boards is displayed on the screen as shown in figure
9.
A simple rule based logic controller runs in the
background and issues a set point to the wet-lap thickness
controller through an AID converter.
FIBRE DEFIBRATION CONTROL
The Current System
The front end of a board manufacturing plant is shown in
figure 1. Wood chips are fed by a motorised screw into the
digester, where steam is used to soften their structure. A
transport screw drives the product into the defibrator where
it is ground between rotating toothed plates. Control over
the degree of defibration is exercised by adjusting the plate
separation. The fibres are then mixed with water in cyclone
to form a pulp which is stored in the defibration chest.
Samples of pulp are currently taken at the cyclone for
assessment of the degree of defibration.
This task is
performed in a laboratory sited close to the cyclone and
remote from the plant control room.
The task involves a
periodic subjective assessment by an experienced operator.
The Need for Automation
The manufactured hardboard is required to have sufficient
strength to be re-moulded into products such as automobile
rear parcel shelves and interior body trim. However, it is
difficult to maintain the necessary defibration and hence
board quali ty.
131
A relationship between defibration and the fibre size and

shape, and hence the board strength, has been reported by
Short, Woodson and Lyon [3] and Norberg and Black [4].
Ideally the fibres should be long and 'strandy' with a large
surface area allowing good take-up of the chemicals added to
the pulp.
Reduced de fibration results in long and solid
fibres with a small surface area, whilst over-refining
reduces fibre length and increases the amount of debris.
The time lag of several hours between de fibration assessment
and the monitoring of final board quality means that operator
errors in the assessment will not be noticed until a
significant amount of inferior stock has been produced.
It
is also required to be able to make board of different
specifications wi thin a daily cycle, thus necessitating
changes to the fibre quality. Therefore closed-loop control
over the defibration process to minimise wastage and produce
a clean switch between different board types.
Ultimately, automatic control of the whole process is the
only way to guarantee reliable quality. Before this can be
achieved it will be necessary to learn the relationships
between many process variables and the final board quality.
Thus the measurement and logging of quantitative data has a
major role to play in the long term future of the industry.
computer Vision
It was shown in reference 5 that fibre can be effectively
monitored using computer vision. A photograph of fibre and a
computer cleaned image are shown in figures 10 and 11. The
fibre is currently being monitored using an OPTIMAX vision
system and fibre qualities such as perimeter, formfactor and
aspect ratio are being related to final board qualities. As
these relationships become known the defibration process will
be automatically controlled to keep the product in trim.
CONCLUSIONS
There are three
effectively;
things
company
must
do
to
compete
1.
Provide an efficient well automated manufacturing

system which will give the business a distinct
advantage over competitors.
2.
Provide a coordinated method of determining the ways

in which products win orders.
3.
Control the process in such a way that the product

meets the order winning criteria and maximises
profit.
The wet-lap, dryboard and fibre quality control systems will

allow the production manager to keep the product in trim. It
is not sufficient to control the process alone.
It is
essential to ensure that there is a degree of fit between
marketing strategy and manufacturing ability.
Having
established that fit, it is essential to ensure that the
process operates in the most profitable way possible.
A
market survey has been completed to determine the product
order-winning-criteria. Control systems have been built to
ensure that the product is kept automatically in trim.
The
task now is to determine how the product order-winningcriteria can be met at minimum manufacturing cost.
132
REFERENCES
1.
Singh A. & McEwen D.H. "The Control of a Process Having

Appreciable Transport Lag - A Laboratory Case Study",
IEEE Trans. on Indust. Electron. Control Instrument.
vol. IECI, pp. 396-401, 1975.
2.
Pearce D. F. and Self A . W. A multi-structured controller

for a Hardboard mill .
Fifth International Conference
on Production Research.
Huddersfield Polytechnic.
September 1989.
3.
Norberg K. and Black E. "Effect of Refining on Strength

Properties of Press Dried Hard and Semi-hard Fibre
Building Board", Svensk Papperstidning 72:
649-655,
1969.
4.
Short P. Woodson G. and Lyon D. "Dry Chips versus Green

Chips
as
Furnish
for
Medium-density
Fibreboard",
Forestry products Journal, 28(3) 33-37, 1978.
5.
Awcock G.J.
Application
Fibre for
Colloquium,
Robinson N.J. Self A.W. and Thomas R. "The

of a Low-Cost Vision System to Grading Wood
the Board Manufacturing Industry",
lEE
1988.
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AHEA i IEn'ORK
FIOJE 2.
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FI(lJ(&.
X-I
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133
The Assessment of Availability through Simulation

T T Wong and S L Tang
Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hong Kong
Abstract
The observed availability of an engineering plant or equipment

may
be assessed through simulation. Althought
probability
plotting techniques are often employed to match a probability
distribution to given data, an analytical approach is suggested
for practical implementation on a microcomputer.
Introduction
For a repairable system, the availability is the ratio of the

actual operating time to the scheduled, excluding preventive
maintenance or routine servicing. Assessing the availability of
an engineering plant or equipment is more complicated than it is
for the reliability or the maintainability, because an extra
probability distribution is involved, and formulae for confidence
assessment cannot be obtained easily, even in the simplest case
when both events are exponential. Therefore, it is necessary to
resort to Monte Carlo technique.
An availability cycle has two consecutive periods: (1) operation,
terminating with a failure; and (2) downtime, which ends with a
completed repair. The availability is the ratio of the time in
the first period to the time of the cycle. For each Monte Carlo
simulation, the observed availability (A ) is the observed value
of that ratio. By contrast, the inherentOavailability(A) is the
ratio of the average time for the first period to th~ average
time for a cycle, i.e.
MTBF
(1)
MTBF + MTTR
where MTBF
MTTR
mean time between failures

mean time to repair
Thus the mean of A, the mean of a distribution of ratios,

different from A" t~e ratio of the means of distributions.
is
Assessment of Observed Availability
The
observed
availability,
Ao' may
be
assessed
either
non-
135
parametrically from historical data, or else parametrically by

simulation. A non-parametric technique involves using data from a
series of availability cycles, each of which supplies an actual
TBF and an actual TTR. The ratio of the TBF to the duration of
the cycle in each case is the observed value of the random
variable Ao .
In a parametric approach, the main concern of this paper, the
parameters of the distributions which govern both the TBF and the
TTR are estimated either from historical data or from prior
knowledge, and are taken as given. Monte Carlo techniques are
used to sample TBFs and TTRs from these distributions in order to
furnish 'observed' values of A. Simulating A
is not as
restrictive as A, because sampli~g failure and repair times is
possible from a~y distribution, as long as the choice is
justified by data, experience, or a reasonably thorough goodnessof-fit analysis.
Fitting of a probability distribution function(PDF) to data
To fit a PDF to given data requires, in general, two steps:

1.
The procedure which determines what type of

matches the given data in an acceptable way.
distribution
2.
After having selected a PDF, an estimate of the parameter(s)

of the PDF must be carried out to allow for simulation.
Probability plotting methods are normally applied in the first

step for the determination of the underlying distribution of the
given data, e.g. weibull plot, lognormal plot, etc. Often a
straight line does not fit the data very well on a particular
type of probability paper. The fitting process becomes somehow a
trial and error one. Also, a freehand 'fit' to the same data will
differ from person to person. The use of an analytical approach
eliminates such arbitrariness. In addition, when similar sets of
data
are to be analyzed frequently,
and especially
when
interpolation at a number of specified points is required,
it
might be more economical to fit the data using an electronic
spreadsheet on a microcomputer than by freehand methods. In this
study, a systematic approach is developed for step 1 with the aim
of meeting our desire for objectivity.
Distributions commonly used
The Weibull distribution is widely used in reliability. It

generalizes the use of the exponential distribution to include
nonconstant hazard rates. In particular, the Weibull distribution
encompasses both increasing and decreasing hazard rates, and has
successfully been used to describe both initial failures as well
as wearout failures.
There is also a substantial amount of empirical evidence that the
136
time required to perform a variety of tasks of the same type but

of different levels of difficulty is lognormally distributed;
that is, the logarithm of the time required for completing tends
to be normally distributed[l] .
Proposed approach
A systematic approach of identifying the PDF of the

include following steps:
given
1. Obtain the second, third and fourth central moments

given set of data;
of
data
the
2. Obtain the moment coefficicents of skewness(5) and kurtosis(K)

from the given data and plot the point (52, K) on a skewnesskurtosis diagram. An example of a skewness-kurtosis diagram is
shown in Fig.1. If the plotted point is reasonably close to a
point,
curve, or region corresponding to one
of
the
distributions indicated, this distribution can be used to
represent the data. We might then proceed to obtain estimates
for
the distribution parameters, using the
appropriate
formulae.
It may be useful to illustrate the selection of a PDF by means of
a hypothetical example. Assume that an a failure history record
is kept for a large numerically-controlled milling machine which
runs continuously. The following table is a record of 20
consecutive failure-repair(availability) cycles, each consisting
of an operating period which terminates with a failure,
followed
by a repair period. The first row is the length of the operating
period,
in hours of uninterrupted scheduled operation, and the
second row, the corresponding time to repair.
TBF(hrs)
TTR(hrs)
4
0.2
5
0.3
8
0.3
12
0.5
15
0.8
20
1.0
25
1.0
27
1.0
27
1.0
36
1.2
TBF (hrs)
TTR(hrs)
44
1.5
46
1.5
53
1.7
53
2.5
58
3.0
79
3.1
106
3.6
125
6.0
159
9.8
200
9.8
Probability plots of the TBF and TTR data on weibull and

lognormal probability paper would reveal reasonably good fits.
The PDF for a time, t 1, to a failure is then given by
(2)
with scale parameter a = 59.2 and shape parameter m = 0.97 (which

is practically an exponential distribution because m
1) .
The PDF for a time, t 2, to completion of the repair is given by
f(t 2)
(21Tl- o. s*(lry)-1*exp[-0.5(ln t2 -r)2/q-2]
(3)
with
= 0.353 and
= 1.061.
Hence for each simulation a value of t, is obtained by generating
137
a random variate from a Weibull model with a = 59.2 and m = 0.97

; the time, t 2 , to a repair is obtained by generating a lognormal
random variate with
= 0.353 and
= 1.061. The 'observed'
As
are then obtained by substituting simulated values of t1 and f2
into the following ratio:
A
t1 + t2
Through the proposed skewneww-kurtosis coefficient approach,

one
could find that the required central moments may be obtained as
follows:
n
m2 = (lin) * 2: (Xi - x) 2
(4 )
1
n
m3
(lin)
m4
(lin)
* I.
(Xi
x) 3
(5)
(X i
-X)4
(6)
where m2 ,
m3 and m4 are the second, third
moments and are found to be:
and
fourth
central
for the TTFs - 2 747.49; 200 940.55; 30 804 894.63

for the TTRs - 7.79; 38.13; 299.32
The respective moment coefficients of skewness and kurtosis
TTFs and TTRs are found to be:
TTFs - S2
1. 95, K
4.08
TTRs - S2
3.07, K
4.93
for
By plotting these two points on the skewness-kurtosis diagram one

could see that both the TTF and TTR data could be represented by
the beta distribution, i.e.
f(t)
e- 1 * (1
=
t)
s-l
B(r,s)
where the constant B(r,s) is the beta function.

To fit a beta distribution to both TBF and TTR data,
one
estimate the sample average and variance of each set of data
then use following equations to obtain estimates of rand s.
can
and
138
r -
tt[r-(l
s -(1
-~ )1V 2
-t")[1'(1
(7)
1]
-tA)/V2 -
(8)
1)
Estimates for distribution parameters rand s for the TBF and TTR
data are found to be
TBF : r = 0.44, s = 1.25
TTR : r = 0.21, s - 0.88
Test of Distributional Assumptions

To assess the reasonableness of a selected model on the basis of
the given data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov one-sample test is used.
The one-sample test is based on the statistic
(9)
D = max IF(x) - Sex) I
where sex) is the empirical cumulative distribution function of a

sample of size n drawn from a population in which random variable
X has a continuous cumulative distribution function F(x). The
null hypothesis is rejected if the observed value of the
statistic D falls in the critical region at the desired level of
significance. In our case, the maximum difference for both TBF
and TTR data can be found to be 0.2042 and 0.2061 respectively.
These values are smaller than the critical value of
the
distribution of D for n = 20 and
= 0.05, which is 0.294. Hence
the null hypotheses that TBF and TTR are beta-distributed cannot
be rejected at the 5% level of significance.
References
1. Bovaird,
R.L. et al. (1961)

"Lognormal Distribution
and
Maintainability in Support Systems Research," Naval Logistics
Quarterly, 8, 343-356.
Figure 1 Skewness-kurtosis diagram

4
o
3
Automatic Environmental Monitoring
Andrew T Dadd
VG Gas Analysis Systems, Aston Way, Middlewich, Cheshire, CWlO OHT, UK
Abstract
There is an increasing amount of public concern and legislation directed at
environmental issues. Particular concern is being directed towards the levels of volatile
organic compounds in factory environments.
Long term exposure to these compounds is now known to be harmful, with many
organic compounds now regarded as cancer suspect agents. There is dearly a need for:
1.
continuous monitoring of the workplace
2.
a data storage system, to ensure that important information is readily

retrievable e.g when alarm levels have been exceeded.
CURRENT TECHNIQUES
Traditionally for the continuous monitoring of the workplace a number of techniques

have been employed:
1.
process Gas Chromatography
2.
infra-red
3.
discrete detectors
For the continuous monitoring of volatile organic compounds all these techniques suffer
limitations. Particularly these of slow response times, interference problems (when
performing multi-component analysis) and inflexibility.
140
MASS SPECfROMETRY
Mass spectrometry has long been regarded as a powerful research tool, however its
complexity, size and expense hindered its general use in industrial applications.
However in recent years there has been considerable advances in the hardware and
software of mass spectrometers such that it may be genuinely now be regarded as a
reliable industrial analyser. The potential of mass spectrometry has rapidly been
recognised by the chemical and allied industries with numerous compact, inexpensive
systems installed worldwide for a variety of process monitoring applications.
THEORY
All mass spectrometers work by ionising neutral gas molecules or atoms and then
separating the positively charged ions that are formed according to their mass to charge
ratio. In all commercial gas analysers, this ionisation process is produced by a beam of
electrons, generated from a hot filament, bombarding the gas molecules in the ion
source.
The ionisation process and the ensuing separation of the charged ions must take place
in a vacuum, otherwise the ions will collide with one another before separation takes
place. Also, of course, the hot filament will very quickly burn out! Therefore all mass
spectrometers require a high vacuum system, typically operating at lQ-6 mbar.
Historically this was a reason for mass spectrometers being perceived as "delicate"
instruments - reliable means of achieving that sort of vacuum routinely were not around.
Nowadays, turbomolecular and diffusion pumps with proven reliability are readily
available, interlocks ensure that should power to the pumps be lost for any reason,
filaments are switched off instantaneously before they are damaged.
After the neutral molecule is ionised, fragmentation occurs, for example for nitrogen:
Mass
Charge
fragmentation
eeN2 -------> N2+ -------------> N+ -------> N++
28
14
7
141
If we compare the equivalent fragmentation for carbon monoxide:

Mass
Charge
CO -------> CO+
28
-------------> C+ and 0+
12
Therefore, although the two molecules have the same molecular weight, their "cracking
patterns" are entirely different. This, combined with the fact that the "relative intensity"
of each peak is known, allows the mass spectrometer to measure complex mixtures of
gases and if the MS is the "scanning" type, the analysis maybe easily changed at any
time, giving the user complete flexibility of analysis. In complex gas analyses, data
systems and software are required to deconvolute the matrices of peaks and intensities the power of computers and software has increased dramatically in recent years as has
the "user friendliness" of software - you no longer have to be a mass spectroscopist to
operate and understand MS.
QUADRUPOLE MASS ANALYSER

In quadrupole mass spectrometer systems charged particles are separated in an RF and
DC electric field; by varying the strength of this field, ions of different mass to charge
ratio will pass through the filter. The quadruple mass spectrometer typically has a mass
range of 200 atomic mass units (amu) and, because the RFIDC field can be scanned
quickly, it is an extremely fast mass spectrometer - multicomponent analyses may be
carried out in seconds.
Quadrupole mass spectrometer systems have been used extensively in environmental
monitoring applications. The "Petra" series from VG Gas Analysis Systems uses a
special membrane inlet and is able to detect down to ppb levels a wide range of
organic species such as Vinyl Chloride, Ethylene Oxide, Acrylonitrile, Benzene, Styrene,
Ethylene Dibromide etc. Here, the speed of the quadruple is a distinct advantage,
enabling multipoint systems (up to 64 inlets) to monitor up to 16 user defined volatile
organic compounds with an analysis time of a few seconds per point.
142
DETECflON LIMITS
Long term exposure limits and control limits based on Health and Safety Executive
Guidance Note EHl40, which has similar limits to other national standards such as
OSHA in the U.S.A. The exposure limits are based on a time weighted average for an
eight-hours working day. In all the cases, the sensitivity of the VG Series exceed;
usually by orders of magnitude, the sensitivity required to give a safe warning as a
level approaches that which is considered dangerous.
AUTOMATIC OPERATION
The software package that is available with the Petra series, Petrasoft, has been
designed to allow easy operation without the need for previous computing experience.
Petrasoft is a fully quantitative operating suite which is ideal for controlling a
system working for long periods without operator attendance. All data can be stored to
disk, and hard copy is available at any time. Furthermore, the instrument can be set up
so that a management report, summarising results in a simplified statistical presentation
(for example time weighted average values), can be generated at a user defined time
interval (eg. each shift, weekly or monthly) for print out or data transfer to another
computer.
A second software suite, Petralab, is also supplied with the Petrasoft package; this is a
graphics mode used mainly for qualitative work and diagnostics.
CONCLUSION
For the multipoint, multicomponent monitoring of volatile organic compounds in
ambient air the VG Petra Series of instruments achieve levels of detection, analysis
speed, versatility that cannot be reached by more conventional techniques such as infrared on gas chromatography. In addition a powerful data package gives unrivalled data
handling, storage and reporting facilities.
Now that mass spectrometers are available as compact, easy to use cost-effective
systems, the use of the technique for continuous automatic monitoring is set to increase
over the next few years.
143

Compound
Acetone
Acrylonitrile
Allyl Chloride
Aniline
Benzene
Butan 2-01
Carbon Disulphide
Carbon Tetrachlorde
Chloroform
Cyclohexane
Dimethyl Acetamide
1.4 Dioxan
Epichlorohydrin
Ethyl Alcohol
Ethyl Benzene
n-Hexane
Mesityl Oxide
Methyl Acetate
Methyl Ethl Ketone
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone
Methyl Methacrylate
Naphthalene
Nitro-benzene
Octane
Perchloroethylene
Phenol
Propylene Oxide
Pryidine
Propan-2-01
Styrene
Tetrahydrofuran
Toluene
Trichloroethylene
Triethylamine
Vinyl Acetate
Vinyl Bromide
Vinyl Chloride
Xylene
detection limit ppm

0.100
0.100
0.009
0.100
0.002
0.100
0.001
0.020
0.020
O.OSO
0.100
0.001
0.020
0.050
0.002
0.050
0.100
0.100
0.050
0.006
0.200
0.010
0.010
0.005
O.OOS
0.200
0.010
0.010
O.SOO
0.010
0.050
0.002
0.004
2,000
0.300
0.020
0.020
0.002
LTE
ppm, 8 hour TWA
1.000
2.000*
1.000
2.000
10.000
100.000
10.000*
10.000
10.000
300.000
10.000
SO.OOO
2.000
1000.000
100.000
100.000
IS.ooo
200.000
200.000
SO.OOO
100.000
10.000
1.000
300.000
100.000
S.OOO
20.000
S.OOO
400.000
100.000*
200.000
100.000
100.000
2S.000
10.000
5.000
10.000*
100.000
*control limits
A Supervisory Officer's Guide to Effective Interviewing/Counselling

of Personnel Suspected of Having an Alcohol Dependency Problem
G H V Paviour
Divisional Officer, County of Clwyd Fire Service, UK
Ii)
The technique of holding an interview with someone

with an abuse problem is far different in structure
than that of recruitment, probation, or promotion
style interviews.
The first series of interviews may be related to
i.nV0stigat:i,on, probi,ng, itssossing and
ev(~n
formal.
It must be accepted that the first interview must be

to establish why Y()ll were concerned abo\lt a persons
lack of war]r performance, you cannot begin to ]}p}p or

advise until the ground work is first established.
FOl
all you know the problem may not be drink related
hut a
This is
(~,i)
reason0
S0t'iollS dom(~stic
knOWll dS
establishing
t~e
underlying problem.
There are a number of essenti.al purposes to be covered

during the course of an initial interview.
It would
be well to adjust the tone of voice to a fairly formal
manller{ J)ut at the same
t:j.me
pr"ovide an
llnde~standing
attitude,
If this j.nteI"view is hand}.ed clumsily or tactJ.essly, the

subsequent jnterviews, both by yourself or other people
inside and outside of the Company, will be difficult and
impossible to
~!chi,eve
any objectives or sO],\ltions.

(iii)
145
The essential purposes are:

a}
To inform the employee that his work

performances has deteriorated to an unacceptable
level, specifying the particular instances that
have occurred.
b}
To explain to the employee the consequences of

failing to improve work performances to an
acceptable level, and to indicate a time frame
for improvement.
c}
To remind the employee of the existence of the

counselling service and of the council's policy
and attitude to personal problems among
employees.
d}
To inform the employee that his work performance

will continue to be monitored.
e}
Set a date for a further meeting with the

employee to review his progress.
(iv)
Establishing Trust
Most of these types of interviews you will do with
personnel that you know.
Even so, interviewees may
still need re-assurance that you are prepared to

listen.
This is very much a skill that has to be
developed.
They will often want specific evidence that you are to
be trusted in these particular circumstances, even
146
though under normal circumstances they know you and

work with you.
There are a number of ways that you
can build up trust between yourself and the

interviewee.
a)
Your stance and posture will be giving signals

to the interviewee which will indicate if you
are relaxed and interested in what you are being
told.
A lack of eye-contact, tension in your face,
surreptitious glances at your watch or clock on
the wall, will signal that you wish to get this
interview over with as fast as possible, so that
you can get back to some useful work.
In that case although the interviewee may go
away, it is unlikely that the problem will.
In
fact it will probably get worse.

b)
If the story or information that the interviewee

is telling you is confused and difficult to
follow it is important that you help unravel the
strands as you go along.
A process called
'active listening' can be helpful.

What you do is make brief summaries of what
yo~
think the interviewee has said at pauses during

the conversation.
Doing this helps in two
ways. First it helps the interviewee know that
147
you are listening and paying attention; second

it makes sure that what you thought the
interviewee said is actually what was meant.
It
means that all the way through the interview you

are checking your understanding of the messages
the interviewee is sending.
c)
As the subject matter of the interviewee is

confidential, painful or even embarrassing, then
the officer may have to prove his sensitivity to
the potential of the subject.
Interviewees are more likely to talk about their

problem once they have received an assurance of
confidentiality.
However on the other hand,
some interviewees seem to need a more concrete

demonstration of this.
Here the supervisor may
find it useful to talk about personal

experiences, especially if they have been
similar to the ones described by the
interviewee.
If you can talk honestly and
openly about your emotions of that time, you

will help the interviewee to cope with their own
emotions now.
You will also be demonstrating that you are

prepared to trust the interviewee with some
information about yourself, and therefore why
shouldn't the interviewee trust you.
System for Real Time Process Monitoring and Adaptive Control

during CNC Deep Hole Drilling
Y Kavaratzis and J D Maiden
Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, University of Aston in Birmingham,
Aston Triangle, Bimingham B4 7ET, UK
ABSTRACT
The inherent low strength of small diameter twist drills for deep hole drilling, in conjunction with the
reduced coolant penetration to the cutting zone restricts the possibility of unmanned operation. The
system described monitors the cutting forces on-line and controls the feed rate, spindle speed and
depth of penetration accordingly, in order to ensure safety of the tool and workpiece. Other functions
are tool life monitoring, data acquisition and display and an alarm diagnostics facility.
1.
INTRODUCTION
The 1980's has seen the development of new facets to manufacturing technology. The need for higher
productivity in the context of CNC machine tools and machining centres has led to the development of
unmanned or limited manpower (LMP) strategies. A fundamental aspect of these startegies has been
the development of process monitoring and control systems.
Much research effort has been directed towards the detection of tool breakages in turning, milling and
drilling during unmanned cycles. Basic feature of the proposed systems is the automatic identification
of tool breakage or end of life and the issuing of an alarm signal to a remote operator or even the
automatic replacement of the tool.
In those cutting process where production of a component is not compromised by the need to replace a
broken or worn tool this is sufficient. However drilling of small diameter deep holes requires a system
of adaptive control which will prevent tool breakage and thus avoid the scrapping of a possibly
expensive component [1]. This paper describes such a system for intelligent machining (1M). The
term 1M incorporates the two main functions of the system, Condition Monitoring and Adaptive
Control (AC) as well as a limited self learning capability.
2.
OYERALL SET-UP
The block diagram of the overall set-up is shown in fig.I. A CNC lathe was used for the drilling
operations. This allowed the drilling of horizontal holes which in tum facilitated the extraction of swarf
during DHD. The operator has a choice to use the system either as a digital data acquisition setup for
the study of the drilling process, the performance of various tools and the machineability of different
materials or as a closed loop (feedback) system for AC of the process.
A 4-channel dynamometer m.ounted on the tool turret records the drilling thrust and torque. Mounted
onto the dynamometer is a clamping vice which holds the rectangular workpiece. The drill is rotating
149
stationary while the work moves in the Z, X axis. This layout enables to drill many holes in the
same workpiece in a short time.
4-Chan nel Dynamometer

( Kistler )
Spindle
D. Motor
Clam ping V
Drill
RPM %
Override
Con tr Ol
FIG.l: Overall set-up

3.1
SYSTEM HARDWARE
Machine Tool and Computers: The sytem was retrofitted to a Torshalla CNC lathe with an
ASEA-SAAB controller (PDP-II microprocessor). A BBC model-B computer with two 6502
microprocessors was used as the external computer to perform the tasks of data acquisition, real time
monitoring and the master control of the machining parameters, namely the feedrate, spindle RPM
and the +/-Z axis JOG control. It is clear that in the case of designing an intelligent AC-NC system
from the drawing board, the same computer which performs the basic NC functions should also
perform the 1M ones.
Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC): This in-house built device provides the feed-forward
part of the loop along with the other three elements, i.e the computer, the feed ~ve servo, spindle
motor and the cutting process (fig. 2). It consists of three channels, each with a 256 resolution and
controls the feedrate override, spindle RPM override and a bank of solid state or pulse coded switches.
(i). Feedrate and spindle
RPM
channels. The feedrate and spindle RPM channels are
150
identical; 8 resistors connected across the 5 volt supply of the override potentiometers give a
maximum of 5 kn when all connected or 0 kn when open. So the digital values from 0 to 255 are
mapped between 0 to 5000 n. For the feedrate control this corresponds to the range from 200% to
0% of the nominal value (100%) in the NC program and for the spindle override corresponds to the
range from 75% to 125% of the NC programmed spindle speed.
(ii). Other functions: A similar layout as above permits control of the following functions on the
CNC panel by means of opening and closing relays or pulse coded switches:
Bit 1 (value=I)Z : Motion of the workpiece towards the tool (cutting).
Bit 2 (value=2) +Z : Motion of the workpiece away from the tool (held in spindle).
Bit 3 (value=4) JOG: Disables AUTO / I and enables manual positioning in the Z, X axes.
Bit 4 (value=8)
I: Starts the NC program.
Bit 5 (value=16) AUTO: Enables the machine tool to execute an NC program.
Bit 6 (value=32) SHIFf: Enables access to buttons with two address levels such as INIT.
Bit 7 (value=64)
INIT: Brings the NC to a well defined starting state.
Bit 8 (value=128) STOP: Emergency stop which shuts down the m/c tool.
3.2
SYSTEM SOFTWARE
The system software consists of two modules, A and B. Module-A is the Off-line processor and
consists of 2 main programs: SETUP is an interactive, user friendly program written in basic
which serves 3 purposes: I. Data acquisition from the operator regarding the metal cutting
process such as feeds, speeds, tool geometry, workpiece material, etc. 2. Creation of data files
where the above data is stored and is accessible by the operator for updating, expansion, modification
etc. 3. Check by the computer of the two main parameters in machining, i.e the feed/rev and the tool
surface speed against static calculations of tool strength (e.g fracture in buckling or torsion)
and also against a range of feeds and speeds recommended form experience for each material; the
latter are held in a data base. [3]
Program INTERM is basically an editor, the operator can access a data file and modify any data
about a machining process. It also calculates and stores the main control parameters such as sampling
rates, feed & speed steps-up or steps-down, various flags etc. required in module-B (on-line). This
program also enables the operator to select from a menu of options the mode in which machining is to
take place as far as monitoring and control is concerned, options include:
Monitoring: breakage prevention and rapid withdrawal active alone.
Monitoring and Adaptive Control: feedrate and spindle RPM ovenide control.
Real time graphics: VDU display of thrust, torque and feedrate vs. hole depth or time.
Recording facility: (screen dumping) for off-line analysis of machineability data, cutting tool
performance or control strategy assesment.
151
Module-B is the main software code under the name INTELMACH: It consists of 12 subroutines
written in basic and assembler 6502 code and operates around the 2 MHz clock and the 16-bit
4-channel ADC of the BBC and performs the real time tasks of the system described next.
3.3. EXECUTION OF AN NC PROGRAM
BY THE SYSTEM
ST AGE I: Slow approach and entry: this is necessary so that the tool is adequately supported
during initial penetration. It also helps ensure optimum hole straightness. This is imperative when
unguided, unsupported long drills are used and/or when the material to be drilled presents difficult
machining characteristics. The depth of tool penetration into the workpiece during stage I is typically
up to 4 diameters and during this stage the feedrate is held constant at a value below the maximum
feedrate programmed in the NC code. During stage I the task of the system is to ensure that the
absolute limits of thrust and torque for the particular tool are not exceeded. In the event whereupon
any of the two limits is exceeded, the control system stops machining immediately withdraws the tool
to its initial position and issues an alarm to the operator giving at the same time the maximum values of
torque and thrust encountered. The options open to the operator are: either reset the absolute limits to
new values, higher than before and resume machining or return to program INTERM and specify a
lower penetration feed rate for entry.
ST AGE II: Transition to working feedrate and steady state: In this stage the control
system automatically brings the feedrate to 100% of its NC code value which leads to an increase in
thrust and torque correspondingly to new values. Knowledge of the pattern of increase of the drilling
forces in such a step-input to the feed rate is very important for understanding the dynamics of the
process, building a mathematical model and designing the control algorithm [2]. When the feedrate
reaches its 100% value the steady state has been reached and the feedrate and RPM override control is
active.
ST AGE In: Adaptive Control of feed/speed: In stage III the main function of the system is to
maximise the feedrate maintaining at the same time the drilling forces constant by varying the feed/rev
and the drill speed and when necessary to withdraw the tool in order to clear the swarf from the flutes.
4.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The performance of the system over a wide range of feed rates and spindle speeds was assessed using
workpieces of an abrasive and workhardening nature. A range of drill sizes were used given a length
to diameter ratio of 33:1 and 40:1. Figures 2, 3 show the variation of drilling thrust and torque vs.
hole depth under fixed machining conditions (non controlled) while figures 4, 5 show the performance
of the system under AC conditions and computer controlled tool withdrawals (pecks). Considerable
improvements were observed when comparing the system performance with the typical method of
152
canned (fixed) pecking cycles for drilling small diameter deep holes on the CNC machining centre of
an aerospace industry.
REFERENCES
1. Yiannis Kavaratzis, John D. Maiden,
"Method for Stabilisation and Control of the Deep Hole Drilling Process using Twist
Drills", Advances in Manufacturing Technology III, Proceedings of the Fourth National
Conference on Production Research, Sheffield City Polytechnic, September 1988
2. Y. Kavaratzis "Deep Hole Drilling using Twist Drills: Aspects of the Process, Real
Time Monitoring and Adaptive Control", Ph.D Thesis,
University of Aston in Birmingham, U.K, 1989
3. Y. Kavaratzis "A Data Files Handling System for Turning Tools",
M.Sc Dissertation, UMIST, 1986
:",UI:..
~-~~} 1M:1
n.'
. tlW lll ,1
153
111) tnll :III 1) Ilnk ;SU" 1I
U. I
n .J
41. S
n 7. '
,u
II.
"'"
n.'
11.
1/
~.~
V--~
" ~------------------------------~
________________________
Ii
~I
w
~.
~,,~)
INPUT , COHPUTED RECORDED PROCESS DATA

INPUT. COMPUTED I; RECORDED PROCESS DATA
I.
2.
3.
4.
S.
t.
'to0
1
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
Source File
DATt..
UTIRIAL CODE_AHS7075
WORIPlECI CODE frio. -SCRD
DRILL CODE_TTX_Xl
DRILL DIAMETER ( _1-3.00
TOOL LIP! STATUS:
No. or HOLES-IO . OO
CUHHULATIVE CUTTING TIME (aln,_n . 1l
CU"HULATIYE DEPTH (_),.,68e.33

Me PROGRAM 'EIDRATI (_I.ln)_IOO.QO
CUnING FEED (.lc/rev).32.00
NC PRooKAH SPINOLa RPN.3125.00
SURFACE SPEED 'a/_ln).29.45
NC PROORAH DEPTH Zaax (_).90 . 00
PILOT HOLI DEPTH (_1.0 . 00
CUARANCE BETWEEN TOOL ,'w/PlECE (_I_S.OO
ENTRY PElDRAT[ (_I_ln).30.DO
30 . 00 X ot "AX. FEEDRAT!
FEID TRAfrlSITION DEPTH (_):20 , 00
STEADY STATE DEPTH 1_1.26 . 00
AHPLlPICATION SCALES:
TORQUE (Nca/V)_IOD.OO
THRUST (N/VI_IOO.DO
MAXIMUM TOLERABLE THRUST (N,-U4 . 35
STEADY STATE THRUST (N) -132 11
MAXIMUM TOLERABLE TORQUI INc.)aU.66
STUDY STATE TORQUI(Nc.'_I4 . U
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sour.:.
Flh
OAT
MATERIAL CODE - TAll

WORKPIECE CODE No . _a3
DRI LL CODE - TH P2
TOOL LI FE STATUS :
6.
6.
1.
8.
i .
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
DRILL DIAMETER (_)E4.S0

No. OF HOLESEIO . OO
CUHHULATIVE CUTTI NG T IHE ' . l nl:49.44
CUHMULATI VE DEPTIt t ).!lSI.02
He PROORAH 'EEDRATE 1_I.ln)_I6 . 00
CUTTING FEED '.i.c / n v ).2S.60
NC PROGRAM SPINDLE RPME625.00
S URF ACE SPEED ,./.in)E8.84
NC PROORAH DEPTH Z.u t_l=65.!lO
PILOT HOLE DEPTH 1_):0.00
CLEARANCE &ETWEEN TOOL l W/ PIECE 1 ... )s6.30
ENTRY FEEDRAT ( / _In)_16.00
10 0.00" of MAX. FEEDRATE
FEED TRANSITION DEPTH 1_IE3.70
AHPLIFICATION SCALES:
. TORQUE INc. I VI: 200. 00
THRUST (N / VI E200.00
MAXlNUH TOLERABLE THRUST (N):1019.}1
STEADY STATE THRUST(N}::.S09. 58
MAXI HUH TOLERABLE TORQUE (N c II).299. 0 0
STEADY STATE TORQUE(Nc . , o: 99 . 67
Fi,.3
DHD of TAli IMJ 318 allol
(nontonlrolled)
Flc 2: DHD of AMS1075 1'736 allor (aoo-conlroUed)

1"",lal :llliltM
tf lll: lU ~ n
I IKt.:UU-IJ
! I
U
P'(.... II) ,
t1, fL.
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
t.
1.
8.
t.
10.
11 .
12 .
U.
14 .
RECORDED PROCESS DATA
DATL
MATERIAL COOl_AMSTon
VOR1PUCE CODE No. _SCRD
DRILL CODE_TTXX3
DRILL DlANETER (_,_3.00
TOOL LlFE STATUS:
No. OF HOLES_U.OO
CUMMULATIVE CUTTINO TINE ,.In)_l' . 32
CUHHULATIVE DEPTH ,_,_116.68
MC PROGIU.H FEiDRATE (_I.ln'-IOO.OO
CUTTINO FEED (.lc/rev, _32.00
HC PROGRAM SPINDLE RPM_3US.00
SURFACE SPEED ,.I.ln, _Z9 . n
NC PROGRAM DEPTH bu. (_)_90.00
PILOT HOLE DEPTH (_)_0.00
CLEARANCE BETWEEN TOOL w/PIECE (_'_$.00
INTRY PlEDRATI (_I.ta).30 . 00
30 . 00 " of MA% . FUDRATI
PliO TRANSITION DEPTH (_)_20 . 00
STEADY STATE DEPTH (_,_U.OO
AMPLIFICATION SCALIS:
TORQUI (Nc./V)_100.00
TnUST (N/V,_IOO . OO
MAXIMUM TOLERABLE THRUSTO(N ) _Z20.85
STlADY STAll THRUST(N)-1l0.U
MAXIMUM TOLERABLE TORQUE (Hc.,_81.11
STUDY STATE TORQUI(Nc.)_U . 24
ria.'
at AMS107$ T736 aDo, (AC)
F :IUI
N 1S
Ptct :1
IUIIt-"I
'1=
~''''NP'''U;;;T-.""'C"OH"'P;;;U"'
TE"'D"-;-.""'R"'
EC
"O"'
' R"'DE"D:--;;;PR"O
'"'
CE"'S"'S""'D
".'";;:
Tc. -------~S-o
urc . Fi.le
I.
2.
2.
3.
4.
6.
6.
1.
8.
9.
10.
11 .
12.
13 .
HATERIAL CODEErA l l
BLOCK No , "BS
DRILL CODE"HWZ
TOOL LIFE STATUS:
DA1
DRILL DIAH ETER , , " .&.50

No. OF HOLES:1 9 .00
CUMHULATIIJ CUTTI NG TIME (.i n i:lOl.11
CUHHULATIVE DEPTH 1 ),.1134 . 17
Ne PROGRAH FEEDRATE 1_/ain)=16.00
CUTTING FEED l.i c/ nv)"'2S . 6(
NC PROGRAH SPINDLE RPH;625 . 00
S URt' ACE SPHD 1./.l.n)=8.84
Ne PROGRAH DEPTH ZIIu 1 ) - 64. 10
PILOT HOLE DEPTH 1_.)_0.00
CLEARANCE BETWEEN TOOL,' W/PIEC[ IllIa):6.30
ENTRY FEDRATE ( /.In)=16.00
100 . 00 " o f "AX . FEEDRATE
nED TRANSITION DEPTH 1_1 " 3 .70
TORQUE (N c a / VI - ZOO . OO
THRUST (N / ", .. 200 . 00
AHPLIFICATION SCALES:
MAXIMUM TOLERABLE THRUST (N): 1257. 2 7
STEADY STATE THRUST(N ) =628.64
MAXIMUH TOLERABLE TORQUE IN.:.'-400.60
STEADY STATE TORQUE(Nc.' . 113 . S1
Fle s
DHD
",.
~
, I" ---~
__________________________________
___
Ds .H. m . n RKII .Ii,.' UUlll"", U . n
INPUT . COMPUTED l
-""' .
---.1
DIID of TAil 1M131' allo)' (AC)
Plant Health Monitoring Using a Turbine Flowmeter
J E Amadi-Echendu, E H Higham and P J Hurren

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN19QT, UK
Abstract-The turbine flowmeter produces an intrinsically safe electrical

output which is proportional to volumetric flow rate. The nature of the installation affects the quality of the turbine signal even when the instrument
is properly installed. This paper demonstrates that time domain analysis
of the turbine meter pulse signal provides useful parameters for monitoring
the condition of a process plant.
1
Introduction
The turbine flowmeter is used in many industrial applications for process

batching, accounting, and custody transfer; and for calibration and performance testing of fluid processes, ['Furness,(1982)']. An attractive characteristic of the turbine meter is that it produces an intrinsically safe electrical
signal which is proportional to fluid velocity. The derived turbine pulse signal is readily digitized by measuring the period of the pulses. Depending
on the bandwidth of the sensor and its interface to the process, the turbine
signal also contains a reasonable amount of the information available in the
flow.
The quality of the turbine signal is affected by the fluid viscosity, temperature, and by the operation of equipment installed on the plant, ['Salami
et al,(1985}']. Although there are industry recommended conditions which
reduce installation effects on meter performance to acceptable levels, it is
possible to extract useful information about the 'state' of the plant from
the observed modulations of the turbine signal. The information may be
related to the condition of other equipment or the flowmeter itself. Recent
studies ['Ajayi,(1983}' and 'Hurren,(1989}'] using spectral analyses have
demonstrated this hypothesis. Complementary to spectral methods, time
domain analysis of the flow signal provides parameters which characterize
a plant in the time domain.
155
The parameters are very useful in predicting the evolution of the flow
signal in the short term; and thus provide some means of predicting a
plant malfunction. The condition of a plant as 'seen' by the flowmeter can
be assessed by comparing the predictions to actual measurements of the
flow signal. In this paper, the analysis and application of time domain
parameters to assess of the condition of both the flowmeter and the pump
are discussed.
Turbine Flow Signal and Experiments
For one dimensional flow, the fluid velocity may be represented as a random
variable v(r, t), where installation effects induce a radial pressure gradient
in the travelling pressure or velocity wave. The operation of the turbine
meter is such that the angular velocity of the rotor may be simply related
to the flow ['Furness,(1982),] as
d
w"2 = NV(1" t)tana
(1)
where d is the pipe diameter, N is the number of blades, and a is the angle
of attack of the velocity wave on the blades. Assuming that the turbine,
sensor and electronics have the response function hTSE(t, T), then the flow
signal from the turbine meter is
x(t) = hTSE(t, T)
NV(1', t)tana
trd
(2)
The observed data resulting from equation 2 is a time series

(3)
The composition of the series is as follows. The low frequency or trend
component trt may be caused by the effect of installed equipment (e.g.
pump) on the plant; and the periodic or seasonal component Pt comes from
the rotation of the blades of the turbine. Similarly, St is a signal component
due to the flow, nt is a general stochastic component which may be caused
by the unknown time constants of the flowmeter; and et is a white noise
component due to measurement errors.
A schematic diagram of the flow rig is shown in figure 1 with a Foxboro
81 Series turbine flowmeter (19.05mm dia) installed so that the upstream
and downstream lengths of straight piping are at least 30 and 15 diameters
respectively. The pump consists of two tri-Iobes which are coupled so that
they are driven from the shaft of a variable speed motor.
156
TO NEASURING
cow...
DIWII
Figure 1: Schematic of flow rig.

In order to simulate a 'bad' pump condition, a section of a lobe was
trimmed by about 0.5mm. For the pump conditions, several records were
observed, each containing 250 measurements Xi, (i = 1,2, ... , n) of consecutive pulse periods. The mean frequency of the turbine signal using 1000
samples for each condition was 345Hz at a flow rate of 20litres/minute.
Time Series Analysis
From equation 2, the frequency of the pulse signal is N( = 6) times that of

the rotor rotation. Plotting the time series with respect to this periodicity, the periods of the pulses due to each turbine blade are identified (see
figure 2). The evolution of each group of N pulses depicts the evolution of
the rotor due to the low frequency component of Xt.
The statistical relationship between the samples is used to determine a
time domain model for the observed series. The model yeilds a parametric
characterization for the plant, and the forecasts X n +l, . .. , Xn+k (k :S 0.2n)
of the turbine pulse series. With an understanding of how the time series
is generated, a discrete time model ['Box & Jenkins,(1976)'j for the turbine
signal is identified as
(4)
In the above equation, () and cp are associated with the trend component of
the flow; while e and <J> are associated with the periodic turhine operation.
The parameter estimation results using the maximum likelihood criterion
are summarized in table 1.
157
Ta bIlE
stuuatlOn resu ts.
e
'Bad' pump
'Good' pump
St. Error
Estimate
Parameter
0.4146
-0.0922
0.7355
0.8822
<I>
()
t-ratio
0.1283 3.23
0.0684 -1.34
0.0941 7.812
0.0331 26.65
Pul.;", penod in ail!t,econds
2.18
2.93
2.SS
: 2:
:
: 3 :
+4
: '5+:
: 6:
23527488.Q
I:
236 17166.0
237 27441.0
23828334.0
2332fm2.Q
: t
: 4:
: 3:
I:
: +3:
5:
: +1:
:2t:
23126113.1 f:
2522;876.0 F:
2SJ 215IH.2 f:
154 27293.1 f '
m 2734l.6 f '
25628300.9 f:
257 2ons.! f '
: 4:
I:
2 :
f'
r,
f
f ,
F:
f'
f:
f:
f:
26127151.6 f:
26828307.3 f '
26'3 2ii't36.2 f:
270 27913.3 f
<I>
()
Estinlate
St. Error
~----
-0.0828
-0.2415
0.1615
0.8813
t-ratio
0.2629 -0.32
0.0673 -3.58
0.2609 0.62
0.0338 26.00 I
Put S~ per ijd in IIIl i sec1)nd'i
Obs.
2.33
2.88
2.83
Data
5:
231 26%0.0
23227156.0
13l 27568.0
234273!2.0
: H.,:
3:
: 4
: 5+:
:6 ~ :
235 27314.0
23628208,,)
137 26~04, i)
:\+
\
2+ :
23827940.0
N3 2i03Z,0
244 28028.0
HI 17&58.0
24627326.0
24727350,0
24828310.0
24"l26120.0
25027172.0
251 27577.0
m m'4.8
m 27457.1
25428381.5
255 26316.3
2~& 27973.1
25727511.7
258 17357.3
m 27433.2
2&0 2836&,2
26126171.1
2fiZ 27374,8
263 175%.2
2&4 27:l6t.l
2.5 2HlO ..l
216 28371.8
261 1&~a5.'~
2.8 2'371.4
263 275"i1.0
270 27312.1
2.98
: 1.. :
: .. :3
: 4t:
5 :
: +6:
2312750'1,')
240 27312.0
24127141),0
242 Za170,Q
: 5:
240 L71I)O.O
24127500.0
242 27276.0
243 27301.0
244 28,80.0
245 2S'l3Z.0
246 27890.0
24i 27SJ'j,O
24827330.0
2lj /7364.0
250 28274.0
2.9S
..
23023370.0
: I:
230 27180.0
23127266.0
23228215.0
23325158.0
23427870.0
25827895.5
25327;12.6
260 mn.5
261 27355.6
26228303.0
263 26"l32.0
261 27883.2
m 27516.3
266 27216.1
2.93
Paralueter
--.--~---
: 1
~2:
: + 3:
: 4
:S+
lot:
: 2
f:
I:
+3:
f:
5:
f'
4 :
f,
f'
F':
f,
f:
f'
ff'
f:
f'
F':
f'
f'
f:
f'
f'
f
a)'Sad' Putp
Figure 2: Turbine senes with forecasts, showing blade pulse periods.
3.03
158
From the table, the changes in the estimated values for () and <P demonstrate the effect of the simulated pump wear on the flow signal. The
values for these parameters are statistically insignificant (i.e. absolute
t - ratio ~ 2.5) for the 'good' pump condition, but are quite significant for
the 'bad' pump condition. Equally important, the estimates for <I> depict
this change with respect to the operation of the meter; and as expected, the
estimates for e imply that the condition of the turbine meter is unaffected
by the pump condition.
The forecasts of X230+k, k = 1,2, ... ,40 samples are illustrated in figure 2
for the pump conditions. The points plotted with '+' are the predicted
values for the actual data using the model parameters and 'I' are the 95%
confidence limits. Remarkably, the model yeilds very good forecasts (starting at k = 251) for the short term evolution of the turbine pulse senes
irrespective of the pump condition ..
Conclusions
Plant health monitoring can be achieved by periodic or contino us examination of turbine inter-blade spacings, model parameters, and forecast functions. Significant changes in any of these variables might indicate faults
in a plant equipment or the instrument itself. A very powerful method
for analyzing the output signal from a standard process instrument with a
view to monitoring the condition of the plant has been demonstrated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Foxboro (Great. Brit.ain) Limit.ed for the turbine flowmet.er
and SSP Limit.ed for the pump used in the st.udy.
REFERENCES
1. Furness, R. A.,"Turbine Flowmeters", Developments in Flow Measurements-I, Ap-
plied Science Publishers Limited, England, pp. 171-207, 1982.

2. Salami, 1. A., Hutton, S. P., " Development of a Turbine Flowmeter Calibration Rig",
in Proc. of Int. Conf. on Flow Measurement, FLOMEKO'8.5, Melbourne, Australia,
August 20-23, 1985.
3. Ajayi, A. A.," An Investigation into Using the Sparse Fourier Transform to Monitor Turbine Flowmeter Performance", M.Sc Thesis, School of Control Engineering,
University of Bradford, 1983.
4. Hurren, P. J., et al.,"Condition Monit.oring Using Conventional Process Instrumentation", in COMADEM 89 International.
5. Box, G. E. P., and Jenkins, G. M.,"Time Series Analysis, Forecasting and Control",
Holden-Day, 1976.
Real Time Monitoring of Roll Cooling Water Flow Rate

H Kaghazchi and R Hilliard
Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, National Institute for Higher Education,
Limerick, Ireland
Abstract :
This paper deals with the development of a cartridge stand
cooling water monitoring system for steel rolling mill at
Haulbowline, Irish Steel. The program has been developed in
PASCAL, which would run on an 'AT' series IBM PC-compatible
computer. It features optional data capture from a bank of 24
electromagnetic flowmeters, three types of real-time graphic
displays, in addition to past flow analysis.
There are twelve cartridge stands in the mill train at the
plant, each of which has two cooling water supply pipes.Since
the disruption of the cooling water supply results in
considerable down-time, this system is a priority item for the
plant's capital budget.
1: INTRODUCTION
In the last ten years, there has been a massive leap forward in
the computing power and overall reliability of small 'personal'
computers, such
as the PC/AT series
of IBM compatible
computers. They are easily programmable in a wide variety of
160
languages to suit various applications

graphics, communications and so on.
such
as database,
The system for monitoring the flow consists of a PC running a

custom program written in Turbo Pascal. This monitors the flow
on a real time basis, providing graphs indicating the current
status of flows. It also keeps a database of old flow readings
which are used to determine the best possible flow rates for
particular products, although this part of the project is being
run on a much longer schedule.
2: MILL WATER SYSTEM
2.1 : Water Cycle
Due to water supply shortcomings in the mains system from
Ringaskiddy, the cooling water system at the plant is run in a
closed loop, with top up water being drawn from the mains.
Because of the effect of cold water impinging on hot steel, the
coating of scale on the raw billet section is broken off and
flushed away with the cooling water. Thus, the water system
requires settling tanks to remove this suspended solid. The
primary settlement tank removes per day about 40 tones of mill
scale. Precipitative polymer chemicals
are added in the
secondary settlement tanks to help clear the water, however the
amount of suspended solid is still almost 1000 ppm when it
returns to the pump for recirculation.
2.2 : Thermal Stressing of Rolls
The cooling water is flushed at design flow rates of five to
ten litters per second per pipe drop, depending on the speed of
the roll.
For products with a small cross sectional area, the rolling
speed will be high. An example of this is 24 mm steel
reinforcing bar which is rolled at 9m/s. As the roll is moving
quickly and is not in contact with the hot steel for long, the
temperature of the roll will not vary much during the rolling
cycle and it may safely be kept at a fairly low temperature.
However, for heavier products, such as 220mm 'H'
beam, which
rolls at about 1.5 mls at the last stand, the roll is in
contact with the bar for much longer and so, will heat up to a
higher temperature. If the water is poured onto the roll at the
same rate as it would have been for the smaller section, the
degree of thermal stressing can become quite severe. The
thermal stressing manifests itself as small cracks on the
surface of the roll which grow with time. Hence the roll must
have a reduced flow of water spraying onto it in order to
prevent the amount of thermally generated stress from damaging
the roll.
161
However, if the flow rate is too low, the roll becomes too hot
and the steel will contact weld more easily than normal under
the immense pressure exerted by the rolls on the product. This
local contact welding accentuates the effects of the contact
stresses generated and pits the surface of the roll which
reduces the quality of the steel produced and the useful life
of the roll. On the other hand, rolls which are too cold tend
to be more thermally stressed when they come into contact with
the hot bar.
The net
result
is
that, for every product, there are
upper and lower limits for cooling water flow rates, above or
below which, the rolls will degrade.
The figure below shows a typical set of reversing mill rolls
for a 'H' section. They are place~. at 750mm centres in the
stand and the pair weigh about 14 tones.
Fig 1 : A Pair of Reversing Mill Rolls

The data is collected for individual products and stored into a
master file containing averaged flow readings for particular
products. The condition of rolls returning from service, in the
form of the average size of the surface defects, is also
entered into the file.
Over a long period of time, the data from the program is
collected and conclusions can be drawn from the data concerning
the best possible flow rates for the different products. The
figure below shows a cartridge stand no. 4. The water sprays
are clearly visible to the right of, and above, the rolls.
Fig 2
Cartridge Stand No. 4
162
3: OLD FLOW MONITORING SYSTEM

The old monitoring system in use at the plant is rudimentary.
It consists of one pressure gauge mounted on the main mill
cooling water supply pipe at it's entry point into the mill.
This reading is relayed to the main continuous mill control
pulpit and displayed on a LED indicator. There is no automatic
monitoring system, alarm or data capture facility on this.
4: NEW MONITORING SYSTEM
4 1: HARDWARE
4.1.1 : PC compatible computer

These class of computers are very common nowadays and there is
a vast software base in existence for them. They were chosen in
preference to an extension of the existing Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLC) system for the following reasons:
They are considerably cheaper:
The PC-AT with 24 channel analogue I/O card prices at about
L2500, ex vat. A corresponding PLC processor card, 10 cards
and display units would have cost in the region of L5000.
The program can be modified more easily and
superior display to the end user.
The system can be extended
in the plant.
can give a far
to monitor more than one process
4.1.2 : Analogue 10 card

A 24 channel card, one channel for each roll in the mill train,
was used which gives 12 bit, or .025%, resolution of the
measured quantity. It samples the input every 25 microseconds
and places the result at a specified I/O port on the computer.
This can be read easily by the program at a variable sampling
rate.
4.1.3 : Flowmeters
A number of different types of flowmeters were tested in the
mill to ascertain their suitability in the mill. Devices with
moving parts, such as flap displacement meters and impellers
become blocked with the scale from the mill. Meters relying on
some length of pipe are
a pressure differential across
unreliable since the transducer pickup points also become
clogged. An ultrasonic flowmeter was tried but it gave erratic
readings as the pipe had a heavy internal coating of scale. The
only meter which was found to be suitable for the application
were electromagnetic type flowmeters.
163
The signal
which the electromagnetic
meters provide is
convenient from the point of
view that it is directly
proportional to the volume of water flowing through the device.
This is in opposition to venturi-type meter which emits a
signal proportional to the square root of the flow.
4.2
4.2.1
SOFTWARE
Language Used
The program to drive the display was written in Turbo Pascal,

from Borland. This language has a number of powerful graphics
commands which make the construction of complex displays
relatively easy. For reasons of speed, a number of the routines
used commonly in the program were converted into assembler, to
get the maximum speed possible from the machine.
4.2.2
Displays Generated
There are three classes of display which the program uses to

display the incoming data. These are described below.
4.2.2.1: Analogue Bar Representation: Bars, representing the

individual flow rates onto
the top and bottom rolls,
indicated by the letters 'T' and 'B' respectively, whose
height varies in direct proportion to the flow rate reported
for that roll. This display is the most suitable for normal
operation. The colours of the bars vary in relation to the
state of flow, with red indicating a warning condition and
yellow, an emergency. These warning and emergency levels are
determined either by the user, or, when a sufficient base of
data has been built up, by the computer. The bars are
normally light blue. The program will also activate the
computer's alarm when this occurs.
4.2.2.2: Trend Curve Representation: The data is displayed on

the screen in a manner similar to that of an oscilloscope
display. Again, the same colour scheme applies as in the
analogue bar display.
164
4.2.2.3: Numerical Display: The computer displays all of the

raw data onto the screen, without any graphics. An optional
constant value, separately definable for each line and which
defaults to a value of one, is multiplied by the raw data,
before display. Again, the display will monitor the data for
the separately definable alert values. This mode is used for
purposes of calibration.
4.2.3 : Data Files

The program will generate a file of data collected from the
flow meters. This data is recorded at a rate definable by the
user. In normal operation, the rate defaults to once every half
minute.
The program also generates a past history file of flow rates
and, as mentioned in section 2, this will be used to determine
the best possible flow rates applicable for the different
products.
5: Conclusion
As of the 5th May 1989, the budget for the project had been
unapproved by the board of the plant. This was mainly due to
the refusal of Korf AG to state their intentions as regards the
plant's future. This situation notwithstanding, the program has
been written and tested. A mock up board has been built to
simulate the inputs from four flowmeters and was used to
simulate the inputs produced by the flowmeters. The current
situation is that the project is ready for installation and
commissioning in the mill.
Assuming a price of L800 per flowmeter, which was the lowest
price quoted, the total cost of the project comes to L21,700,
including the cost of the computer and 10 card. When the
project is implemented, the projected savings, in down-time and
roll blank cost, are of the order of L50,000 to L200,OOO per
year, giving a payback period of six months.
Health Monitoring of Motorised Valve Actuators and Similar Devices
JohnJ S Derry and Dr RCWaterfall*

Consultant Engineer and *Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, UMIST, UK
ABSTRACT
The economic gains from detecting deterioration

carrying out
maintenance
considerable
in
reprocessing,
such
and
identify a simple
actuators
and
The
consequences
EcaoomiCB
of
as
large
power generatioo.
method
Condition
an
of
devices,
process
This
measuring
paper
the
plant,
power
nuclear
describes
condition of
work
fuel
done
motorised
to
valve
Of Actuator Condition Monitoring
is
in
general
economic
actuator breakdown are severe.

cost
as
much
as
stations
only
when
the
An actuator failure on a
100,000
in lost revenue, if the
process is difficult to stabilise after a major process upset,

large
and
in order to avert catastrophic failure.
Monitoring
large process plant may

on
actuators
as necessary to prevent breakdown in service may be
fields
similar
of
and
the costs
or nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities are hardly
likely to be less.
Valve
actuators
are
remarkably
from 0.14/year to O.Ol/year, according

where the cost of a single
pounds,
year.
the
failure
is
to
reliable, with failure rates of
type and duty ( Ref. 1 ). However,
measured
in hundreds of thousands of
mean cost of failure can still be several
thousand
pounds
per
Despite this, preventative maintenance is not widely practised, largely
because of the lack of suitable equipment.

The majority of
actuator
failures
do not occur suddenly, but are
preceded by a period of degraded
response.
obvious to the casual
particularly in the common
actuator is motionless
be
monitored
pennitting
observer,
for
suffiCiently
This
deterioration is not always

case
where
the
long periods. If the performance of actuators can

closely
repairs to be carried
out
to
detect
before
the
this
deterioration,
actuator
completely, a considerable reduction in lost production may
actually
be possible.
thus
fails
166
To
BUccessf'ul,
be
a cmdi tion monitoring device should have the
following properties:
1)
Be capable of use with a wide variet,y of valve actuators.
2)
Be
3)
Be reasonably robust, economical
4)
Be able to extract
training in Condition Monitoring.
easy to use by site staff withwt
to
purcha se
and
use, and portable.
infornation from movements small enough not to
useful
cause process upsets.

Be able to detect most forms of deterioration at an early stage.
5)
Theoretical COllsi.deratiOllS
Having
the
considered
most
carefully
avenues already explored

and
2-5
available,
equipment
the
(Refs.
commercially
writers
to
decided
record and analyse the movement of an

actuator
signal.
in
response
to
sampling
By
position
the
frequently
movement and
lllIOothnllllll
( m.\S d..,D
trOll beet
ramp
~:=:l,ht
output
during
a
tillie
analysing the resultant
IIt.rUns 4a1a7 Thl
"position profile" a number of useful

parameters nay be derived.
The
most
valuable
of
these
are:
1 The steady state speed

2 The intercept, or time delay on starting
3 The backlash on changing direction ( by comparison of two profiles )
4 The roughness of motion during steady state movement.
5 The over-run after the control signal has ceased to vary.
The derivation of these parameters are illustrated in Fig. 1.
X!periaental WorlI:
The writers borrowed an

wi th
weigh ts
or
motorised
valve
actuator.
It was loaded
friction device, to simulate various forms of damage to
the valve itself. The stem position was measured
by
means of a potentiometer
coupled
to a 12 bit analogue to digital converter. A BBC
used to
sample the position at regular intervals, and to carry out subsequent
microcomputer
was
analys is of the da ta.

Three programs were written: the first simply recorded the position
profile, together with a text header and stored
The second
and
largest
these experimental results.
program was an analytical suite, which processed the
da ta, to
find
the
parameters
Refs . 6 & 7, and plotted the
already
profile
on
167
listed, using methods based upon

a monitor.
The third program was a
set of test routines which simulated the signal from the

exact
and
repeatable
values,
correctness of the analytical

number
large
A
combinations
and
beyond
of
the
deterioraticn.
and
gravitational
normal
was
program.
of test
used
runs
to
were
test
verify
rig,
but with
the accuracy and
analysed,
using
various
and friction loads, to simulate duties within
operating
Rapidly changing
range,
and
commoner
forms
of
valve
load, stiction, etc. ). From an analysis of
these results , the statistical deviations

of motioo, dead time, backlash etc.
steady state speed, smoothness
in
corresponding
to
the
normal
range
of
duties were evaluated.

Each
measured
parameter
appropriate to an actuator/valve
was
amended
to
plot
the
was
envelopes
of
response, to a specific command, for an
compared
then
combination
in
maximum
actuator
with
the
limits
good condition. The display

and
minimum
acceptable
in good condition . Thus the
analytical program carried out two independent checks on the system:

to determine whether
1) A test of each parameter .

2) A survey of overall movement.
acceptable limits.
it
lies within
Fig. 2.
Rtcord 1I d.r ( till r.r . .. data , I_d t c . )

Ct\.. n" or cl l u cUOIl
'1.1'0'. Cllo. . . lor 1. 51 e.
C
,,1.\. 1 Ulllt ,"oll .. , . r , duc.d to .t.a-ul.t .
ch . 0 .. . r1,...
Cl0.I.n.' .. 0 ... .. ", ,,
VAIN!
S""T~I
5'%
rAIL
Rat. too loot
An.l,. b
r.h
1111.7
o '.. rrWl
;t . 6nr / Cltc
lljO r..
O. 'r.:
powu.d L O ... . ~."'t .S. 2Y~

ro vlh"" . . o. o.:~ r.s
(\ , 06..
end. o r
.t, ,
po". ,
.t.t. - -I"rl04
Fig . 2
To avoid damaging the actuator a mechanical model
be
was constructed which could
damaged , abused in various ways, and grossly overloaded .
(This is clearly
unsatisfactory, and future work will use actuators in various stages of wear).
It
was found that these tests are remarkably sensitive
and wear in the actuator. With even a small movement of the actuator
to
damage
less
168
than
2 . 5%
full
scale)
it
is
imperfections in gear profiles,

following stem
possible
to
detect
normal
manufacturing
irregularities in loading such
corrosion, etc . ,
as could occur
and brake deterioration.
Future Worlc
Much
more
experimental
response of actuators
actuators
and
of
valves
different
worn
or
work
sizes,
damaged
necessary,
is
both
in
new
backlash,
etc.,
the
and well used, and of
different
observations it should be possible to correlate changes
observing
ways.
in
From
rate,
these
roughness,
the degree of wear or damage to the actuator. It would
with
then be necessary to
test a number of actuators to the point of breakdown, in
order
the relationship
to
establish
between
these
measurements
and
the
mechanical state of the system, over the entire life of the system.
Once
actuators
the
acceptable
range
of
responses
has been established, the health checks can
for
be
a given family of
carried
out
both
quickly and easily.

All that is required in the way
of
experimental
potentiometer
on to
equipment is a linear
which
duration
command
detector
effect
probe
carried
out
minutes,
The
).
avoid
tests
tests
can
be
few
of
movements
small
" lap-top"
portable
simple interface devices
and
can
Hall
causing perterbations
neither complex
e xpens i ve ,
and a
a
as
space
in the
and
actuator
an
Such
to the process. A
computer
clamped
of the tests,
using valve
enough to
be
of
the exterior
for the
are
can
be
nor
the
particularly
results
easily
of
the
Po rtd,h
,,_'.0l1.li1
GI;I_pllt .r
understood ,
without extensive training in Condition

Monitoring
technology.
Fig
shows
such a test-set .
A brief study of the mechanics of pneumatic and hydrauliC actuators
shows that this
methodology
is
equally applicable to such devices, although
the relationships between different measured parameters

the actuator/load combination may be different.
and
deterioration of
169
Su..ll7
This method should be applicable
is (or can be made

failures
are
) linear
preceded
with
by
time
wherever the output of the device
and where a significant proportion of
deterioration.
Obvious
examples
include
thrusters, positioners and manipulators in a wide variety of applications.

These
reprocessing
concepts
field,
or
essential to know of
may
be
particularly
in aviaticn, or in
useful
other
in the nuclear fuel
situations
where
it
is
deterioration which if unchecked could lead to premature
failure, and where access is difficult, expensive or hazardous.

The writers consider that it
should
this work into a useful and cost-effective
be
relatively easy to develop
diagnostic
device,
usable
in
variety of applications.
Having
support,
the
explored
writers
the idea as far as is possible without additional

would
be
manufacturer, research association

work. Patent applications have
interested
in
collaborating
with
or other interested party to continue this
been
made covering the more important aspects
of this work.
we would particularly like to thank
Acknowledgements:
Prof.
ET
Powner,
Head
of
Department
of
Electrical Engineering and
Electronics at UMIST, where this work was started.

Mr. J. Hopkinson, of the CEGB Barnwood, for first raising this problem.
References
1
Dexter &. Perkins "Component Failure
Charbonneau
Rate Data with potential applicability
to a Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant" Du Pont &. Co., Savannah River USA
"Motor
operated
Valve
Analysis &. Testing Systems" US Patent
454649.
3
Levesque
Rembold "Method
&.
&.
Apparatus for detecting failures in
a control
system" UK Patent 2121562

4
AS WHIsky "A survey of design
methods
for
failure
detection in Dynamic
systems" Autonatica Vol 12 p.tbl Pergamon Press 1976

5
Anyakora
Van
&.
Lees
"Use
of
Digital
Computers
in
Measurement"
lEE
Conference p.tbl. 103.

de
Bos
"Application
of Statistical Parameter Estimation Methods" In
"Instrument Science &. Technology" vI by

7
Jones, p.tbl Hilger, 1982
Chatfield "Statistics for Technology" pub!, Chapman-Hall, 1983
Blanking Process Characterization Using Acoustic Emission

A S Mardapittas and Y H J Au
Department of Manufacturing and Engineering Systems, Brunei University, UK
ABSTRACT:
The detection of tool wear and p'rediction of tool failure during blanking is essential if
eXRensive breakdown of the machine is to be avoided. Acoustic Emission (AE) IS one of the techniques
that has been used successfully to monitor drill breakage and may hold some promise for the detection of
tool wear and failure in blanking. However, detection and prediction of this failure can only be achieved
when the mechanism of AE signal generation in blanking is fully understood.
In this paper the AE signal is characterized in terms of parameters of blanking speedl stock thickness and
hardness. Good correlation exists of the AE peak amplitude and energy of lhe rup ure burst with these
parameters. Also the experimental results are In accord with the theory presented.
1 Introduction
Since blanking is amongst the most widely used metal-working processes, it is important to develop. a
reliable sensing system for monitoring the various phases of the blanking process and for detecting
abnormal operating conditions. Tradilionally, conditions of the blanking process is monitored by force
measurements as In many other manufactunng processes. But this has disadvantages: force is not very
sensitive to cracks initiation and propagation ttiat may develop around the punch ana die edges, neither is
it sensitive to lubrication failure nor to the changes in friction conditions.
More recently it has been reported that, by studying the acoustic emission (AE) signal, monitoring of
progressive tool wear during blanking might be feasibTe \Kim 1983). Such claims are based on the fact
Ihaf AE, being stress waves generated fly a sudden re ease of energy, can be caused by one of four
sources (BrUeT & Kjeer 1979) namely, dislocation movements, phase transformations, friction mechanisms
and craCK formation followed by extension. In the context of tool wear during blanking, apart perhaps from
phase transformation, these sources exit to val'Ying extent. In the work reported by Klm..L the effects of
stock thickness tool wear and size on the AE Signal generated when blanking low caroon steel were
studied. He identified three distinct bursts of AE relating to: (1) the initial punch impact with the stock
followed by the elastic deformation up to the yield pointk (~) the shear fracture due to plastic deformation,
and (3) the rupture due to the final separation of the wor piece from the stock material.
It has been reported that for orthogonal and semi-orthogonal cutting conditions, the strain rate is a
predominant parameter governing AE generation (Messaritis and Borthwick 1986). For blanking it is the
authors' belie that such relationship also exists between the strain rate and the ensuing AE activify.
2 Mean plastic shear strain rate (Johnson and Slater 1967)
For a punch, with a radial clearance of c with the die, penetrating to a deRth of 15 before cracks occur in
the stock material, the engineering plastic shear strain, by definition, is e = 15/c. The corresponding natural
shear strain is simply e = In(15/c).
The blank has a zero initial velocity. When the punch hits it with an impact velocity of u, plastic
deformation occurs in the blank while it is being accelerated until when cracks begin to form and blank
separation is imminent at the depth 15. The velocity reached by the blank is then approximately u the
impact velocity of the punch. Assuming uniform acceleration; the mean velocity of the blank during plastic
deformation is given by u = u/2 and the time elapsed is t = 15 iT = 215/u.

The mean plastic shear strain rate is
i;
171
Elt or
~ ; u.ln(liIc)/2B
............. (1 )
Non-dimensionally, eq (1) can be written as

tc/u; (1/2)ln(B/c)/(B/c)
............. (2)
which is depicted graphically as in fig 1. Thus, from either eq (2) or fig 1, given the penetration depth to
radial clearance raUo, B/c, tne non-dimensional strain rate group, Ec/u, can be determined.
To prove that the strain rate i is proportional to a certain parameter of AE such as the peak amplitude or
energy of the rupture burst, it is necessary to demonstrate that
iC/u ; K, x,c/u
where K, is the proportionality constant and x, (i ; 1, 2) refers to either the peak amplitude or energy of
the rupture AE burst, while tc/u is calculated by using eq (2).
3 Experiment
Determining the penetration depth, B, before cracks occur in the blank requires force measurement. This
was achieved by means of strain gauges cemented on the punch. Measuring the punch velocity, u, at
impact was done by an LVDT displacement probe which gave the variation 01 punch displacement with
time, the impact velocity being given by the slope at the instant corresponding to the rise In punch lorce.
AE was measured with a PAC piezoelectric transducer with a frequency resp-onse of 100 to 950 kHz, the
signal fed into a 40dB preamplifier with a built-in bandpass filter of 1orr to 350 kHz. The output from the
preamplifier is then sampled Into a PC micro-computer driven by an AIMS data acquisition system. The
set-up is shown in block diagram form as in fig 2.
The experiment was conducted on a 20-ton C-frame mechanical press operating in a single-stroke mode.
Lubricant was applied to both sides of the stock material to reduce the frictional resistance between the
blank, punch and die.
Low carbon steel strips, 40-mm wide with an average surface hardness value measured at 100.4 Hv, were
chosen. Five different stock thicknesses were used: 0.91, 1.21, 1.63, 2.03, 2.64 mm.
Four different impact velocities, from 0.05 to 0.2 mis, were used. The punch and die, freshly ground to
give sharp edges, have diameters of 15.62 and 15.88 mm respectively giving a constant radial clearance c
; 0.13 mm.
4 Results and discussion
4_1
Penetration depth and stock thickness
The depth of penetration, B, at which cracks begin to appear is taken to correspond to the depth when
the punch force rises to its maximum (Crasemann 1962). A typical force and raw AE versus time
graph is shown in fig 3. In particular, the rupture burst can be seen to be the most significant AE
activity.
It must be remembered that the time axis in fig 3 is not proportional to the punch
displacement; but since the displacement-time variation was accurately measured with the LVDT probe,
due adjustments can thus be made.
It has been reported that for low-velocity blanking the penetration depth before cracks initiation is a
function of the stock thickness alone, being insensitive to the punch speed (Walker 1957). Fig 4 shows
the relationship between the stock thickness, d, and the penetration depth, B.
4.2
Punch velocity at Impact
If, as have beeo suggested, the AE peak amplitude and energy' of the rupture burst are proportional to
the strain rate, r, then, by eq (2), a change in the impact velocity will result in a proportiona change in
the strain rate providing the penetration Clepth to radial clearance ratio, IiIc, remains constant.
Thus
for a particular stock thickness, as the punch velocity increases, so do the AE peak amplitude and
energy of the rupture burst, figures 5 and 6.
4.3
Strain rate
Fig 7 shows x,c/u plotted against ~C/u, calculated from eq (2). x, is the peak amplitude of the AE
rupture burst. It is noted that in obtaining this graph, the punch velocity, u, and the stock thickness
and hence penetration depth, B, were varied. A linear relationship is seen to exist between these two
172
groups as is described by eq (2) and the constant of proportionality K, is found to be 47.2.

Similarly, the AE energy density $:ontained in the rupture burst is shown to be proportional to the strain
rate , as in fig 8 of x.CTu versus fclu, where the constant of proportionality K = 91 .1, by measurement.
By energy density is meant the average energy density within the 5 kHz fr~quency bandwidth centred
around (he resonant frequency. at 180 kHz of the AE transducer. The energy contained in this
bandwidth amounts to around 90 percent of the total energy of the rupture burst The constants of
proportionality are valid only for the particular transducer and pre-amplifier used by virtue of the fact
tha the raw AE signal is 'coloured' by the dynamic characteristics of the transducer itself when, as is
the case with an AE transducer, operaling in its resonance region.
4.4
Hardness on rupture surface
The Vickers hardness values measured at the shear-rupture boundary on the side surface of the blank,
fig 9, are found to be proportional to the AE peak amplitudes observed as shown in fig 10. This is to
be expected since hardness is dependent on (he strain rate and hence on the AE.
5 Conclusions
It has been shown that both the peak amplitude and energy of the rupture AE burst in blanking are .
directly proportional to the mean plastiC shear strain rate. Since the progressive tool wear on the edges
causes lhem to become dUll/ this having the ellects of altering the mean plastiC shear strain rate and
hence the shape and size 0 the AE bursts generated, it is feasible that tool wear in blanking may be
monitored by observing the deviation of AE from that expected for a sharp tool.
6 Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the European Community through the BRITE programme for funding this
res~arch project. They would also like to thank their other research partners ana industrial sponsors for
their help.
7 References
BrOel & Kjmr Acoustic Emission Technical review, 1979.
Crasemann H J.... Der ollene Schnitt von Grob-blechen, Mitt. Forsch. - Ges. Blechverarb, Nr. 14/15, 5, 193211 (1962) (in ",erman\.
Johnson W & Slater R A C, "A survey of the slow and fast blanking of metals at ambient and high
temperatures", University of Manchester, 1967.
Kim B S, "Punch press monitoring with acoustic emission (AE) Part II: Effects of process variables", J. of
Eng. Mater. and Tech., Oct.1983, Vol.105, pp.301-306.
Messaritls V & Borthwick W K D, "Processing acoustic emission signal data for characterising cutting
tool wear and chip management.", Computer Aided Production Engineenng. International conference, Ed. J .
A. Mc Geough Edinburgti, April 1986.
Walker W F, "Fundamentals of press tool design", 1957,London,pp.37.
G.2r----.---~-~--,--
0..11 - - - - . - 0..16
1i
0,14
0,11
0.1
0.08
....,"
0.0.2
G~I-~I~S--7--~
~S~-~-~l~
S --~-~'. S
penctT<1lion ckpthlr;adi:t\ clearance .01 c
Fig 1
Theoretical mean shear plastic strain rale ratio as a lunction 01 pcnelralion depth 10 radial
(2)
clearance ratio, ,
Fig 2
OIock diagram 01 scI-uP
173
IO'r---'--~--'--~--'--~-'---'---'---'
l __ ... _.: _.
.
_~
._. ... . _
.. __
. . .... "
; '
j " .
~ .-. ,
I
..I ..
..1._. ,_
!
.! -.j:
'
m:ucri31 thickness, d (mill)
Fig 3
Force and AE signal during blanking
FiO 4
Penolra\ioo deplh as a lunclion 01 maleriollhickncss
1 1 0 0 0 , - - - -.,- - - . - ,
a.5
. .l
..
10000
7.5
"'<
"'<
~OUO
7000 .....
5000'----0.03
'0.1:2
0.1
pun~h
Fig 5
0 .14
0.16
O. IS
0.05
0.2
0. 15
... u.1;..
0.2
pundl vdoci.y. u (nv'scc)
speed. U (111/s)
rig'~
AE art1p~lude versus punch speed
AE energy density versus punch speed
Il .S
~I
,1
11
IU
II
:{
~
"
U.l
IO.S
'3
10
"'
1.S
9.S
,!
.J
,
J
i
. r
8.5
I.S~---::-=-;;-:-;--:-:,,:7"-:"C:-~=-~.-::-~'----O,J,I
0.145
0.15
0.15'
0 .1-6
t. .1C.)
0. 17
o.1'n 0. 11) (UilS
i
Fig 7
0.175
i c/u.t is the pllstic w'lin laiC
c/u,~ is the plastic litr~lill rOlf I!
AE ,ampliludll
ralio
versus S1rain 1\)10 ralio
,~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.145
U.15
U.15l
0.16
0.165
0.r1
0.14
Fi') 8
AE oMIOY d~nsi ly ralio vorsus slrain IJlo ralio
O . I~
O. I ~
174
,."".-.
, ,'=:t:'t.*:r':~ I "i:~~~~ 1..:- . -..
'~~l'l!,:,<",,~~r., ;.{'......... .
::.-::.~;'...... "! . ',r~ ~ .J~.)':.:. .
"
'~' 4~ .. . . .
Fig 9
..
,,',..
. .'
Sid~ surlacc finish on blank: A is shear zone, B is ruplure zone
180
210
-:(..0
~ SO r
~
-;
~,J
~jO
120
2 10
~~s
1.2
Alalllpli:u'::c (V}
Fig 10 Hardness versus AE arfl)liIudc
7..
7.(,
1.S
A Monitor for the Cooling System of a Large Electrical Generator
M P Jenkins and S G C Hadden et aJ

NEI Parsons Ltd, Heaton Works, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 2YL, UK
ABSTRACT
A monitoring system has been developed for the cooling water system of
a modern large power station generator.
The monitoring system learns the characteristics of the generator.
The
system then regularly predicts the cooling water temperature for each of
the conductor bars in the generator, making allowances for the electrical
load, the particular conductor bar characteristics and other influences.
The predictions are then compared with actual coolant temperatures to check
for overheating.
Graphical displays are used to pass information to power station
operators.
1.
The system incorporates a novel data reduction technique.
INTRODUCTION
This paper describes the development of a system to monitor the cooling

of the conductor bars of large power station generators.
These generators range in
si~e
up to 900 KW or more.
The generators
are installed in power stations, and are typically driven by large steam
turbines.
The electrical current is generated in conductor bars, which run
176
axially along the generator.

cross-section and 8 m long.
The bars are typically 70 mm by 50 mm in

A conductor bar is made of a number of copper
tubes surrounded by insulation.
In some cases the conductor bar is made up
of a mixture of copper tubes and copper bars.
The conductor bars are
cooled by pumping demineralised water through the tubes.

The current flowing in each bar is normally more than 10,000 amps.
Calculations show that if the water flow were to stop, the copper
temperature would reach the boiling point of the water (130 0 C, since the
water is under pressure) in little over a minute.
The generator would have
a serious failure within a few minutes.

The cost of the consequent downtime on a large electrical generator can
easily exceed 50,000 per day.
This does not include the cost of repairing
the generator.
There can be as many as 120 conductor bars in a generator.
flows out of each bar into a single collecting pipe.
The water
The temperature of
the combined flows is monitored, but the effect of a single overheating bar
on the temperature of the combined flows will be slight.
Thermocouples have already been fitted to the individual bars of a
number of generators to monitor the water temperature of individual
conductor bars.
However, since there are a large number of bars and their
temperatures vary with load in a complex manner, and overheating is a very

rare event, this is a job best done by a computerised monitor.
2.
BEHAVIOUR OF THE COOLING WATER

2.1
Coolant System Data
When data was needed for the stator coolant monitor project, the most
convenient generators were a set on test in the Far East.
It was possible
to connect data acquisition modules to the thermocouples on the conductor

bars of these generators for long periods and thus record the actual
behaviour of the cooling system while the generators were running normally.
The data acquisition modules transmitted their data digitally to a PC
177
computer, where it was recorded on to floppy discs, which were subsequently

shipped back to the UK for analysis.
2.2
Analysis of Power station Data
On arrival in the laboratory the data files on the floppy discs were
modified so that they could be used in a spreadsheet.
Then began the task
of finding a relationship between current, power factor, coolant flow rate

and temperature rise.
For example, the conductor bars are arranged in pairs forming two
concentric cylinders.
In most cases, it was found that the bar in the
outer cylinder ran cooler than the bar in the inner cylinder.
This
behaviour is to be expected, due to the smaller eddy currents in the outer

bars.
Thus the inner bars and the outer bars can be considered as two
separate groups.
However, within these groups, some bars are found to
always run hotter than average and others always run cooler than average.
These variations are thought to be due to manufacturing tolerances.
These
characteristics were identifed in the form of a "fingerprint" and were then

used for predicting hose temperatures.
Three methods were found to give reliable temperature predictions.
The
accuracy of these methods increased with their complexity but even the most
simple method gave a prediction which could be relied on to be within
3.S oC of the actual temperature under all circumstances. It should be
noted that the aim of the system is to identify an overheating bar as early
as possible.
The spread of coolant temperatures amongst the hoses at a
high load can be as much as lSoC so a blanket alarm could miss the early
stages of overheating in some bars.
3.
WHAT THE MONITOR DOES

The operation of the monitor can be divided into two distinct parts -
fingerprinting and monitoring.

3.1
Fingerprinting
When the monitor is first switched on, to protect a new or refurbished

generator, it must first obtain a fingerprint.
This can then be used until
the stator coolant system undergoes any major changes.
178
While the
to obtain the
gene~ato~ with a blanket ala~m level of 80 o C.
finge~p~int,
exceeds this
Du~ing
monito~
is
t~ying
an
tempe~atu~e,
stage, the data is scanned

unless
ala~m
is given,
30 seconds.
eve~y
No~mal Monito~ing
Once a
finge~p~int
detection of
this by
If the wate~ in any hose

the
finge~p~inting
No data at all is
has been established, the
ove~heating
measu~ing
conducto~ ba~
conducto~ ba~,
and
the
in each
tempe~atu~e
compa~ing
eve~y
conducto~ ba~
of the
this with a
30 seconds.
behaviou~ ~eflects
should make
the
sto~ed
i~relevant
8-hour file.
data
p~edicted tempe~atu~e fo~
each
each
conditions, all that is

This
la~ge lette~s.
the
ope~ato~
monito~
with false
ala~ms
info~mation.
wo~th
of data is held in full in the
In addition, every hour the data taken

comp~ession.
The data is
a~e
measure is averaged for the hour and the
p~ocessed
compressed further.
The most
ave~aged.
~ecent
the last hour
ove~
to give
ave~age
of
measu~es
independent of load.
can hold 120 hourly averages for each hose.
This
is stored in a file that
Every 24
hou~s
the data is
24 values for each hose, in the 120
The results are stored in the 120 day file.
Every 120 days the contents of the 120 day file

file is full, the oldest data is
3.2.2
It does
f~om
bu~dening
concuctor bar heating properties that
hour file, are
p~ovide ea~ly
design philosophy, that the
to avoid
The most recent eight hours'
unde~goes
can
gene~ato~.
in the outlet hose
wate~
Unde~ no~mal
unde~lying
eve~y effo~t
p~og~am
in a
displayed on the VDU is the message "NORMAL" in
a~e p~inted
out.
Once any
ove~w~itten.
Emergency Monitoring
If the actual and predicted temperatures differ by

amount then the display and the operation of the
First, verification is immediately
car~ied
mo~e
monito~
than a fixed
change
If this confirms the overheating, the data is scanned

If the overheating lasts
fo~ mo~e
sha~ply.
out by re-scanning the
seconds and put into a unique file, which can hold one hour's
data.
the
Monitoring
3.2.1
data.
p~otects
ove~heating occu~s.
3.2
and
it
eve~y
wo~th
10
of
than one hour, the oldest data is

overwritten.
179
However, at the same time, every third scan is also stored in
the 8 hour file.
In this way, a detailed, up to date record is always held
as well as the normal information.

When overheating is present, the following information is displayed on
the VDU:
1)
The location of the overheating bars, shown on a cross-sectional

diagram of the generator.
2)
A table showing which bars are overheating, since it is possible that

more than one bar could overheat at the same time.
3)
A graph showing the trend of the temperature of one of the bars over
the past five minutes.
The default display is the most severely
overheating bar.
The purpose of the trend graph is to allow the operator to assess how
much time he has to think and act.
to be shut down in minutes.
It may be that the generator will have
However, it could also be that the overheating
is developing slowly, and no immediate action is required.

In the latter case, the operator can, if he wishes, recall any of the
previously stored temperature data as a trend graph, so he can see how the
overheating incident has developed.
4.
DESIGN OF MONITOR HARDWARE

In a typical power station, the clean conditions suitable for a
computer can often be 500 m or more cabling distance from the turbine
hall.
The design evolved therefore uses data acquisition modules connected
to a computer via a single RS485 digital bus.
The data acquisition modules
are located close to the generator, and convert the thermocouple voltages
and other signals into digital form and transmit this to the computer along
a single 4-wire RS485 bus.
The computer processes the data and stores temperatures on a hard disc.
180
S.
SOFTWARE
5.1
Final Software
The stator coolant monitor software is composed of several distinct

modules.
Each module has one specific function, such as data collection,
data storage or generation of VOU displays.

The modules are composed of procedures, which each deal with a single
task.
This results from the use of the Structured Analysis and Structured
Design (SASO) technique for developing the software and makes modifications
relatively straightforward.
Since generators come in several sizes, with different numbers of
conductor bars, flow rates etc. the main program has a section in which all
the constants, likely to be dependent on the size of the generators, are
declared.
This enables the program to be easily configured for any
generator.
These constants are fed down to all procedures automatically
when the program runs.

5.2
Laboratory Testing
The laboratory testing has gone through several stages and is now
completed.
The SASO technique did show itself to be effective in that
there were very few errors found, and these were not difficult to locate
and correct.
A voltage box, which could supply a number of different voltage inputs
simultaneously, was connected to a data logging system and was used to
simulate readings for three hose temperatures, current, coolant flow rate
and coolant inlet temperature etc.
The remainder of the readings were
supplied from computer data files recorded on site in the Far East.
Thus,
in effect, the program was monitoring an actual generator with certain

readings overwritten with data produced in the laboratory.
The software was modified slightly to make the computer scan five times
faster than normal and thus simulations of long runs could be achieved
relatively quickly.
Various scenarios were tried using the voltage input
box and, in the light of these, various adjustments were made to the
program until its operation was as desired.
181
6.
CONCLUSIONS
The stator coolant monitor system will detect any overheating in the
stator coolant system.
Furthermore, it will do this at any load.
Overheating bars can thus be detected at low loads, well before the coolant
nears boiling point, as well as at high loads.
The prototype monitor is soon to undergo site testing.
cooling problem is most unlikely to occur during this test.
A stator
However, the
site test will provide useful information for demonstrating the reliability
of the monitor.
Ultimately, the exercise will produce a monitor which approaches the
ideal of only signalling an alarm when there is genuine overheating.
Further, it will mean that we are able to offer a properly site-proven
product to customers and one that genuinely enhances the reliability of
turbine generators.
7.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their warmest thanks to many
colleagues within NEI Parsons who contributed advice, information or

assistance.
Mr B. Johnson and Mr B.F. Ewles were involved in all phases of
the development.
the Far East.
Mr A.S Kinson.
Mr V.R. Pulle was instrumental in obtaining the data from
The data storage scheme was originally proposed by
Pump Performance - Its Application to Condition Monitoring
B G Murray
Development Engineering International Ltd, UK
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the application of the thermometric

method for pump efficiency determination to condition
monitoring.
Recent developments in instrumentation have
made this a valuable addition to existing condition
monitoring techniques.
(1)
INTRODUCTION
The thermometric method allows the efficiency of a pump

to be determined from the small temperature rise which
occurs in the pumped fluid as it passes through the
machine.
It can be applied to pumps of all types (centrifugal, reciprocating, plunger etc) and to any fluid
providing that a few basic thermodynamic properties can
be established.
The application of the technique to routine condition
monitoring was first described in 1971 (Whillier (1,
but to date it has been limited by the availability of
suitable instrumentation.
This paper describes the applications of a instrumentation system designed specifically for routine monitoring
and trending of performance data.
(2)
WHY MONITOR PUMP EFFICIENCY
183
Pump efficiency monitoring is entirely complementary to

more established techniques such as vibration analysis
and lube oil monitoring.
For example, wear ring damage
or impeller erosion can occur in a pump, causing progressive loss of performance without vibration symptoms.
By
monitoring trends in the efficiency of the machine,
damage can be detected and maintenance scheduled.
Conversely, if the machine performance shows no deteriorating trend and vibration levels are low it may be
possible to delay maintenance actions, eliminating unnecessary maintenance and outage costs. In many industries,
the energy cost of operating pumps is of considerable
significance.
(3)
THERMOMETRIC PUMP EFFICIENCY MONITORING

The basis of thermometric pump efficiency monitoring is
that the temperature rise across a machine is a measure
of the energy losses in the machine, while the pressure
rise measures the useful work.
It can be shown that the
efficiency of a pump is given by:
1
Efficiency
Where
Cp
.1.T
p
f3
T
.1. p
is the fluid density
is the fluid specific heat
is the measured temperature rise
is the head rise across the machine
is the coefficient of cubical expansion of
the liquid
is the absolute temperature
184
This formula is derived from the First Law of Thermodynamics and is quite exact providing only that heat transfer between the pump casing and surroundings is small
compared with the rated power of the machine.
In the
vast majority of pumping applications this condition is
met.
It is worth noting that the temperature rises involved
are relatively small, ranging from around .04C for a 5
bar head rise machine up to 2-3C for 200-300 bar head
rise water pumps.
(4)
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
The traditional means of recording the temperature of a

fluid in a pipeline is by means of thermowells or insertion probes projecting into the fluid.
In many situations this is quite suitable, particularly if "designed
in" prior to construction of the plant.
However, when
pump efficiency monitoring is to be retro-fitted to an
existing plant or when carrying out trouble shooting
work, it can be extremely inconvenient to fit penetrations in the pipeline.
For this reason, a surface contact temperature measurement system has been developed to
record the extremely small differential temperatures
involved.
Temperature sensor pads are fitted at suction and discharge of the machine, wired to a local junction box.
The portable monitor is then stabbed into a connector of
this junction box when measurements are taken.
(5)
185
EXAMPLE - MULTI-PUMP INSTALLATION

eo
PU~"'f2
-PUMP4
1eo
~'60
:>:
14
4 00
flOW (GA 1I HIN I
6000
The diagram above shows results obtained from a plant on

which 4 large coolant pumps ran in parallel.
Each pump
had a nominal delivery of around 6500 gal/min and a head
rise of approximately, 150 psi.
The pumps operated
between common suction and discharge headers. Accordingly, conventional instrumentation gave little indications
of the condition of individual machines since the flow to
individual pumps was not metered.
Having measured the efficiency, as described, the flow
through the machines could be estimated from the motor
current and other measured parameters.
The test results showed clearly that pump No 4 was performing well below the other units and the manufacturer's
characteristic.
Apart from this example,
the technique has now been
applied to a wide variety of machines ranging in head
186
rise from 5 bar to 350 bar and pumping
fluids including
fresh water, sea water, crude oil and hydraulic oil.

In practice, the technique can be applied to any fluid if
the following data is available:
Density
specific Heat
( i)
(ii)
Coefficient of Cubical Expansion
(iii)
(8)
CONCLUSIONS
Monitoring pump efficiency gives information which is

complementary to other more widely employed condition
monitoring techniques. Recent developments in instrumentation make the thermometric method both convenient and
cost effective to apply to a wide variety of pump and
fluids.
The savings resulting from pump performance monitoring
vary from industry to industry, but the following should
be considered.
(i)
( ii)
Energy savings by optimising machine performance

Maintenance cost savings by eliminating unnec-
(iii)
essary pump stripdowns

Maximising product throughput by optimising
machine performance
REFERENCE
(1)
Whillier A
site testing of high lift pumps in

the South African Gold Mining Industry. I
(1972)
The Monitoring of the Alignment of Continuous Casting Machines
W D N Pritchard and G Hyde*

British Steel pic, Teesside Laboratories, Middlesborough and
'Sarclad International Ltd, Chesterfield, UK
ABSTRACT
A prime requirement for the production of high quality continuously
cast steel products is accurate machine alignment. A specialised
measurement system has been developed to measure roll gaps, roll
bending, roll turning, back face alignment and water sprays. The
system consists of a battery powered head unit equipped with
transducers, computer and powerful springs which is inserted into the
machine. The relevant data is stored and may then be downloaded to a
ground station for presentation to an operator. Various designs have
been developed to deal with different slab thicknesses, roll
configurations, top fed machine, bottom fed machines, in chain
measurement and bloom machines,
188
THE MONITORING OF THE ALIGNMENT OF CONTINUOUS CASTING

MACHINES
INTRODUCTION
The technology of steel casting has changed in a very dramatic fashion
over the last 20 years. The casting of liquid steel into ingots has been
superseded by the new technique of continuous casting.
Ingot production involves the pouring of steel into moulds which are
allowed to cool before the mould is removed. The ingot can then be
rolled into a slab.
Continuous casting on the other hand has required the design of a new
type of plant which directly casts slabs from a liquid steel feedstock.
This is done by casting the steel into a water cooled copper mould
which is vibrated at around 1 Hz. The steel is drawn from the mould at
a controlled rate by a system of cooled rolls. Sequences of steel ladles
can be cast without any process interruptions.
More than 80% of steel cast by British Steel is now by the continuous
casting route. This has provided large savings in operations and has
allowed large slab rolling mills required for ingot route production to
be scrapped.
Correct machine geometry is widely accepted as a prime requirement in
the production of high quality continuously cast products, particularly
in the production of wide slabs. Accurate alignment of mould, cooling
grids and support rolls along the designed curvature, distortion of rolls
and the correct setting of gaps between fixed and loose side rolls are
recognised as a major factor in influencing slab quality. They also have
an important effect on caster operation, component life, particularly
rolls, maintenance costs and machine availability. As casters get older it
becomes increasingly necessary to check and adjust machine geometry.
Strand cooling is not only influenced by flow rates into the spray
nozzles but also on the condition and alignment of each nozzle.
Blocked or misaligned nozzles cause uneven strand cooling with
consequent effects on product quality.
Over the last few years a range of instrumentation for maintaining
machine alignment have become available. Two distinct types of
instrument have been developed. Hand held instruments provide a
rapid means of measurement and display engineering units such as roll
gap but still require a trained operator. The other approach largely
removes operator error by utilising an automatic measuring system
which is threaded onto the dummy bar chain and is drawn through the
machine while measuring. The results are output to a ground station
which carries out any calculations and displays the results.
2
PLANT DESCRIPTION
The problem presented for measurement of rolls and water sprays is

illustrated with reference to Figure 1, showing a diagram of a casting
machine. Typical machine radius is about 10 metres. The withdrawal
chain and dummy bar are driven at casting speed up the machine for
bottom fed machines or down through the mould, in the case of a top
189
fed machine. Generally, roll arrangements will be very different on

different casting machines, ego split rolls may be used.
The casting ladle from the steel plant feeds liquid steel into a tundish
which in turn feeds a copper, water cooled mould. The resulting semisolid slab of steel is then drawn out of the casting machine by the
action of powered withdrawal rolls. The steel slab is continuously spray
cooled as it moves down the machine onto the primary roller table.
Here it is cut to length prior to stamping and despatch to customers.
The quality of the resulting steel is determined by the accuracy of
alignment and spacing up of the rolls as well as the efficiency of
cooling.
3
MEASURING SYSTEM
Significant effort has been expended in the development of measuring

systems which can be attached to the chain. These devices are now
employed on almost all slab casting plants and have been tailored to
suit different machines, including bloom machines. In-chain systems
with more limited facilities can be permanently installed in the dummy
bar chain.
The most recent versions of these measuring systems can measure the
following:
Roll Gap
Roll Turning
Roll Bend
Back Face Alignment
Water Sprays
A typical schematic diagram of a measuring system is shown in Figure 2.
For a slab casting machine this unit may be 2 metres wide and about
230 mm thick. It is equipped with powerful springs which exert a force
of up to (2 - 5) tonnes in order to ensure rolls are turned and to take out
any slack in the roll bearings, etc. It is equipped with displacement
transducers, inclinometers and water spray transducers in order to carry
out the measurements.
Data is logged by an on-board computer powered by a battery pack. A
ground station computer is programmed to interpret the data logged
by the in-head system.
A photograph of a typical head unit designed for a slab casting
machine is shown in Figure 3.
4
TRANSDUCERS
Fully waterproofed displacement transducers of either the

potentiometric or LVDT type are used for roll gap, bending and roll
turning measurements. They are housed in specially designed holders
for ease of replacement and accuracy of measurement. Where space
allows a modular roll gap unit has been developed incorporating two
transducers. Roll gap calibration can be carried out on such units
before installation in the measuring head.
190
Roll turning is also measured by a displacement transducer. Friction

between rolls and head causes the transducer to be compressed and
indicates whether the roll is seized up or freely moving.
The back face alignment is inferred from the reading of inclinometers
mounted on spring loaded blades. Two blades of different length may
be used to cope with different roll pitches on the same machine.
Finally, the impact of water is sensed by an electronic accelerometer
encapsulated into a resin block. The small size of the electronic
accelerometer allows up to about 40 spray holders to be deployed on a
measuring head when required. These holders have also been designed
to be fully interchangeable with spares.
Special calibration techniques have been developed to ensure high
accuracy of all transducers.
5
DATA PRESENTATION
The results of the measurements carried out are presented on a screen

or copied to a printer. The software is designed to run on IBM PC
compatible computers. In some cases the measurements of up to 70 on
board transducers are available for all the rolls in the casting machine.
This may be in the region of 50 - 60 pairs of rolls typically but is even
larger for machines having split roll configurations.
The software has therefore been written in a manner to assist
operations. An example of a typical MENU is shown in Figure 4.
Selections of the roll gap output typically results in information listed as
in Figure 5.
Similar formats which combine graphical and numerical information
have been developed forthe other measurements.
6
CONCLUSIONS
6.1 Correct machine alignment is essential for the production of high

quality continuously cast products, particularly wide slabs.
6.2 Most slab casting machines are now equipped with a measuring
device.
6.3 . Regular use of the measurement device ensures that machines are
kept in alignment.
6.4 Good repeatability and accuracy are achieved due to the laid down
calibration and testing procedure.
6.5 Correct and rapid interpretation of results by engineers is aided by
the data presentation and recording provided by a specially
developed software package.
'c; ,:
Planta ndP rocess Health Momtoring

'
J9J
((:i
--'-'
....c:
<0
a:::
01
c:
.~
<0
III
:l
:l
c:
c:
o
u
'';::;
.....
'. ,J
<0
QI
..c:
v
VI
192
us
!I'1PA(T PlA
WAl(R SPRAY
DETECTION
FOR '\
IRA'SO~(!RS
FOR ROll
8END H.ASURHHT
TERHIN"l
80X
TRANSDUCERS fOR ROL

~ Af> MEASUREMENT
CLINOMETER
r~(llNO P1[ l[ R
BATT[JUES
Figure 2
Figure 3
Schematic of Measuring Device Developed for a Slab Casting

Machine
Photograph of a Measuring Device Developed for a Slab

Casting Machine
Figure 4
Example of the MENU of the Software Package
Figure 5
Example of a Roll Gap Output.
193
The Adaptive Acoustic Monitoring of Aircraft Engines
R C Witcomb, P J C Skitt and P D Hewitt

Smiths Industries Aerospace and Defence Systems, UK
ABSTRACT
A self-organizing,
self-adaptive neural
network has been
assessed for app 1i cati on in a system for the monitori ng of ai rcraft

engines by the variation in their sound emission during operation.
Equally applicable to vibrations or to any multi-sensor data relating
to engine or airframe condition,
system is
the main feature of the proposed
its capacity to learn its input data set without interExperiments on recorded engine data are described.
venti on.
I NTRODUCTI ON
A system which could self-adaptively learn underlying behaviour patterns

in complex multi-sensor data would have widespread applications in engine
and
airframe
safety
and efficiency monitoring,
diagnosis.
The capability
rather
by
than
rules
to
imposed
by experience
by
human
resemblance to a simple biological

algorithms
seems
promising
and ultimately in fault
learn
a
expert
of
its
gives
environment
the
system
brain and the use of neural network
possibility.
This
paper
describes
an
investigation of a self-adaptive feedforward neural network for possible

use in an intelligent
acoustic engine monitoring system*,
of which the
proposed experimental development form is shown in Figure 1, which indicates

the position of the neural network encoder which concerns us here.
DATA ANALYSIS
In the present work the system in Fig 1 was simulated by the off-line
analysis
of
digitized
broad-band
recordings
operating in test cells at the Hatfield site.
of
Rolls-Royce GEM engines
The sequence of 64-component
spectra shown in Fig 2 typifies the data used in the study, and although
limited, such runs, are thought to span the range of spectra to be handled
* A Smiths Industries patent application has been filed.
195
IJOi l t " " tG( Hl

"' O N ll 0 AI IlfI;j.
PC iuS
Fig 1.
Proposed development system showing neural net encoder.

The results di scussed below are based on the
by the. neura 1 network.

data of Fig 2.
''>
Frequency(max
Fig 2 .
3
~OkHz)
Sequence through engine states
THE NEURAL NETWORK ENCODER
The multi -1 ayer percept ron

by Rumelhart et al (1984b).
(~lLP)
type of neural network has been descri bed
Much research is in progress on the properties
of these brain-like structured networks of cells or "neurons" interconnected

by
links
or
non-linearly
neuron.
"synapses",
according
to
activating
their
the
strengths
neuron
and
to which
that
of
they connect
the
preceding
The synapse strengths are adjusted to make the network "learn".
Subsequent exposure of the network's input 1ayer to an input of a known

type
then results
output.
In
the
in
stimulation
present
case,
of the
taught
unsupervised
response code
learning
is
at
essential
the
as
196
there is potentially an infinite number of input vectors representing

engi ne spectra and the network cannot be taught to associ ate each input
with an output code. Auto-association is necessary and for this purpose
we have investigated a symmetrical five layer perceptron, shown
schematically in Fig 3, which learns by error back-propagation to reproduce
its input on the output layer.
Fig 3.
t-'lulti-layer percept ron encoder.
Learning of an input vector wi 11 be complete when there is a sufficiently

close match between input and output and an unknown pattern will be
indicated by a mismatch, possibly in the intended application.
For
recognized inputs the reduced centre layer, layer 3, of the network
then provides a reduced dimensionality encodement of the input for passing
to the i nte 11 i gent monitor (Fi g 1). The choi ce of thi s type of encoder
has been influenced by Kuczewski et al (1987a).
Another peculiarity
of the data for this application is that some inputs are persistent,
such as spectra corresponding to cruise flight conditions, and others
are infrequent, such as transient states during take-off.
Precautions
must be taken against the swamping of the network by persistent states.
The purpose of the network is to act as a data compressor, removing
redundancy in the input set self-adaptively, wi thout intervention, and
if possible to act as a "novelty filter", signalling unfamiliar inputs.
We deal only with the data compression function here.
4 NEURAL NETWORK PERFORMANCE
The data of Fig 2 contain a great deal of redundancy, a principal components
ana lys i s showi ng that on ly 6 components account for 94% of the vari ance
197

in
the
neural
dat a .
Non-l i near
network may wen
a network format
was chosen.
corre 1at ion s
may
remove thi s further
improve upon this.
After some experimentati oll
of 64,16,3,16 and 64 neurons
Following Kuczewski
et al
so the
in the respective
(1987a),
lay c 1"~
learning was suppressed
when the layer 5 output was within a certain threshold percentage, typically
5 or 10% of each corresponding
input' neuron,
the
input
details
of
the
persistent
vectors
as
a means of preventing
from
mapping
of the transient set, otherwise overlearning would occur .
over
those
Fig 4a shows
the variation of the layer 3 encoder neurons with time and Fig 4b shoVis
the
corresponding
layer
output
after
256K
back-propagation
for the data in the latter part of the sequence of Fig. 2 .
....,
.'"
....
."
>
....
~
"
'0
0
Time
Fig 4a.
Variation of encoder neuron activities
freque ncy
Fig 4b.
Layer 5 reconstruction
cycles
198
For this level of reproduction accuracy Fig 4a shows that 3 encoder

neurons are easily sufficient as one neuron is comparatively inactive.
A study of the output results shows that the network settles on a number,
about 6 in this case, of representative inner states called "attractors"
and that it forms all the states by interpolation between the attractors.
When the same
Overlearning would impede the ability to interpolate.
data are presented for 1M learning cycles, all encoder neurons become
fully active and the layer 5 reconstruction is inditinguishable from
It seems that 3 encoder cells are suffi ci ent and that the
the input.
network is discerning non-linear correlations between input vectors.
The angul ar spread of encoded vectors spans thei r 3-space, whereas that
of the inputs in 64-space is very restricted, this consideration being
part of a "robustness metri c" proposed by Till ery and Combs (l987c).
We draw the following conclusions.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that a self-adaptive encodement using a multi-layer
perceptron can indeed form a significant and valid compression of data
such as those used here, and the process wi 11 be studi ed further. Some
further study of the criteria for suppressing overlearning is required,
and at the time of writing, assessments of the capability of such networks
to signal unfamiliar inputs are only just beginning, with favourable
indications.
These developments will be incorporated and thoroughly
tested in the proposed real-time experimental system.
Acknowledgements are due to Smiths Industries for consent to publish
and to Rolls Royce plc for continuing co-operation.
6 REFERENCES
1987a Kuczewski R M, Myers H, Crawford W J 2 lEE 1st Int. Conf. on
Neural Networks, San Diego, CA. pp80-85
1987b Rumelhart D E, McClelland J L and the PDP Research Group MIT
Press 1 pp318-364.
1987c Tillery S I, Combs N 2 lEE 1st Int. Conf. on Neural Networks,
San Diego, CA. pp585-590.
Power System Network Loadflow Management Using Fuzzy

Knowledge-based Expert System
T Chui, I Esat, D Chui, and B Parsons

Faculty of Engineering, Queen Mary College, University of London, Mile End Road,
London EI 4NS. UK
1. Abstract
In this paper, a fuzzy knowledge based expert system (FUZEX) which results from a preliminary
investigation of a quantitative approach to handling the uncertainty in expert systems is presented.
The paper shows how this approach may be used to assist in the load flow planning problem
where the nature of decision making is often imprecise and subjective. In this approach, heuristic
planning rules are converted into a form suitable for computer processing. Using fuzzy set
theory, a knowledge based planning model has been developed which comprises two main
groups of planning rules viz active power allocation and reactive power allocation.
2.
Loadflow Planning
Planning in an electrical power system is a complex engineering task involving much judgment
and analysis in both technological and economic areas. In the technological aspect of power
system planning there are three main analytical routines namely 'loadflow planning', 'stability
analysis' and 'fault level planning' performed to provide information on the capability of any
existing or proposed system. These computational supports are repeatedly applied to obtain a
desirable loadflow plan from the standpoint of economy, stability and security. Among these
technical aspects of power system planning, loadflow planning is the most frequently applied
one. Its main purpose is to evaluate a steady state configuration which can withstand a steady
loading determined by the given demand and generation at an acceptable voltage and without
over-loading any of the system components.
200
2.1
Uncertainties in Loadnow Planning
To ensure a successful proposed plan that would not cause any adversary 'backfire', conformity
of the design would have to be extensively analysed. To evaluate such a design, a series of
off-line simulations based on various combinations of contingencies is needed. If a power system
component (line and bus) limit is exceeded by anyone of the planned steady state conditions, the
planner will be acknowledged and further assessment of modification will then be performed. In
general, the task of loadflow planning is targeted towards two major types of state violations:
(1) Overload - This violation is usually associated with overload circuits (for example,
transmission lines and transformers, etc). It is usually resulted from an imbalance between active
power generation and consumption. The action required to remove all the overload violations
includes the rearrangement of generators levels and customer demands.
(2) Voltage Violation - Problem of abnormal (over or under) voltage usually results from,
amongst other reasons, a sudden decrease as a result of loss of load or increase in consumer
demand. Rectification of this voltage violation often involves reactive means of voltage
maintenance. The reallocation of reactive power can be controlled by suitably adjusting the
following controllable variables : generator voltages, transformer taps and switchable V AR
sources (shunt capacitor and inductors). The problem associated with voltage violation is how to
determine the desired value and how to maintain value deviations due to load functions
encountered.
In practice, the planner carries out these tasks are highly probed with various uncertain sources
which can be classified as 'imprecision' and 'vagueness' type [I]. The former type of uncertainty
is associated with decision variables (for example 'insufficient VAR generation', 'abnormal
voltage profile'). The values of these decision variables may be known, very accurately, for
example, voltage is 0.9874 p.u. The imprecision associated with these decision variables is
expressed in terms of a degree of, e.g. how abnormal is 0.9874 p.u. On the other hand, the latter
type of uncertainty is associated with the human decision making process. Usually, the way in
which a planning engineer expresses an action is likely to be as a rather vague relationship, using
ill-defined (but personally meaningful) linguistic quantities such as AVERAGE, LARGE, HIGH,
LOW, etc. A typical example might be :
IF
the load bus voltage is HIGH
THEN SLIGHTLY INCREASE the nearby shunt reactor
The problem in constructing such kind of human mental information processing models and
programming how individuals combine vague pieces of information (clues) to arrive at a
201
constructive decision appears extremely difficult. This is because that the planning operator's rule
of thumb decisions are based on the degree or extent that various of his mental rules hold true and
at any given time several rules of this kind that can potentially be applied may mandate conflicting
actions.
2.2
Fuzzy Set Theory
In boolean logic, if a variable such as voltage is described as HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW, only
one of these three states can be true at one time, and the degree of membership of each of these
variable states can be 100% (true) or 0% (false). Thus, if this logic is used to interpret a set of
human protocols, only one such protocol can be true at any particular time, resulting in a single
output action. This limitation of applying boolean logic to human reasoning and linguistics were
recognised by Zadeh [2]. He proposed a new concept of modelling vague decision making
processes based on the theory of Fuzzy Reasoni,ng (FR) which enables certain classes of
linguistic statements to be treated mathematically. Fuzzy sets are mathematical constructs which
conveniently describe categories like HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW, etc. These categories have
boundaries which express a gradual transistion between membership and non-membership in this
category.
The basis of fuzzy logic is the notion of fuzzy subsets. These are generalized subsets of ordinary
sets (universe of discourse). A fuzzy subset 'A' of a universe of discourse V is defined by a
membership function fa: V -+ [0,1] which associates with each element 11 of Va number f a (ll) in
the interval [0,1], where fill) represents the grade of membership of 11 in A. The value fa (ll)
express the grade of 11 belonging to a fuzzy subset A of V. Hence, it is aimed to deal with
uncertainty derived by the partial membership of a given element to a set whose boundaries are
not sharply defined. In general, a fuzzy subset A of V whose elements are xl' X 2'
be expressed as [2]:
ix IlA(x)/x
if A is not finite
A =
Il/xl + ll2/x2 + ll3/x 3 + ... + Iln/ Xn
if A is finite
X 3 , ... , Xn
can
or
III Il2 113 114'" Iln

where '+' is the set union operator.
3.
Linguistic Planning Rules
In order to permit the manipulation of fuzzy concepts to represent vague fuzzy Tules, 'linguistic
202
variables' are required to represent the loadflow variables. In order to develop the primary
linguistic values for fuzzy variables, a degree of membership is assigned to each possible value.
With each fuzzy variable outlined in Figure 1 associated a set of linguistic values. For example,
the universe of discourse of 'LOAD BUS VOLTAGE'
0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.0 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.1
On this universe, linguistic tenn 'low' can be defined by the following fuzzy subset
1.01.0 1.0 1.0 1.00.90.70.4 0.3 0.00.10.00 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Further details of all linguistic values definitions used have been fully described in [I].
There are two main knowledge groups in loadflow planning which involve active and reactive
power allocation (Figure I). The clue variables for detennining the corrective adjustment in the
rulesets of 'generator voltage', 'transfonner tap', 'shunt element' and 'active power generation'
described in the subsequent sections include 'load bus voltage', 'reserve margin', generation
change', 'active power injection', 'reactive power injection', 'line overload' and 'device
sensitivity'. In the reactive generation allocation case for the problem of bus voltage, the reactive
power injection demand must be detennined first using the infonnation obtained from the load
bus voltage. Similarly, in the active power generation allocation case, active power injection
demand must be determined first using line overloading condition. In each ruleset, a series of
fuzzy rules which represent the various combinations of fuzzy conditions are stated [I). For
example, a fuzzy rule for generator voltage adjustment is :
IF
the selected control generator has a about average reserve margin
and
the sensitivity of the load bus to the generator is strong
and
the amount of corrective VAR injection is less than positive small
THEN the current generator voltage level should be changed by a more or less medium
proportion
4. FUZEX - A Fuzzy Knowledge Based Expert System
FUZEX is a general expert system shell which consists of a database, an inference mechanism
and a collection of rulesets that forms the knowledge base (Figure 2). The fuzzy inference
module is composed of a rule interpreter and a compositional rule of inference [3] (CRI)
algorithm. Briefly, for a fuzzy conditional assignment of (IF X is A {condition} THEN Y is B
(consequence}) where X is an antecedent condition and Y is the consequent action respectively,
through the rule interpreter in FUZEX, the condition of the inference which represents the
relationship between the objects of X and Y is translated into a possibility distribution of fuzzy
relation R and the condition which represents the data information is represented by a possibility
distribution A, then the consequence of Y due to X can be inferred by the composition of A and
203
R which can be expressed as :

Ilx -+ A (data)
Il(ylx) -+ R [RA-+B = (/lR(x,y)/(x,y)]
Eqn 1
Ily is X 0 R =9 /ly = MAX(MIN(/lR,/lx

where '0' is the composition of fuzzy relations and (/lR' /lX, /ly) are the membership functions
of R, X and y. A fuzzy relation R from a fuzzy set X to a fuzzy set Y is simply a fuzzy set
defined in a cartesian product space (X x Y) or effectively R is fuzzy matrix of X and Y. To
evaluate R, a fuzzy implication operator IMP must be assigned where R is characterised by a
bivariate membership function /lR(x,y) and is expressed as Eqn2 using Lukasiewicz implication
operator.
/lR (x,y) = IMP(/lx,/ly)
= MIN(l,l-/lx+/ly)
Eqn 2
Within the inference engine of FUZEX, the sequence of inference actions taken is mastermined
by an 'agenda queue' which organises and schedules 'tasks' to be carried out. Reasoning (mle
chaining) strategies can easily be arranged by this queue. The user communicates with FUZEX in
a natural language fashion through a User Friendly Interface (UFI). Finally, input and output
data in most situations, in which engineering knowledge based expert system have been applied,
are usually numerical and are required to be transformed into fuzzy set representations. An
information module is included to handle the appropriate interpretations of data (fuzzy <=>
non-fuzzy).
5. The Loadflow Planning Environment

The arrangement of the FUZEX for use in loadflow planning is shown in Figure 3. Two
individual workstations are used as a basis to mn two separate softwares (namely, LOAD and
FUZEX) in parallel. LOAD is a menu driven loadflow system which permits planners to assess
and change the current loadflow data. The planner mns the LOAD package to obtain the
corresponding loadflow infonnation and uses it to analyse the system state. On the other hand,
FUZEX acts as a consultant (adviser) to the planner in which, through a question/answering style
session, FUZEX produces an advice to the planner on how loadflow variables to be adjusted to
achieve a satisfied loadflow configuration.
In the following chosen case study of electric power system loadflow planning, a 21 bus
Egyptian power system is used. In the initial load flow configuration, most of the generators are
set to about 85% of their generating capacities so as to meet the projected consumer demand.
204
However, at this genemtion configuration, bus3 voltage is found to be 0.9477 p.u. (or is 0.0023
p.u. below the lower limit) as shown in Figure 4. To rectify this, reactive genemtion allocation
has to be commenced. Using his familiarity with the network, the planner chooses generator at
bus5 for voltage compensation. Following the backward inference sequence, using the ruleset of
'genemtor voltage', FUZEX fast determines the VAR injection requirement using value of initial
load bus voltage input by the planner (Figure 5.a). Using the values of reserve margin and a
sensitivity of 'less than very strong' from bus5 to bus3 obtained from the planner, FUZEX
further infers a change of 0.05 p.u. in bus5 (Figure 5.b). Subsequently, the planner increases the
generator at bus5 to 1.045 p.u. and the undersirable situation in the power system has been
rectified. The actual power loss has also been substantial reduced due to this new load flow
configumtion and hence the reliability of the planning structure has been increased.
6.
Conclusion
In this paper, the issues of human cognition in loadflow planning have been addressed. An fuzzy
reasoning approach to represent the inherent uncertainty has been presented. Linguistic values are
used to translate a vague problem structure into an easily implementable algorithm which
provides a more natural way to express the model. When used in this fuzzy format, the link
between the concepts that the planner has in mind and the data organisation within the fuzzy
model is more direct and transparent. Preliminary results obtained using a fuzzy knowledge
based expert system (FUZEX) in the loadflow planning process are encouraging but due to the
current limited experience rigorous synthesis of such an approach is difficult to be determined.
7.
References
[1] T. Chui "A Quantitative Approach to uncertainty Management in Engineering Knowledge
Based Expert Systems" Ph.D thesis, Queen Mary College, University of London, 1989.
[2] L.A. Zadeh "Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems" IEEE
Transaction on SMC, Vol-3, 1973.
[3] L.A. Zadeh "A theory of approximate reasoning" Report No. UCB/ERL M77/58, University
of California Berkeley, Aug 1977.
[4] L.A. Zadeh "The concept of a linguistic variable and its application to approximate reasoning"
Part I,II,I1I Information Sciences, 8,8,9, 1975.
205
C"SE
Figure 1 Knowledge Structure of Loadflow Planning
II
LOW VOLTAGE AT foUS ::.
Figure 4
Initial Loadflow Problem
.&......... .'r w,w
It
Figure 2 The Main Modules in FUZEX
Figure 5(a) VAR Injection
..
, ........ eI , , . . haiti
,..., .. ,D . . . .
_~
Figure 3 Configuration of Loadflow Planning
Figure 5(b) Inferred Fuzzy Sets of Bus Generator Voltage
Towards Unmanned Manufacture: Applications of an Expert System
S Sadeque, R Benhadj, M M A Safa and B Dawson

On-line Surveillance, Monitoring & Diagnostics Unit (OSMAD), School of Mechanical,
Aeronautical and Production Engineering, Kingston Polytechnic, Kingston, Surrey, UK
Abstract
An expert system is presented for application to vision and
pneumatic proximity-to-tactile sensor devices for part recognition
and
feature
location
of
parts
used
within
an
automated
manufacturing system environment.

1.
Introduction
The increasing demand for further automation of machine tools
has
led
to
requirement
for
the
development
of
highly
sophisticated software for performance and quality control. The

systems are expected more and more to act with intelligence and
be capable of responding in a desired manner to changes derived
from feed back signals obtained from the sensory systems.
Such
behaviour may be realised via the incorporation of an expert

system capability into the controlling software systems.
2.
An expert system for part and feature recognition

This
paper describes
further
work being carried out
at
Kingston on the development of an expert system to be used in

conjunction with vision and a pneumatic proximity-to-tactile
sensor [ 1] [2] .
2.1
PRES (Part RecognitionfExpert System):

PRES is the first
pro~pe
of an expert system that has'been
developed to recognise parts by analysing data obtained from

vision and proximity-to-tactile sensor systems.
The organisation
of the expert system is given in figure 1 and in its present form

is fully functional with simulated data and is currently being
207
evaluated using real objects. Whilst the expert system has been
developed for use with both vision and proximity-to-tactile
sensors, only an application using the vision system is presented
in this paper.
EXPERT SYSTEM
,--------------------------------------------l
I
KNOWLEOGE BASE
STRUCTERED KNOWLEDGE
STRUCTURED PART
DATA
REPLIES
USER QUERR I ES
AND REPLIES
PART
OM DATA ACQUISITION
DP: OATA PROCESSING
Figure 1:
ACTIVATE
EXPERT,
KNOWLEDGE ENGINEER
structural organisation of Expert System (PRES)
The expert system has been developed using the Leonardo

(level-3) expert system shell.
The arithmetic and large array
manipulations required, particularly in the case of the vision
system, have been carried out in external routines in the C
programing language.
These are called from wi thin the expert
systems, via a standard interface, as and when required.
The developer's interface is used to communicate with the
interference
engine
and
the
knowledge
base
during
the
developmental and up-dating stages of the expert system life
208
cycle.
The user interface directs the communications with ... the
sensory systems and the supervisory programs.

The knowledge in the knowledge base is stored in the firm of
The parts can be arranged in families or
frames and rules.
classes where the lower members can be expected to inherit family
characteristics
classifica~ion
by
virtue
of
relationships.
This
form
of
lends itself to the use of frames where the family
characteristics are stored in
slots I .
The rules in the knowledge
base set out the pre-defined internal relations.
The slot values
are obtained by using algorithms to calculate a number of part

descriptors
including
geometrical
parameters
and
moment
invariants.
The matching process to identify unique parts consists of
three phases: (i) the learning phase; (ii) the recognition phase
and (iii) the update phase.
In the learning phase, for each object or part, the extracted
data is stored in the knowledge base until all the parts have been
dealt with.
In the recognition phase the sensory data is processed and
the descriptor values along with the predefined matching procedure
are used to identify the part.
In the update phase, the developer uses the same procedure
as the learning phase to add information for a new part in the
knowledge base.
3.
Vision System and Data Acquisition

The
vision
system
[1]
is
basically
Closed
Circuit
Television Camera with a television picture store board consisting

of a digital field store, a microprocessor interface and all the
circuitry require for A/D and D/A conversion.
The frame grabbed by the vision system is 512 x 512 pixels
with 64 grey level values.
In order to be able to carry out the
processing on a microcomputer at an acceptable processing time,

the frame has to be reduced to 90 x 90 pixels. This is achieved
by discarding the 31 rows from the top and bottom and 31 columns
from either sides of the whole image. The 90 x 90 pixels are then
obtained by picking up every fifth pixel in each fifth row.
209
4.
Application Examples
4.1
Part Recognition and Feature Location Using Simulated Data

An intelligent algorithm has been developed to recognise" the
shape of a part and is also able to locate features within the

part.
The next table shows the results obtained from simulated
data of a family of cuboids (i.e. part 1 is a cube and part 2,

part 3 and part 4 are cubes with a feature (circular hole) located
at different positions) .
Area
Perimetre
compactness
Moment Invariant
Central
Absolute I
~~~~--~~~----~~~--~=-~----~------~~--I
Part
Part
Part
Part
1
2
3
4
121.50
120.50
120.50
120.50
45.41
45.41
45.41
45.41
17.05
17.12
17.12
17.12
20.00
21.69
21.69
21.69
0.00
0.69
0.69
0.69
I
I
___________________________________________________________________ 1
The above results show that part 1 can be discriminated from

the other parts by the central and absolute moment invariant. The
parts 2-3-4 are recognised by the above descriptors as the same
part.
This is not in fact the case since whilst of the same
family they each have a different feature location. To overcome
this limitation a novel and simple technique was developed. This
technique involves the part principal centroid and the primary
feature centroid relative to it. Determination of:
and
(i) shape + nth feature = part
(ii) feature coordinates
X part - X feature )
= ("( Y
part - Y feature)
enables the same part but with different features or identical

features at different locations to be recognised.
4.2 Recognition of a set of Chess Pieces
As an illustrative application to real objects the expert system
has been applied to the recognition of a set of chess pieces.
During the development cycle of the expert system each chess piece
is brought under the top-view camera and the necessary, data
collected in order to build up the knowledge base.
An example of
the frame for the recognition of a chess piece (King) is given in

Table 2.
210
FRAME for the class of chess

pieces
Name
pieces
Type
Class
Members : king, queen,
knight, bishop,
castle, pawn
MemberSlots:
lowerarea
upperarea
lowerperi
upperperi
lowercomp
uppercomp
lowercmi
uppercmi
lowercami
uppercami
lowerecc
upperecc
Table 2:
Typical values for the

KING (sie-view)
Name
king
Type : Undefined
Certainty: {O.O}
IsA : piece
MemberSlots:
lowerarea
410.00
upperarea
430.00
lowerperi
100.00
110.00
upperperi
lowercomp
25.00
uppercomp
30.00
lowercmi
115.00
uppercmi
125.00
lowercami
14.00
uppercami
18.00
lowerecc
4.00
upperecc
4.50
A Frame an Slots in the Knowlege Base
The pawn and the knight are uniquely identified from the topview alone and therefore need no further analysis.
However, the
King and Queen cannot be distinguished from the top-view alone as

is also the case with the Bishop and Castle.
In such cases a
lateral-view camera is also used so that lateral-view data for
each piece is also stored in the knowledge base.
view data is available the King,
Queen,
Once lateral-
Bishop and Castle are
easily recognised.
5.
Conclusion
An expert system is being developed for application with
vision and pneumatic proximity-to-tactile sensor systems for part

recognition and feature location.
The system is fully functional
with simulated data and results to date obtained using the vision
system with real objects is very encouraging.
References
1.
R. Benhadj, H. Rahnajet and M.M. Safa,
Pneumatic
Proximity
to
Tactile
.211
'A High Resolution
Sensing
Device',
The
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

2.
2(3), August 1987.

R. Benhadj, S. Sadeque and H. Rahnajet, 'A Knowledge Based
System for Sensor Interaction and Real Time Component
Control',
The
International
Journal
of
Advanced
Manufacturing Technology 3(1), February 1988.
Acknowledgement
Financial support from the National Advisory Body and smiths
Industries is gratefully acknowledged.
Expert Systems Applied to Gas Turbine Condition Monitoring
R M Dunlop and J Davis

1.
ABSTRACT
The accurate determination of a gas turbine's condition has

been a goal of Marine Engineers for many years.
Several
techniques have been developed to accomplish this task, but no
single method can diagnose all the various conditions and faults
that may occur.
Rather, a combination of techniques is usually
employed to assess condition.
This paper analyzes the use of
expert systems to combine condition monitoring techniques and
shows how a practical expert system may be designed to act as a
decision making tool in the condition monitoring of gas turbines.
2
INTRODUCTION
Naval equipment maintenance strategies have evolved from

preventative maintenance (PM) to condition based maintenance
(CBM) due to potential savings in scarce resources ,money and
manpower. However, the practical application of CBM has not been
achieved due to problems determining the exact condition of
machinery.
Effective condition monitoring is essential in order to
conduct (CBM).
Gas turbines in particular are very expensive
and are therefore prime candidates for the application of
effective condition monitoring. CM is normally accomplished by:
a.
Thermodynamic performance analysis; and
b.
Mechanical analysis, including:

(1).
Vibration analysis;
(2).
Metal chip detection in oil;
Al though the above I ist is not exhaustive, it has became

obvious that no single CM technique can correctly diagnose the
condition of a g'as turbine in all situations.
Usually a
combination of methods is used to determine its condition,
213
depending upon the availability of the techniques, their accuracy

and the user's confidence in them. Some methods may be
particularly difficult to use or may require specialist
expertise or equipment and therefore are used only when fleet .or
shore specialists are available.
Often, separate methods are
used to gain corroborating evidence so machinery is not taken out
of service unnecessarily. It is essential, therefore, that to be
truly effective, a condition monitoring system (CMS) encompass
several different methods to improve the chance of correctly
diagnosing the gas turbine's condition and for the operators and
maintainers to acquire confidence in its operation.
3.
EXPERT SYSTEMS AND CM
conducting effective CM means the processing of large

quantities of data and the development of expertise in a wide
range of specialist areas. The application of expert systems in
this area offers a potential solution to this problem by
incorporating the expert knowledge required to diagnose a
machine's condition and manipulating the data required for the
diagnosis more easily.
Until recently, most knowledge based CM systems concentrated
on only one CM method.
However, expert systems provide a
possible means of combining different CM methods, using several
secondary expert systems carrying out the functions of different
knowledge incorporating their principles of operation into rules
that are more easily understood. As well, they may be formulated
to provide a prediction of time to failure, thus enhancing the
ability to plan maintenance and spares requirements accordingly.
4.
PROTOTYPE EXPERT SYSTEM
A prototype expert system for combining different CM

methods was developed as part of an M Sc project at RNEC and is
shown in a schematic format in fig. 1. The expert system shell,
Xi Plus by Expertech Ltd was used to design the system. A master
system controls access to various CM methods via operator
selection from a menu.
The master system is essentially a
knowledge base, containing rules that will cause the loading of
the next knowledge base, depending upon on operator input.
The design of the expert system for each CM method was done
by dividing up the tasks into small, manageable sized knowledge
bases.
This was done so that each knowledge base could be
checked for errors, re-structured if necessary, and then tested
for correct operation.
For example, if gas path analysis is
chosen, then several knowledge bases are used in succession to
access the historical or baseline data, enter the file containing
the data selected for analysis, compare this with the baseline,
then perform the analysis depending upon the quality of the data
and whether or not vibration data is available.
214
User
Vibration
Analysis
Display
Baseline
Data
Enter
Baseline
Data
Display
Collected
Data
Enter
Data for
Analysis
Results
of
Comparison
Data
comparison
Results
of
Analysis
Analysis
of
Data
Results
of
Check
PTET
Spread
Check
Historical
Data
Base
Collected
Data
Files
Vibration
Data?
Fig. 1 Prototype Expert CMS

5.
EXAMPLE OF EXPERT SYSTEMS APPLIED TO ONE CM METHOD
The gas path analysis (GPA) expert system was developed by

using established fault matrices for a twin spool gas
turbine. (1)
These fault matrices consist of establishing a
pattern of changes in specific parameters which indicate a
particular degradation in the gas turbine's condition.
The
parameters normally used in GPA are:
a.
Compressor pressure ratio (CPR);
b.
Power turbine entry temperature (PTET);
c.
Exhaust pressure ratio (EPR)
d.
Shaft horse power
e.
HP spool speed (NH).
(SHP)~
215
and
Several "condition degradations" may be determined by

comparing these parameters against baseline data, to determine
whether they are above or below the norm established for that
parameter at a specific power level.
The problem with using
fault matrices limited to the above parameters is that a change
of condition is only indicated at the major component level, ie.
the LP compressor has developed a fault, but the specific fault
can not be determined. This problem was overcome by developing
extended fault matrices based upon the original twin spool
method.
Using data from a Spey SMIA test at RAE pyestock allowed the
use of additional parameters, particularly the efficiency for
each major component.
By a careful review of the data, it was
determined that changes of condition in the gas path were also
indicated by a reduction in component efficiency. The assumption
was then made that vibration levels in each major component will
increase if a significant degradation occurs.
The next step was to convert the fault matrix into rules
that could be used by an expert system. Therefore, use was made
of xi Rule, a software package that converts sets of examples
into rules using the ID3 induction process.
The fault matrix
was entered and rules for the data analysis were produced. In
total, 22 separate rules were produced to describe different
degradations in the gas turbine's condition.
Before these rules
could be used in data analysis, knowledge bases had to be
developed to allow a choice of power levels for analysis,
baseline data had to be established, and some method devised to
allow collected data files to be entered into for analysis.
Baseline data
was established by using data collected
during testing of the Spey. Data from the clean condition (after
a compressor wash) was separated from data in the dirty condition
and then placed into several spreadsheets, depending upon the
power level it was collected at.
The clean data was then
averaged for each parameter to arrive at a baseline for the gas
turbine.
Standard deviations and three times the standard
deviations for each parameter were then calculated for later use
in the comparison of the baseline with data chosen for analysis.
The baseline data is accessed by the knowledge base, "enter
ideal data" by using a data handling program supplied with xi
Plus, incorporated into rules as the program "read spreadsheet".
The read spreadsheet program is called three times for the power
level chosen to load into the database each parameters average,
standard deviation and three times the standard deviation.
216
RAE Pyestock has collected several hundred data files for

analysis.
Therefore, the KB "collected data" was developed so
that any file could be entered for analysis.
This KB uses one
rule to enter the file contents into the expert system database
by running an external program.
The data is displayed for the
operator's benefit and then the next KB is loaded.
Collected data is compared against baseline data in the KB
"compare data". The collected data is quantized into one of five
ranges: very low, low, ok, high, or very high. Rules, as shown
below are used to establish the range the parameters fall in. In
these rules, the final result is that a text string describing
the collected data parameter, with an "n" attached, is assigned a
value of low, down, ok, up, or high.
The "sdI4" represents the
standard deviation for the PTET, while "tsdI4" represents three
times the standard deviation. An example rule is shown below:
if ptetc < ptet - sd14
and ptetc >= ptet - tsd14
then ptetcn is low
The compare data KB contains over 150 rules to define the
range each parameter falls in.
It can be expanded to include
more parameters or additional knowledge bases may be created to
assess other data in the same manner.
After the comparison is
complete, the next KB is loaded to perform the analysis.
The KB used for the data analysis depends on whether or not
vibration data is available.
If it is available then the
analysis is done in a KB with rules that use it as one parameter
to determine the engine's condition.
If it is not available,
then a KB containing a reduced rule set is used to perform the
analysis without the benefit of vibration data. The analysis of
the collected data is done in both KBs by using the pattern of
low, ok, or high assigned to the collected data in the comparison
KB.
The values very low or very high are used to indicate
possible transducer faults, or alarm level exceedances. One of
the 22 rules described above will be fired if the pattern matches
that rule.
This will cause a report to be made to the screen
indicating the results of the analysis. For example, if the cpr,
overall turbine efficiency and HP spool speed are low and the
PTET is high, then the following rule will fire:
if cprcn is down
and nhcn is down
and otecn is down
and ptetcn is up
then problem is HP turbine fouling
and report from file gpaOl0
The file gpaOl0 will then be displayed.
It contains the
diagnosis that HP turbine fouling is suspected as well as
recommendations for follow up action. The report file may
217
contain as much information as is deemed necessary to suggest a

course of action, or provide detailed technical information. It
is this final report that provides the user with the "expert"
advice.
Obviously, there are hundreds of patterns that may be
present in the data which may indicate a change in the gas
turbine's condition.
When a new pattern is recognized as
indicative of a deteriorated condition, then a rule may be added
to the appropriate KB to test for that pattern being present in
the collected data.
6.
PTET SPREAD MONITORING
PTET spread monitoring is carried out automatically after

the gas path analysis is complete.
Each combustion can
temperature is checked against the average PTET and the normal
deviation allowed for a particular power level.
A data
comparison is done to range the data and assign a value of low,
ok, or high to each combustion can temperature.
If a can
temperature is low, then a report is made indicating the actual
temperature and the diagnosis that a partial blockage of the
combustion can is suspected. If a can temperature is high, then
a report is made that overfuelling for that particular can is
suspected.
The analysis is then complete and the user is
returned to the main menu.
7.
ADDING OTHER CM TECHNIQUES
Additional CM methods may easily be integrated into the

prototype system. Once the separate KBs for the new methods are
constructed, they may be accessed through the master system KB by
adding a rule that will alter the menu presented to the user.
8.
CONCLUSION
The prototype system described in this paper has

demonstrated successfully that expert systems may be used to
combine different CM techniques. The system provides rapid data
analysis and advice that may be tailored to include as much
information and direction as desired.
Additional CM techniques
may easily be added, thus there is tremendous scope for
expansion.
9.
REFERENCES
1.
Dupuis RJ et al
Modelling of Component Faults and

Application to On-Condition Health
Monitoring,
International Gas Turbine
Conference and Exhibit,
Proceedings,
June 1986
218
2.
Yazdani M
Artificial Intelligence:
Principles
Applications, Chapman and Hall, 1986
and
3.
Katsoulakos PS Expert Systems and Marine Applications,

Institute of Marine Engineers, Oct. 1988
Post Flight Analysis ofEHlOl Helicopter Maintenance Data

I M Reason and J Davis
ABSTRACT
The EH101 helicopter which enters
service with the Royal Navy in the 1990s
will have a computerised health and usage
monitoring system known as the HUMS. An
expert system to assist the maintainer in
the analysis of this data is proposed and a
small subset of the system has been
implemented uSing a simple shell program.
The capabilities of the simple fault-finding
structure have been extended to incorporate
a learning ability and to tailor maintenance
to available manpower and operational
constraints.
1.
I ntroduct ion
The EH101 (Merlin) which is being built
by a consortium of Westland and Augusta,
will have an on board health and usage
monitoring system (HUMS) for all the
aircraft's systems. The aircraft management
computer (AMC) will continually perform a
set of eleven algorithms, uSing the sampled
data obtained from sensors, to determine the
well being of the airframe and engines and
to calculate t~e cumulative damage as a
number of life usage indices (LUI), If the
measured parameters exceed allowable limits
220
then a maintenance message (MM) is set and

an exceedance record (ER), Which is a record
of all measured parameters over a 20 second
period, is initiated. The LUI, MM and ER are
all available for downloading once the
aircraft has landed. When the aircraft lands
any faults will be clearly defined by the MM
and the nature of the fault will be apparent
from the data held by the ER.
All this information, used efficiently
in a practical way, should improve
maintenance effici~ncy, cost effectiveness,
flight safety, and aircraft availability;
effective use of the large volumes of data
involved will require considerable use of
automatic data processing. The desire to
reproduce some of the characteristics of the
experienced maintainer has lead to the use
of artificial intelligence methods.
2.
FI ight Data
The data that is available to the
maintainer of the EH10l for post-flight
analYSiS will be vastly superior to that
available from previous navaf helicopters.
In addition to MMs, ERs and LUIs, trend
records of torque available and power
performance index Will be retrieved together
With maximum values for starting and
operating parameters.
2.1 Maintenance MessagesCMM) The MMs are
numbered flags that correspond to particular
faults and are the first useful data that a
maintainer will examine. The lack of any MM
will indicate the serviceability of the
aircraft on completion of a flight if
confirmed by a negative crew report. The
time that the fault occured is also logged
and an exceedance record is triggered.
221
2.2 Exceedence Records(ER) The ER provides

information about the conditions surrounding
the fault as a 20 second profile (5 seconds
pre-fault) of the main aircraft parameters.
The exact nature of the ai~craft's movements
around the time of the fault will be
apparent, including its speed, height, the
power demanded by the pilot, the outside air
temperature and all the measured engine
parameters. Therefore the fault is placed in
the context of the prevailing conditions
when it occured and thiS information will
give the maintainer a better chance of
pinpointing the cause that much qUicker.
Obviously the more experienced maintainer
will gain more from the data and it is here
that an expert system would be of great use.
Computer numerical and pattern matching
analysis can be carried out on the numerous
examples of each fault that will occur
during service to determine which patterns
indicate certain fault causes and would
supplant initial engineering judgements
written into the expert system. This pattern
analysis is critical if the expert system is
to improve as experience begins to show.
2.3 Life Usage Indices(LUI) The LUIs
record the cycling regimes an engine is
subjected to in relation to operating speeds
and temperatures and indicate how much life
of an engine has been used. The LUI replaces
engine hours as an indicator of the
degredation of critical components which
must be retired before they fail as a
result, for instance, of metallurgical
fatigue. The four methods used to calculate
these are: low cycle fatigue, high cycle
fatigue, creep and thermal fatigue. These
counts will be of great use in fault
222
analYSiS by matching LUIs to mission

profiles and the probabilities of particular
fault causes.
2.4 Trend Records Trend analysis of power
performance index and torque available will
yield an indication of the condition of an
engine as a function of time. As soon as a
deteriorating trend is detected the expert
system can use thiS with other available
data to detect an impending failure before
it occurs.
3.
Fault Tree Implementation
The engine manufacturer provides fault
diagnosis trees in the engine data book for
the various faults that can occur on the
engine. The trees consist of a series of
stages that have either a yes or no
conclusion. Each stage contains a check,
test or operation that should be carried out
in order to provide eVidence of what is
causing the fault. The maintainer follows
the tree down until a conclusion is reached.
The tree is constructed such that a
conclusion must be reached before leaving
the tree. A fault tree can be said to
contain an expert's knowledge that is
structured in a form for a non-expert to
follow. Information of this type is sUitable
for implementation in a computer based
expert system and many examples exist in the
literature.
Parts of the EH10l engine data book have
been codified in thiS manner triggered from
MMs generated by the HUMS without using the
remaining post-flight data. Very simple
programming can replace a large and complex
repair manual with a fast and accurate
system and this should represent the minimum
aim in a modern maintenance system.
Application ofExpert Systems in COMADEM
4.
223
Development Of The Expert System

Although the implementation of the EH10l
fault trees on an expert system alone would
improve the maintenance efficiency of a
squadron full use of the available data
listed above Will improve maintenance
efficiency considerably. When a degree of
intelligence is introduced into the expert
system the maintenance strategy will alter
each time the system is used. Experience
often shows that a certain MM leads to a
particular fault in a majority of cases and
fault tree methods do not take account of
thiS whereas an experienced maintalner
would. Account can be taken of the fact that
each item of equipment has a statistical
failure rate related to engine hours,
starts, LUIs etc and if the expert system
takes account of the experience of all other
aircraft expert systems then progressively
fault diagnosis strategies will alter.
Man management can be introduced into
the expert system. The optimum approach to
the rectification of a particular fault will
depend on the time interval before the
aircraft is next required and the manpower
available. The expert system can alter the
recommended path to find the fault cause
either to optimise the chance of meeting a
set deadline or to optimise the use of the
available manpower.
The simple fault tree structure has to
be modified to allow the system to pursue the
fault it considers to be the most likely or
appropriate from the given data and
conditions.
An approach has been developed which
assumes that all fault causes start With
equal probability. The expert system reads
224
the post-flight data and obtains information

from the maintainer about the urgency of
need for the aircraft and the available
maintenance personnel. The order in Which
the possible fault causes should be pursued
is calculated based on the factors discussed
previously. The fault tree is reconstructed
every time the system is used so that the
format is the optimum based on the postflight data, past experience, failure rates
of the relevant components, and management
considerations. It will with time improve
its performance.
Weighting factors are used to calculate
the order of priority, the weighting factor
increasing as the likelihood of the
associated fault cause increases. Past
experience of the fault is broken down into
three levels of aircraft, squadron and fleet
and a running total of how many times each
fault cause has occured are held ina data
base. Every time the expert system is used
the totals are updated in the data base.
Weighting factors associated with the
failure rates of components are calculated
uSing methods such as the standard bathtub
curve for electrical and mechanical
components or a linear relationship used for
the gas turbine. The ERs can be employed
simply by relating the transient to
particular fault causes and adjusting
weighting factors accordingly. The best
management solution for an aircraft that is
not required by any set deadline is to
investigate each fault cause in the order of
the previously calculated weighting factors.
If the aircraft is required immediately then
the list of possible fault causes is
displayed in order and also broken down into
their respective trades. If the aircraft is
225
required by a set deadline then the longest

possible time to follow the weighting factor
route is calculated and if there is
suffiCient time then the suggested route
based on weighting factors is followed. If
there is insufficient time then the best
route to optimise the chance of meeting the
deadline with the available manpower is
calculated and displayed to the maintainer.
5.
Conclusion
The EH101 will enter service with the
Royal Navy in the mid 1990s. The health and
usage monitoring system Will generate vast
quantities of data for post-flight analysis
which can be of significant use in assisting
the aircraft maintainer, squadron management
and fleet planners. The use of an expert
system to utilise this data will vastly
improve maintenance efficiency and various
techniques have been developed to illustrate
ways in Which the expert system can utilise
this data to best effect. The use of an
expert system within the fleet network of
EH101 operations would benefit the first
line maintainer to a great extent. The
situation of a single EHIOl working from a
forward operating base like a Type 23
Frigate would benefit most. The maintenance
team in such a situation headed by a senior
rating may not always have experience in
every branch of engineering required to
maintain serViceability to the highest
possible level. The assistance of an expert
system would gUide the maintainer through
the best repair route to locate the fault
cause as qUickly or effectively as possible.
It is here that the expert system would be
of prime use.
A Strategy of Knowledge Elicitation for the Monitoring and Control of

Industrial Processes
B E Sanders, B A Lewis, SAC Sanders and J E Cherrington

Birmingham Polytechnic, Franchise Street, Birmingham B42 2SU , UK
An understanding of how the skilled process operator maintains stability in an industrial

process is important for the effective monitoring and control of that process. Techniques of
knowledge elicitation, developed for use in both the training and expert systems areas will be
discussed with reference to the development of process models. The techniques will be
illustrated with applications in the plastics and brewing industries.
1.
Introduction
Over the last few years at Birmingham Polytechnic, techniques of analysis have been developed
which allow a knowledge engineer, or non process specialist, to elicit knowledge from an expert
and structure this knowledge in such a way that it can be used to develop process models for
use in expert systems or other types of process analysis, (Sanders et aI, 1988). Much of the
development work has been conducted in the injection moulding industry and the techniques are
now being applied in the brewing industry.
The need to develop a process rrodel of a system may arise for various reasons, perhaps the need
to install an updated monitoring system, or the development of an expert system to aid fault
diagnosis. The plant expert is the person with the overall view and understanding of that
system. In the development of knowledge based systems, or plant monitoring systems, the
quality and expertise of the expert are crucial to the final success or failure of the system.
However, expert knowledge is not easily captured as experts are not always able to articulate
what they know. The process

time consuming. In addition
time, and is not always able
his knowledge. The knowledge
of eliciting knowledge in these circumstances is painstaking and

to these problems, the expert frequently has many demands upon his
to devote the necessary time to identify the detailed elements of
engineer, or non-process specialist, therefore needs to develop
efficient techniques of analysis and elicitation, so that the time of the expert is used
effectively.
It is the process operator who has the daily task of monitoring and controlling the industrial
process, and his experience is as valuable as that of the expert, albeit in a smaller domain.
The operator reacts to instrument readings and various quality control checks and manipulates
the set points of the system in order to maintain a consistent quality of output. He need not
necessarily have a detailed understanding of the reactions within a system - say of a plastics
or food processing plant, but he/she will have an intrinsic understanding of the system
limitations and will perform specific tasks in response to specific events in order to maintain
stabili ty. It is recognised that non-experts organise their knowledge in a different way from
experts ((hi et ai, 1982; (heisi et al, 1979).
Because the process operator has not the same
level of understanding of a process as the expert, his interpretation can give very illlJortant

insight into where problems arise in a system.
the expert.
227
These problem areas can then be developed with
The techniques outlined below, utilise the knowledge of both the expert and the process
operator, in the development of process models for monitoring and fault diagnosis. They are
designed to minimise what has become known as the bottleneck of knowledge acquisition in
process analysis (feigenbaum, 1980), and to act as a go between to help both the expert and
operator to extend, refine and structure their knowledge in order to build a useful model.
2.
A Technique for Knowledge Elicitation
The analysis technique uses a combination of Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA), (Annett et aI,
1971), and decision tree logic to represent and model the knowledge of the expert, and process
operators. The main advantage of the task analysis is that it yields information on standard
procedures and checks, and also highlights the critical areas for subsequent development into
decision trees. Information is elicited initially from various source materials, such as
diagrams, process specifications, etc .. , and then from structured interviews and
questionnaires. It is verified and refined by the operator(s) and system expert after it has
been encoded into decision trees.

In Figure 1, one can see the process of knowledge elicitation, and the input, at each stage, of
the operator and the "expert". The outline process structure is verified by the plant expert,
and then is laid out in a hierarchy. This identifies the critical areas. From this point the
knowledge engineer works with the process operators in their particular domains, in order to
identify the main decision elements in fault resolution. The plant expert verifies the
decision trees and the final process model.
SOURCE
MPt.TERIAL
Figure 1
A knowledge acquisition flow diagram, showing the input of the "expert" and the
process operator.
It is often difficult to interpret the performance of an operator accurately, especially in the
228
GOMADEM 89 International
area of fault diagnosis. The operator will frequently respond to more than one variable at any
one time, as the cause of malfunction in a plant is likely to be a combination of process
variables. The response will be dependent on complex reactions to previous patterns,
~bservations and measurements.
Performance mi!#lt well appear to be erratic and inconsistent
and it is therefore difficult both to identify and then to prioritise the corrective actions
that have been undertaken.
Therefore, at all stages in the elicitation process, two important factors are considered, so
that faults and their corrective actions can be prioritised. These are, how likely each of the
possible causes of a fault are, so that each can be rated on a most to least likely basis, and,
the consequences on production costs of each remedy. l<tIen this model of causal possibility x
downtime costs, is consistently applied during elicitation sessions with operators, they are
subsequently able to develop outline decision trees which can then be verified by the plant
expert. Any conflicts or areas of doubt between operators are resolved by the plant expert, as
they arise.
The detailed development of the hierarchies and decision trees is given in Sanders et aI, 1988.
Essentially, the hierarchy provides a formal description of the problem area and outlines what
categories or hypotheses apply to each grouping. The decision trees are used to establish and
refine the initial classifications and to develop the additional detailed knowledge necessary
for effective diagnosis of the problem areas. From this re-iterative process a detailed model
of the process is developed. This can then be speedily implemented into knowledge bases, or
can be used for other forms of process analysis.
The process of knowledge elicitation outlined has the advantage that it reveals the logical
progression, both of procedural tasks and of process troubleshooting (to the people involved in
developing the information) and the progressive re-description of the tasks gives rise to a
greater understanding of the process by all those involved in the analysis. The fact that the
techniques represented in the activity diagram have always been readily accepted and understood
by process personnel, allowing them to be quickly adopted as a systematic route for knowledge
elicitation. For the techniques quickly highlight and characterise problem areas, particularly
where there is an interaction of system parameters and no clear path to fault solution is
presented, so that system operators are taken straight to the core of the problem.
3. Knowledge Elicitation Applied

In the area of injection moulding, the process of knowledge elicitation, was initially used to
develop knowledge bases for component fault analysis. This highlighted deficiencies in
currently monitored process parameters. Our current research is looking to integrate an
extended system of moulding machine monitoring with an expert advisory system and statistical
process control. The advisory system will enable process operators to interpret what is
happening if the process drifts from acceptable, set levels and allow them to take preventative
action before faulty components are produced. For each of the monitored points, (existing and
new), an analysis of the process interactions has been mapped out, using the decision tree
format, in order to develop a set of related knowledge bases. In injection moulding there is a
time lag for corrective action because an injection barrel holds from 4 to 6 "shots" of
plastic. The new monitoring points will allow for a faster response to process drift. The
system, when fully developed, will take in continuously monitored machine state data and, when
drift from optimum running is identified, will alert the process operator of impending
problems. The knowledge bases, which are currently being refined, will then advise the
operator of the necessary checks of other cycle to cycle feedback signals that can be made, in
order to maintain system stability. (Sanders et aI, 1989).
In this way, the on-line monitoring of the process can be used by the operator to take
229
preventative, off-line action to maintain product quality, before components deviate from their
acceptable level of quality. This should lead to much better cost efficiency and make
significant cost savings in scrap reduction.
The techniques of knowledge elicitation have also been applied to a pasteurisation plant in a
brewery. The brief in the pasteurisation plant was not the development of an expert system,
but to develop a process specification that could be used to implement a new form of computer
control and monitoring. The specifcation so developed was also to be used as an outline guide
to the process for people unfamiliar with it. The existing plant was known to be inefficient
and prone to failure. The plant engineer was the only person who understood the existing
specification in total, and consequently was constantly in demand for fault correction. No
detailed and complete written specification existed. The need therefore, was to identify the
main system elements and their interactions, in order to develop a causal model of system
failure.
Conventional techniques of analysis, involving state transition matrices, failed to identify
the main system elements and interactions, largely because the plant engineer was rarely
available to help in this process, and also because this form of analysis does not prioritise
levels of action. When the non-expert set out the key process elements already identified, in
the form of decision trees, the expert was then able to discuss the different alarm levels and
plant conditions, and to more easily identify critical areas. In this way, an initial analysis
was made of the overall pasteurisation process, using existing specifications and interviews
with the plant engineer and individual process operators. It was then possible to outline a
model of the process and to identify the key alarm states. Figure 2 shows the hierarchy of
possible fault states that can occur.
KEY
BBT
Figure 2
Bright Beer TanJc
SBT
Sterile Beer Tank
A Hierarchy showing the possible fault conditions in a beer pasteurisation plant.
There were five different types of alarm which could be grouped into either plant or procesa
failures. These were :
230
1
3
5
total plant failure

watchdog level
pre-start condition monitoring
2
4
process failure
tank level
Apart from runber 1, when the plant is automatically shut down, different levels of alarm
exist, depending on the process condition. These involve
*
*
automatic shut-down
non-automatic control action
automatic control action

operator attention required
The watchdog level is an indicator to the operator of a faulty condition which is not critical
at that stage of the process but which needs action if full alarm state is to be avoided.
The various process states have since been mapped, not only into decision trees, but also the
main sequence in the Bright Beer Tank (BBT) has been mapped as a Petri Net and State Diagrams
have been developed for the main process. The decision trees for fault analysis are in an
outline form at this stage, and show the sequence of events and the state of the plant at any
one tima - valves open/closed, etc.. All of the rules associated with each state heve been
identified. The process specification, which shows each of the different conditions that could
exist, depending on the level of alarm, will enable a software writer to readily identify each
stage of the process for a speedy implemantation of a new control system.
4.
Conclusion
The techniques outlined above have been used extensively for the development of training
material, for the development of knowledge based systems, both for fault diagnosis and process
monitoring, and for the development of process models for system analysis. They have been used
to analyse batch processes, specifically injection moulding, and also the continuous process of
pasteurisation in a brewing plant. In all of these they have been of considerable help in the
developmant of further analyses.
5.
References
ANNETT J, DUNCAN KD, STAMMERS RB, GRAY MJ.

Training Information Paper No.6, HMSO.
(1971).
Task Analysis.
Department of Employment
CHI MTH, GLASER R & REES E, (1982) Expertise in Problem Solving. In STERNBERG R, Ed.,
Advances in the Psychology of Human Intelligence, Vol 1. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence &
Erlbaum, pp 7-75.
CHIESI HL, SPILICH GJ & VOSS JF, (1979). Acquisition of Domain Related Information in Relation
to High and Low Domain Knowledge. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behaviour, 18, 257-273.
FEIGENBAUM EA. (1980) Knowledge Engineering : The Applied Side of Artificial Intelligence.
Stanford, California: Stanford Lhiversity, Heuristic Programming Project.
SANDERS BE, SANDERS SAC, SHARMA MR, CHERRINGTON JE. (1988) From Task Analysis to Knowledge
Based Systems in the Diagnostics and Control of the Injection Moulding Process. Procs. of 1st
lJ( Seminar on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Managemant, 376-380, Sept..
SANDERS BE, SANDERS SAC, CHERRINGTON JE. (1989) Knowledge Acquisition & Knowledge Based
Systems as an Aid to Product Quality Control, Procs 5th Mational Conference of Production
Research (to be printed).
Computerised Technical Documentation

Stuart Toole and Mike Winfield
Birmingham Polytechnic, UK
ABSTRACT
All
engineers
documentation.
and
engineering
technicians
have
to
use
technical
Unfortunately this documentation is often missing, not kept
up to date, or is in the wrong place for the job being undertaken.

This paper considers the benefits of computerised technical documentation.
In particular the MINDS system, which incorporates text retrieval, graphics
and artificial intelligence techniques, is evaluated.
232
OVERVIEW
Computerised Technical Documentation or CTD is a
New Technology equivalent
to such concepts as Desk Top Publishing or Word Processing as it takes

advances in text retrieval, Imaging and Expert systems and combines them
into a unique concept. The system described here used the MINDS text
retrieval package as the prime co-ordinating piece of software to link the
various concepts together as one unit.
La Mendola (1987) described computer systems as portraying the world view of
their creators. A good example of this is the spreadsheet programme that has
the "look and feel" of the accountant's paper spreadsheet, or Computer Aided
Design which portrays the drawing board on the screen. An effective CTD
system gives the user the "look and feel" of traditional Technical
Documentation with all the advantages offered by the new technology.
According to Bench-Capon & McEnery(1989) the emphasis is on creating a
system to meet the needs of the user rather than training the user to use
the
system
(Bench-Capon
&
McEnery
1989).
To
fulfill
this
aim
an
interdisciplinary team was used to develop the MINDS system: the team
consisting of
computer systems
designers,
computer
scientists
and
engineers (Norman 1986).

THE PROBLEM
The engineering environment is one in which computers and other new
technologies are becoming increasingly common. Computers are used in such
diverse areas as design, data collection, manufacturing, scheduling, stock
control, etc.
A problem area that has frequently concerned
maintenance and production
engineers has been the quality, accuracy and most of all the USABILITY of
technical documentation. We believe that much of the documentation currently
produced is often of questionable quality and usefulness.
Even good quality paper documentation can give rise to problems when it is
to be used on the shop floor. For example:
Application of Expert Systems in CO MAD EM
233
Manuals go missing resulting in time being
A library may have to be maintained or multiple copies distributed.
Documentation is often a considerable distance away from the place where
~asted
trying to locate them.
it is needed.
* Manuals can be spoiled by dirt, grease or pages torn out, arising
from
their use on site and resulting in delays to subsequent problem solving.
* Confusion over the latest or most relevant machine settings after several
inserts & corrections, particularly when there are multiple copies about
the plant.
* Manuals being out of date from the start, as they do not incorporate the
Machine History even of the installation problems.
* Updates not all being in the same place and if they are they are, this is
often not the manual. Information is often available in several places
such as engineers' diaries, hand written or scribbled notes in documents,
or on slips of paper etc.
* Offices are not designed as a library, resulting in them being cluttered

with
technical documents. Consequently the task of finding the correct
manual becomes a frustrating and time consuming task.
* Difficulty in deciding which manual is appropriate for the job concerned.

Fault diagnostic flow charts can be
incomprehensible to the fitter with the
tools; or assuming the fitter can follow the flowchart, he ends up with
insufficient information to be of real assistance in solving the problem.
* Fault diagnostic tables are often too simplistic to be of value to

anyone.
Having outlined some of the difficulties, is there an easy solution? Before
an answer is given, let us consider what requirements any proposed solution
should satisfy. The following list of criter;.:l, whilst not claimed to be a
definitive list, is meant to cover the major points:
234
System can be used by the fitter with the tools.
System conveys sufficient information to enable a fitter/engineer to

complete the job.
3 System can be updated and distributed about the site easily and cheaply.
4 Access to information should be more reliable than from paper
documentation.
5 System must access the required information quickly.
6 System should provide text and drawings for use on the job.
7 System should reduce storage space.
8 System should enable comments to be recorded for evaluation and
later incorporation.
10 System should incorporate a powerful fault diagnostics facility.
11 System should be secure.
13 System should require minimal training.
14 System should have the "look and feel" of traditional paper manuals so as
not to confuse the user (Schneiderman 1980).
15 System should be cheap and quick to distribute over multiple sites.
THE SOLUTION
A good computerised technical documentation system, like MINDS, will have
the capabilities to fulfill the criteria outlined above.
In particular,
MINDS incorporates the following technologies, text storage and retrieval,

graphics, and advice giving abilities. Each of these technologies will be
expanded upon below.
TEXT
The first requirement for any CTD system is for access to text. A
wordprocessor can do this adequately for small documents. However for a
large complex document it is a very unsatisfactory way of accessing
information;
in fact, it is much slower than using tradi tional paper
documentation.
There are a variety of keyword search text retrieval packages available to
date, but the best of them only being available on mainframes. These systems
were designed for use in libraries, primarily for use
by information
235
retrieval specialists etc. and have the disadvantage that they are complex
to use and require a trained operator. They cannot therefore be easily used
in an engineering environment by casual users or shop floor personnel.
The most effective method of access to text for this purpose is to use
an
interface which allows the user to use natural language (Diaper 1988). Very
few, if any, true natural language retrieval systems exist, other than those
which work in a very limited domain of language, which is unrealistic in
engineering. However it is possible to create a system which, to the casual
user, appears to work in a pure natural language mode. MINDS Is one such
sytem. It first of all selects the keywords from any English text entered
into the system, ignoring irrelevant or noise words, and from these keywords
locates all synonyms to find references with the same MEANING. Synonyms of
keywords contained in the text will also allow the system to find meaningful
keywords from words not contained in the text. Knowledge of the engineering
language is pre programmed into the system and can therefore be customised
to meet local requirements.
GRAPHICS
Graphics are a key requirement for any CTD system. Technologies such as CAD
and Desktop Publishing use graphics. However such graphical systems are not
suitable for this purpose, as the method of storage of the graphical data is
very inefficient and such files are typically 1 Megabyte or more in size. In
addition display times are slow, taking up to a minute to display on the
screen, whilst hard copy printing can take several minutes. Very limited
retrieval is available with such large files and is frequently
based upon a
database.
The New Technology of Image Retrieval offered some hope; scanning in whole
pages at a time, compressing the files and storing them on a variety of
media. However this technology is not a total solution for CTD, as access to
large numbers of pages using databases is problematic. As the text is in a
graphics format, it cannot be searched directly and it therefore requires
coding into a database of some form. The problem then is how do you
categorise each single page in a keyword or database system? To do i t
effectively, many keywords are needed, requiring expensive coding and then
236
the data is lost in its original form.
There is no way of directly
accessing the original text if a mistake in coding or updated requirements

are needed. Reading the text as a graphics image can also be more of a
strain on the eye.
MINDS offers a fast 2 seconds display time for a complex graphical image.
This is achieved by compressing each file by approximately 15k,and having a
simple to use display for the graphics images
by coding them to specific
places in the text, thus giving all the advantages of Image Retrieval fully
integrated with the Natural Language text retrieval System. The images can
be found from a free text description, or by using a drawing number etc.
ADVICE SYSTEMS
Feigenbaum (1989) recently commented that expert systems can augment human
reasoning skills by one or two orders of magnitude. Such increases in
productivity can also be obtained by incorporating knowledge based systems
technology(expert systems) into CTD. MINDS has done this by interfacing with
a simple to use but powerful knowledge based tool which has been created to
ensure rapid development of expert advisory systems. The result is a system
with improved functionality over a paper document, but which is able to be
accessed more quickly and reliably. Diagnostics can thus be transformed by
using this powerful Automated Fault Diagnostics feature of MINDS. The
advantages include:
* Complex tasks can now be accomplished by a fitter who is not experienced

in this task, since they have expert advice available with added
explanation as to the nature of the problem.
* Ease of use of the system means even the naive are not left bewildered.
Incorporation of "Yes but" ... Or "if this" ..
concepts into the system,
making it more powerful.
* Gives clearer directions as to how to resolve the problem

* Use of a dialogue to interrogate the user, rather than flow charts only
understood by those trained in systems.
237
REFERENCES
T.J.M Bench-Capon and A.M. McEnery (1989) 'People interact through computers
not with them' Interacting with Computers 1 1 31-33
D.
Diaper
(1988)
'Natural Language communication with computers ... '
in
Duffin Ed KBS in Government'88 Blenheim Online Pinner UK 19-44

W.
La Mendola (1987)
'State of the Art'
in Geiss Ed.
'The Human Edge'
Haworth Press Inc. New York

D.A Norman (1986) Ed.
'User Centred System Design'Laurence Earlbaum Ass.
Hillsdale New Jersey USA

B. Schneiderman(1980)
'Software Psychology' Winthrop Publishers Inc.
Cambridge Ma USA 199-200

Feigenbaum, E.(1989) Ed Feigenbaum:expert systems expert.
The Computer Bulletin, June 1989. P22-23.
A Diagnostic Expert System Which Generates Explanations
So heir Ghallab and Janet Efstathiou *

Department of Electrical Engineering, Queen Mary College, London University and
'Oxford Trust, Step Centre, Onsey Mead, UK
Abstract
Fault diagnosis is one of the largest application domains in expert systems. But most of
diagnostic systems concentrated on constructing systems for simulation and diagnosis, and neglected
the user's (operator) need for explanations for the reasoning. The objective of this work is to build an
expert system for fault diagnosis of a process control system, which is able to cope with both single
and multiple
faults, and generates explanations describing the reasoning underlying a particular
diagnosis. The explanation does not merely consist of just a trace of rules which have been activated.
Instead the explainer responds to the user's interrogation of the diagnosis system' s decisions for
choosing a particular fault. The user can also propose his own hypotheses which are then evaluated by
the system, then the explainer will generate explanations for the possibility of these alternative
solution(s).
Diagnosis is one of the largest application domains in expert systems. But most of
diagnostic expert systems have concentrated on constructing systems for simulation and
diagnosis, and have neglected the user's need for explanation and an improved man-machine
interface.
Explanation is needed because:-it can enable interactive use, so the user can retain control and take his own decisions.
-it can be used for debugging a knowledge based for a knowledge engineer.
-it can be used for training and teaching (both the system and the user). Different
levels of explanations are needed for user with different experience.
-it can be used for justification of the system
to convince the user that the IKBS
(intelligent Knowledge Based System) gives good advice.

A project is underway to construct an IKBS for fault diagnosis in process control system
able, to cope with both single and multiple faults, and generates explanation describing the

reasoning underlying a particular diagnosis.
239
We identify 3 styles of interaction with a fault
diagnosis expert system:

1- Trouble-shooter: creates hypotheses about what the likely fault is and then reasons
forwards in time to see how their manifestation would match observation.
2- Criliguer takes a user supplied diagnosis and uses it to reason forwards and compare
with the IKBS-generated explanation.
3- pesign-aid The designer can assemble components to design a prototype plant, then
postulate a fault and simulate how the fault would be manifested.
The system uses the same knowledge bases for the trouble-shooter, critiquer and the design
aid, (and not a different knowledge base for each of them). This ensures that the minimum
amount of knowledge is represented and used flexibly, to the maximum effect. The knowledge
based used here can be hanged easily and independentlyof the diagnoser (i-e the model of the
plant can be changed without changing the program itself). This forms the basis of the
explanation generator, which does not merely consist of a trace of rules which have been
activated.
The diagnosis system uses qualitative modelling and deep knowledge in which a
structural and behavioural model based on the physics of a system is formulated, instead of
using the classical shallow knowledge paradigm (using rules for example). So the knowledge
given here is knowledge about the input to a device and an understanding of how it is supposed to
work, then expectation about its actual behaviour can be generated. Then a comparison between
these two, specially the difference between them, provides the foundation of the troubleshooter(Davis 1984, Davis et al 1982).
The system is being developed using the interactive environment of Interlisp-D and
LOOPS so that the main knowledge representations are frames and rules. A simulation of a
gravity fed water rig is used to test the knowledge based system. The plant consists of tanks,
controlled by valves and interconnected through pipes. There are also pumps to ensure
circulation of flow to the top tank(s). There are sensors to measure the tanks' levels. When
there is no fault, the plant model is stable, i.e. the tanks' levels are constant.
A prototype diagnoser for double faults has been implemented based on Koukoulis' single
fault algorithm. In Koukoulis' algorithm (Koukoulis 1986), when faults occur the tanks' levels
start to deviate from their stable levels. In response, the system generates an imaginary world
for each of the possible faults, and compares each of these worlds with the real world looking
for the best match. A hypotheses list
is created which contains a list of possible faults and the
240
degree of the match. The system updates the matching of the imaginary worlds and the real
world in time, as the faults develops. The final diagnosis is the Imaginary fault world with the
highest degree of match with the real world.
My double faults algorithm takes the top two faults from the hypotheses list, and pair
them with the other faults with the complete list:
Fault1 .............. (Fault2,
Fault3,
Fault4,
FaultS)
FaUIt2 ............... (~1,
Fault3,
Fault4,
FaultS)
We find that, even in double faults, one of the two faults always appears in the top or
second place of the hypotheses list. And both faults always appear in the top S. So we can reduce
the number of pairs to be tested to 7. Then we compare them with the real world as in case of
single fault.
Crjtjcisms of this techniQue
1-Masquerading faults, where two faults or multiple faults give rise to very similar
identical symptoms (e.g. Faults A and B appear like faults C and D. So Faults C and Dean
come to the top of the hypotheses list, so all pairs will have C and D in them. ) in this
case the true pair will never be generated.
2- Not well-suited to the requirements of real world and real time applications.
But, is there some properties of faults that they can not masquerade, even when there is
a plenty of cross-interconnection to make the problem complex? In order to explain these
results, we are attempting to develop a mathematical description, using sonie techniques of
matrix manipulation to model complexities and interconnections of the plant.
While we are analysing the occurrence of masquerading faults, we found that there are
several situations in which masquerading faults may occur, such as under closed lOOps,
redundant paths and in some straight connections. If a connectivity matrix for the tanks only is
written, then it is possible to detect the possible existence of masquerading faults by analysing
the matrix. Algorithms are being developed to do this. So far, some redundant path
masquerading faults may be detected, by searching for patterns involving near-diagonal upper
right triangles. Further work is still needed, as these are preliminary finding only.
241
A mathematical approach will have the following benefits

1-Generalisability of results. Many applications are very knowledge and domain
dependent, so their results may be difficult to apply elsewhere.
2-The alternative to mathematical technique is to use highly specific domain knowledge
in order to reduce the number of pairs to be tested. Inferences tasks of this kind can
become time-consuming and again reduce generalisablity of the results. It creates a
trade-off between number of pairs to be tested and inferences before hypotheses list is
generated.
3-Very heuristic techniques might reduce the number of tests that need to be carried
out, but can not guarantee to find the true pair of faults.
The critiquer has an important role in explanation. After the fault has been diagnosed by
the trouble-shooter, a user may suggest an alternative fault, then the critiquer compares the
real data, the IKBS generated diagnosis, and the user's diagnosis. Then it generates an
explanation of the differences between user's diagnosis and IKBS generated diagnosis, and
creates the possible worlds for them. These worlds will propagate forward in time until
deviation from real data is observed. Then by referring to the library of components, the
system can generate explanation. The library of components is part of the knowledge based and
may be used by all three interfaces.
In conclusion that could be drawn is purely knowledge based techniques are likely to be
inefficient and cannot guarantee success. As we have already explained the importanceof the
user interface and explanation, a non quantitative mathematical description, which describes
structure cause and effect would feasibly be used to guarantee textual or pictorial explanations.
References;
1-Davis 8. [1984);"Diagnostic Reasoning Based on Structure and Behaviour",
Artificial Intelligence, vol 24.
2-Davis 8., Shorb H., Hamscher W. [1982) ;"Diagnosis Based on Description of
Structure and Function", In proceedings of AAAI-82, August 16-20 1982.
3-Koukoulis C.G. [1986); "The Application of Knowledge Based Techniques to
Industrial Maintenance Problems", PhD Thesis, Department of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering, Queen Mary College, University of London.
The Application of Expert Systems and Computer Simulation

Technologies to Process Monitoring and Control
K Maughan and W Walker
School of Computer Studies and Mathematics, Sunderland Polytechnic, UK
Abstract
This paper discusses some of the problems associated with the implementation
of expert process control systems within complex control environments.
Problems associated with knowledge base design are considered and the
integration of expert systems and computer simulation techniques is proposed
as a solution to some of these problems.
1.
Introduction
In recent years there has been considerable interest in the application of

advanced computing technologies to automated process monitoring and control
problems. Advances in remote sensor and communication network technologies
have made real time data acquisition systems feasible and programmable logic
controllers (PLCs) have been used in some areas in order to implement automated
process control logistics [1]. However, the range of problems which existing
process control technologies can address is often seriously limited by the
software techniques used to implement the process control logistics. Many
existing systems use algorithmic techniques which have been derived from
control theory. However, these algorithmic techniques are not suitable for
dealing with complex problems in which inter- dependencies exist between a
number of different sub-processes or situations in which the implementation of
process control logistics relies heavily upon knowledge specific to the process
under consideration [2]. Expert systems techniques provide the potential for
implementing process control systems which exploit specific process control
knowledge [3]. However, practical applications of expert systems techniques
243
often encounter problems associated with the implementation and validation of

the knowledge base.
2.
Knowledge bases for expert process control systems
In order to apply expert systems techniques to process control problems it is

necessary to consider the different knowledge classes which can be associated
with the process control function. Very briefly we can divide these knowledge
classes into the following categories :(a) Status knowledge: a knowledge representation schema of the current status
of the process.
(b) Process control Knowledge: a set of heuristics and production rules for
changing the current status of a process towards some specified goal state.
(c) Problem recognition knowledge: a set of heuristics and production rules
which allow problem situations to be recognised and solution strategies to
be suggested.
(d) Predictive knowledge: a set of heuristics and production rules for
predicting the future state of the process given its current state and any
planned changes in the system control parameters.
Within process control applications the ability of the expert system to
generate predictive knowledge is of particular importance since it is necessary
to ensure that the application of specific process control rules will not
adversely affect the status of the process being controlled. However, process
controls systems often have complex hierarchical structures and it is usually
necessary to resolve large control systems into a number of smaller more
manageable sub-systems. This presents some problems when implementing expert
process cont ro 1 systems since it is necessary to take into account the
interactions between individual sub-systems when applying process control
Within small expert process control systems these
heuristics and rules.
interactions can be encoded in the control and predictive production rules and
heuristics described above. However as the system complexity increases this
244
approach becomes unfeasible because the number of production rules required to

model potential system configurations becomes very large and their interactions
highly complex. Under these conditions it is difficult for the expert system
to propagate throughout the system the effects of applying specific rules and
hence to validate the global effects of applying localised control rules and
heuristics.
From the above discussions it is clear that if expert systems are to be
exploited within the process control domain then it is necessary to simplify
the structure of the expert system knowledge base. One potential means of
achieving this simpl ification is via the integration of expert systems and
computer simulation technologies.
3.
Integration of expert systems and simulation modelling technjaues
It is possible to divide the rules and facts stored within a process control
knowledge base into two categories: those related to the modelling of the
system and those related to the analysis and control of the behaviour of the
system.
In order to simplify the structure of the knowledge base it is
suggested that the system modelling components of the system should be removed
from the expert system knowledge base and implemented using more appropriate
conventional simulation modelling techniques. Figure 1 shows a proposed expert
process control system in which expert systems and computer simulation
techniques are used. Prior to implementing the expert process control system
a computer simulation model of the process under consideration is implemented.
This simulation model is designed in a modular fashion so that individual
sub-systems can be modelled independently. However, each model component has
control links built into it which enable related modules to be activated during
run-time. These related modules are automatically activated in the event of
an event in the current model module generating a system change which would
effect the status of the related model component. Modules activate other
modules by placing activation events into a global event list which is
continually being processed by the Modular Simulation Controller (MSC).
An expert system is used to monitor the current status of the process using
input data from remote PLCs. The expert system applies problem recognition
Figure 1. PROCESS CONTROL USING EXPERT

SYSTEMS AND SIMULATION
ES
SIMULATION
MODULES
PLCs
KEY
PLCs
Programmable logic controllers.
ES
Expert Process Control System
MSC
Modular Simulation Controller
245
246
heuristics in order to ensure that the behaviour of the process remains within
its predefined limits. In the event of a process control function being
required the expert system uses its process control heurist.ics in order to
decide what action to take. However, prior to taking this action the expert
system identifies those aspects of the process system which are likely to be
affected by these actions. The expert system then instructs the simulation
modelling system to activate the related system modelling modules during the
simulation process. The expert system then uses the simulation modelling
process in order to validate its decisions by generating predictive knowledge
relating to the effects which the prescribed actions will have on the process
being controlled.
This action- selection-modelling process can then be
repeated if the prescribed actions were not adequate to effect the necessary
changes to the process state.
4.
Conclusions
This paper has discussed the advantages to be obtained from using simulation
modelling tools in conjunction with expert process control systems. The
i ntegrat ion of expert systems and simulation mode 11 ing technologies should
greatly simplify the implementation of expert process control systems. Control
heuristics applicable to specific sub-problems can be built into the system
using simple production rules without the need to explicitly define rules for
generating the associated predictive knowledge. The proposed system could also
be used for the des i gn and ana 1ys i s of process cont ro 1 log i c since the
simulation modelling component of the system can be used to investigate system
behaviour under various control heuristics.
References
[1] Reeve, A., 'Power Boost for Programmable
Instrumentation, Jan. 1989, pp. 33-35.
[2] Astrom, J. K., 'Towards Intel1 igent
Magazine, vol. 9, No.3, pp. 60-64.
[3]
Controllers', Control and
Control', IEEE Control
Systems
Expert Systems in Engineering Production, One Day Symposium, University

of Newcastle Upon Tyne, March 1988.
Computer-assisted Analysis of Evoked Transients

AS Sehmi*, N B Jones*. and N L Robinson**
'Department of Engineering, The University, Leicester, LE17RH and
"Medelec Ltd, Manor Way, Old Woking, Surrey, GU22 91U, UK
Abstract
A new method is proposed for extracting morphological information from
evoked transients under conditions of poor signal to noise ratio. A non-linear
signal estimation procedure for analysing evoked transients is described. The method of
analysis produces enhanced estimates of the evoked transient average and provides information
on the variahility associated with the apparently time-locked activity in the members of the
ensemble of evoked transients. As an example we use evoked transients measured on the surface
of the human cortex in response to sensory stimulation.

Keywords: Evoked Transient Analysis. Intelligent Averaging. Adaptive Event Extraction.
1 Introduction
The simplest and perhaps most effective method for estimating an evoked transient signal
under conditions of low signal to noise ratio (SNR) is to perform coherent averaging. As the SNR
is improved through averaging, non-deterministic random fluctuations in the data due to noise will
be attenuated and any correlated activity will be enhanced. Autoregressive digital filtering of the
data is fast and effective when the spectra of the expected evoked transient and the noise do not
overlap and when the spectra of the signal and noise are known a priori. When there are temporal
changes in both noise and signal characteristics. a posteriori Wiener filters can be used.
In many cases though. evoked transient data does not fully satisfy the requirements implicated
above for determinism. non-stationarity. and non-overlapping signal and noise spectra. This can
cause conventional averaging and filtering to produce sub-optimal estimators for the transient
signals. Nearly all of the evoked transients that can be measured from the surface of the human
cortex in response to sensory stimulation (i.e. evoked potentials. BPs) serve as good examples of
this class of signal. A number of features of this class of signal need to be addressed in the design
of reliable estimators:
(a) The signal to noise ratio can be very low
-20dB).
(b) There can be substantial overlap between the frequency contents of both the noise
(such as spontaneous brain and artifactual muscle activity) and the signal.
(c) It can often be difficult to accurately predict the precise spectral characteristics of the
signal since they can change substantially with time. In the case of BPs this can be due to
the onset and progression of disease in the intra-cranial structures.
248
(d) The signal itself cannot be treated as entirely detenninistic since temporal cbanges
may occur from trail-ta-trial in the ensemble of acquired data. In the case of EP data,
these trial-lo-trial changes may also carry important clinical infonnation.
Coherent averaging bas been the main technique used to cope with the problems arising from
points a, b, and c above.
It has bowever precluded the possibility of investigating (possibly
important) information arising from slight DOn-deterministic trial-ta-trial variations. In this paper
we discuss a new approach to signal estimation called event analysis (described in detail in Sebmi,
1988b), whicb has helped to overcome some of the difficulties outlined above. When applied to
evoked potentials, event analysis has proved to be more effective than conventional averaging and
digital filtering.
2 Event Analysis
Evoked transient data is described by an additive noise model where the measured single trial
or single response x is the sum of a non-stationary signal s plus random noise n. In general the
important features in the single response x will be the positive and negative turning points (events)
that summate during averaging to produce the visually identifiable features.
1berefore, the
analysis attempts to interpret the single responses in terms of an additive combination of a signal
event sequence {B.} and a noise event sequence {En}. The measured event sequence {Ex} is
therefore given by:
{Ex} = {B.} + {En}
Events are said to occur at the most positive and most negative turning points in complexes of
peaks found in the signal. A complex consists of a pair of positive turning points interleaved with a
pair of negative turning points, such that all the amplitude differences between the adjacent
turning points in this complex are greater than a dynamically calculated peak discrimination factor
(Jones and Lago, 1982; Sebmi, 1988a,b).
2.1 Adaptive Selection of Peak Discrimination Factor
A peak discrimination factor (PDF) is calculated for each trial in the ensemble of evoked
transients. The PDF therefore adapts on a trial-to-trial basis. The additive noise model suggests
that activity of higher amplitude exists at points where signal and DOise occur together than where
noise occurs alone.
To calculate the PDF, amplitude differences between all adjacent positive and negative
turning points are found and used to construct a discrete frequency distribution. The proportional
contribution in the discrete histogram bins due to noise-related deflections in the signal will be
high because of the low SNR of the individual transients. Hence, the modal class value can be
used as a measure of the characteristic noise-related amplitude deflections.
249
1be reduction of the individual transients to an event sequence {Ex) is then perfonned with a
PDF value set to the upper limit of the modal bin. This procedure may reject some events which
are related to the true signal and include other erroneous events.
However, it does allow for
adaptation to changing noise levels and protects the later stages in event analysis from being biased
towards the highest amplitude events (e.g. due to artifacts) as in conventional averaging.
2.2 Latency Determination of Non-Stationary Features
The event sequence at this stage consists of both true signal-related events {Es} and some
noise-related events {En) both of which have been extracted from a series of independent trials.
The events are labelled with either ' I' depending on whether they resulted from positive or
negative turning points respectively. The temporal consistency of these events is also preserved.
The {Es) events will be confined to discrete time intervals and the {En} events will be randomly
distributed over the entire period of the evoked transient record. Therefore, polarized histograms
(bins) representing the latency of events (i.e. time of occurence w.r.t. the start of the transient) can
he obtained by synchronous summation of the bipolar event labels across all of the independent
trials. The sum of the {En) labels tends towards zero beacause these events are random and
uncorrelated between trials and also because a bipolar labelling scheme is employed which
actually causes the cancellation. This latter summation procedure is seen as a low pass averaging
filter of events which is computationally very efficient.
Modelling of this synchronous summation process has been perfonned to detennine its
effectiveness in the cancellation of noise-events (Sehmi, 1988b). Results from this simulation show
that there is a small error in cancellation when the noise is wide band and stationary and the
number of trials is low. However, the error can be reduced by digital filtering and/or creating
small sub-averages from the ensemble of single response trials prior to event analysis. A schematic
diagram summarizing the description of event analysis given so far is shown in Fig.[ I].
1be positive half of the discrete latency histogram is smoothed and its peaks correspond to the
consistent positive events found in the ensemble of single response trials. The minima locations of
the smoothed histogram provide virtual segmentation of the corresponding ensemble of single
responses into feature and feature-less intervals.
Fig.[2] shows an example of this virtual
segmentation on a conventionally averaged EP which has been recorded after auditory stimulation
(called a brainstem auditory EP, or BAEP). Overlaying the conventionally averaged BAEP in the
upper window of Fig.[2], is a map of the times of occurence of the events extracted from each trial
in the ensemble of BAEP evoked transients. Each trial in the map is represented by a horizontal
line of events, and each event is denoted by a single pixel dot.
1be unbiassed mean latency and unbiassed latency interval of each virtual segment is
detennined by a convergent iterative procedure which uses the virtual segment end-points as initial
estimates for the latency interval limits. This procedure rejects those outlier events lying within the
initial virtual segment boundaries.
The events that remain are called trajectory events because
250
they describe the temporal dispersion of events from one trial to the next within the converged
latency interval.
Only these trajectory events are used in subsequent event analysis which
computes enhanced estimators of the evoked transient.

2.3 InteUigent Averaging
Oearly the analysis procedure continuously attempts to reject contaminating outlier data in
preference to increasing the size of the data set until the weighting of outlier data is reduced. This
has resulted in the ability to analyse signals using substantially smaller numbers of trials (64-128
trials for BAEPs at 60 dB auditory stimulus intensity), whilst retaining estimates of the underlying
signal characteristics.
Event analysis produces symbolically encoded information for a knowledge based expen
system (Epaxis) which performs an holistic interpretation of the raw evoked transient data (Sehmi
and Jones, 1989; Sehmi, 1988b).
Epaxis uses a structured declarative model and a fuzzy
procedural model to describe the normal morphology of a typical evoked transient and both
models are executed by a generic fuzzy logic (Zadeh, 1965) inference engine.
Epaxis automatically determines a characteristic set of trajectories T that correspond to the
main features in the BAEP. Using the latencies of events contained in each trajectory of the set T,
it is possible to produce latency variability statistics for the main BAEP features (error::S;
sampling points i.e.
80lls at 25kHz sampling rate and SNR
-10dB) and it is also possible to
derive enhanced signal waveforms using latency-corrected averaging (McGillem et. aI., 1985).
Additionally, trajectory events provide a means to intelligently extract and enhance specific
features and/or combinations of features in the BAEP. This can be done by manuaUy mapping the
set of trajectories T onto those features of interest.
After this, only those trials containing
trajectory events or combinations of trajectory events are extracted from the ensemble for
re-averaging.
3 Results and Discussion

The upper window in Fig.[3] shows those trajectories that have arisen first out of the
segmentation of features and then in turn from the extraction of trajectory events from the
ensemble of evoked transients that make up the BAEP shown in Fig. [2].
Fig.[4] shows the
enhanced averages produced from the mapping of the set of trajectories T (marked
* in Fig.[3])
onto the standard features of interest in the BAEP. The original ensemble contained 64 trials and
the intelligent averaging has enhanced some of the features by simply re-averaging a smaller
number of carefully selected trials which do not contain any contaminating artifacts.
shows a BAEP generated by averging only 13 trials in the original set of 64.
definition of features compared to the conventional average.
Trace 10
It has superior
Without having to go into the
electrophysiology of BAEP generation, it is evident from these traces that imponant relationships
251
between certain features and not between others have been highlighted. Also, by using a different
set of trajectories T, it is possible to examine hypothetical relationships between features and also
to enhance specific features that may have been barely visible in the conventional average.
The expert system Epaxis, coupled with event analysis described in this paper both help to
overcome the difficulties associated with estimating evoked transients. Examples of event analysis
have shown how an ensemble of evoked transients can be intelligently dissected at the single
response level to produce enhanced averages.
Perhaps more significantly, especially with
electrophysiological data, is that measures of the variability of features in the evoked transients can
be calculated using the latency of events contained in the corresponding trajectories.
4 References
Jones N.B. and Lago PJ.A., (1982), Spectral analysis and the interference emg, lEE
Proc., VOL 129, Pt A No.9.
McGillem, C.D., Aunon, J.I., Pomalaza, C.A., (1985), Improved waveform estimation
procedures for event related potentials, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., BME-32, No.6,
371-379.
Sehmi A.S., (1988a), Epaxis: An expert system for automatic component labelling in
evoked potentials, Turing Institute research memoranda, TIRM-88-32, Turing Institute
Press.
Sehmi A.S., (1988b), New Environments for Neurophysiological Investigations, Ph.D.
thesis, Department of Engineering, Leicester University. Leicester, U.K. .
Sehmi, A.S and Jones, N.B., (1989), Intelligent interpretation of evoked potentials.
Proceedings of IFAC-BME89 workshop in Decision support for patient management:
measurement, modelling and control, City University, London. September 1989' (to be
published).
Zadeh L.A., (1965), Fuzzy Sets. Information and Control, Vol 8, pp 338-353.
252
(oala.
t.dn J "
l,--::-:C'_""--,
>'''--,
''' L ..........
...lL--_
"' '_''''''--,1
" I\..... ti<;,,'"
I Mess
[ e)
b,,. x\ Tur-naA9
rt{" ~
t1
p,.
1a1 l.". "-')(/"1" toe I
kula".
U.,."Uon.
)f t rK l :rtd la:.. 1 1'tIi)!/tUn
,.s
~ 1.s\1)i'"'"
v.nts'
pt\f" ::
V.,. iabl _ (AdIlP ll .... '
'CcUI1O I. t .
. lled
r. . ....", u
nund4lth
Chul. r .., H'lti"ln 0.1 n.
Store H
ttoJ.
ptf"
V. t v. ::
V. llA of HUlo.;r ....
Fig.P] Summary of processes in the event analysis procedure.
Event Bins
Flg.[2] An example of the virtual segmentation of the conventional average using

the minima locations of the event bin histogram.
253
Grand Av
Event Bin&
Fig.(3) Trajectories computed from the events contained in the virtual segments. The
trajectories are labeled with a and numbered 1-5 from L-R.
. ..
1 : 11111
n,
2:11112
1r1
3 : 883
In..
:~r::- 23 Trials
43Trialc
47Trlals
4 : 884
37Trlal.
5 : 11115
35Trlal:!l
.. :
I~\ :
:
irtJ
6 :1113
~ 21Trlals
~ .
."'1.../ :'
7 : 1115
15 Tria,.
r\. :
: Y:
11:1135
25Trl.,l ..
:V :
9:824
24 Trial ..
18:135
,'";''/'-''' 13Trlals
Fig.(4) Enhanced averages produced by the intelligent seleotion of trials in the

ensemble of BAEP single responses. The vertical lines through the traces
correspond to the mean latencies of the trajectories selected in Fig.(3J.
Development of Computer-aided Data Acquisition, Control and

Analysis System (CADACAS) for Remote Condition Monitoring
CO Nwagboso, T L Whomesand P B Davies

Department of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Salford, Salford M5 4Wf, UK
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the design, development and implementation of a
multitasking computer aided data acquisition, control and analysis
system(CADACAS) for remote condition and performance monitoring of
reciprocating seal of an aircraft landing jack.
The condition monitoring is effected by a remote inspection technique
which
employs
a
computer
controlled
miniaturised
charge
couple
device(CCD) camera and fiber optic aided inspection unit. This provides
an in situ performance and behavioural observation of the seal. The load
condi tions and motion of the seal are monitored by specially designed
loadcell and displacement transducers.
The CADACAS provides all the required fast dllta acquisition and analysis
necessary for result interpretation.
It is interconnected to a Packet
Assembler Disassembler/CPSE network for communication with the mainframe
and other shared peripherals. The network allows the data acquired to be
used for advanced analysis and graphics.
The same system is used for
nonlinear finite element computer modelling of the reciprocating seal.
1 INTRODUCTION
In recent years there has been a constant increase in the performance and
pressure requirement of aircraft hydraulic systems. This has resulted in
the need to monitor the health and behaviour of most of the system's
components.
The particular area of interest described here is the
in-service sealing of the reciprocating aircraft jacks, Whomes T.L.
et
al(1985,1987), where direct inspection is obviously impossible and remote
sensing and condition monitoring are, therefore, inevitable.
There are many functional parameters which can affect the seal's
performance, eg pressure variation, speed, force variation, etc.
Since
it is required to measure all the necessary functional parameters and
simultaneously produce a visual record of the seal motion, a CADACAS for
remote condition monitoring is necessary.
255
This paper presents the development of the CADACAS for remote condition
monitoring tasks.
It discusses the hardware configuration and some
element of the computer software.
2 CADACAS SYSTEM
The main activities required for the monitoring system are remote visual
inspection, operational status monitoring, system control and data
analysis.
The following requirements are necessary to satisfy these
activities.
The remote inspection subsystem will be computer controlled
A computer will be used to implement data acquisition,
documentation, analysis, storage and display
Because of the number of strain gauges, displacement
transducer and other sensors, a multichannel multiplexed
system will be used
The multichannel system should be expandable for future demand
Programmable amplifiers for all channel should be provided
D/A converter "should be provided for equipment control
Because of the current speed and possible future increase in
speed of the equipment to be monitored, a high sample rate will be
required
Disc storage facilities should be provided
Printer for hard copy of data and results will be required
A compatible interface to a network should be provided to access
other peripherals and a computer main frame
Wi~h all these in mind, several computer aided systems were considered.
By applying a preferential weighted evaluation technique, Nwagboso C.O et
al (1989), a suitable combination of modular systems were selected.
J SYSTEM HARDWARE
Tiill
Figure 1: CADACAS System Architecture

The main system architecture is shown in figure 1.
The central unit of
the system is an IBM compatible personal computer. The computer acts as
the principal controller, directing the sequence of all operation within
the CADACAS sys tem.
It has 64 Ok memory, dual floppy disc drive and
MS.DOS operating system. The operating system allows other devices to be
controlled and managed through a BIOS(Basic Input/Output System).
The
BIOS consists of a number of device drivers, with each controlling and
256
managing one hardware device.

The drivers available include that for
screen, printer, disc drive, communication interface adapter, key board
etc.
The computer provides the means through which the application software is
developed.
It addresses the data acquisition and control devices,
sending the appropriate communication commands to them and also to the
network .
It instructs anyone device to be a listener, talker or
inactive. The graphic VDU allows experimental and finite element results
to be viewed.
3.1 IEEE /.88 Communication Bus
,uc
U:I
IUJIJ.IO,.JUJIT L I'III ....
,lou .,I,,, . 11.'"
:: ~~:~~!'~.... - ,
oo:l'IoI.r ...... ,u,.
_ r~_L.
, ~ ..... .... 11 ..
, l . . . tIy , "' . ~ .
. ". _~
.~c..'I''
_~~I.
IlClll'l' uu I..I _U
,.11
;t.,.
l ie
Figure 2: Typical IEEE /.88 Interface Bus

The computer is connected to the data acquisition and control modules
through the IEEE 488 bus.
This is shown in figure 2, it is commonly
referred to as General Purpose or Hewlett Packard Interface Bus(GPIB or
HPIB).
It contains 16 lines which allows up to 15 separate devices to be
interconnected in parallel to the bus. The modules(devices) connected to
the bus are accessed through an individual address code that is
incorporated into the application program. The modules with the device
controller can act as listener(able to receive data from other devices)
or as a talker(able to send data to other devices).
3.2 Analogue to Digital Module
For the analogue signal from the sensors and transducers to be translated
into the appropriate encoded digital format, a 12 bit analogue to
digital(AI2D) converter module is used.
The A12D quantizes the signal
from the sixteen input channels on a single channel bases, providing , a
resolution of one part in 4096(2 12 ).
This is approximately 0.025% of
full scale(O - 10.24v).
257
3.3 Programmable Gain Amplifier
The loadcell used for force and moment sensing consists of multiple
strain gauge sensor which provides a low level signal in response to the
prevailing force and moment.
For the A/D converter to perform at its
best, the low level signal will need to be amplified.
Ideally, this will
be best obtained through a programmable gain amplifier(PGA), with several
gain choices.
Against this background, a PGA16 which can accept 16 differential
analogue input is used.
Through the application software, gain in the
range of 1, la, 100, 1000 with offset in the form of unipolar positive or
negative and bipolar, can be applied to the selected input. Differential
analogue input is used in order to amplify the voltage signal between the
+ve and -ve input, while rejecting any voltage common to both terminals.
This improves the signal to noise ratio for the sensor bridge circuit
used. The PGA16 has been configured to work in conjunction with the high
speed clock module in order to provide high speed data acquisition
3.4 High Speed Clock(HSC)
The HSC controls the timing of the high speed data acquisition by
sequential or burst mode.
The burst mode allows a high sampling
frequency of 50kHz.
However, this level of frequency is limited by the
maximum sampling frequency(25 kHz) and conversion time (25 ~sec) of the
A/D converter module.
The frequency can be programmed automatically.
This is requested through the application software as an interchannel
sampling interval of 1, la, 100(~s), 1, la, 100 or 1000(ms).
The HSC can generate an output pulse signal of TTL, +5v CMOS compatible,
which can last approximately 25ms. This facility is provided through a
"trigger out" socket which can be used for operational synchronisation.
The HSC can also be used to receive a service request of 10 ~sec duration
through the "trigger in" socket. The trigger in and out facilities have
been reserved for further development work.
3.5. COMPUTER CONTROL SYSTEM'S
I~WARE
There are two main motions that are controllable by the computer.
are a) jack reciprocation motion b) camera orbital scanner motion
These
The steady state reciprocation of the jack is provided by a drive line of

DC motor, electromagnetic clutch, ball screw and some no-slip timing
belts. Under a computer control, the DC motor is provided with variable
current through an optic coupler specifically designed for the test rig.
The optic coupler which is integrated into the motor controller, accepts
analogue signal from the D/A module. The feed back control of the motor
is obtainable with the use of A/D module via other feed back units.
The CCD camera/optics orbital scanner is driven by a stepper motor.
The
stepper motor is activated by a software driven controller.
The
controller is an integrated electronic circuit which is essentially a
microprocessor based module. The controller can provide a stepping rate
of 3300 steps per second, with ramp up, Slew, ramp down and directional
capabili ty.
Wi th the appropriate computer command, various complicated
motion for the scanner can be specified, thus enabling the scan to be
carried out at varying time and angles around the inner circumference of
the reciprocating seal. The computer commands can be stored in a buffer,
258
allowing other facilities in the CADACAS system to be carried out while

This provision adds to the multitasking
scanning is in progress.
capability of the CADACAS.
" CADACAS WITTIIN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK
u:"4"
Figure 3: CADACAS Communication Network

As shown in figure 3, the CADACAS is interconnected to the PRIME
mainframe network through a Packet Assembler Disassembler(PAD) and the
campus packet switch exchange(CPSE).
With the use of a network
communication
software,
Slink-PC
(1987),
nonlinear finite
element
routines
can be used to model and analyse the seal instability
phenomenon. With the input of the appropriate command, the communication
software enables test data file .to be dumped on to other peripherals or
transferred to the main frame for advance graphical representation.
5 APPLICATION SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION
Figure 4: Configuration of The Application Software
InformationlData Management
259
Application software was developed for the management of the computer

systems/peripherals, data acquisition/control activities, data analysis
and transfer.
The software makes use of the firmware provided by the
system manufacturer.
To acquire data and control devices, the software
utilises
the
appropriate
subroutines
in
the
main
program.
The
subroutines are a number of subprograms which comprise the following:
* IEEE 488 communication program
* Digital to analogue calibration program
* Transducer calibration program
* Loadcell calibration program
* Camera orbital scanner test program
* Data analysis program
* Complete data acquisition program
* Overload monitoring program
* Error and status check program
The menu driven software configuration shown in figure 4, provides all
the program modules required.
The menu allows the access to the set of
programs required at any time.
As the software is developed on a basis
of modularity, it is much easier and simpler to add or manipulate a
subprogram.
The application software modules and the communication
program i~ stored on floppy discs
6 CONCLUSION
The hardware and software of a CADACAS for monitoring the condition of
reciprocating elastomeric seal of an aircraft landing jack has been
described.
The system is capable of acquiring seal performance data in
the region of 25kHz. With sixteen multichannels provided, the system can
be used to monitor most of the variables tending to influence the
performance of elastomeric seals. One of the main features of the system
is the control capability provided.
This is useful for the control of
the camera and the test rig.
With the appropriate software, the system
is capable of acquiring, analysing, storing and transporting data within
a network.
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are indebted to the procurement executive of the MoD for
their financial support; to Dowty seal Ltd, Dowty Rotol Ltd and British
Aerospace for
their invaluable contribution.
We are grateful to
Professor D.J. Sanger for his interest and support.
REFERENCES
1) Whomes T.L. and Boddy C., I~n investigation into the phenomenon of the
rolling of elastomeric reciprocating seals". Proc 12th Leeds/Lyon
Symposium on Tribology, 1985, Butterworths, London
2) Whomes T.L. and Davies P.B., "Rolling instability in elastomeric
reciprocating seals", BHRA 1987
3) Nwagboso C.O, Whomes T.L. and Davies P.B., "Consideration on the
development of computer aided data acquisition, control and analysis
system(CADACAS) for condition monitoring tasks", Journal of condition
monitoring, BHRA, UK, 1989
4) Slink-PC "Computer network communication handbook", Computer Center,
University of Salford, 1989
Data Acquisition System for High Strain Fatigue Testing

P Adkin *, R J Rider* * and S J Harvey* *
'Land Rover and "Department of Combined Engineering, Coventry Polytechnic, UK
ABSTRACT
This paper describes a data acqUisition system for use in
material tests on tubular steel specimens. These were subjected
to combinations of three types of loading i.e. 1) Axial tension
and compression, 2) Cyclic Torsion, 3) Internal Pressure.
Test were performed at particular loading rates in which
essentially loads and displacements were required to be measured.
loads were measured via strain gauge bridges and displacements by
RotarY and linear Variable Differential Transformers (RVDT's and
lVDT's).
Fine control of strains and displacements was obtained
using stepper motors.
The stepper motor control and data acquisition systems were based
around a Gemini 64K micro-computer. The system was to be capable
of sampling sufficient data within each cycle to allow cyclic
stress-strain curves to be defined.
1.0 Introduction
Considerable experimental data is required in the design of

components which operate in conditions where cyclic plastic
strains occur. Test programmes can be lengthy and expensive and
effective data acquisition systems need to be developed in order
261
to produce test data in the required form at minimum cost. This

experimental data is required over the life of specimens under
test (up to 100 000 cycles) since the material properties may
change throughout the test period. Materials subjected to cyclic
plastic strains can cyclically harden or soften and the basic
material
data required for design purposes is the cyclic
stress-strain hYsteresis curve (Fig.l). Many materials will
cycle to a steady state condition whilst others will continue to
harden or soften throughout the test period.
AXIAL STRESS IMNm"
100
.:
"
' 0..0\ .:
(
'0. 006
0.002
~ooz
,,t
-200
,1 - _ _L ___
_'.
-.,:,.-,60
J - , . .. . . .. .
5
===-
-4"
Fig. 1. Cyclic stress-strain hYsteresis curve.

hardening) .
(Showing cyclic
This paper therefore describes a data acquisition system which

has been developed for use in cyclic stress-strain tests [1 J.
From the data obtained. cyclic stress-strain hysteresis curves
and secondary plastic strains can be determined.
262
2.0 SYstem Requirements

Tests performed on tubular specimens may conSist of a
combination of any of three types of loading, i.e. 1) axial
tension and compreSSion, 2) cyclic torsion, 3)
internal
pressure.
Such tests may be strain or load controlled at
various rates and may require the measurement of hoop strains,
longitudinal strains, shear strains and applied longitudinal,
torsional and pressure loads. Since longitudinal and torsional
loading was effected through stepper motors there was also a
need for the monitoring and control of these.
Ultimately, sufficient data points with the necessary accuracy
were required, in order that stress-strain hYsteresis curves and
secondary plastic strains could be defined to allow accurate
modelling of material behaviour. Fourier analYsis of hYstereSis
curves indicated a requirement for at least 120 samples per
cycle. Typically, linear displacements needed to be measured to
within lum and angular displacements to within 1'.
3.0 SYstem Description
As indicated in section 2.0, there were six primary quantities
to be measured and hence six transducer sYstems. These were as
follows :Axial load
Axial strain
Hoop strain
Torque
Twist
Internal pressure -
Strain gauge bridge load cell

LVDT
LVDT
Strain gauge bridge load cell
RVDT
Strain gauge bridged diaphragm
Each transducer was assigned a dedicated instrumentation card

which contained both signal conditioning and an analogue to
digital converter (ADC) as shown in fig. 2.
ITRANSDUCER
zH
263
~2
____________ J
-e
Fig. 2.
Data Aquisition System - Schematic Layout
UP to 8 instrumentation cards could be used, together with a

sequencing card to enable synchronised data capture and
sequential sampling of all transducers. Each instrumentation
card was designed to accommodate variations in transducer gain,
excitation and zero offset.
Included on each card was an
instrumentation amplifier which output to an ICL 7109 12 bit
dual slope integrating ADC, via a buffer amplifier.
Special
features of this ADC include autozero, true differential input
and reference and a choice of free or controlled running. This
device has a quoted accuracy of 1 least significant bit at
constant temperature. Since the controlling microprocessor was
of 8 bit architecture it was necessary to read the ADC in two
operations.
This was achieved using a combination of software
and hardware.
The hardware aspects are illustrated by the
sequencer card circuit shown in fig. 3.
In this diagram, device A is a transceiver between the ADC
output and the computer data bus.
Data from the ADC is
presented to this buffer whenever the computer issues an address
recognisable to the decode section represented by transceiver B
and multiplexer C.
Thus two sequential
addresses
per
instrumentation card must be issued to cause two read operations
264
of the ADC. When the lower of the two addresses is issued, the
low eight bits from the ADC are presented to device A.
III
VI
/lEAD
BOARD
STATUS IADDRfS
:E
I
CD
~.
I
HIGH BYTE
.:.
LOW BYTE
5v
Fig. 3. ADC Sequencing Card Circuit Diagram

When the higher address is issued an eight bit packet which
contains the high four bits is sent to A. This is arranged
internally by the ADC depending whether the Low Bit Enable or
High Bit Enable pins on the ADC have been activated by the
lowest bit of the address.
Thus each transducer could be
sampled in turn with a complete sampling sequence of all six
parameters taking a few milliseconds. The time difference in
sampling being insignificant compared to a load cycle time of
approximately 80 seconds.
Reading of the instrumentation cards via the sequencing card was
carried out under the control of a Pascal programme.
This
programme allowed selective data sampling and storage depending
on the objectives of the particular test. The use of Pascal was
convenient in this low speed application as it obviated the need
for writing special machine code routines. As well as data
capture, the programe also controlled the test cycle. Thus when
the controlling parameter had reached a predetermined level, the
program would issue an instruction to the stepper motors to
reverse direction.
265
4.0 Conclusion
This paper has briefly outlined a data acquisition and control
system for use in cyclic plasticity tests in the high strain
low cycle fatigue regime. The system has proved itself capable
of achieving the necessary accuracy and reliability required of
such relatively long time-scale tests. In this context, drift
can be a particular problem as cumulative secondary plastiC
strains can develop over many cycles under certain loading
conditions.
It is important to be confidant that what is
observed is true material deformation. The adaptability of the
system is demonstrated by the fact that whilst originally
conceived for use with a Z80 base microprocessor it is currently
being used in conjunction with an IBM PC compatible machine.
5.0 References
1.
Adkin,P. "Yield Surfaces in Cyclic Plasticity" Ph.D.

1986
Thesis
On Maintaining and Reasoning with Incomplete Information

NadimObeid
Department of Computer Science, University of Essex, England, UK
ABSTRACT
Knowledge Based Systems (KBSs) are expected to maintain and reason with complete information.
They also are expected to have a highly interactive and helpful interface. In this paper we make a
first step towards a KBS that could meet such requirements. We present a Logic for Maintaining
and Reasoning with incomplete information (thereafter LMR). Some of the advantages of LMR are
that: (I) The semantic analysis is made in terms of possible situations, and (2) it supports constructive and informative user-system interaction.
1. Introduction
Tasks which are amenable to Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and for which there are
currently available, or under consideration, intelligent Knowledge Based Systems (KBSs) tools and
techniques are numerous. These include design, control, safety and capturing the expertise of senior
expcrts (e.g. engineers. medical practitioners). However, some problems still need further research.
For instance. because fault diagnosis is analytical, it cannot be assumed that all such problems have
become trivial. When experts solve problems, they use different types of knowledge and forms of
reasoning. For instance, fonns of reasoning may, depending on the availability of information and
some other factors, range from simple deductive to inductive and non-monotonic. Also, the importance of the end-user cannot be ignored. A successful knowledge based systems is expected to have
a highly interactive and helpful interface. None-the-Iess, the questions of reasoning with incomplete
information (whatever infonnation may be available). maintaining that infonnation, and having a
highly interactive and infonnative interface, are quite related in that addressing any of them may
require addressing the others.
In this paper we present a Logic for Maintaining and Reasoning with incomplete infonnation
(thereafter LMR). Section 2. will bc concerned with some aspects of reasoning with incomplete
infonnation, namely non-monotonicity and inconsistency. A discussion of some of the features
which characterize some computational and fonnal reasoning systems will be given in section 3. A
proof-theorctic account of LMR will be presented in section 4. Section 5 will be concerned with
267
how inference in LMR is made in comparison with some reasoning systems.

2. Some aspects of reasoning with incomplete information
The key idea, which is employed in AI, in reasoning about incomplete information comes to the
following: "in failing to infer some information assume (implicitly or explicitly) its negation". The
assumption is not justified. As such it may be challenged by incoming information Which, together
with all the conclusions which are mainly dependent on it, will have to be withdrawn if it is inconsistent with such information. However, when the available information is assumed complete and
the underlying logic which is being employed for reasoning is standard, as being the most appropriate, inconsistency can only be explained as a failure of the underlying logic. That is, maintaining
information when reasoning with incomplete infonnation requires that a distinction be made
between two notions of inconsistency: "weak inconsistency" which is between an assumption and
an incoming fact, and "strong inconsistency" which is between facts.
3. Some computational and formal non-monotonic systems
The aim of this section is just to look at some of the features which characterize some computational and formal reasoning systems. More detailed reviews are presented in Obeid (1987, 1988).
The computational systems are computer programs which were developed by AI workers to capture
some aspects of reasoning about incomplete information. These include De KJeer's ATMS, De
Kleer (1984) and Doyle's TMS, Doyle (1979). Both these systems allow assumptions to he made.
However, they differ among themselves as to whether the system is assumption- or justificationbased and as to whether assumptions are implicitly or explicitly represented. Other common
characteristics shared by most TMSs are their obscure semantics and the overemphasis of implementation issues rather than conceptual issues such as the fundamental motivation behind the idea
of non-monotonic justification or assumption.
The fonnal systems, NMLI, McDermott and Doyle (1980), NMLII, McDermott (1982), autoepistemic logic (AE), Moore (1983), and Il, Gabbay (1983), are among many others which mainly
aimed at fonnalizing non-monotonic reasoning. Each of these systems seems to capture, if any,
different intuitions, even though NMLII, Il and AE are all attempts to remedy the weakness of
NMLI with different degrees of success. In NMLI and NMLII the intuitions are not clearly captured in the semantics provided, whereas Moore (1983) distinguishes between 'default reasoning'
and 'autoepistemic reasoning'. Autoepistemic reasoning is intended to model the reasoning of an
ideally rational agent reflecting upon its own beliefs. Default reasoning is the process of drawing
inferences, from less than conclusive evidence, in the absence of information to the contrary. As
such drawn conclusions are tentative: they may be withdrawn in the light of funher information.
Also, in Moore's system new information may change the agent's beliefs, whereas in Il new information may only change the scope of what the agent considers possible. As such, each of the
above systems seems to capture different aspects of reasoning about information, i.e. depending on
the situation at hand, one system may be more suitable than another.
268
4. The system LMR

LMR is a propositional modal non-monotonic logic. Technically speaking, it is like all the above
formal non-monotonic systems in that it consists of a base logic. Partial System (PS). and a nonmonotonic inference rule. However. unlike most of these systems. except 11. the semantic analysis is
made in terms of possible situations. LMR is both sound and complete. However. due to space restriction only a proof-theoretic account will be given in this paper. For a more detailed presentation
together with soundness and completeness proofs cf. Obeid (\989). First we shall present the base
logic PS.
4.1. The system PS.
The basic language L which we shall use is a propositional logic. In PS a proposition is either
accepted as true. accepted as false. or not known at all.
Starting with primitive propositions "T" (true).
(false), p. q. r..... more complicated ones are
formed via closure under negation "_ ", conjunction "&", disjunction "V" and implication
That is, if A and B are well-formed formulae (wffs) then so are _ A, A&B, A VB and A
shall take "A <---> B" to be equivalent to "(A
B) & (B
"~".
B. We
A)".
PS is generated by the following axioms (al)-(a8)

(a I) 1) A&B
A 1 2) A&B
(a2) I) A ~ A VB 1 a) B ~ A VB
(a3) (A ~ B) & (B ~ C) ~ (A ~ C)
(a4) (A ~ C) & (B ~ C) ~ (A VB
(as) _(A&B) <---> _AV_B
(a6) _ (A VB) <---> _ A&_ B
(a7) _(A ~ B) <---> (A
(a8) A-y __ A
-Y
C)
_B)
and the inference rules: Modus Ponens, &-introduction and (IR)

(lR) from A V _ A infer __ A
-Y
4.2. The system LMR (inference rule and axioms for M)

We extend the language L of PS with a modal operator M (L'= L+{M)). MA will be interpreted as
A is plausible. We also enrich PS with a non-monotonic inference rule
(NMIR) notCI- A) 1- n MA
and the following set (nmal) - (nma5) of intuitively sound axioms.
(nmal)
MA V _MA
(nma2)
MCA
(nma3)
(nma4)
MMA -Y MA
_MA -y_A
(nma5)
-Y
B)
MA
-Y
-Y
-C-MB
-Y
MA)
269
The interpretation of NMIR is as follows: if _ A cannot be inferred by using ordinary inference

rules and axioms, then non-monotonically infer MA.
(nmal) states that either A is plausible or it is false that A is plausible. (nma2) states that if (A ~
B) is plausible, then it is false that if MB is false then MA is true. (nma3) states that if A is true
then A is plausible. (nma4) states that if it is plausible that A is plausible then A is plausible.
(nmaS) states that if it is false that A is plausible then A is false.
The non-monotonic rules employed in NMLI, NMLII and J.l. are somehow the counterpart of
(NMIR). The only difference between (NMIR) and the non-monotonic inference notions used in
these systems is in the underlying monotonic inference notion "1-" which is being employed.
S. LMR and some non-monotonic systems
In this section we consider some of the features of the formal non-monotonic systems mentioned
above and of Doyle's TMS. We shall show how inference is made in LMR in comparison with
these systems.
We begin by looking at the following cases which are considered as problematic in NMLI and were
resolved by NMLII and the other formal systems.
(a)
(b)
b = (MA ~ B, _B) is inconsistent

MA does not follow from M(A & B)
(c)
b = {MA, _A} is not inconsistent.
In NML 1 b = {MA
B, _ B} is found inconsistent because _ A cannot be proven to follow, forc-
ing the assumption of MA which together with MA ~ B would allow B to follow in b. As a result
b will have both B and _B. In AE, b is found to be unsuitable to be the foundation of a consistent
set of beliefs. In J.l., b is found to be equivalent to to _ A. In LMR b proves _ A. This is how the
reasoning goes: from (nmal) we can conclude that either b 1- MA or b 1- _MA. b 1- MA leads to a
contradiction as then both Band _B will follow in b. Therefore b 1- _MA from which we can infer
b I-_A.
With regard to cases (b), as in all the above formal systems, except NMLI, MA follows from
M(A&B) in LMR (for a proof cf. Obeid (1989)).
With regard to case (c), like all the other formal systems, except NMLI, mentioned above, the
theory b = {MA, _A} is inconsistent in LMR (for a proof cf. Obeid (1989)).
Finally, let us see what each of Doyle's TMS and LMR does in case of contradiction.
Consider b = {MA ~ C, MB ~ -C}. TMS considers b to be inconsistent. This is how it comes to
this conclusion: since _A (resp. _B) cannot be proven in b, we may add MA (resp. MB) to b. This
leads to proving both C and _ C. Tracing the proofs of C and _ C, through a dependency-directed
procedure, TMS finds that the propositions MA and MB are responsible for the contradiction. However adding _MA V _MB does not resolve the inconsistency since it does not rule out any of the
assumptions MA and MB. Therefore, TMS goes on to add a new axiom C
_ B in order to invali-
date MB and restore consistency. It seems that this is a correct choice to make. However, there is
no explanation as to why no any other choice, such as adding, _C ~ _A or _MA or _MB, has
270
been made. That is, TMS has chosen a solution which is correct but with no justification. In LMR,
b is not inconsistent and the solution it provides is more complete. It is possible to show that the
following formula expressed in the metalanguage (X OR means exclusive OR)
(_MA XOR C 4 _B) and (_MB XOR _C 4_A)
is derivable in b.
6. Concluding remarks
In this paper we have presented propositional logic LMR for reasoning about partial information.
One important feature which distinguishes LMR from most formal non-monotonic systems in that
the semantic analysis is made in terms of possible situations rather than possible worlds. Also, in
many cases, of which only one is shown in the paper, where Doyle's TMS fails to provide a complete solution, LMR does provide one which can be formally explained. LMR can be shown to
support constructive and informative user-system interaction in a multi-agent versus multi-user types
of setting.
References
[I]
De K1eer J., 1984, "An AssumptionBased TMS", Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 24, pp. 127162.
[2J
Doyle J., 1979, "A Truth Maintenance System", Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 12, pp. 231-272.
[3J
Gabbay D., 1983, "Intuitionistic Basis for Non-Monotonic Reasoning", in: Proc. Conj. on
Automated Deduction, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, No.6.
[4J
McDermott D. and Doyle J., 1980, "Non-Monotonic Logic I", Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 13,
pp.41-72.
[5J
[6J
McDermott D., 1982, "Non-Monotonic Logic II: Non-Monotonic Modal Theories", JACM,
Vol. 29, No.1, pp. 35-57.
Moore R., 1983, "Semantical Consideration of Non-Monotonic Logic", Proc. International
Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 272-279.
[7J
Obeid N., 1987, "A Model of Information Growth", PhD. Thesis, Essex University.
[8J
Obeid N., 1988, "A Propositional Logic for Reasoning about Real-Time Situations", lASTED
[9J
Obeid N., 1989, "Intuitionistic Versus Partial Models Basis for Commonsense Reasoning",
International Conference on Expert Systems: Theory and Applications, pp. 64-68.

Submitted to: Artificial Intelligence.
Acknowledgement
This paper describes part of the work carried out on a component which constitutes only a part of a
larger project funded by an ESRC grant. The project involves Professor Raymond Turner, Dr. Keith
Brown and Miss Anne De Roeck, who I wish to thank for their encouragement, invaluable discussions and for suggesting considerable improvements.
Decision Support Systems for Manufacturing Management

E J Fletcher and P Smith
School of Computer Studies and Mathematics, Sunderland Polytechnic, UK
Abstract
Recent years
United
have seen major changes within
Kingdom.
increased
The
decline
competition
removal of E.C.
awareness
of
from abroad
manufacturing industry in the
traditional
and
the
industries
tariff barriers in 1992 have all
of the
need for
efficiency and
coupled
challenge presented
by
with
the
contributed to a greater
flexibility within
the United
Kingdom manufacturing community.

To help to meet
support
this challenge a research
systems
Sunderland
for Manufacturing
Polytechnic.
initiative to develop
Management
The project
is a
has
been
four year
established
study
(March 1989) ten
total of
discuss
the overall
projects
in the
being supported.
aims, objectives
is supported
At end of the second year of the
companies are co-operating
thirteen research
at
co-operative study
between local manufacturing companies and the Polytechnic and

by funds from the National Advisory Body.
decision
project with a
This
and strategies behind
paper
will
the research
project and comment upon progress made to date.

1.
Introduction
The basic aims of the research project presented in this paper are:
1)
To investigate
current practices within manufacturing
management and
to determine to what extent software tools (including decision support

tools
and
expert
system packages)
are
being
utilized
within the
decision making process.

2)
To produce an
decision
integrated suite of
support,
expert
software tools which
systems,
simulation
manufacturing methodologies in a unified approach.
will uti! ize

and
flexible
272
The specific objectives of the project are to:

a)
investigate,
techniques
analyse
which
and
are
critically
currently
management with the scheduling and
appraise
available
to
those
aid
computing
manufacturing
control of resources within medium
sized engineering establishments,

b)
specify, design and implement
advanced software tools to
co-ordinate
the elements of a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) and
to schedule
and monitor the work within an FMS,

c)
development
real
management
resource
time simulation
software which
utilisation,
software
and associated
will aid decision
product
mixes
and
making in
shop
floor
database
the areas of
layouts
in
production areas,
d)
integrate these tools within an overall decision support/expert system

which
will both co-ordinate their operation
management with up-to-the-minute detail
in real-time and provide
concerning the current
state
of the plant,
e)
construct a user-friendly interface layer around
this software system
which
and
will enable
it
to
be
used efficiently
effectively
by
management.
After reviewing
the scope
above objectives which

system
depth
modeller
with
an
projects being undertaken
range from Just In Time (JIT)
based production
one particular
of the
planning systems
project which
integrated database
and
time
the
techniques to expert
the paper
involves the
to meet
will review
in more
development of
a solid
attributes
for product
design, analysis, production planning and cost estimation.

2.
Current Research Projects
In order to
give a flavour of the type
currently involved
of collaborative research projects
in the initiative, this section
includes an outline of
some of the ongoing projects.

2.1
In
A Tender Cost Estimation System

an
engineering
estimation is a
to
generate
manufacturing
complex
systems, tender
highly skilled activity which can take
accurate costings.
implementation of
cost
company
This project
estimation and
to
access
library of
component design to rapidly produce accurate
a significant time
involves
an expert system to encapsulate
cost
the
design and
the expertise of tender
precedent
in
engineering
tender cost estimates.
It is
273
anticipated that
time savings
of approximately a
factor of
ten will
be
achievable.
2.2
Simulation in Manufacturing
The aim
of this project
management
to
various
is to investigate
features
of
researchers are investigating the

used, at
what level
problems are felt

considering the
in the
the attitude
discrete
event
management
to be hindering
structure it
is used,
further implementation.
The
currently
and
They
what
are also
approaches of the various suppliers of simulation software
of simulation studies
have been carried
relevant to their own area of responsibility.

obtained into
an
In pursuit of this, a
out in
various firms, to
simulation studies directly
evaluate production management appreciation of

information
simulation.
extent to which simulation is
and services towards solving some of these problems.

number
of manufacturing
It is hoped to condense the
assessment of
the requirements
for expert
system support of the simulation process.

2.3
Advanced Computer Software Manufacturing Systems
The
objective of this research project is
planning
package.
system
The
designed
which
research has
to assess
identify the
can be
to develop an expert production
interfaced
to
been supported
management
manufacturing simi at ion
by comprehensive
attitudes to
decision
survey work
support tools,
to
extent to which they are used in practice and to identify the
requirements for enhanced support tools such as the one proposed.

2.4
A Laboratory Data Handling System for Brewing
The aim of this
project is initially to
based laboratory
data handling and
design and implement a
analysis system.
computer-
The system
will be
able to store and process the results of approximately 1000 tests which are
carried out on a daily basis.
enhanced
by
It is envisaged that the system will then be
modelling interactions
investigation
will
be
carried
out
between related
into
the
measurements
potential
of
and an
automating
diagnostic processes, based upon combinations of test results.

2.5
A Management Information System
Most large organisations have a wealth of information stored

Access
to
this
information is
available in varying degrees
frequently
of detail.
Some
provided
by
on computers.
printed reports
of this information can
be
accessed directly on VDUs using standard reporting formats; however, access

methods such as command
languages create difficulties for the
infrequent,
274
or non-expert, user.
This project seeks to investigate what users
require
of direct access to information systems, how these requirements are met and
to propose ways in which information can become more accessible.
2.6
Decision Support for Inventory Control and Distribution Sequencing
This project
involves one
quality toys.
of
the worlds
always sought to optimise its planning and

end
the company
Sunderland
leading manufacturers
of
high
Operating in an extremely competitive market the company has

is
undertaking a
Polytechnic
to
production procedures.
collaborative research
investigate
the
To this
programme with
opportunities
Decision Support Systems in the logisti cal planning process.
afforded
by
In particular
the programme concentrates on inventory control and distribution sequencing

as likely application areas.
2.7
The
Development
of
User-Friendly
Decision
Support
Systems
for
Production Management in Brewing

This
project involves
remote sensors
management information
on a local
kegging plant.
area network (LAN)
system
(MIS) linked
to an advanced
The system is capable of giving
by
brewing and
an immediate and detailed
picture of the state of the plant for the purpose of controlling production
of
beer on the basis of
demand from depots.
The
company is currently in
the process of extending the existing (highly successful) system to provide

more detailed information to more managers than could hitherto benefit from
it, in both the brewery and in depots.
3.
The
Development
of
Solid
Modeller
and Accompanying
Management
Information System
In
an engineering
manufacturing company
activities centre on
the product (a
If the
surfaces and
At the present time many company
being computerized (e.g. design, cost
estimation, numerical control, numerical

and mechanical properties).
profit generating
combination of machined
assembled components) being manufactured.

activities involving the product are
the essential
analysis for electrical,
company employs a
thermal
single distributed
computing network for these applications it would be very advantageous if a

single data structure could underline all these applications.
structure
that
could approach
this
ideal would
be
One possible
four dimensional
geometrical computer model of the product, which not only allows the
shape
to be defined, but also the changes in shape associated with machining work
to be
described.
Such a
model would require
the association of
a large
275
number of
attributes with
each surface
in
order to
be useful
for
the
various product activities.

The
project commenced
with an
examination of
general surface
modelling theory and a prototype solid modeller has been

Apollo Domain workstation.
1)
It
is .capable
and solid
developed for the
The modeller meets the following criteria:
of generating
various components (or
combinations of
components) presently manufactured by the collaborating establishment,

in particular those incorporating "free form" geometry.
2)
All
model
visualisations
are
possible,
using
any desired
angle,
projection or scaling.
3)
It produces realistic greyscale pictures.
4)
It
allows a model to be partly constructed from a stored library of
existing components.
5)
It allows for mesh generation for Boundary Element work.
6)
It is able to generate numerical control tape data.
The work
is currently being developed by
examining the difficult problems
associated with extending the data structure to encompass:

1)
A large and variable

surface,
some of
number of attributes to be associated
which will change
(in perhaps
with each
complex ways)
as a
model is edited.
2)
The representation of shape changes induced by machining work
in such
a way that allows the time history of manufacture to be recovered for,

amongst other reasons, process planning and work time scheduling.
4.
Summary
This paper has presented an overview of a wide and varied range of research
projects encompassed
within the Decision Support Systems for Manufacturing
Management initiative
at Sunderland Polytechnic.
producing interesting
and useful
results
and it
The projects are already

is envisaged
that
the
overall initiative will offer major benefits for manufacturing management.
Concurrent System Behaviour
S Sawyers
Faculty of Engineering and Computer Technology, Birmingham Polytechnic, Birmingham B42 2SU, UK
Abstract
The sequence of activities within a concurrent system may occur in an unobserved and
unspecified manner. The consequence of such behaviours is that the speCification of the
system is incomplete. In order to analyse the possible behaviour of sequences, issues
involving the timing of activities have to be investigated with a sensitive system clock
operating in false-time. A scenario forthe system under investigation has to be developed
that presents an indication of possible weak areas in the design. The concurrent behaviour
of industrial systems is discussed with respect to false-time.
1. INTRODUCTION
The continued growth in industrial automation has given birth to new problems of
equipment interconnection and management. The simplest of industrial machines now
come with options for remote control and task update that many organizations wish to
utilise but cannot. A key problem when integrating machines within a manufacturing plant
is finding what data and information should be transferred either locally in the same
manufacturing cell or remotely. A manufacturing cell designer may have a clear
understanding of the equipment needed to perform a process, yet uncertain of the
complexities of data and information interactions. The designer of a complexed
manufacturing process could employ simulation to indicate any areas of weakness in a
proposed design solution.
The use of simulation is well suited to the reconstruction of physical processes and
analysing causes and effects. Simulation is not well suited to analysing the nature of
interactions involving the flow of information and data between processes in an industrial
plant. The use of a universal timer for the triggering of processes does not fully categorise
the nature of process interactions within a manufacturing cell.
277
In order to obtain a detailed and often an unwieldy description of processes the designer
may utilise finite state automata machines (Kohavi(1978)). Rules to formalise the nature
of process interactions and relationships could be supported by the use of predicate
calculus (Luger et al(1989)). The use of real and false timers is very akin to the approach
used in the design and testing of integrated circuits.
2. MANUFACTURING SYSTEM
The concept of using a sensitive timer to schedule the interactions that take place can be
understood by considering a simple manufacturing process.
Pick &
Welding RI obot 2
Pick &
Inbound
Place
Place
Outbound
Conveyer 1 _ _ _, Robot 1 _ _~, Workarea.a_ _~, Robot 4 __ Conveyer 2
II
Welding Robot 3
Fig. 1 Manufacturing Process involving Conveyors and Robots
In Fig. 1 we have a manufacturing process involving two conveyors, two pick and place
robots, and two welding robots. The conveyor feeds parts of differing sizes that are picked
and placed on a workarea for simultaneous welding by the two robots. After the part has
been welded it is picked off the workarea and placed onto the outbound conveyor. The
process does not use stores from which parts are picked, and placed after welding. The
speed of the inbound conveyor has to be matched to the pick and place rate, the welding
rate, and the size of the workarea inorder to avoid failure of the process. It would be
advantageous if a communication structure could be developed to handle the intricacy of
such a process.
278
3. COMMUNICATION STRUCTURING
The communication process involved in achieving a realistic representation of the process
can be expressed using an Occam like notation (Pountain(1987. A key process in the
initiation of activities is a time server process. Such a process will assign priorities to the
start-up of a process by signify whether a process starts when the time pulse is low, rising,
high, or falling. The time server process in communication with the consumer processes
can sustain the pulse condition for periods longer than one time unit.
The structure of the time server process is as follows:
PROC time.server
VAL low
VAL rising
VAL high
VAL falling
IS 1 :
IS 1 :
IS 1 :
IS 1 :
VAL pulse.len1
VAL pulse.len2
VAL pulse.len3
VAL pulse.len4
IS
IS
IS
IS
100 :
200 :
400 :
200 :
TIMER clock1, clock2, clock3, clock4 :

INT time1, time2, time3, time4 :
PAR
WHILE TRUE
SEQ
clock1 ? time1
PAR
process (robot1,
process (robot2,
process (robot3,
process (robot4,
time1,
time1,
time1,
time1,
rising pulse.len1)
low pulse.len2)
low pulse.len3)
low pulse.len4)
WHILE TRUE
SEQ
clock2 ? time2
PAR
process (robot1,
process (robot2,
process (robot3,
process (robot4,
time2,
time2,
time2,
time2,
high pulse.len1)
rising pulse.len2)
rising pulse.len3)
low pulse.len4)
Fig. 2 Slructure of the Time Server Process
279
The time server process of Fig. 2 can be combined to supply the main processes that
describe the manufacturing cell of Fig. 1 with the necessary triggering information.
The outline description of the manufacturing process of Fig. 1 could be as follows:
WHILE starting.condition
SEQ
robot1 (pick, inbound.conveyor1, robot1.time.one)
robot1 (place, workarea, robon.time.two)
PAR
robot2(welding, workarea, robot2.time.one)
robot3(welding, workarea, robot3.time.one)
SEQ
robot4(pick, workarea, robot4.time.one)
robot4(place, outbound.conveyor2, robot4.time.two)
Fig. 3 Manufacturing Process Structure
The static time for robot actions would be used in combination with the false-time clock
supplied by the time server process to cause process termination.
4. DISCUSSION
The concept of using a false-time clock to determine the activation, duration, and
termination of related processes allows sequential and concurrent activities to be
organised according to a defined control path. A process can be made ready by the rising
of the false-time clock. The duration of a process is governed by its false-time clock being
high. Termination of a process may occur when the false-time clock is falling, while the
low clock state indicates that a process is idle. The states of the false time clock would be
combined with other explicit control conditions to determine the starting conditions of
processes.
The false-time approach is similar to the schedulin~ mechanism used in the analysis of
distributed systems. A formal treatment of the analysIs of time and the associated resource
issues is given by Joseph et al(1988). The use of a false-time clock is analogous to the
techniques used in developing pipelined algorithms as explained by Quinn(1987). The
question of partioning individual manufacturing processes into grouped subprocesses for
later recombination may furnish more information on the way concurrent systems interact.
280
5. CONCLUSION
The use of a false-time clock may well provide a structure for the analysis of concurrent
systems consisting of processes that are made up of irregular timing arrangements. The
false-time clock pulse not only triggers the events of the system, but can be used to
diagnose the overall behaviour of an integrated system. The monitoring function would
essentially be a checking of the states of the system at defined false-time instances.
6. REFERENCES
1. Kohavi, Z, Switching and Finite Automata Theory. McGraw-Hili, 1978.
2. Luger, G.F, and Stubblefield, W.A, Artificial Intelligence and the Design of Expert
Systems, Benjamin-Cummings, 1989.
3. Pountain, A.A, A Tutorjallntroduction to Occam Programming, Inmos, 1987.
4. Joseph, M, and Goswami, A, What's 'Real' about Real-time Systems?, Research
Report, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Warwick, UK, 1988.
5. Quinn, M.J, Designing Efficient Algorithms for parallel Computers, McGraw-Hili, 1987.
Inspect or Monitor? - How to Choose Maintenance Policy

by Matrix Algebra
D J Sherwin
University of Birmingham , UK
Abstract
The popularity of condition monitoring continues to grow despite

evidence that it is not always the better policy over inspection
at intervals.
Markov
The paper provides simplified analyses based on
theory
to
help
plant
operators
to
choose
between
inspection and continuous monitoring policies.

1.
Introduction
The paper outlines a method more fully described in references 1

and 2 for choosing between a continuous monitor and inspection at
random intervals but constant average rate.
It is emphasised
that the choice in practice may depend on factors which are not
taken into account in this mathematical treatment.
failure
mode
is
often dominant,
and
if
there
However, one
is
detectable
warning of impending failure and a saving to be made by renewing

or repairing short of failure then the method to be described is
appropriate.
An extension of this method requires distribution analysis of
time between failures (2) but the basic method uses failure and
repair
rates;
the
assumption
is
exponential (i.e. constant rates).
that
the
distributions
are
Another extension described
in (1) takes more factors into account.

Using matrix
algebra,
the
method
compares Continuous
Condition
282
Monitoring (CCM) with On Condition Preventive Maintenance on the

basis of inspection (OCPM).
In this simple exposition it will be
assumed that downtime and cost are proportional and that failures
take longer than preventive action.
In the case of continuous
monitors it will be assumed that the monitor does not fail and
that its cost per unit time is known and constant.
constant
average
costs
CF ,
C M for
repair of
The case of
failures
and
preventive maintenance is also considered.

There is an extensive literature of maintenance optimisation,
Jardine's
book
{3}
is a
good place to
start.
Most
of
the
literally hundreds of models treat inspection as an operation to

discover failure rather than to anticipate it,
concept
is more in line with the requirements of maintenance
managers.
Poisson
yet the latter
Failures to complex maintained items are often pseudoand
the
distribution of
repair
times
is
usually
not
important because repair takes only a small proportion the cycle

time.
CCM Policy
States and transition rates are defined as follows:

81
Equipment operating monitor not indicating impending failure
82
As 8 0 but impending failure indicated
83
Equipment under PM
84
Equipment failed
(because warning not heeded in time)
Proportion of time spent in state i

Reciprocal of mean time from previous repair or maintenance
to next indication of impending falure (warning)
Reciprocal of meantime from warning to actual failure
Reciprocal of mean
(planning) delay between warning and PM
equipment MTBF (overall)
=- llf =- llfl + I/f2
rl
Reciprocal of MTTM (PM)
r2
Reciprocal of MTTR (Failures)
The transition rates

matr ix.
283
between states
can be
represented as a
The entries show the conditional rates of passing from
the row to the column state.
It is easy to expand this matrix
for a fallible monitor and this is done in (1).
An even simpler
version would omit the planning delay (1/f3 on average) but this
is often where the saving lies.
QCCM
I-f l
fl
I-f 3 -f 2
rl
4
It
In this case S2 would disappear.
r2
is well-known (see any text on Markov processes) that the
long-term probabilities (proportion of total times) for each

state can be found from
(Q_I)T. p =- (0)
Where P =-
(PI'
~ Pi =- 1
and
P2'
(1 )
P4)T is
P3'
the
vector
of steady-state
probabilities, I is the identity matrix (with l's on diagonal

zeros elsewhere)
and
(0)
is a
zero vector.
Superscript T
indicates Transpose (rows become columns and vice versa).

Writing (1) out in full
-f I P I+OP2 + r l P 3 +
flPI
r 2 P 4 =- 0
(f 3 + f 2 )P2 + OP3 + OP4
OPI + f 3 P 2 - r l P 3 + OP4
284
Go down the columns of the matrix ignoring the l's and
NOTE:
multiplying by Pi where i is the row number.

Formally, and for computer application, these equations may be
solved by Gaussian eliminination.
By hand we can take short-cuts
by forming ratios.
Thus:
rl/f3
f2/rZ so P4/P 3 =
rlf2/r2 f 3
2
(2 )
(f 2 + f 3 )/f l so Pl/P3 = rl (f2 + f 3 )/f 1

Dividing
1/P3=
~ Pi
1 by P3' we have
(3 )
Pl/P3+P2/P3+1+P4/P3
from which PI' P2' P4' may now be calculated.

The cost of the policy per unit time is
(4 )
where c mon is the cost rate of the monitor and cd that of downtime.
It is also possible to work the algebra in terms of fixed
average costs of failure and maintenance CF , C M.
In this case
the expected cycle time of the matrix E(T) and the expected cycle
cost E(C) must be found by considering all the possible times and
costs and their probabilities.
Bomet imes E(T)
includes only
productive time if unit production costs are to be calculated.

(4a)
For
fixed
costs,
down-time
is irrelevant and E(T)
taken as the mean up-t ime per cycle.
is usually
This is, by inspect ion
285
This gives
(4b)
cccm = cmon + (f 3Cm + f2CF)E(Tup)/(f2 + f3)

OCPM Policy
In this case we need one extra 'variable, the mean inspection

rate, q.
There is also an extra state when warning is available
but there has not yet been an inspection to detect

gives us
equivalent to sl
warning available not yet inspected
warning seen but not yet heeded
under PM
under failure repair
5
QOCPM
l-f l
fl
l-q-r 2
l-f 2 -f 3
f3
rl
l-r l
r2
-f l P 5 + .
f l P5 -
rIPS + rlPg
(r 3 + f2 )P6
r3P 6 -
0
0
(f 2 + f 3)P7
f 3P7 -
rIPS
f 2 P6 + f 2 P 7
P5 + P6 + P7 + P7 + Pg
-r 2 Pg
(5)
it.
This
286
P6/ P 5 ". fl/(q + f 2 )
P6/P7
".
(f 2 + f 3 )/q
PS/P7
q/r 1
P5/P 7
(q + f 2 )(f 2 + f 3 )/qf l
P9/P7
(f 2/r 2 )
(6 )
1 + (f 2 +3)/q
(q + f 2 )(f 2 + f 2 )/qf l + (f 2 + f 3 )/q + 1 + f3/ r l
1/P7
+ (f2/r2)
[1 + (f 2 + f 3 )/q]
The cost-rate of an OCPM policy is given by

(8 )
c ocpm ". (Pa + Pg) cd + qC r

Where C r is the average cost of an inspection.
However (Pa + Pg) is a second order function of q so c ocpm is

subject to optimisation of the inspection rate.
Leaving out some tedious but simple algebra
c ocpm
cd(ag + b)/(kq + j) + gC r
(g)
Where a ". f3/ r l + f 2/r 2 , b
f 2 (f 2 + f 3 )/r 2
k ". (f 2 + f 3 )/f l + I +a,
b(l + r2/fl) + f2 + f3
The optimum value of q is q* where

y* ".
(-B+\-)-s2 - 4AC)/2A
2
Where A ". Crk /c d

B
2C r kj/c d '" 2Aj/k
Crj2/cd + aj - bk
q*
should
then
be
(10)
". (l/2)Bj/k + aj - bk
substituted
in
(g)
to
find
c*ocpm
for
comparison with cccm

Rule of Thumb - Simplified OCPM Model
A simplified version of this OCPM model occurs if there is no
delay in maintenance once an imminent failure has been detected
287
by inspect ion and the cost s C F , em are fixed.
rn this case the
matrix of transition rates becomes
Qocpm
Downt ime
l-fl
fl
l-q+f 2
f2
rl
l-r 1
r2
l-r2
is unli kely to
be relevant to the cost optimization in
the case of fixed costs so the relevant cycle time is usually, by

inspection,
the expected uptime.

(11 )
The mean cycle cost is obviously
The cost per unit of uptime is therefore
Differentiating
with respect to q the optimum value for q,
q*
is
A rule of thumb ia making the decision between
inspection at
intervals and continuous monitoring can be found if f l

that fl 2 can be neglected.
f2 so
Then approximately
(15 )
q* = [f l f 2 (C F - Cm)/Crll/2 - f2
which is negative i f
(C F - Cm)/C r
<
f2/fl
(16)
Comparison with more Complex Methods

The cost of a CCM policy can be calculated more precisely if the
underlying or base failure time distribution is known,
and it is
288
also possible to allow for failures of the monitor (1).

In the
First,
and
case of OCPM
policies three
factors
should be noted.
it is generally not possible to choose between age renewal
OCPM
without
constant,
calculation.
Second,
in
the
case
z(t)
the difference between a policy calculated on the
basis of strictly periodic inspections and one based on random

inspection at
constant
average rate is usually small as regards
the cost and very small as regards the optimum (average) interval
for
realistic
cases.
The
former
involves
trial
and
error
optimisation (3) so calculations will take longer.

These methods (PPM, OCPM) should not be used if the variability
of individual repair costs is high or the warning very short or
non-existent.
Example:
With warning for planning,
about 2 hours.
hours.
a steel mill roller can be changed in
If a failure occurs, the stoppage averages 12
Rollers last about 500 hours and stoppages cost SOOO/hr.
Monitoring costs 0.4/hr and inspections 1.50 each.
Warning is
available about 10 hours before failure and it is convenient to

change rollers at the start of any 8 hour shift.
should be used?
Answer
49.20/hr
q*
2.063 inspection/hr
c*ocpm
SS.14/hr
For comparison a 'laissez fail' policy would cost

(12 x 5000)/(500 + 12)
117.l9/hr
What policy
289
CCM only just wins despite cd being so high and warning only 0.2%
of MTBF.
References
1.
Sherwin, D.J. 'Markov Models for Maintenance Policy Cost

Comparisons: Continuous Monitoring Versus Inspections at
Constant Rate' 2nd National Reliability Conference,
Birmingham, Paper No. 6A/3, 1979.
2.
Sherwin, D.J. 'Inspection Intervals for Condition-Maintained

Items which Fail in an Obvious Manner' IEEE Trans. Rely R-28,
2, April 1979.
3.
Jardine, A.K.S.
Pitman 1973.
'Maintenance Replacement and Reliability'
Maintenance Management Technique for Small-sized

Road Construction Companies
Mohammed EI Shabrawy
Associate Professor in Highway Engineering, Mansourah University, Egypt and
The Faculty of Technological Studies, Kuwait
1.
ABSTRACT
No doubt that useful lifetimes of equipments and the

road facility are extended by carrying out repairs at predetermined intervals and in cases of breakdown. The process
of performing repairs is called "Maintenance" while
ordering and organizing these repairs is called
"Maintenance Management".
The need for advice, information and assistance for
the improvement of mainteriance effectiveness
seems to be
of great importance to the small sized companies rather
than the large companies which have learned by bitter
experience the importance of the maintenance function.
The paper is concentrated on the design of a
maintenance management
technique
to
enable
road
construction firms and specially small sized ones to
maintain equipments and roads under construction in good
conditions without interrupting the construction process.
2.
INTRODUCTION
In road construction projects,
the
final
product
is
the road facility while the mean of production is a great

number of heavy equipments.
Both the road and the equip-
ments need a higher degree of care and should be kept in

good conditions during and after the completion of the
project. It is the nature of road construction industry
that the equipments usually work hard for long periods and
sometimes outside the normal running hours to speed up the
construction process and finishing the project in shorter
times.
This reduces
extra costs of
labour,
fuel,
machine
depreciation, loss of road materials due to traffic and

weather, and makes good benefits to the society.
291
Another important feature of the road construction

process is that the road usually executed in a number of
stages. Some parts of the road are usually finished in the
early months of starting, while other parts are finished
two or three years after. In addition, the responsibility
of the company for maintaining all parts of the road in a
good
condition extends upto three years after the day of
completion.
The process of executing repairs at predetermined
intervals or at breakdowns is called "Maintenance
Management". In fact many industrial companies have not
special departments for maintenance while very few have
small sections for emergency repairs. Road and equipment
-maintenance in many of the big firms and specially in small
sized companies is always done on emergency bases and as a
part time of the production workers,
that makes inter-
ruptions and misunderstanding to the decision maker [2].

Since in road construction industry, as in many other
industries, the road and equipments are conjugate and
interrelated and both need comprehensive maintenance, so
the aim of this paper is to devise and design one
maintenance technique for roads and equipments to enable
the decision maker in maintaining the roads under
construction and equipments in good conditions. Moreover,
the paper suggests an appropriate location for the
maintenance department in the company structure and
defines the qualifications and responsibilities of the
maintenance staff and their manager.
3.
EQUIPMENTS AND THE STAGES OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION
It is the nature of the road construction process to

be performed in a number of stages where different
equipments are used in each stage.
Equipments and the
292
execution works
in each stage should have some types of
jobs during and after the completion to maintain them in

good conditions. The stages of road construction and equipments used in each stage are shown in Fig.t.
4.
MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Maintenance is defined as "a combination of any
actions carried out to retain an item in, or restore it to,

an acceptable condition". It includes the guidance of
further actions, providing adequate training and education,
establishing equipment and road data bank, exploring the
used of group maintenance resources, and carrying research
into all aspects of maintenance.
Management has many definitions, but it is defined in
this paper as "The organization of activities, objectives,
relationships among resources, working through others and
decisions". it is concerned with setting, monitoring and
adapting, as necessary, the objectives of the activity as
designed and with making or devising on the decision to be
made to achieve the planned objectives. Decisions, both
routine and strategic, are required from management to make
the firm work [2].
Maintenance management is a combination of management,
financial, engineering and other practice, to physical
assets in pursui ting of economic life cycle costs. It is
concerned with the spec i f icat ions and des ign for
rel iabil i ty and maintainabil i ty of asphal t plant,
equipments and infrastructures.
5.
OBJECTIVES AND FORMS OF MAINTENANCE

The main objectives of maintenance work in the road
'
-l
2345-
Stage 3
& trucks
I-Placing
crushed
coat
2-Spreading
works
3-Compaction
4-Smoothing
II
I-Maintenance
of asphalt
distribution parts
and nozzles
I-Asphalt
distributors
I-Spraying
prime coat
2-Spraying
tack coat
when
necessary
Asphalt
spraying
I-Asphalt
distresses
2-Equipments
I-Asphalt
plant
2-Pavers
3-Rollers
4-Laboratory
equipments
I-Placing and
spreading
asphalt mix
2-Compaction
of asphalt
mix
Asphalt
layer(s)
Stage 4 J [Stage 5
Stages of road construction, equipments and maintenance works.
I-Disintegration
(smoothing)
2-Pot holes
3-Compaction
4-Equipments
Water tanks
Motorgraders
All types of rollers
Laboratory equipments
1- Loaders
I-Removing
bad soil
2-Transporting good
soil
3-Compaction
4-Pitching
5-Bridges
I-Smoothing
2-Compaction
3-Failures in surface
4-Equipments
I-Motorgraders
2-Loaders
3-Trucks
4-Surveying
instruments
I-Site
location
2-Levelling
works
Stage 2-1
Base and
infrastructurl I subbase works
11- -
~'--------------~
Preliminary
works
l---~g:-~
Fig.(I)
Maintenance
works
required
in each
stage
Equipments
needed in
each stage
works
Types of
-;amf' of
stage
Stages of
Construction
t5
3(1)
:l
==
:l
(1)
~i
==
0-
V>
(1)
6-
:l
0"
;.
:l
294
construction companies are:

a)
To extend the useful
life of equipments and the
road facility with all components;

b)
To assure the optimum availability and readiness

of equipments for use anytime;
c)
To obtain maximum possible return on investment;
d)
To achieve society satisfactory and convenience.
Maintenance work can be either planned or unplanned.

The unplanned maintenance
is either "emergency"
which
is
necessary immediately to avoid serious consequences, or

"strategic" when better performance
Planned
maintenance
may
be
either
is
required at once.
"preventive"
which
includes all checks and adjustments set out in specifications and manuals, or "corrective" which involves minor
repairs not found in inspection process and also overhauls
repairs. Different types of maintenance and necessary works
are summarized in Fig.
(2) while the relation between the
total maintenance cost and the degree of planning is shown

in Fig. (3).
6.
FUNCTIONS!
QUALIFICATIONS
AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
The main functions
of
the maintenance
department
in
any company can be summarized as:

a)
Pure maintenance as stated in Fig.2.
b)
Research and Development which is concerned with

modi fications
in
machine
performance
or
road
method of design and execution. It includes capital
295
1. Checks in
user
nnuals
2. Lubrication
3. Oil and
air filter
4. Control
1. Checks
according
to specification in
all stages
2. Road quali ty
control
3. "ix-design
control
1. "inor
repairs
not in
inspection
2. Overhauls
uintenance
1. Sioothing
of surface
2. Repair of
road for
.ilitar, or
poli tical
use
1. Failure
on earth
or bridge
2. Disintegration
3. Water
loss
Fig. 2 "aintenance of Roads and Equip.ents
1. PavSlent
distresses
1. Sudden
breakdONn.
Sundry manntenance cost
maint;enanca
P1a.nr.ed
lanned
ndry
arming
efCre
Fig,3.
II
planned
sundry
emersency
5:
85:;
10X
Unec:onom-c
over-maintenanca
II'
ma1ntananca 40%
super-v;;'cn st>:r....
vaining, security,
''-'' iTa fighting
Project
capita.l
modificatiJn 5:
'5~
/~
maintenanca ,:~
\engineeMn g
\'
attendants adjust=.ng
keeping work
non-maintenance
Miscs".anecus 30%
/'
planned prsveneve
~ ./
/1
-'--/
./
Relations between different types of maintenance!sources Ref.1.)
50%
10:
reduca o::::st 20:
planned
10% sundry
5~
Maintenanca
CYK)mic
08Qree
of Planning
I
I-------~
---1'.....--- --------t--------------
~.~,~o, ~JI
10 '/
50
OVQr-malntena.nca
~n~m'c
55% pure maintanance
::I
~.
:I
::I
ft
3::
trl
3::
()
297
cost of equipments,
materials,
installations and
infrastructure.
c)
Miscellaneous, which includes material testing,

road quality control, machine setting, storekeeping, training, security, fire-fighting,
control office, and many other similar nonmaintenance activities.
Generally the maintenance department staff should have

a functional responsibility
for ensuring that all equipments and asphalt plant are correctly operated and the
project timetable is executed as predetermined agreed. The
responsibilities
1.
The
of the maintenance staff include [1]:
selection
and
purchase
of
equipments,
consumable stores and services.

2.
The installation and commissioning of equipments,

specially the asphalt plants when it is required
to move them from one site to another.
3.
The quality of the end product and the handing

over to the client.
4.
Budgetary control of works and services.
5.
The control of operation from the viewpoint of

maintenance safety.
6.
Site location of equipments and their transportation from one site to another.
7.
The control of staff and operatives necessary for

the optimum utilization of equipments and labour.
8.
The provision of consultancy services
for the
298
optimum utilization of equipments and labour.

9.
The education and training of engineers and

technicians.
7.
THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT IN THE COMPANY ORGANIZATION

No doubt that installing a maintenance engineering
department in any company or even in a service authority,

requires .wide knowledge
activities.
and understanding of the working
The maintenance department must be located at
the heart of the company organization.
Generally,
organization structure should be designed to
suit
the
the
particular activity. It should provide the framework within

which the other factors that influence the effectiveness of
the project management process have the best chance of
maximum
performance
in
achieving the
company objectives.
For road companies, the following aspects are affecting the

effectiveness of the management process [2]:
a)
Behavioural responses factor which consists of the

characteristics
of
personnel,
the
their
motivation, reaction to status, personal goals and

values.
b)
Company
organization
which
structures
the
relationships of the members and hence influence,

their responses to the demands placed on them.
c)
Techniques and Technology
which are the tools
used by the members of the organization to produce

the road and its infrastructures. They include
evaluation,
appraisal
and
control
methods,
approaches to design, dealing with external

contractors and clients and the techniques of
constructing the road.
299
Based on the above factors and bearing in mind that no

two organizations are likely to be quite the same. Fig. (4)
shows a suggested organization for a road construction
company which is headed with "Top Management Team" which is
responsible for planning and evaluation. It may include
some external well experienced members. One of this team
will be responsible for the daily operation of the company
and work as a link between the top management team and the
workers, he is named "General Manager". He is the chairman
of the board of directors which consists of:
1.
Road project director whose main functions is the

procurement and operation of the means to make the
road, or supply the service for the clients very
convenient.
8.
2.
The technical director, which is concern with

"Accountant" and "Secretarial" works.
3.
The financial and administrative director, which

is concerned with "Accountant" and "Secretarial"
works.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

a)
The importance, scope, and cost of maintenance has

grown in all proportions to the advances in
engineering technology in sort of reducing
downtimes of equipments, increasing levels of
service on roads and satisfying society
convenience.
b)
It is the responsibility of the maintenance staff

to guide actions, provide adequate training and
education and carry research into the aspects of
maintenance.
1. Production
1. Central
workshop
2. All
repaired
works
3. Lighting
2. Materials
3. Specification
4. Calibration
5. Electrical
works
Asphalt
Plant
Mechanical&
Electrical
Works
I I
-----
Fig.4
--_._-
As explained
in Fig.4.
-----
Maintenance
Manager
I Technical Director I
Board of Directors
Road
- _ .. _-
6.
7.
4.
5.
2.
3.
Company
------
Projects
Planning
Machine
settings
Progess
Infrastructure
Accesses
Laboratory
--------
1. Road
--------
Projects
I I
---
Organization
--
4.
5.
6.
3.
2.
project
Cost benefit
analysis
Machine
depreciation
Fuel cost
Tendering
Bidding
-------------
Evaluation
& Assesment
1. Engineering
~~-
Civil Works Director
l Top Management & Planning Team I
Accountant
Budgeting
Cashier
Purchase
Warehouses
6. Stores
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chief
Accountant
I
Secretary
1. Personal
affairs
2. Payroll
3. Recruitment
4. Union negotiation
5. Legal
department
6. Secretarial
works
7. Transport
Financial Director
ieo
(j
....
8
301
c)
Maintenance is essential to ensure the optimum

availability of equipments and the road facility
for use anytime and obtaining the maximum possible
return on investment.
d)
Maintenance should be concerned with the satisfaction and convenience of people using he
machines and the road.
e)
The size of maintenance staff depends upon both

the size of the company and the nature of the
activity. The ratio of 10% seems to be reasonable
for road companies [1].
f)
The need for advice, information and assistance

for the improvement of maintenance engineering
effectiveness seems to be vital for the small
sized organizations for the continuity of
production.
g)
For the existing companies, it may be necessary to

carry out a complete appraisal of the company as a
whole and carry out a complete assignment to reorganize the maintenance department.
h)
The maintenance function is an integral part of

the production function and it is involved in
every aspect of the manufacturing process.
i)
The maintenance manager and his staff should have

sufficient theoretical and practical experience,
extensive knowledge of the road heavy equipments.
Moreover they should be well paid to attract good
staff.
j)
The maintenance manager should:
302
(1) Have a functional responsibility for ensuring

that
production
and
equipments
are
correctly
operated.
(2) Have a functional responsibility to close down
a machine or stop working if it is technically
ufluseful to operate or because further use would
cause extensive damage.
(3)
Have a foreman whose job is to see that the
technicians are properly instructed and competent

to maintain all equipments in a good order.
(4) Be fully informed of all shortcomings and be a
representative
of
the
maintenance
department
to
more senior managers.

k)
The feedback of information from technicians and a

clear explanation of the nature of repairs carried
out is essential information for managers
and
supervisions to enable them to retain control over

maintenance operations.
REFERENCES
1.
Corder, A. (1976). "Maintenance Management Techniques",

McGraw Hill Company, London.
2.
Walker, A. (1984). "Project Management in Construction",

Collins Publishers, London.
3.
Hierarchy of the Sharkia asphalt project, Egypt. (1987).
4.
The Asphalt Institute Reports MS-8, MS-13 and MS-16.
Condition-based Maintenance System Engineering

Geoff Allenby
Marketing Manager, SPM Instrument UK Ltd, UK
Mith the rapid growth of micro-chip technology,

condition
monitoring techniques, have like many other areas, developed into
highly advanced systems.
The result of which is we have a vast range of highly sophisticated data collection, computer compatible equipment available
to the engineer, with,
if required fully automated systems, to
make the decisions.
This is all very well providing that the equipment selected is
correct for the application it was intended. Unfortunately this
is not always the case, consequently it is of great importance
that time be taken to ensure that the correct selection is
carried out.
1.1 Establish your needs.
I.f the engineer wishes to establish or
tion monitoring system, he

"need" to condition monitor.
expand
ill
cccxli
first has to establish clearly the
1.2 Carry out plant survey.

A full plant survey should be conducted to establish the
"need".
1.3 Plant stoppers.
Not only will the survey establish the "need"
monitor, it will clearly confirm the" Plant stopper(s)".
to
1.4 Modes of failure

Once the "plant stoppers" have been confirmed, it is important to investigate the mode or modes of failure. Mhich will
cause down time, is it balance,bearings, temperature, pressure
etc. or a combination of one or more modes.
1.5 Select equipment.
At this point, the previous steps should have made the
choice of equipment straight forward. However, even if-this is
not so the engineer will certainly have a much clearer picture
and can now invite the equipment suppliers to offer advice and
assistance.
2.0 Mhat will condition monitoring do for me ?
If all the steps 1.1 to 1.5 have been followed,
plus a
planned strategy has been implemented, there MILL be a pay back
on investment, our experience tells us,within a twelve month
period.
The result of which will be, reduced downtime, better
machine utilisation,
increased machine availability,
improved
product, increased safety etc.
304
CONDITION MONITORING - SYSTEM ENGINEERING
PLANT STOPPERS
SELECT MACHINES
MOST CRITICAL TO
PRODUCTION
ESTABLISH NEEo.
PLANT SURVEY.
WHICH MODE(S) OF FAILURE

TO MONITOR & PREDICT.
SELECT THE BEST MONITORING

TECHNIQUE TO SUIT REQUIREMENTS
ORGANISE SYSTEM
ROUTINE
I
PERMANENTLY INSTALLED
MONITORING SYSTEM
MANUAUPERIODIC
MONITORING SYSTEM
I
MANUAL
RECORDING
DATA
COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
(COMPUTER)
COMPUTER
LINK
DETERMINE AND SET

ACCEPTABLE LEVELS
not
acceptable
DECISION
accefta bl e
AUTOMATIC ALARM
TRIGGER
ISSUE WORKS
ORDER.
REPORT AND LOG.

ACTION TAKEN.
I
ISSUE REPORT OF ANY
WORK DONE, PLUS ANY
RECOMMENDATIONS.
305
3.0 Bearings
The heart of any rotating machine is the bearing.
3.1 Plain bearings
White metal, bronze,
has a qualified,
although
dustry_
plastic etc_
This type of bearing
very important roll in todays in-
3.2 Rolling element bearings_

This type of bearing,
in to-day's hi-tec industry. is
the most commonly employed and as such demands special attention.
3.3 How and why does a rolling element bearing work.
The rolling element bearing is probably one of the most
precise pieces of engineering equipment most engineers will ever
use and is probably the most misunderstood and misused pieces of
equipment.
The rolling element bearing is designed to produce the
optimum performance in terms of.
load carrying capacity. speed
capability with minimum power loss. with a high degree of accuracy. consequently the design and manufacturing parameters set
by the reputable bearing manufacturers.
is to an extremely high
standard.
The steel specification is to a high standard and is
f~~~"l'
~""~red
to,
conta.inated cannot and will not
b6
tolera{ed.
regular sampling by metallurgists is standard practice.
Machining of components by computer controlled machines
to ensure accuracy in the initial stages of manufacture.
Heat treatment. the bearing industry are almost certainly market leaders in heat treatment techniques and industry
generally owes a lot to the research and development carried out
by the bearing manufacturers in their quest for better and better
quality.
Grinding,
once again the bearing industry is probably
second to none in this field.Grinding techniques have ,been improved and refined to ensure that very accurate tolerances and
surface finishes can be achieved repeatedly and economically on a
mass produced item_
DARpite all these factors involved in supplying industry
with this essential piece of technology,
there are a number of
factors commonly affecting the bearing;
a) bad storage facilities.
b)incorrect installation.
c) lubrication. to much, to little, wrong type.
d)operating conditions, speed and or load increased by two,
three, four times the designed parameters.
306
4.0 Shock Pulse Method

This unique technique was invented over twenty years ago
and is now the industry standard, world wide, for monitoring the
true operational condition of a rolling element bearing.
4.1 What is shock pulse

This is a technique using a high,discreet frequency,
measure instantaneous mechanical impacts.
to
4.2 How does Shock Pulse work

By utilising the above technique and applying this to
the measurement of rolling element bearings a reliable and
repeatable method for monitoring the condition of bearings has
been developed.
As a result of extensive and continuous research and
development,
it has it is the only technique available for
monitoring "the true operating condition of a rolling element
bearing"' . Not only can damage be detected and quantified at an
early stage of development,
even before being visible to the
naked eye, but the vital oil film thickness (EHD) can be measured
and the ability of the conditions to support and maintain this
film.
.
The basis of the Shock Pulse technique is that it
measures the mechanical impacts generated by any rolling element
bearing,as a function of the baIlor roller velocity,
(the mass
has no or negli~ible effect on these impacts) i.e.
the normal
surface roughness as well as any incipient damage present.
These mechanical impacts generate pressure waves or
shock pulses, through the bearing housing, which are detected by
a transducer, (piezo electric )which is mechanically tuned. Thus a
very discreet frequency is utilised, further filtering electronically is carried out to ensure that the natural frequency 32KHz.
of the transducer are maintained and cannot be influenced from
other sources.
It is important to understand and appreciate that the
Shock Pulse Method detects pressure waves set up by the impacts
and cannot respond to physical movement, i.e. vibration, consequently there are rules for using the technique which are as follows;
a)The measuring point must be selected to provide the shortest
possible straight line to the bearing.
b)No additional interfaces other than the bearing housing and the
outer race of the bearing.
c)In the loaded zone of the bearing.
Over the years, since the original concept, research and development of this unique technique has been given top priority and
with the rapid growth in the micro technology field,
the Shock
Pulse Technique has been developed to an extremely high level of
307
accuracy and reliability, with sophisticated equipment being

developed which is "user friendly", yet produces results that
enable the engineer to confidently plan his schedules to ensure
maximum production can and is achieved. ttith the added benefit of
readily available software full analysis is at your fingertips.
It should be noted that by its very concept ,
Method cannot and will not respond to vibrations
the machine being monitored.
the Shock Pulse

occurring on
Similarly, vibration monitoring equipment, simple or sophisticated cannot and will not measure the operating condition of a
rolling element bearing. other than very advanced damage very
close to total failure. There are techniques available that purport to do the same as Shock Pulse, by and large these
"alternatives" are very un-reliable and do not enable the engineer to make a sound decision.
One point worth noting;
Shock pulse and vibration monitoring are complimentary not
contradictory.
Effective Machinery Fault Diagnosis A voids Unnecessary

Gearbox Maintenance (Case Study)
Abdalla H El Sherif
Senior Rotating Machinery Engineer, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The ability to detect as many machinery problems as possible, without

opening a machine unnecessarily, requires effective and comprehensive
fault diagnosis. OVer the past two decades, the use of vibration analysis
has become a signif icant tool in the diagnosis of rotating machinery
health monitoring. This approach has saved considerable cost throuqh:- Prevention of catastrophic failures.
Avoiding expensive unnecessary shutdowns and repairs.
- Allowing minimJrn equipnent downtime.
Machinery health monitoring and fault diagnosis, however, are as qood as
the quality of the parameters monitored and recorded from various
monitoring systems.
Durinq the commissioning, of a qas turbine driven crude oil loadinq pump,
the load qearbox has experieoced excessive vibration which limited the
pumpset capability and raised concern over the mechanical inteqrity of the
qearbox and the reliability of a critical equipment. The causes for the
problem were traced to improper vibration sensor's holder desiqn and
istallation.
This case study highlights the experienced problem, and the efforts
involved in its analysis and identification.
It also reviews the
corrective actions taken to effectively resolve it with minimum effort,
downtime and cost.
~IPMENl'
DESCRIPTIOO
Crude oil emanating from three (3) offshore oil fields is loaded into
tankers using sinqle stage, double suction centrifuqal pumps. Each pump
is driven by a two shaft industrial gas turbine throuqh an epicyclic speed
reducing load gearbox with a speed ratio of 5.26:1.
The gearbox is
mounted on the enqine frame and flange bolted to the support structure and
power turbine support member.
309
The pwnpset mechanical corrlition is monitored by a continuous vibrati.on

monitorinq system.
The system utilizes vibration velocity sensors and
monitors casinq vibration at four (4) points (FiQure 1).
~II~
H~
@
VI BRATION SENSOR
Figure 1: Gas Turbine Driven Centrifugal PooIp

Due to the lack of an adequate and convenient space, the qearbox vibration
sensor was attached to a holder that was in turn installed on the qearbox
flanqe (Fiqure 2).
TO P GEARBOX
FLANGE
Figure 2: Gearbox Vibration Seosor Attacllllent

p~
DESCRIPl'IOO
Durinq the coomissioninq of the newest crooe oil loadinq PllllP, it was not
possible to raise the purrp speed above 60% because of excessive load
Qearbox vibration which consistently tripped the poolpset off line. Hence
Qreatly limitinq its loadinq capability and reliability.
310
The gearbox vibration siqnature analysis (f'iqure 3) had a predominant

frequercy correspondin::j to one of its qear meshin::j frequercies .
:~
.... ....-
c;,:.
~
........
~1.....
"',~
~
..
co
.,.,
co
...... ...'"
...
.........
1'1:.
b,
I:')
011 W
I f.(t
:z:
t:.,;i
'-
::;:
.::. ::;:
Ci)
Figure 3: Gearbox Vibration Signature Analysis

VIBRATIOO PKlBLf]o! OIJ\GOOSIS
To eliminate the possibility of instrumentation rnalfurction, the vibration
IOOnitorin::j systen was thoroughly checked, calibrated and tested.
The
system was found in a sound condition. The punpset was then test run at
various loads aoo speeds to verify its behaviour and response.
Test run data revealed that the gearbox vibration was speed sensitive
while load variation hcrl little effect on the vibration al1l>litude at a
qiven speed. the gearbox vibration amplitudes and phase an::jles were then
recorded aoo plotted for PI.IIP speeds from 50% to 100% (Figure 4). This
was only possible after inhibiting the vibration system trip signal to
maintain the pumpset on-line for the test.
14
il2
E
E 10
-----,
~:~~:~b~7--
280
240 :
CURVE (a)
200 :
..J
~ 8
..:
z 6
o
----
;::: 4
..:
II:
III
;; 2
40%
50%
60%
CURVE
c:>
I 20
J "
./-~
V-- ~:---
70%
Ie J
I 60 ~
80%
-900/.
80
40
100%
...
~
CL
PUMP SPEED
Figure 4: Gearbox Vibration Anplitude
am
Phase Versus PlII{l Speed
311
At dpproximately 8U speed, the qearbox vibration amplitur:te (Fiqure 4-a)

peaked sharply while the phase anqle (Fiqure 4-b) shifted 180 deqrees . At
82'$ speed, the vibration aJ1l)litude dropped to its level ;ust before the
peak.
The sharp vibration aJ1l)litude peak and phase shift indicated the presence
of a stronq mechanical resonance. The excitil'Xl frequency was one of the
qearbox meshil'Xl frequencies.
WHAT WAS
~TI~?
To identify the resonatinq component, a portable vibration meter/analyzer

was used to measure, trend and analyze the gearbox casinq vibration. The
resultinq vibration readinqs (Figure 4-c) die! not peak and their values
were well within the acceptable lunits. This identified the sensor holcler
as beinq the resonatinq component, while the gearbox was the source of the
excitinq frequency.
THE COOCEPr OF
VlBRATlOO
To resolve the problem of a resonatinq structure or machinery CQIllPOnent,

it is most important f i rst to understand the concept of resonant vibration.
Resonant vibration is a condition which exists when the frequency of an
exciting force coincides with the natural frequency of a mechanical system
or a structural member.
This is practically demonstrated when the
vibration amplitude of a system peaks or reaches a maximum for a specific
exciting frequency.
Without any da~inq, the vibration amplitude of a simple mass-sprinq
system (Fiqure 5), will chanqe with the frequency of the excitinq force
and builds toward infinity.
If
3
0
I-
IJ
....
w
:>
I-
.& ~=o.~
:J
<>.
::Ii:
if \~
n::
Zo.
~ ~ JL
a.
\ \\
~~
M MASS
K' STIFFNESS
i ;-I--- ~~ 1. =0.7
.... -...:: ~
--
B'
~
O. ~
!.O
I. ~
DAMP I NG
Be' CRITICAL DAMPING
-::;="
2.0
2 .0
= DAMPING
3 .0
FREQUENCY RATIO
Figure 5: Amplitude Factor as a Function of Frequency Ratio
RATIO
312
In real life, however, the maximum vibration amplitude is usually limited

darrpiN:! which dissipates the enerqy added to the vibratiN:! system by
the excitiN:! force.
Under equilibrium conditions, the enerqy beinq
dissipated will equal the enerqv beiN:! added with the consequent result
that the vibration amplitude is stable at a finite value even thouqh
resonant vibration is occur iN:!.
by
ELIMINATIt:;
VIBRATIOO
UsiN:! the sirrple mass-spring system model as an example,

natural frequency is expressed as : f
= l/27t JK/M
where:
f
K
M
the system's
natural frequency
stiffness
mass
Since the natural frequency of a system is controlled by the stiffness (K)

and mass (M). Thus, the natural frequency of the load qearbox vibration
sensor's holder was shifted above any siqnificant excitiN:! frequency,
qenerated within the pumpset operating speed raN:!e, by increasinq its
stiffness.
The holder's stiffness was sufficiently increased by
eliminating the welded bosses and simply fittinq it directly on the
qearbox flange (Fiqure 6).
Figure 6: Vibration Sensor Holder Directly Fitted to the Gearbox
As a result of the minor modification, the qearbox vibration amplitude, as

measured by the permanent sensor, did not appreciably peak any where
within the full operatiN:! speed range (Fiqure 7) . Hence, restoriN:! the
full capability of a critical equipnent with minimum effort and downtime
and neqliqible cost.
313
Figure 7: Gearbox Vibration Signature Analysis with Modified Holder
The 'IoOrk outlined in this case study, hiqhliqhts that careful faults
diaqnosis and identification can avoid unnecessary costly maintenance
shutdowns.
It also highliqhts the need to properly design and install
monitorilXl am protection systems to optimise protection am avoid false
machinery alarms aM shutdowns.
It is 'IoOrth notio;J that although the model used in this discussion is
highly s~lified, the relationships and cooolusions which have been
established were sufficient to resolve real systems problems.
1.
J.S. Mitchel, "An Introduction to Machinery Analysis and Monitorinq",

PeM Well Books.
2.
C. Jackson,
1975.
3.
4.
"A Practical Vibration Primer", Hydrocarbon Processinq,
IRD Mechanalysis, "Methods of Vibration Analysis", Technical Paper No.
104.
Hudacheck and Dodd, "Progress and

Diaqnostic Program", ASHE 76-PET-69.
Payout
of
Surveillance
and
The author wishes to thank the Corrpany Management for authorizinq the
publication of this case study and Mr. M.H. Khalifa am Miss S. Dakkak for
their assistaooe.
5291W
Automatic Condition Monitoring in tbe Hot Strip Mill of

Rautaruukki Oy Raabe Steel Works
M Pajukoski
Rautaruukki Oy, Raahe, Finland
1. CONDITION MONITORING IN THE HOT STRIP MILL

Since 1980, the use of condition monitoring methods in the Raahe
Steel Works has been actively developed (Fig. 1). In 1988, for
example, about 3 500 registered vibration measurements were made
manually
on mechanical equipment of the hot strip mill. In addition,
about 2 000 other measurements, such as ult~asonic wall thickness, ultrasonic leakage, and temperature measurements were made.
Due to the limitations of the manual method, however, it has not
been possible to apply it to all of the hot strip mill equipment.
Several equipment have so poor accessibility that measurements
cannot be made safely. Uneven running of the machines makes it
difficult to choose a measuring moment that would be comparable
to previous measurements, and the time available for the measuring
of some objects is only a few seconds. Due to alternating loads
of the machines several variables have to be measured simultaneously, which is difficult to arrange at repeated condition
control measurements. In some cases the deterioration of equipment
is so quick that a sufficient measuring frequency cannot be
obtained with portable measurers. Besides, the large number of
objects being measured makes the treatment of the results of
manual measuring difficult and delays their utilization.
315
IMIGROLOG PREDICTIVE
MAINTENANCE SYSTEM
CONDITION MONITORING SYSTEM
SAFECONTROL
FFT-ANALYZER
I MITSOL -851
VIBRATION SIGNATURE ANALYSIS
IRD-820
ULTRASONIC WAVE TEST

SST-INSTRUMENT
BEARING ANALYZER
SPM BEA -52
I VIBRATION SIGNATURE ANALYSIS
IRD-355
TEMPERATURE MEASURING
DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS (7)
SPEED MEASURING
SPM TACHOMETER TAC-I0 (6)
I ULTRASONIC WALL THICKNESS TEST
DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS (7)
VIBRATION ACCELERATION (R.M.S.)

IVIB 10 (10)
ISPYKE ENERGY
SPM 43A (10)
1981
-82
-83
-84
-85
-86
-87
-88
FIGURE 1
Diagnosis techniques and instruments of the predictive
maintenance system at the Rautaruukki Oy Raahe Steel Works
316
About 40t of the machine elements of the rotating apparatus in

the hot strip mill are within the range of reliable condition
control carried out with manual measurements during operation.
With special arrangements, making use of roll changes and maintenance shutdown, a condition control level of about 60t has
been obtained for the rotating machines. The automatic condition
monitoring system was obtained to raise the condition control
level of the hot strip mill equipment.
2. GROUNDS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF
CONDITION MONITORING SYSTEM
The primary goal of the condition monitoring system was to improve
reliability of the hot strip mill. In 1986 the reliability of
the hot strip mill (-failure-free time/length of the operating
period x 100) was about 73t. Disturbances comprice equipment and
other failures, roll changes and planned maintenance shutdowns.
Based on the analysis of stoppage history data, a target was set
to decrease mechanical failures by 20t, which improves the
reliability of the hot strip mill by about It. The goal of
improved reliability also comprises decreased fluctuation in the
weekly reliability and thus improved control of the actual
production capacity.
The second goal is the decrease maintenance cost. Based on the
analysis of equipment history data, a goal was set to decrease
maintenance cost by lOt.
The decision to acquire an automatic condition monitoring system
for the hot strip mill was made in the summer of 1985. The Safecontrol condition monitoring system supplied by Oy Safematic Ltd
was chosen a equipment.
317
3 . AUTOMATIC CONDITION MONITORING

SYSTEM OFF HOT STRIP MILL
The condition monitoring system includes sensors, cables, multiplexers , a system cable, a side operator station, and a separate
alarm printer (Fig . 2) .
ALARM
PRINTER
4 DIGIT.
MULTI-
PLEXERS
SAFEAX Senso s
t .t
180 pes.
..... ICVL.,..
SENS
60 pes.
FIGURE 2. The system structure of the automatic condition

monitoring in the hot strip mill .
The permanently installed system will be introduced in three
stages:
Stage 1: Vertical edger and roughing mill
area -103 sensors
1986 - 1988
Stage 2 : Coiler area - 36 sensors
Stage 3: Finishing mill area -94 sensors
The stages land 2 have already been introduced.
1988
1990
318
The number of objects being monitored by the permanently installed

system will amount to about 240.
4. INSTALLATION AND INTRODUCTION OF THE
CONDITION MONITORING SYSTEM, STAGE 1
In the planning phase, trial measurements were made with a FFT
analyzer (Fig. 3). On the basis of the trial measurements a
disposition-plan was made for the sensors and the measuring
times were determined for the objects.
SETtJ'
SECOIIS
If-fIU
flU 52 200 lREe!ll
F 1lL.L.Z-L._....!lL.A....-'!!!t..J'-----'='----::::::I
X,
12.250 K2
FIGURE 3
SPEC 4 RI
y, 76E -4 Y
jf 2SOO K2
100. 00
REe 37 TIME 200 so. 13
Waterfall-diagram of the bevel gearbox top bearing

of the vertical edger.
The operation stations were placed in the maintenance supervisors'

room in close vicinity to the hot strip mill. The alarm printer
was placed in the working place of shift mechanicians.
The configuration of measuring points was carried out by the
supplier on the basis of the provided equipment specifigations.
The supplier also determined the present values of alarm limits.
319
The instrumentation of the condition monitoring system was as

far as possible installed and protected so that it would not be
damaged in the extremely difficult conditions. The sensors were
installed so that they would not be subject to mechanical stress,
or otherwise were protected mechanically. The sensor terminals
were protected by rubber barrels.
The sensor cables were protected in the most demanding places by
steel pipes 0 50 x 2 and elsewhere by electrical cable protection pipes. On curves and junctions slit angles and tees were
used. In addition, the sensor cable was protected between protecting pipe and sensor by a stainless, flexible metal hose.
Before the system was introduced, a many-sided training program
was carried out as follows:
l.
Knowledge of the field equipment
25 persons
2.
10
Operation and utilization
"
3.
Performance of configuration
5 "
4.
System maintenance
5 "
The total training time was 40 hours.
5. OPERATING EXPERIENCE
The first stage of the condition monitoring system "vertical
edger and roughing mill area" went into trial operation on
31 October 1986'. During the first months, several measurement
results were already obtained which revealed failures. Due to
the very difficult conditions in the area of application, changes
were made in the system during 1987, and the first stage was put
into operation in March 1988. The second stage of the system
went into operation in June 1988.
320
5.1 Journal bearing of the spindle of the roughing mill

Temperature sensors are inserted in the bearing bodies near the
white metal surfase to monitor the journal bearings of the spindle
of the roughing mill. In addition, the hydraulic pressure in the
spindle balancing system is monitored (Fig . 4). The condition
monitoring system has several times alarmed for a rise of temperature in a bearing. Due to the alarm, the bearing has been checked
for lubrication, and a bearing failure has been avoided by
external cooling of the bearing .
12 .04 .1988 15:3&
FIGURE 4 Illustrative display of roughing mill main

drin drivers condition monitoring.
321
5.2 Loosening of top pinch roll shaft

The condition monitoring system gave alarm at the measurement
point of the top pinch roll bearing body, when the total vibration
level in the rotational frequency range I - 4 Hz exceeded the
action limit, the measured vibration level being 6.7 mm/s. When
the point was checked during roll change, it was found that the
key joint between the end of roll shell and the roll shaft had
loosened and there was a clearance between the end and the shaft.
This caused an increase of vibration level in the rotational
frequency range, which was due to unbalance. During the next
weekly repair the roll was changed, and after that the vibration
values was on the standart level of 0.6 mm/s (Fig. 5).
If the failure had become worse, it would probably have resulted
in deterioration of coil quality and, because of the high weight
(8 600 kg) of the pinch roll, in an unexpected breakage, due to
unbalance, of the roll bearing.
18.11
(2I))l2~ :. cQ1fer 3 top . p~n.ch roll de L7 .
9tl89119S9 lS:lb
e. d 2.;:~ ~
...... . Spe
IIJ1tS
~
f.SOO
l..q
8.21
S.iBl ....... . .... . .... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... .... . IIfMS
2G-38
........ .. ~
8.56
~~ .~ ...... ..... ~~~~ .. .. .. ........ . . . . . . .
3l-P
li"
',
'
29
FIGURE 5 Top pinch roll of coiler. Vibration measurements in

a failure situation (top) and after roll change (bottom).
322
5.3. Maintenance requirements of the

condition monitoring system
The roughing mill and vertical edger areas are very demanding
application areas for the condition monitoring system. Failures
have occurred in fittings, cables, and sensors in places which
are most difficult of access; some mechanical failures have
occurred in sensor cables, sensor cables have melted due to a
fire around the shielding tube of sensor cable, and interruptions
have occurred due to accumulation of dust on the circuit cards
in the operating station. However, protection of sensors and
sensor cables has been sufficient to prevent more failures.
The system has been modified in the most demanding places by
protecting the sensor fittings by cast plastic, by relocating
the sensors, and by improving the dust tightness of the housting
of operating station.
The self-diagnosis of the system is very helpful in
failures, but experience shows that annual checking
monitoring objects to retain the reliabilitY,of the
recommendable, e.g. the vibration monitoring points
checked by means of vibrator.
localizing
of all
system is
should be
6. OUTLOOK
The results obtained during the testing period show that the
condition monitoring system meets the requirements set on it
after the modifications. With automatic condition monitoring the
number of condition based control measurements in the hot strip
mill can be considerably increased and the level of monitoring
raised. The number of false alarms given by the system is still
considerable, but, on the other hand, the real alarms have led
to considerable savings in production and maintenance costs.
Plans for a further development of condition monitoring include
integration of the system to the works' control system.
323
A computerized information and control system RAMICS has been

built up for maintenance control at the Raahe Steel Works of
Rautaruukki Oy (Fig. 6).
PlA IIITNAIICE
MIIITJWj([ COItTR(l SVSTIII
' Il VEIIT lY E
IlA INT(NANCE
-RECOGN I T ION AND
P~EV(NT 10H Of
fAllUP.ES B[fOR[
!;~!l ~:iAT[
IlAIIITENANCE CONTROl
"" lfin'IANCE Pl AItII HG ~
COORD IlIA TI (JI
PREPAAAT1(11 NfD PlAlfj IHG
"" INTE'IANC WORK
INROYE
- SCHEDUlED "AIIITEHANCf SYSTElI
- CONSTRUCTIO NS
-CHOICE OF /lATEr.I "'-REPAIR I1ETHOOS
CORRECTlY(
IIA IIITE II ANCE
STAll ST ICS
- 5U'IHAR I ES
- , RPORTS
- "A I NT[NANCE WO R
CARRIED OUT TO
REPAIR "AlLURES
FAILURE S
FIGURE 6 Computerized information and control system RAMICS

The Safecontrol condition monitoring system can be connected to
the predictive maintenance system contained in RAMICS in addition
to the portable measuring device system (MICROLOG) acquired for
manual measurements of condition monitoring . The decision about
the connection will be made after sufficient operating experience
has been gained .
324
The information obtained by condition monitoring will be used in

production planning for the determination of hot strip mill
availability. After the system has reached its planned extent
its fine adjustment has been done after sufficient operating
experience, it will also be possible to intergrate the system
directly to the production control system by using artificial
intelligence programs.
On-line Surveillance for PrediCtive Maintenance in a

Hazardous Environment
Peter W Hills
General Manager - Services Division, IRD Mechanalysis (UK) Ltd, UK
ABSTRACT
In a hazardous environment, machinery performance and production demands

call for maximum service life and reliability.
Vibration-based Predictive Maintenance Programmes, applying established
periodic manual or continuous monitoring techniques, are used widely for
most plant situations.
However, for hazardous environments with high
concentrations of machines and lack of access or unmanned processes, an
alternative yet cost-effective vibration data collection technique is
required.
By the application of On-Line SUrveillance, data from several hundred
rotating machines can now be collected and analysed at a realistic cost.
Machinery life can be accurately predicted by remote surveillance without
the need for a high level of manpower effort.
Introduction
It is essential that rotating machines operate reliably in a hazardous

environment.
High temperature and/or humidity, aggressive fumes and
combustible gases prevent regular machinery inspection. When maintenance
or repairs are necessary, the plant generally has to be shut down and
made safe. Therefore any practicable technique or aid which:
reduces the shutdown period
avoids false alarms
identifies what needs to be done
indicates when the work is necessary
becomes a valuable contribution to maximising productivity.
"Predictive Maintenance is the assessment, on a periodic or continuous
basis, of the operating condition of machinery, equipment and systems
from the observations and/or measurements of selected parameters."
326
Developed over 30 years ago, vibration measurement and analysis is

recognised as the most practical and sensitive technique for determining
machinery condition . This paper discusses the current techniques applied
to vibration-based "Predictive Maintenance Programmes" .
It outlines
On-line surveillance for hazardous environments and presents recent field
results .
2
Periodic Manual Data Collection
The
first generation of manual PMP instruments for
periodically
monitoring the condition of rotating machines, were simple hand held
meters indicating overall vibration levels; data would be manually
entered into a paper record system and amplitude trends evaluated.
Any
progressive increase would then be followed up by a detailed analysis of
the vibration amplitude, frequency and phase to identify machinery faults
such as unbalance , misalignment, mechanical looseness, bad bearings etc.
The benefit of such test results provides the maintenance manager with
precious "lead-time-to-failure" (REF 1) for the procurement of spare
parts and labour and to schedule maintenance downtime with production
departments.
With adva nces in microprocessor technology, the second generation of
portable PMP instruments took the form of the automated data collector
(FIGURE 1) .
This computerised programmable tool instructs the operator
around a measurement route to
capture vibration and
associated
machinery performance data (over 3000 measurements).
Collected data is
then off-loaded to a personal computer for automatic trending of
vibration levels, detailed analysis and the generation of maintenance
action reports.
The automated data collector incorporates features such
as on-board Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectral analysis, time wave
form analysis, synchronous averaging, phase and temperature measurement
FIGURE 1: AUTOMATED DATA COLLECTOR FOR PERIODIC DATA COLLECTION
2.1
327
Knowledge Based Automated Diagnostics
The interpretation of machinery vibration data is a function of training

and practical experience.
Since vibration analysis is described as
objective technology it conforms to clearly defined 'rules' developed
over decades of application experience
eg: 1 x rpm = unbalance, 2 x rpm
misalignment etc.
Expert system software now exists
which
incorporates these rules.
It evaluates related vibration spectra and
diagnoses machinery defects.
Much of the routine analysis can be done
automatically (FIGURE 2) leaving the 'special cases' for the expert
engineer.
As machine history is accumulated even the most complicated
faults will be added to the knowledge base for future automated
diagnostics.
For large installations with several thousand measurement points a
knowledge based diagnostic system will reduce much of the tedious routine
analysis.
It will also be appreciated that computerised machinery
diagnostic data can be integrated with, or exported to, maintenance
management system software.
This can then generate work orders for
maintenance engineers indicating precisely what machinery problems need
priority attention.
Route PUIIPS
llichine P-04015 DEPR RE
P05 3
Dir H
IIIIS
RiCh Type , .,-IIorz cent
Rotltil, Sp.1d RPII
3510
A550C part Sptld RPII
-I
Overall Alpl 0.229 IllS
Alar. Li.it 0.314 IllS
bpfo
bpfi
hi
btf
&If I
.2
Ilide
Pl51
Belt pa55
Total Hlber of faults:
Al ar.1glSE
lid blnill95 vitti 1lAJ0R faults

Rissing Alial Hnlr.llAt
LOOIIII155
Hydraulic or Aerodynllic
17327.86
24792.14
9592.22
1443.99
0.00
0.00
10530.00
0.00
FIGURE 2 - AUTOMATIC DIAGNOSTIC REPORT

3
Comments on Periodic Manual Data Collection
Periodic manual monitoring (7 to 14 day frequency) is a cost-effective

solution for predicting the condition of numerous rotating machines
widely spread around a process plant.
However, manual data collection
is often impractical for taking measurements in a hazardous environment
or unmanned processes.
High ambient temperature, humidity, lack of
access, safety requirements, etc, generally require hardwired systems in
order that machine measurements can be recorded remotely.
328
Continuous Protection Monitors
The hardwired vibration monitoring system is generally reserved for the

On-line Protection of critical high speed machines such as turbo
generators, compressors, etc.
Where the "time to failure"
and
the
"cost
of
lost
production"
dictates
such
an insurance-type investment
(REF 2),
Continuous Protection
Monitors (FIGURE 3)
scan all
measurement points
simultaneously, 24 hours per
day, with alarm and machine
shutdown capabilities.
A typical machine installation
will have approximately
15
channels
of
vibration,
temperature and speed to be
logged.
FIGURE 3: CONTINUOUS PROTECTION
MONITOR SCANNING UP TO 30 SENSORS
Whilst Continuous Protection is suitable for many remote monitoring

applications it becomes extremely costly and even impractical for
monitoring several hundreds
of measurement points (500+) for the
following reasons:
i
For the majority of plant-wide condition monitoring systems, the
"time to failure" can be measured in weeks or months, therefore 24 hour
per day scanning is unnecessary .
ii
Due to the long "time to failure" for most rotating machines,
instant protection shutdown facility is not necessary.
the
iii To evaluate the data, each monitoring instrument would have to be

individually interrogated.
To overcome this problem the data would have
to be logged by an independent computer system.
iv
Few monitoring instruments are designed to accept up to 30 channels.
To accommodate 500 channels would require control room/panel space for at
This is
least 17 main rack frame monitors and their recorders.
unlikely to be acceptable since space is always scarce.
v
Each channel would have to be individually wired from
each
transducer to the measuring instrument.
For installations with several
hundred test points, this will mean a considerable amount of cabling.
This may cost more than the monitor hardware and is often a limiting
factor.
vi
The cost per channel can be prohibitive for most users.
329
On-Line Surveillance
An economic alternative to the continuous protection monitor

for
non-critical machines is the computer-controlled On-Line Surveillance
System (FIGURE 4).
It is particularly suitable for
continuous
operations such as chemical plants, paper-making, steel mills, offshore
platforms, marine vessels etc
PLANT MANAGEM ENT

DATA TE .... INAL
FIGURE 4:
SCHEMATIC OF AN ON-LINE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
Hardware
The block diagram in FIGURE 5 illustrates the major components which make
up the On-Line Surveillance System located in a HAZARDOUS, NON-HAZARDOUS
and CONTROL ROOM environment.
A typical installation consists of an
array of sensors (acceleration, temperature, pressure, etc) which are
semipermanently mounted on the plant being monitored.
These are wired
via zenner safety barriers to one or several multiplexers (MUX) to
facilitate solid state switching from each measurement point which also
house the balanced A-C line amplifier and power supply.
HAZA.DDUS I
I
I
(ONTROL ROOH
NON HAZ .ROOU S
,~,
FIGURE 5:
BLOCK DIAGRAM SHOWING THE COMPONENT PARTS
OF AN ON-LINE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
330
In the case of a vibration signal it is processed through various

individual signal conditioning cards to give a D-C output proportional to
the signal amplitude enabling vibration to be presented in Velocity,
Acceleration and Spike Energy (gSE) etc.
The computer would be an
off-the-shelf IBM PC or equivalent with a Lab Tender card to convert the
D-C signal from analog to digital.
The PGA card (Programmable Gain
Amplifier) a balanced input amplifier, receives the signal for further
conditioning such as frequency spectrum analysis.
The digital I/O card
activates an alarm relay which may be connected to an annunciator or
other device external to the system.
By comparison, the Continuous Protection Monitor requires one signal
conditioning card per channel per measured unit (acceleration etc),
whereas an On-Line Surveillance System allows over 60 signals to be
processed through each signal conditioning card.
This maximises the
use of the transducer by producing at least 3 units of measure per
transducer for detailed analysis and expert system diagnosis.
The surveillance system scans each measurement point, recording up to
four parameters of vibration and storing spectra on warning or alarm
conditions .
Scans of 250 measurement points can be completed in under 3
hours and if desirable the sequence can be repeated on a predetermined
basis 24 hours per day.
The concept of On-Line Surveillance for Predictive Maintenance is
superbly simple.
The key to its success lies with the availability of a
low-cost, high performance transducer .
In the past many process plants
have installed large scale vibration monitoring or remote data collection
systems.
When new, these have proved reasonably effective, albeit
expensive.
However, when urgent maintenance is required the transducers
have to be rapidly disconnected. Invariably connections, junction boxes
and wiring become damaged and contaminated by the corrosive environment.
The system seldom receives adequate attention, owing to the pressures of
production, and soon gives erroneous indications.
The operations staff
subsequently lose confidence in the data and eventually the whole
installation falls into disuse.
Clearly this is unacceptable because
not only does a high capital investment fail to give a satisfactory
return, due to low utilisation, but the original reasons for having the
machine monitoring system still remain.
Further, as the plant ages the
need for a monitoring system becomes even more valid.
FIGURE 6 illustrates
how
some
of
the
difficulties
assocwith
disconiated
nection during urgent
maintenance
can
be
overcome.
FIGURE 6
ACCELEROMETER MOUNTED ON A BEARING HOUSING

WITH ADHESIVE WHICH PERMITS EASY REMOVAL
331
The transducer is watertight, dustproof and corrosion resistant with an

integral cable designed to withstand a peak temperature of 175 0 C_ The
transducer is mounted on the bearing housing with either a rigid layer
of adhesive or mechanical clip to provide an efficient transfer of the
vibratory forces .
When full access to a machine's bearing is required,
the transducer may be removed by releasing the clip or applying a sharp
impact perpendicular to the base to overcome the adhesive.
Costs for a total installation show that the On-line Surveillance system
is on third of the cost per channel of the Continuous Protection Monitor
with scales of economy improving with the number of transducers.
Software
We
have discussed the On-Line Surveillance System hardware
viz:
transducer, multiplexe r and personal compute r , but to make the system
function requires efficient user-friendly software . This is necessary to
control the scanning of each bearing point, store the data, warn
operating personnel of any significant change in a bearing's condition
and be retrievable for detailed analysis .
The production operator can see, at a glance, the computer VDU showing
that scanning is in process and the status of each channel ;
FIGURE 7 is
a hardcopy print-out of a VDU screen giving the MUX' s on the "Y" axis (1
to 8) and measurement po ints on the "X" axis (1 to 64) .
>
Time : 09 :58 :2 4
IRO MEC HANAL vS1S
r--------------------------- MCS
MUM
MU M
MUM
MUM
MUM
MU M
MU M
MuM
I NC
(e )
1988
Dat e:We d 7 Se D 8 8
VERSI ON VBB-0 . 99b - ________________________--,
1234~6 7 B911 2345 6 7 8 921234567893123 45 678941234~ 6 7 8951234567 8961 234
1:
ANNNN~NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUU UUUUU.
2 : NNNNWNNNNNNNNNNWNNNNNNNANNNNNNNNNNNNNANNNNNNWNNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNa
3 : NN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN N A~NNNNNNA NNNNNNNNNNNN WN NNNNNNWNNNUU UUUUUUUUUN
4 : NNAANNNNNNAAAAAAWNANNNNNNWNNNNNNNNNNNNWNNNNNNNNNNWNNUUUUUUUUUUUN
5 : NNNANNWWNNAANNNWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN
6 : NNNNNANNNNA NNNANN WNUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNANNNNWNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN
7 : UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
8: UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
155 R~Qu.I~~ wa J2e N~ . S
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29 4J0 725
1 [3 : 42]
. ,
- COMBINED
ATUS (- ___________________________
<.
AUT05CAN ST
MODULE
..J
L-___________________________ - ,
PRE viOU S :
CUR RENT:
DIFFERENCE:
199
Filz1eltw~1~~
1.09
3 . 59
2 . 4 9
m M /~
~m/~
mm/~
PREVIOUS FREGUENCY
CURRENT FREGUENCY
r l , mm/
F6:Al~~m
N~ .b B
F/S
0 . 20 G
0 . 43 G
. 0. 23 G
1086 . CPM
72 2 . CPM
29 41 1118
0
0
.0
18 .
. 0 9 'l'SE
. II 'l'SE
. 0 3 Q/SE'
10 Hz
12 . 0,(1 Hz
D : 4 1)
0.00
0.00
-0.00
738 . m/M t n
1063.
m/Mln
F5 : ComblneCl
Acknow l edO.
F 9:End
F10:Help
INFORMATION
DIS PL AY
-__________________________.J
L -__________________________ -
FIGURE 7:
COMPUTER VDU SCREEN DISPLAYING CHANNELS SCANNED
During scanning each channel is displayed on the screen with the previous
and current signal level and the difference.
Should the amplitude
remain below preset warning or alarm levels an "N" indicating normal is
displayed; those channels in warning "W" or alarm "A" status are likewise
shown and channels assigned "U" are unused.
When a warning or high
level alarm occurs, the time the alarm is acknowledged by the operator is
recorded and automatically printed out.
332
Depending on machinery operating conditions, speed, load, rotor balance

etc, bearing deterioration occurs over varying periods of time, ranging
from 1 to 15 years (REF 3).
Therefore it is essential that the data
collection and archiving system is capable of generating long term
historical records.
Consider the quantity of scanned data to be stored for a multi-machine,
500 point installation, measuring g, mm/sec, gSE and speed on a three
times per day cycle.
Each day a total of 6000 measurements will be
collected which, if scanned at a similar rate over several months let
alone several years, will result in a massive and unwieldy data base.
This
would
normally
be
outside the
scope
of
the
personal
computer-controlled surveillance system.
To ensure that the PC's
memory disk is not saturated (say no more than 5 Mb utilisation), a FIFO
(first in first out) data memory structure (FIGURE 8) is
used.
Captured data is averaged at predetermined intervals by the number of
samples-taken, for each trend file.
ACClIIILIltD RfADlfIGS AlE
AYE_ OIIC PER IIEBJ
IRAllSF[MED 10 IEEKU FlU
ACCIIIJIAltD RfADIIIGS AlE

AYEIIAG[D OIIC PER DAY,
FIGURE 8: DATA MEMORY STRUCTURE FOR TRENDING PURPOSES

Data
is
stored
in a Sequential File, in the order channels are
scanned.
At the same time readings are accumulated for Daily, Weekly,
Monthly and Semestral files which are averaged at appropriate periods
and then transferred
to the
respective
file.
This approach
provides the capability for long term trending within the capacity of the
personal computer and makes data extraction simple.
333

6
Field Results
From recent field data collected from a paper making machine, FIGURE 9
illustrates multiple trends on a monthly basis. The relationship between
vibration and process variables (speed , temperature etc) was used to
identify faults.
.1.." 13 J~n 9<J
10 IIEOWIALYS IS
I1CS lREHD GRAPH : HOHTIILY
I t ..Scale = 11 . 1 Ala .... LeveI/Dlvlslon ..
....
..
.. . ..
:! : '~;?~1
20
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Bear Ing
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R<:pl .. c ~d
~.:- .i.. 1\~-j . .:. . :.; . . :. . . . L ... : ...; . ~ .
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.
... ..:.:: . ..
II
AUG
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1 .... 7
..... : . . . . . . .. . . :'11:
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10
II
1"111.
U 11 h .. It .~h. Hr . 16 lIS
13 I il.l.it..aln Hr .!6 lIS
83 Illzlol t ... ln Hr.16 r/s
FIGURE 9:
. ......~:::-
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MONTHLY MULTIPLE TREND BEARING MEASUREMENTS
IN mm/sec, G, gSE AND SPEED
The trends are taken from a roll bearing which entered service late 1987
and was removed during June 1988 within the warranty period.
It can be
seen that the velocity trend varies in unison with the machine speed.
This indicates that no problems are developing at the lower frequencies
such as those associated with rotor unbalance, looseness etc.
However,
the higher frequency signals generated by the rolling element bearing
represented by acceleration and Spike EnergyTM show that the gSE is more
sensitive to deterioration than g.
As a rule of thumb anti-friction bearings exhibiting Spike Energy levels
greater than 0 . 5 gSE would be considered suspect at rotor speeds in
excess of 1500 rpm.
However, at lower speeds a defective bearing is
likely to emit a higher level of gSE before deterioration is considered
unacceptable but this may vary from machine to machine .
The On-line Surveillance system provides consistent data collection which
overcomes any transient or sudden process change which can affect
periodically collected data.
At an installation where 254 bearings have
been under surveillance for 23 months since new, a total of 82 have been
removed as a result of high gSE readings.
Of these 85% were removed
between 13 and 21 months in service . The removed bearings were inspected
and categorised from #1 to #6. Normal wear was categorised as #1 whereas
#6 is virtual failure. The findings are as follows:
334
Final gSE levels
<0.5
Bearings r emoved
15
>0.8 - 1.
>0.5 - 0.8
>1.1 - 1.9
40
16
Defect category #
2/3
3/4
4/5
Total removed
18.3%
48 . 8%
19.5%
9.8%
Two bearings were removed indicating 0.6 - 0.9 gSE and were found in
condition #1 (normal).
One bearing showing 0.7 gSE was found in severe
condition at #6. Therefore the margin of error is 3.6%.
The bearing in
condition #6 can be explained. Once a bearing has deteriorated to a
severe degree, plastic deformation takes place which attenuates the
generation of high frequency spikes.
Operating personnel had monitored
the increasing gSE but it then started to fall; they had failed to
recognise this significant indicator of bearing deterioration.
The roller bearing shown in FIGURE 10 illustrates premature wear on
outer race categorised at #2/3.
.to
FIGURE 10
L
'40
so
the
WIot'f'\.
PREMATURE WEAR ON THE OUTER RACE OF A BEARING IDENTIFIED

BY SPIKE ENERGY TRENDING
CONCLUSIONS
In a hazardous environment where the health and safety of personnel could

be at risk, On-line Surveillance is a cost-effective approach to
predictive maintenance.
For concentrations of large numbers of rotating machines, semipermanently
mounted transducers can be addressed regularly by computer controlled
multiplexers.
This provides reliable and consistently measured data to
indicate machinery condition with time.
Maintenance "lead time" is
achieved to prepare for plant shutdown with confidence.
Cost-effective Condition Monitoring

Colin Nicholls
NIKAT Associates, Chester, UK
It is only in recent years that manufacturers have begun to reveal the

financial
benefits
rather than merely
report
on
the
engineering
improvements to their plant, created by utilizing effective

Monitoring techniques.
Condition
These techniques can can give advanced warning
of mechanical or structural problems on plant equipment that can

be
rectified
breakdown
at
a convenient time.
maintenance
subsequent penalty of
considerable
coupling
spare
Many companies
choose
to
then
use
as their main maintenance activity with the

high maintenance cost,
parts holding.
lost production and
Failure of a
can produce catastrophic results.
single
These
facts,
bearing or
atogether
with increasing costs for new equipment, have placed increased demands
on
companies
reliably.
to keep existing equipment
operating efficiently and
Outmoded "breakdown" maintenance programmes and
programmes
of periodic inspection and overhaul are being replaced or supplemented

by predictive maintenance techniques which allow onstream detection of
developing
testing,
problems.
lubrication
Monitoring of bearing
temperature,
ultrasonic
analysis, vibration monitoring and many other
techniques are being used to combat failures and unscheduled downtime.

Therefore,
built
operating
around
an
an effective Predictive Maintenance
organised schedule of periodic
changing plant conditions will

organisation.
improve
the
checks
programme
to monitor
profitability of
an
336
A manufacturer embarking upon a Condition Monitoring programme

taking
the
alignment,
so
on,
extra time to carry out precision balancing,
accurate
de-tuning of resonant pipes, maintaining good records
would ensure for the production department smoother
machines
and
with longer life expectancies and lower running
and
running
costs.
He
would also reduce the emergencies and panic decisions precipitated by

major and
achieve
unforeseen mechanical failures.
higher profits with lower costs
Thus not only would he

but
also enhancement of
product quality, effective planned downtime, reduction in spare

inventory,
optimum usage
of maintenance
skills,
parts
maximization
of
production capacity and more effective use of management time.

The
cost
benefits
monitoring
savings
can be
of
20
that can be obtained

considerable.
As a
to 25% can be achieved on
using
effective
condition
very rough guide,
average
direct maintenance
costs
whilst twice that value can be made in increased production,
although
much greater savings are possible.
achieved
through
although
Such results can only be
the dedication and commitment of the total

it
is
relatively easy matter
to
organization
show how
and
increased
production and reduced ,maintenance costs can be achieved, the
biggest
problem is in convincing management of these benefits.

In
activating any Condition Monitoring programme, it is necessary to
decide
what techniques to use in order to monitor the
plant.
method
used depends upon the type of plant (power station,
refinery,
off-shore platforms, paper plants, etc.) and type of machinery

compressor, turbo generator, gas turbine, etc.).
The
(turbo
It also depends to a
great extent on the availability of trained manpower.
337
Some
of
the
methods of monitoring plant using
either periodic
or
continuous measurement are,Vibration Monitoring

Acoustic Emission
Wear Debris Monitoring and Oil Particle Analysis
Corrosion Monitoring
Thermography.
Vibration Monitoring
to
predict mechanical
defects
in
rotating
machinery, particularly, turbo compressors, turbo generators.

Acoustic Emission
can
be used to
detect,
locate
and
continous1y
monitor cracks in structures and pipelines.

Wear Debris Measurement for contamination control in hydraulic systems
and monitoring defective gears.
Oil
Particle Analysis
for analyzing the condition of
lube
oil
to
determine bearing problems.

Corrosion Monitoring
for de terming the corrosive
wear
on
offshore
structures, pipelines, water treatment plants, etc.

Thermography
equipment,
problems
for
e.g.
analyzing
generators,
the
condition
overhead
lines,
of
active
boilers,
in mechanical equipment and measure cell damage
fibre structures on aircraft.
electrical
to
detect
in carbon
338
In order
to obtain the maximum benefit from a
programme
we
have
condition
to compare the cost of setting
up
an
monitoring
effective
predictive maintenance programme based on condition monitoring against

the possible savings.
1.
The costs initially involved cover:
Setting up a programme which includes:

i. selecting equipment to monitor
ii. selecting monitoring points
iii. establishing limits
iv. training
staff
in taking
routine
measurements
and
evaluating results.
2.
Purchasing equipment.
3.
Installation of equipment where applicable.
The savings that can be obtained in operating an effective
predictive
maintenance programme are based on the following:

1.
Increased
equipment availability resulting in greater return
on
invested equipment.
2.
Reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity by reduction

in breakdowns.
3.
Reduced insurance premiums.
4.
Reduced spare parts stocks.
5.
Quieter machinery (improved operator performance).
The
application
different
of predictive maintenance will almost
in every organisation.
In some companies it
certainly
will be
on a plant wide basis in others just in parts of the plant.
be
used
It
339
is a relatively easy matter to show how increased
reduced
maintenance
problem
in
convincing
cost
introducing
management
can be
achieved.
predictive
of
its
However,
maintenance
benefits,
production
the
is
most
the
and
big~est
generally
commonly
in
used
questions being:
1.
What savings can be achieved?
2.
What will it cost and what is involved?
These
questions
are difficult to answer unless a detailed
study
undertaken of the current methods of maintenance adopted by a

and
how
determine
predictive maintenance can be implemented.
The
the need to replace the existing maintenance
is
company
study may
programme
on
alternatively to integrate both planned and predictive maintenance.

Some
important
questions
that have to be asked in
carrying
out
maintenance audit are:

1.
What
methods
of
maintenance are
currently
in
use
(planned,
breakdown, preventive)?
2.
3.
What types of machines or plant are in use?

What is the age of the plant?
4.
Are documented records of past maintenance plus costs available?
5.
Is management receptive to new techniques?
It
is important to remember that there are no quantifiable
benefits
and
that
manpower
before
you
an investment has to be
can show any
return.
made
in
Typical
financial
equipment
plant
and
savings
340
obtained in the U.S.A. using predictive maintenance techniques are.
The
Paper
$500,000 per paper machine
Power
$500,000 per turbo generator
Chemical
$1,000,000 plus
Refinery
$1,000,000 plus.
following list shows further financial benefits achieved by the
use of predictive maintenance.

Liner Board Factory - sweden
Using predictive maintenance techniques based on vibration monitoring
the following results were obtained:
Availability
of machinery improved by 6% resulting in
increased
output of 24,000 tons per year.

A 20% reduction of maintenance costs.
Elimination of continuous contract labour.
70-85%
reduction in overtime and in the need to call in stand-by
personnel.
Pulp and Paper Plant - U.S.A.
Using vibration measurement the motor rewind cost over a period of two
years
was
reduced
from $200,000 per annum
to
$40,000
per annum.
During the same period the plant was expanded with an increase of
in
rotating machinery yet with diligent vibration control
able to reduce their maintenance force from 63 to 43.
42%
they were
341
Oil Refinery - U.S.A.

This company measures their financial returns in "maintenance cost per
horse power".
For their 100 major machines, totalling
165,000
h.p.
their maintenance costs were reduced from $7 per h.p. to $5 per h.p.
About
pumps,
to
h.p.
3,900
"minor" machines (1,000 h.p. or less) such as
ordinary
motors, fans, etc. showed a reduction of about 30% from
$4.47 per h.p. per year.
$6.35
These "minor" machines totalled 340,000
This shows a maintenance saving of almost $900,000.
This
does
not include increased running time.

Paper Hill - U.S.A.
In
this case the mill's insurance company pressurized them to
condition monitoring.
adopt
The outcome was an increase in production
of
10%, i.e. 100 tons/day average.

Oil Refineries - U.S.A.
Introduction of condition monitoring of 150 machines
consisting of
mainly electric motor/pump assemblies up to 1,000 KW resulted in

reduction of
25% of the pumps undergoing repair
in the
the
workshops.
Similar results were obtained with the motors.

Steel Plant - Canada
In
this case we can show the comparative cost between monitoring
the
vibration on a 1,000 h.p. Ole motor using predictive maintenance
and
when breakdown maintenance is used.
the
what happens
machine fails because of a burnt out bearing.
In this
case
342
Breakdown
Predictive
Maintenance
Spare parts
Labour
Overhead
Loss from dOlmtime
250
1,350
$2,500
5,450
6,000
65,000
$1,600
$78,950
Insurance Company - U.S.A.

A study has shOlm in the U.S.A. over a ten year period that
226%
of
all fires in manufacturing plants were electrical in origin and 45% of

these fires were due to inadequate maintenance.
Pulp and Paper Mills - U.S.A.
Comparison of costs in two plants belonging to the same company showed
how breakdown maintenance cost money.
In
one plant, where management practised condition monitoring,
were
$25.37 per ton produced.
production
per
ton
In the other plant Ivi th
an
line, where maintenance was unmanaged, costs

produced.
maintenance
In hourly rates, at the
mill
$48. 17
predictive
$7 an hour;
at
$8.50
an
The cost benefit in identifying possible blade failure in a number
of
the
other
~Ias
practised, the maintenance costs
identical
~Iere
where
costs
~lere
plant, where maintenance was unmanaged, it
l'laS
hour.
Chemical Plant - U.K.
machines
~Ias
700,000.
Oil Terminal
343
- U.K.
Estimates
of 20 million to repair a corrosion stricken
attention
on
control.
Had this been adopted when the plant was commissioned
effective corrosion monitoring and
plant
adequate
focus
corrosion
then
the above figure would have been considerably reduced.

It
is
interesting
to point out that a study in
1982
by
the
U.s.
Department of Commerce indicated that the annual cost of corrosion
in
the U.S.A. exceeded $125 billion.

Paper Plant - U.K.
In a period of 4 years the number of plant stoppages was reduced
300 to 30.
1.
The cost per stoppage was 6,000 approx.
A major
study
of condition monitoring and
its
potential
application in British Industries was performed by Michael

and
from
Associates.
reasonable
plant
is
As a general guide, the study suggests
level of initial investment for a typical

about 1% of the total capital value of
the
for
Neale
that
industrial
equipment
that is to be monitored.
Typical
cost/benefit ratios of well managed programmes
achieved
approximately 5 savings for every 1 expended.

2.
Scientific Atlanta
generation
recently published a report
to
the
power
industry that identifies typical utility maintenance
costs of S12/w/year and suggest that a reduction of Sl/w/year
in
maintenance
PM
programme.
costs
chould
be
expected
by
implementing
The report goes on to identify typical petro chemical
344
industry maintenance costs to be $11-12/hp/year.
of this industry with different maintenance is
3.
Two
The
experience
as follows.
Run to failure
$17-18/hp/yr
Preventative (time scheduled)
$11-13/hp/yr
Predictive (on condition)
$7-9/hp/yr
particular examples of the potential return afforded
vibration
Jackson
states
monitoring
by
Messrs.
and Dodd, engineers from Chevron in the U.S.A.
Jackson
that
maintenance
programmes
are
highlighted
by PM
large petrochemical operation
expenditure
of
can
have
$10 million, of which
annual
25%
is
for
rotating equipment and that a 10% improvement ($250,000) in
this
maintenance
five
years
and
can be expected during the
of implementing the programme.
reduced
major
expenditure
first
Dodd states, that
Chevron
average maintenance costs for all turbo machinery

plant from $6.60 to $4.40/hp/yr over a seven
that
extended
complete
overhaul cycles
for
major
year
at
period
machinery
were
from a three year to an estimated seven or eight
year
interval.
Two
other
monitoring
well
documented
studies
of
the
impact
of
programmes aboard ships have been reported.
vibration
The
Navy started a programme in 1966 and resulted in an overall

of 45% in maintenance costs on a fleet of 20 destroyers.
saving was $100,000/ship/yr.
on
large
Canadian
reduction
The
average
Anaother study done in the U.K. in
oil tankers indicates that a 37% reduction
in
1976
maintenance
manhours resulted within 12 months after the initiation of a condition

monitoring programme.
345
Virginia Power's North Anna Nuclear Power Station have

condition monitoring programme since 1984.
estimated
These
that
used
In the first year it
$2 million were saved and in the next $3.5
was
million.
figures are very significant bearing in mind the state
of
the
utility industry in the U.S.A. in general.

In
a study by the U.K. Dept of Trade and Industry a survey of
companies
2,000
established that they could save 250 million annually by
applying comprehensive predictive maintenance programmes.

In the U.S.A. Du Pont de Nemour saved $261 million in 1983 as a result
of their predictive maintenance programme.
Also
in
the
estimated
U.S.A.
the Electronic
Research Power Institute
that the power generation industry has reduced its
has
run
to
failure cost by 50-60% by using predictive maintenance.

CUrrent Predictive Maintenance Programmes
Paper Plants
industries
plant
in
using PM programmes.
tape
are
one
of
the
pioneer
Of particular interest is one
paper
the U.S.A. which has operated PM vibration programmes
over six years.

a
Paper plants in general
Initially they performed vibration monitoring useing
recorder and spectrum analyser and, at that time,
estimated
for
that they were
saving over
the
plant
million annually
in
maintenance costs over conventional preventive maintenance programmes.

In
1986, they implemented a PC based PM programme which very quickly
become
the
plant's
vibration
analysis tool.
They were
able
to
346
increase
and
the number of monitored points from 450 to 5,000
per
month
now anticipate their 1987 savings to be well over $2 million from
the year before.

Power
monitoring.
resulting
that
Many power plants have
Plants
One
begun
using
from monitoring a single fossil fuel plant.
found
vibration
plant documented savings of over $500,000
pumps and fans were responsible for the greatest
faults
PM
It
in
was
1986
found
percentage
in power plants with the most common faults
of
being
bad
practising
PM
bearing, misalignment and unbalance.

A recent
study
identified
Most
of
eight
power
plants
currently
increased availability as the greatest payback
expect
this
to
occur from
detection
of
potential.
developing
faults,
although several essential major savings do occur from confirming
the
status of machines in good condition and thereby eliminating scheduled

maintenance.
insurance
Interestingly, one particular plant even cited
premiums as having a great financial impact.
Time
reduced
savings
of converting to PC based PM programmes have been well documented

reports
made public in comparative relationship to
Another
power station stated that it made a saving of 20-25 hours
analysis
earlier
time each week over its previous use of tape
spectrum analysis.
and
efforts.
recorders
in
and
A second utility had been able to monitor only two
or three stations per month and was able to improve its performance to
cover
all
11 stations by converting to a PC based PM
programme.
third
power station has agressively applied the data obtained in
A
its
347
PM programme toward more carefully planning overhaul outages in

to avoid unnecessary maintenance.
during
This plan
~Ias
order
applied to 11 outages
14 month period and resulted in documented
labour
savings
alone of over $400,000.

Obviously,
correct
condition monitoring and the back-up systems

problems
management.
breakdown
are
no
substitute
for
designed
effective
maintenance
The latter can prevent emergency stoppage and

and
can
lower the costs of
maintenance
and
equipment
production.
Condition monitoring can decrease downtime and extend equipment

It
can also lower energy costs - significant in these days of
energy.
to
life.
costly
The need is clear - all the risk stems from lack of condition
monitoring.
It is not that most companies do not recognise the need for
condition
monitoring
but
that they do not know how
to
There has to be support by top management, without this the
effective
effect
it.
financial
benefits that could accrue would be very difficult to achieve.
Debris Counting for Consistent Monitoring

Trevor M Hunt
Associate Consultant, Lindley F10wtech Ltd, Bradford, UK
It
in
to
it
is easy to determine that a drastic change has occurred

a mechanical system.
The difficulty is in being able
detect a small change at an early stage and identifying
for what it is.
Monitoring methods are many, as seen from the Comadem '89

content,
but
unless
those
methods
are
consistent,
repeatable and reliable, their value is minimal.
The paper exami nes some possi bi 1 i ti es and highl ights the
advantages of the use of Debris Counting asa method which
achieves a high success rate at an early stage.
1.
IJITRODUCTIOJr
Mechanical systems are monitored for perhaps four reasons:

Are they safe?
Are they economical?
Are they operating in an optimum condition?
Are they going to last?
Safety and economy are vi tal but they are not the subj ect of
this paper.
In some ways they are linked with the latter two
questions but that will be left for the reader to discern.
, Optimum condition' implies that all the maker's instructions
are being adhered to.
Loads are not exceeded.
Temperatures are
controlled.
And, as regard liquids, there is adequate liquid
present and it is of acceptable cleanliness.
The monitoring of
liquid levels is discussed elsewhere (Ref. 1) but the acceptance
of cleanliness is illustrated later in this paper.
'Are they going to last?'
This is one of the most critical of
questions
and
one
which
demands
a
substantial
financial
commi tment.
Early stages of wear, component deterioration, if
detected, provide the maintenance team with an opportunity to
repair or replace at the most convenient time with the minimum
of financial loss.
Fortunately the day of the short-sightedmanager, who only has money for TODAY, is beginning to wain, and
management is taking seriously the significant advantages of
monitoring for the TOMORROW.
349
2. RBLIABLB OR COJISISTRIT JlDIITORIJrG?
It is well" known that a Xeni tor must be more reliable than the
system it is monitoring.
But what one is less familiar with", is
the need for the Koni tor to be consistent.
Consider, for
instance, signature comparisons.
An acceptable degree of a
certain property is determined for the system, ego a frequency
spectrum ( ampl i tude V. frequency ), and this is called its
signature.
But just like the human hand signature, there can be
qui te large deviations before one begins to sense that perhaps
the deviation is being caused by an erroneous feature.
With a
lot of testing it could be possible to determine the 95%
confidence limits; and that would be a lot of testing and even
then some error is present.
Trend monitoring, using Debris Counting, has been found to be
much more consistent, indicating developing faults well before
the usual deviations in spectrum amplitude scatter can be
considered significant.
3. DBBRIS COUBIBRS
Debris analysis, historically, used to be primarily gravimetric.
This meant assessing the weight of debris in, say, lOOmL of
liquid.
It was performed by passing the liquid through a
preweighed filter (a secondary filter could be used to assess
the influence of the oil alone on the weight change).
This was
a means of showing that something was changing, but it really
required later microscopic or specrometric analysis to determine
in more detail
what was wrong.
(JUcroscope counting of
particles is still undertaken, but it is time consuming and
generally only looks at the maximum 2-dimensional shape as the
particle lays flat on the filter.)
Another 2-dimensional detector, but which randomly orientates
the particle before dimensioning, is the optical obscuration
counter.
It has been extensively used for assessing the
Standards of cleanliness in oils, particularly in the cleaner
liquids where there is no likelihood of mixed fluids or of
overconcentration of particles.
In situations which are unknown
it is essential to precount with a microscope to ensure the
accurately fabricated optical window does not become permanently
partially blocked by large particles;
if they are present,
prefiltering and dilution may be necessary.
Debris counting took on a new dimenSion, in two senses of the
word, with the Electrical Sensing Zone method (often called the
Coulter method).
This detected the volume of the particle and
automatically counted the particles as the liquid was passed
through a small orifice.
Whilst used extensively in medical and
pharmaceutical applications, it has limited engineering value
because it reqUires the liquid to be electrically conducting.
Another major development in particle analysis was that of
Ferrography.
Xere generally speaking this is the detection of
ferro-magnetic and para-magnetic particles.
It identifies the
particles according to their receptance of, or influence on, a
magnetic field.
Numerous devices have been developed;
some of
350
them give a gravimetric assessment but others give a debris

count .
In certain systems they are ideal where all wearing
parts are attracted by magnetism and there are
no fine
clearances which can be damaged by ingested atmospheric debris .
However, that leaves a great many other systems which are not
adequately covered!
A TOTAL PARTICLE counter is required .
4. TOTAL PARTICLE COUITIIG
Counting of particles also requires sizing.

Where the particle
is a sphere there is no problem with sizing by using a single
scalar - diameter. All other particles, and particularly debris
found in engineering liquids, is extremely difficult to size.
A
paper by the author (Ref.2) goes into detail on this problem and
comes up with two conclusions The 'size' should be related to the effect the particle has
on the engineering system, rather than a linear dimension .
For consistency, the method of counting used must always be
the same. Different types of counter give different counts .'
Engineering debris particles,
such
considered in three separate classes.
c
~
.' :-'&1
@
':
..
~
;.\.
)\)
as
shown below,
They are:
can
{)
be
Typical particles found in engineering fluids

A.
Particles which will wear away, or block,

within the system . (Usually non-metallic)
B.
Particles which were part of the original manufacturing

process, and were never flushed out.
(Metallic and nonmetallic such as peening debris)
C.
Particles which
system surfaces.
are being worn or

( Mainly metallic)
broken
important parts
away
from
the
'Size' which is meaningful in all three c lasses is t hat of

blockage effect.
This is directly related with classes A and B
above.
The particles of class C which are acceptable fine
running-in wear would have little blocking effect on their own,
but
the
more
chunky
parti c le
associated
with
serious
deterioration of the component would ha ve a high bloc king
propensi ty .
By c ounting at two blocking sizes an additional
means of identification comes into force .
5. FILTER BLOCKAGE COUITERS

There are several monitoring de v ices based on Filter Blockage as
a means of detecting the presence

a general level and hope that that
however, with which the author is
Flowtech Fluid Condition Monitor.
previously
(Rei.3>
but
suffice to say that i t
counts particles at two
blockage
sizes
without
the
restrictions
indicated above for other
debris counters .
351
of particles.
Some just give
will be adequate. The device,
most familiar, is the Lindley
This has been fully described
The most common two sizes

are 5~m and 15~m.
These
have been found to give
an
indication
of
the
normal
wear
particles
(5~m>
and
the
more
serious
breaking
away
particles (15~m +>. These
The Fluid Condition MOnitor
two sizes are also used
in assessing cleanliness Standards for the optimum running
condition of hydraulic machinery - ISO 4406 (see Ref.3>.
Because the Fluid Condition Monitor is unaffected by mixed
fluids, covers a wide range of viscosity and copes with the
normal large range of particle concentration , it can be used
both off-line and on-line without dil u tion.
6. BXAJlPLB OF PARTICLB COUIT TRBBD OVER TWO XOITHS
This application of the Fluid Condition Monitor shows the type
of rise and fall in count associated with debris increase , due
to release of particles in-built in the system, and decrease as
f i lter
elements
are
replaced .
Although
not
caused
by
deterioration of the machinery at the time, the example shows
the way the Monitor picks up the evidence in real time and
indicates when the filtration is coping with the system.
After
the particle level had settled, monitoring was then undertaken
for possible mechanical failure .
10"
-l
e
<-
- Filter Blement changed
10"
III
a.
III 10'"
W
...J
...
U
I-
0:
<I
1 0.2
Q..
10
0
10
20
30
40
50 DAYS 60
Cleanliness progression in a hydraulic transmission
352
coun
7. BXAXPLB OF PARTICLB
TRBBD OVBR FOUR HOURS
This application is on a hydraulic system of a glass cross

cutter flushing rig.
Because of the necessity of exceptional
fluid cleanliness, constant flushing had to be undertaken until
the level was achieved.
Previously this exercise had been
undertaken by taking samples of liquid every so often for
analysis in the laboratory .
This could take 40 hours .
The use
of the on- line Fluid Condition Monitor dropped this time to 5
hours, avoiding the unnecessary additional flushing.
(In the
example shown, the FCM was working close to its minimum level
but actually detected a valve fault during the test.)
100
.J
S
c..
OJ
Il
>5D1icron
10
IJ)
W
.J
0
...
>15D1i~
1
x
l-
n::
<t
CL.
0.1
0
HOURS
Cleanliness progression in connected flushing rig

8 . COICLUSIOIS
Both the examples given show consistent trends providing the

necessary evidence to make realistic decisions.
Such a
technique is ideal for the different types of monitoring
experienced
in
real
engineering
applications
involving
hydraulics (fluid power) and lubrication systems.
9. ACKIOVLBDGBXBITS
The author wishes to thank Mr. Gary France and the staff
Lindley Flowtech for their help in preparing this document.
of
10. RBFBRBICBS
1.
T . M.Hunt
'Monitoring Liquid Levels'.
Comadem '89 International Congress.
Birmingham Polytechnic September 1989
2.
T. M. Hunt
'Particle Counting by Size - which Kethod is
Right? ' . Inpartech '88 Conference Imperial College, London,
September 1988
3.
T.M.Hunt
'Reliability Management in Fluid Power Systems'.
Comadem '88 Seminar .
Birmingham Polytechnic September 1988
Monitoring Liquid Levels
Trevor M Hunt
Consulting Engineer, 50, Kingsholm Road, Bristol BSI05LH, UK
One of the fundamental features of a fluid system, which

conveys considerable information on the health of that
system,
is
the
measure
of
the
quantity
of
fluid
circulating.
Leakage, performance,
temperature all have
an effect on the fluid, and i f the monitoring of the fluid
is
sufficiently
accurate
then
early
indications
of
malfunction can be detected.
This paper examines the many possible means of detecting
the levels of liquids,
both continuously (over a range),
and
at
discrete
steps.
Re1ati ve
advantages
and
disadvantages are also discussed.
1. INTRODUCTIOI
Condition monitoring of
science.
And because the
highly complex techniques
often the case, for many
may well be the simplest.
systems has become a major growth

field has Widened, a conglomeration of
have been developed.
However, as is
systems the most effective technique
Level monitoring is not new.

Neither is it unique.
There is
much competition between manufacturers.
The result is a wide
variety of reliable units at a very moderate price.
The
difficul ty, now, has become the problem of choosing the most
relevant
to
a
particular
situation.
For
instance,
61
manufacturers supplied data for the author's book (see Ref .1)
covering some 19 qUite different techniques.
There are two different types of use of monitor
Decrete or switched level monitoring
Continuous monitoring of level
Discrete monitoring also includes multi level switching.
2. DISCRETE OR SWITCHED LEVEL MOIITORIIG
Figure 1 is a composite picture of the various possibilities.
It shows the most common positioning of each type, although, in
some cases other positions would be just as acceptable.
As
these switch when reaching a level (up or down), an electrical
connection is implied in all cases except the Optical Refraction
which is visual.
354
8 (51)
--+P'--lH-~- -------
6 (H)
12 (77)
----+--f"(~~-----~ .U
21(58)
~. ~3 (" )
13 (75)
1
5 (82)
22(60)
Fig . 1 Discrete (Switched) Level Monitoring Techniques

(Open numbers - see Table on next page,
Numbers in brackets - see Ref. 1)
(Note: Most Conti nuous Monitoring Techniques could also give
switched level indication by suitable programming - see Fig.2)
Advantages and disadvantages are present with each technique .
Special models may be available for specific situations , such as
355
Intrinsically Safe models.

In such a brief summary, ideas and
costs relating to the most common, only, are given; it will be
necessary to check with the supplier, the particular advantages
and disadvantages of each model.
TECHNIQUE
DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES
COST (;t)
ABCDEFGHI
3. Capacitance
Simple
Fluid sensitive
Coating immunity Special cabling
C . G
4. Conductance
Simple
Small probe
Conducting fluid
only. Froth effects
C.E
5. Displacement
Cheap (some)
Quite simple
Vertical only
Sticking possible
A.... F
6.Float
Low cost
Simple
Moving parts
Large vol ume
A.... F
7. Gamma
Radiation
Non-contacting
Expensive
High penetration Large
8. Hydrostatic
G. I
Slurry resist.
Pressure
Quite simple
Direct
12. Neutron Scatter Non-contacting
100mm+ walls
Sensi ti vi ty
Fracture possible
13. Optical
refraction
Very simple
Small
Coating effect
Temp. limitations
15. Resistivity
Water/Steam/Air
High pressure
Expensive
Debris effects?
16.R.F.Admittance
Coating immunity Interaction

No maintenance
Setting up
17. Rotary Paddle
Liquids & solids Large

Totally enclosed Moving parts
19. Thermistor
Small & Simple

Debris effects
Multilevel poss. High temp. of probe
21.Ultrasonic inserted
Small (or long) Aeration effect

Coating resistant
22. Ultrasonic external
Non-contacting
Compact
23. Vibratory tuning fork
Unaffected by
Advanced electronics
coating & vibrat.Size
Cost Code:
;t
ABC 0
o5
E F 6
20 50 100 200 500 lk 2.Sk
C . G
Wall hydrogen
content effects
B .. E
EF
DE
CD
D.F
Wall thickness
Liquid effects
F .. I
DE
356
3. COITIBUOUS LEVEL XOIITORIIG
2(17)
~.
5(05)
8 ( 33)
3 (os)
o
o
2.3
14-( 2 g)
22.(1 a)
---~---Cj------10
J~(42.)
( 4 1)
----- ~-~ ------- -
.----....
-------~~~~----------
--
/I
Fig.2 Continuous Level Xonitoring Techniques

Again there are advantages and disadvantages with each technique
and these must be discussed with suppliers.
The costs, too,
vary considerably depending on the application and the degree of
remoteness necessary, and the special requirements.

TECHNIQUE
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
1. Acoustic
Small intrusion
Any attitude
Availability?
Reliability?
2. Bubbler
Pressure
Simple
Churn immunity
Air seal
Limited attitude
3. Capacitance
Simple
Fluid sensitive
Coating immunity Special cabling
5. Displacement
Good range
QUite simple
Vertical only
Sticking possible
6.Float
Low cost
Simple
Limited range
Moving parts
7. Gamma
Radiation
Nan-contacting
Expensive
High penetration Large
8. Hydrostatic
Pressure
Direct
9. Hydrostatic
Pressure
Transmitted
10. Indicator Tube
Slurry resist.
QUite simple
Sensitivity
Temp. limitation
Slurry resist.
Many makers
Relatively expens.
Sensitivity
Clear visual
Simple
Local
Can be large
11. Load Cell
True bulk
External
Fitting
Vulnerable
14. Radar
Narrow aperture
Accuracy
Expensive
Sophisticated
18.Sight Glass
Cheap
Very reliable
Local
Fragile
20. Time Domain

Reflectometry
Small intrusion
Flexible sensor
Availability?
Reliabili ty?
21.Ultrasonic wet
Unaffected by
above air
Aeration effect
Multiple echoes
22. Ultrasonic dry
Non-contacting
Transit time OK
Churning effect
Temp. sensitive
23. Vibratory tube or fork
Compact
Good temp. range
Affected by ext.
vibr. & aeration
Cavity
357
COST (if,)
ABCDEFGHI
?
C .. H
D .. H
B ...... I
A.... F
G. I
C ... G
E . H
F.H
?
B .. E
?
E.G
F .. I
G?
4. ACKIOWLBDGBKBITS
The author wishes to thank the many manufacturers and suppliers
who have provided data for this survey.
5. RBFBRBICBS
1.
T.M.Hunt
'Levels in Fluids - Instruments and Techniques'.
Book published by the author, Bristol April 1988
Why Put Up with Bearing Failures?
S N Harvey and A G Herraty

SKF (UK) Service Ltd, Luton LU3 3BL, UK
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the authors describe how major improvements can be
gained in the service life of rolling bearings by encouraging a positive
feedback
from
the
systematic
application
techniques and the analysis of bearing failures.
of
condition
monitoring
Improvements in plant
productivity can be expected with a decreasing incidence of bearing

failure, when remedial actions are implemented.
1.0
INTRODUCTION
During recent years, the authors have stepped into the field of condition
monitoring
as
development,
consultancy
application
and
service.
Their
background
troubleshooting of all
types
in
the
of rolling
bearings has shown that bearing failures need not occur, provided that
there is a will to eradicate them.
The well understood concept of using condition monitoring techniques to
pick up imminent bearing failure, plan a maintenance action and carry out
a bearing replacement at a cost efficient moment is only half the activity
that should be occuring.
A follow-up exercise to analyse the bearing
failure, to conclude the reason for the failure, to design out the failure
and to implement the redesign is also necessary to take full advantage of
the opportunity presented to us.
2.0
ROLLING BEARING FAILURES - CAUSES AND REMEDIES
Traditionally, the failure mode of rolling bearings is a single local
spall or pit. All other failure modes represent a life
reduction from the ideal.
A systematic investigation of the appearance of the bearing parts after
failure, any lubricant in the vicinity of the bearing, the housing bore
and the shaft fitment area are integral to a full appreciation of a bearing
failure.
The actual appearance of the bearing must be compared with the
expected appearance if the bearing is doing its designed job in the

machine.
Knowledge of the working principles and loads are therefore
also required.
In general, it can be assumed that the rolling bearing selected for any
position on modern industrial equipment will have a calculated L10 life of
many thousands of hours.
359
Systematic failures below this figure indicate
that an aspect of either environment, fitting or maintenance can be

improved.
A characteristic of correctly
applied
condition
monitoring on
rolling
bearings is the early identification of bearing failure before valuable

evidence of the primary failure is destroyed.
All too often, a bearing is
so badly damaged that the real cause of failure has been overtaken by
secondary failures (overheating, seizure, etc.)
In this situation, it may
be necessary to fit a new bearing without taking remedial action or strip

a similar piece of equipment to examine a non-failed bearing.
The most common failure modes are now described.
2.1
ASSEMBLY DAMAGE
All too often, the origin of premature bearing failure lies in sloppy fitting
practices or even plain ignorance of the requirements of high precision
rolling bearings.
2.1.1
A frequent
source
of mounting damage on single
row
ball
bearings is that caused by pressure or blows to the outer ring of the

bearing while pushing the inner ring on to a shaft with an interference
fit.
The characteristic of this form of damage is damage at ball pitch
around the bearing.
The remedy for this complaint is to use a
suitable dolly or tool so that the ring with the interference fit is
always the one to which mounting pressure is applied.
2.1.2
With line contact bearings - taper rollers, cylindrical rollers
and some designs of spherical roller bearings it is possible to fracture

the flanges by blows on to the unsupported end face.
This severe
failure will usually be detected immediately.

2.1.3
Lack of proper cleanliness is widespread in bearing replacement
work.
Failures have been reported from swarf or other debris left inside
the housing assembly and from contamination entering the bearing while it
is lying around before it is actually fitted.
Contamination in the
bearing will cause surface indentations, high bearing noise (vibration)

and eventual peeling of the raceway working surfaces.
The remedies are simple.
Always clean the housing and shaft.
cover the shaft or housing with a plastic bag or similar.
Then
Never take a
bearing out of its package until the very last moment before mounting.
2.1. 4
Incorrect fits of the bearing on the shaft or in the housing is
responsible for many service failures.
Normally, the rotating ring of a
bearing requires an interference fit on its mating part in order to fix it
360
in position.
If the fit is too loose, the bearing ring will creep on the
shaft (or in the housing).

occur.
The bearing may overheat or fretting will
Fretting corrosion will result in fracture of the bearing ring and
wear on the shaft which is normally softer than the bearing ring.
It is usual for one bearing, of the two needed to support a shaft, to be
designed so that it floats axially within the housing assembly.

allow for lateral expansion of the shaft due to heating.
This is to
If the fit is
incorrect if the bearing is corroded into position or if spacers are used to

lock the bearing, failure may occur.
dimensional
requirements
for
When bearings are replaced, the
mating parts
must
be
ascertained
and
checked on the job.
2.2
INCORRECT LUBRICATION
Failure resulting from a lubrication problem is the most common failure

mode in rolling bearings. The initial stage of a lubricant induced failure
is a glazing of the raceway surface followed by a more severe frosty or
dull appearance.
Eventually, flaking of surface material will take place
over the entire working area of the bearing.
This sequence of events is
accompanied by a rise in bearing temperature and can result in seizure of

the bearing due to inner ring expansion.
The remedy for lubrication problems is the selection of the correct grade
lubricant to do the job. Viscosity being the most important characteristic.
2.3
CONTAMINATION INDUCED FAILURES
Contaminant ingress within a bearing will inevitably reduce the service

life of the bearing, perhaps by a factor of 100.
Solid contaminant
particles will indent raceway surfaces producing wear flaking.
Liquid
contamination, usually by water, will emulsify the lubricant, destroying

its lubricating properties and corrode the bearing.
The remedies are
high quality sealing of the bearing from the environment and a filtered oil
system or clean grease.
2.4
The
STATIC VIBRATION
bearings
of
stand-by
equipment
sited
in
vibration
environment are prone to damage known as false brinelling.
prone
Indents are
produced at the balI/roller pitch in the centre of the raceway.

Practical remedies are to rotate standby equipment every week or month
or to strap down the shafts of equipment to effectively induce a preload.
361
2.5
FAILURES FOR ELECTRICAL CURRENT LEAKAGE
The passage of an electrical current through a rolling element bearing will

result in arcing across the contacts.
Pits and fluting failures will be
produced most typically on the raceways but also on the rolling elements.
The remedy is to prevent electric current passage through the bearing,
either by earth strapping shaft to housing, fitting an insulated bearing
or for the arc weld problem ensuring that the earth connection does not
pass through the bearings.
2.6
FAILURES FROM INCORRECT BEARING APPLICATION
The selection and application of the correct bearing to do a particular job

is a specialist skill.
Consultancy services are available from the authors
company to advise on this.
The incorrect bearing will usually fail
prematurely as it will be subject to unacceptable loads or motions.

Overloading will cause plastic deformation of the raceways, leading to
surface break-up and flaking rather rapidly.
Excessive axial loads on radial bearings cause many failures.
Often, the
remedy for overloading is simply the fitment of a more suitable bearing

within the same dimensional envelope.
The ISO system of bearing
dimension series for metric bearings offers many such possibilities.

Excessive misalignment or the application of excessive moment loads on
bearings will drastically shorten service lives.
The remedy for this may
be to fit a self-aligning bearing, such as a spherical roller bearing,

which will tolerate a misalignment of up to 2-3 degrces.
Overspeeding of bearings will result in overheating if the heat is not
removed effectively.
Generally, ball bearings have a higher speed limit
than roller bearings and bearings running on oil have a higher limit than
those running on grease.
3.
APPLICATION OF MONITORING TECHNIQUES
Rolling element bearings are an integral part of all rotating equipment

and they are often judged to be critical components.
Bearings have
become primary subjects for systematic condition monitoring and many

monitoring systems are now commercially available.
The
basic
objective
of
monitoring
is
information concerning component condition.
to
gain
regular
quantifiable
Faults may be diagnosed and
plans for repair incorporated into a convenient shut period.
The benefits
to be obtained are numerous, the ability to plan for labour, spares and
machine availability for repair, secondary damage can also be avoided.
362
To meet the requirements for rolling element bearing condition monitoring,

a confusion of techniques have evolved.
No technique will work in all
situations, nor will anyone technique be totally successful in any specific

situation.
Even the definition of success is clouded.
In many instances,
on a complex item of equipment or production system, more than one

technique is required to give an overall picture of its condition.
Some of the better known methods of condition monitoring are:
- Acoustic Emission
- Orifice Testing
- Performance
- Power Consumption
- Temperature Measurement
- Vibration Analysis
- Oil Debris Analysis
Vibration analysis is the most common method for rolling element bearing
condition monitoring.
However,
spectral
Many techniques are commercially available.

analysis
and
discrete
frequency
analysis
enable
diagnostics of suspected bearing failure signatures to be conducted.
The
engineer is now capable of not only locating specific bearing problems but
possesses the
capability of suggesting the
cause -
poor lubrication,
contamination, rolling contact fatigue, etc.

4.
THE PRACTICAL ROUTE OF CONDITION MONITORING
Rolling bearing failures are generally determinable but this capability is

only
rarely
programme,
achieved
in
practice;
the
up-keep
of
analysis of the data is more too often overlooked engineer being too busy keeping the plant running!
realize
the
monitoring
the recording of measurements and more importantly,
that
so
much
can
be
learned
from
the
the maintenance
It is important to
failures
in
numerous
researched instances, the evidence being thrown a way, the cracked gear,
the bent shaft and the failed bearing.
Machine
or
component failures
occurring within a
plant
operating a
condition based maintenance practice should provide valuable information

to
be
fed
back
to
the
condition
monitoring
engineer.
Within
our
experience, it is this connection that is not being made - the feedback of

relevant information from the "accident investigators" to the condition
monitoring engineer.
Generally,
component suppliers
and perhaps
more relevantly,
bearing
363
suppliers now have the capability to provide failure mode reports based
upon visual,
failure.
metallurgical and chemical investigations into a
bearing
In the majority of cases, bearings of the same designation as
that of the failure are just replaced without question.
It is the authors
opinion that a failure should initiate a swift diagnostic operation, the

objectives of which
are to
provide reasons for
constructive remedial action.
failure and
hence,
It may be that a design improvement is
required, an upgrade in bearing specification, seal arrangements to be

reviewed,
lubrication
type
to
be
checked
or
general
fitting
and
maintenance practices scrutinised.

The reasons for failure and remedial recommendations may then be fed
into the historical records to include design change records or even
photographic evidence of failed components.
Exhaustive
completing
research
this
has
information
shown
that
feedback
manufacturing
process
organisations
incorporating the
link
between failure mode reports and current and future vibration spectra
diagnostics are increasing their effectiveness many fold.
5.
CONCLUSIONS
Many proven techniques of monitoring the condition of critical components

exist and have been exhaustively documented, the capability therefore of
predicting impending failure
is available.
The capability to further
diagnose the type and location of fault also exists.
However, bearing
failures in practice still occur unexpectedly for a multitude of reasons

causing unnecessary disruption.
The conclusion is put forward therefore
that only by learning from these failures within the confines of a conditon
based maintenance practice will bearing failures be eradicated over a
period of time for reasons other than the classical and acceptable fatigue
life.
CRITICAL M/C
MA!~~~~~NCE ~ _ c=~:~s
COMPONENT
--)0
MONITORING
TECHNIQUES ~
CONDITION
INFORMATION ------7"
NOTIFICATION
OF IMPENDING
FA tLURE
(RESULTS)
(DIAGNOSTICS/EVALUATION)
STOP! "
REPAIR
EVALUATION OF FAILURE MODE
~HM~C=~~T~OF~D~IA~G=NO=S~T~IC~CM~~~I~L~In~-------------
HISTORICAL
RECORDS
Computerised Maintenance Scheme for a Process Industry Using

Monte-Carlo Simulation Technique
M Aanda Rao, K R Divakar Roy and K Satyanarayana
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam - 530003, India
ABSTRACT
marlagement
The
of
profitable conduct
of
any
enterprise
the
same.
This
can
at
aims
be
the
achi.ved
by
decreasina production time lost due to failure of plant,equipment

or services
useful
by
life
preventing
of
thus
breakdowns,
lengthening
plant and equipment and maintaining it
the
at
the
level of technical performance needed to produce the quantity and

quality of output at the lowest level of overall cost.
In the present study data pertaining to lIfe of bearings is
collected from a local small scale process industry over a period
of
years.
The
management
has been
adopting
the
of replacing the bearings only when a breakdown occurs

resulting
in
interested
to
huge production losses.

develop
an
So,
alternative
the
practice
which
authors
solution
to
is
are
minimise
the total production and otLer losses.

Keepil1g in view of th(. above point an attempt has be ..'n
to
develop
which reduces the

cost.
programme
total costs,
While devl'loping this
preventive
to
maintenance
that
adopt
preventive
md..in1.~nan(!H
maintenance cost and
pl"Of'.ral1l~
the
pr.i~lary
schedules.
technique
l'l"'ocltlction
l:j:initation
it is applicable only to
clasn of eq1J.ipmen1. fiJ.iluf'(w is l."k'~11 iuto account.

simulation
is used to obtain
made
preventive
of
small
l10nte - Carlo
maintenance
Besides by considering the fact that a high level of
365

ma'i:ntenance
and
results
vic e-'veL'sa,
in lo", pr'oductioll lOlseH
due to
a point at ",hich minimum total cost
breakdown
is
occurs
calculated.
In
the
present
"'ill
pro~ram
study
reduce
it
the
costs
is
found
to
that
half
the
developed
of
breakdown
that
maintenance. Finally, it is suggested that preventive maintenance

is always profitable for small scale industries.
INTRODUCTION
Facilities
gradually
become deteriorated while being
and
as a result depreciation
and
stalling
such
occurs in performance and

Taking preventive
also reHult.
measures
used
hitches
against
degeadation in performance,hitches and stalling,is the role
of preventive maintenance.
The
the
procedures for executing the measures vary according to
kind and scale of the enterprise,
divided into three items
but in general it can
be
Daily maintenance ,Periodic inspection
and Scheduled repair.

Daily
retarding
maintenance is performed with main
emphasis
on
the progress of d,terioration of the facilities and it
is a daily routine work. Procedures for this are different by the

kind,
importance, etc. of the facilities, but in general include
oiling
,cleaning,regulating
sensual
inspection
from
the facilities as well

the
outside
as
simple,
(Sound,Vibration,
Temperature, etc.).
Periodic inspection mBKns inspection of the progress of
deterioration
of tho facilities,
half year or one year cycle.

kind
and degree
performed periodically with
Methods for this differ
of importance of the facilities,
wi~h
a
the
but generally
366
judging by the process of disassemblY
.in
mea>l1l1'i n C
aud
inspection,
accur'acy
important
and
the situation of deterioration in function
1:ho facilitj.",
of
checking
as
",hole or in I"elation to
the
the parts "'hich ruay
parts of the facilities (that is,
have great influence on its deterioration or the quality of

products) .
Scheduled repair means executing repair of deteriorated
facilities
schedule
according to a schedule;
about
"'hen
on
equipment,
deter,ior'ation
the
and
basis
ho",
of
to
planning a
in other ",ords,
repair
kno"'ladge
",hat
of
parts
the
of
situation
the
of
obtained from the reports of daily maintenance and
periodic inspection and carryins out that schedule.

In
smoothly,
it
order
th~t
Preventive Maintenance
be
carried
is necessary to establish an organisation,
on
system
and procedure for it.

The
system
maintenance,
a list
that
of
Preventive
periodic inspection,
Maintenance is
etc.
to
formulate
into a system and prepare
of inspection standards and an inspection record book

the
results of inspection can be
recorded
and
so
necessary
measures be taken.
The
management system of repair ",ork is to systematize
I't']Cll:ion
bet",een the division "'h,icb requires repail',
planning
division and the repair executing division as
the
the repair
",ell
as
pr'ocedure of requirement of r"pair ",ark and the pror:edure of
handling thp requirement,

bH
the
atc. so that proper repairing "'ork may
executed timely, rationally and satisfactorily
in
accordance
",ith the degree of urgency of the requirement,

To
fix
a definite system for rational management
and
367

(6ntrnl
for
of
maintenance
maintnna.nce
may
mat~rials
[H'.
so that
avai lable at the
materials
r.ight
necessary
time
and
in
adequate quantity.
After the actual fieures concerning the past maintenance
expenses
have
been made clear.
it is necessary
~o
include
the
expenses systematically in the budget so as to make a planned use

of the ('.xpenses.
It is necessar'y to IIlDaSUr'e per"iodically the rna-intenancf"
effect,
set
plans for adva.ncing and improving the
methods
and
techniques of maintenance and always try to evaluate the level of

management
of maintenance work.
It is desirable to systematize
the items of the work in order to make the most of it.

Measurement of maintenance effect varies in detail according
to the differ.ence of the form of the system,
but in general. the
caiculation is made by the formula.

Maintenance Effect
Output of maintenance /Input of maintenance
Output of maintenance:
Saving of expenses for covering loss due
to facilities deterioration effected by maintenance.

Input of maintenance: Expenses for manpower.
arrangements and
materials necessary for maintenance work.
NUMERICAL
EXAMPLE
The
problem
her.e demonstrates the mHrits
Maintenance over break-down maintenance.

by
of
Preventive
We have used data given
the Processing industry datA that contains costs of different
typel'! of bearings,the I'ang"
of
on
fo~
break-down of machinery
't,heir lifetimes,
the loss
incurl.~d
a period of time and the costs of
restoration of the machinery tu working order.

In
this case. ,
since the Preventive Maintenance being
368
we calculate the
[1tu<iied relates exc]us.LvE-ly to bei'r'jngs.

CorJ'
bearings
maintenance
replacing
(1. e
the
on their failure) and those corresponding to Preventive

Cj.e l'epJacing mor'e
Maintenance
thd.Il OJl(~ hearing a.t a.
time
and
r'cduring breakduwn time and related costs),
hence
We
'types
first
calculate
the
total
cost
of
replacing
seven
of b'Hlring" after' a per'iod of fiv(e years in the policy

mAintenance.
br-eak-down
the
break-down
La
1:5!5poncii n&,!
costs
immediately.
approximately
years,
the bear-ings ar-e new
at
fails
is
time or at zero time each bearinc that
starting
replaced
Supposing all
of
In this way throughout the period of

43 replacements are carr-ied out
five
resulting
Next we calculate the cost of Preventive Main1enance of

the
machinery.
together
life
time
In
this
policy all the bearings
are
replaced
periodically with a time interval corresponding to

of a bearing that has the
least life time.
A'3
the
shown
in the following pages this form of maintenance spends only about

half the amount spent on break-down
maintenance.
BEARINGS DATA:
Bearing
Number
Bearing
Type
Taper
roo 11 "I'
B eilr~ j nt::
Il,C
Double Bidl
Bt~uc
lJ
E,F.G
Bearing
Company
Bearing
Co"t.Rs.
ZkL
209.10
ZKL
406,05
Downtime'
(in hrs.)
2
Location
M",chani cal
Jack
1<: e Cr-ushec
_1 Hi:::.
Ta.pe!'
Bpa.rinc
Doub1" ililll
p, "~{lI~.i tl [.
NTN
(JAPAN)
SKL
(POLAND)
Bearing 1 i f e=- n to 11 months,
2:1 I)
1.5
Ag i ta tor
810, "12
Bl. (lwer'
369

COST ANALYSIS
RB.20,OO,OOO/
Plan'!: co,~t:
Rs.1S,OO,OOO/-
Ru;ldinC <:ost:
250 L,ottles per- hOllr
Production r'aLc:
Profit ClsfHlmlng 30~, f"'lc,, of <'l bott1"
Rs.250 X 2.50
Total cosL of 250 bottles
Hourly profit =
Rs.2.S0 X 250 X 30
Rs. 18'7.50
Total wor-ker-s
40
Salary per wor-ker
Rs.800 per month
Rs. 40 X 800
Total salar-ies paId to worker-s
No, of work j n,:; hourt1 p"'" day
16 hours
.Sali.l.rit~.,=:
pa.id t.o \.JC)rk~r.t-~/l 1"'lll=4.0 x [100/30 X 16= Rs, 66,66
No.
of
4.
C:1J(~nii.!.:~t.o
= Rs.
= RB,
Salary pt.'t" t!dcb Ch(-~flli.s1.

Total ~:5dJd.ril~s of Chemists
1 son p('"
4.
month
1500/~
Salar-ies paid to Chemists/ 1 hour-=4 X 1500/30 X 16 = Rs. 12,5

Sa 1 dr' i u:; of 1".il"";';"l'ia] ,,1. .. f f
Rs. c,,>OO/- p.m
Sa] [-ir i (?f~ paJd to Managerial s t a f f / l hour = 5500 /(30 X 16)
= Rs.11.1/!i8
Iota] p{~r!;()lln(~] ll1an bour'fi co~:;1
66.66 ~ 12.5 ~ 11.458 = R".90.62
Total cost par- hour
= 187,5 + 90.62 = Rs.27B.l~
AS!3UmiIl2, Intf~r(~st rat.e;.; 18%
Total p)c>.ld
huilding
cost= 20,00,OOO+15,OO,OO=R~'.35,OO,000
Inter",,:;t for' JO year'" = 35,00,000 X 10 X 0.18 '" Rn.63,OO,OOO
Interest per hour = 63,00,000 / 10 X 365 X 16 = Rs.107.8B
Assuming ,;cr'ap value Rs.20,OO,OOO
after 10 years.
Total depleciation cost/l hour=(J5,00,000-20,00,000)/10 X 365 X 16
Loss of p,'oduction/l hour = 278.12 + 107.88 + 25.68 : RS.411.613
(Buildin~~Plant cost)/1 hour: 35,00,000/ 5 X 365 X16 = Rs.119.86
Salarie" to dL'ivers and watchmen, etc
= Rs.6,000/'~ p.m
Cost per' hour
= Rs.12.5
Tutal 10B8 of production/l hour: 411.68+119.86+12.5
Rs.544.04
Mechanic cost/l hour
Rs.50.
,,,,d
SCHEME The
5368,
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
least five bearing values from the table (not shown) are
5448,
5468,
5476,
5511. The breakdown maintenance schme-I
resulted iI' 43 replacements in 5 years costing Rs.92,71B.14

errOL'
in the Preventive Maintenance schedule is l;miled
to
The
J~.
Hence we get a value 5511 from the table.

No. of hour" for replacing 7 bearings at a time
= 1/ hours
Loss of production for 4 hours = 4 X 544.04 = Rs,~,176.16
No. of 1I",c1'dnics needed: 4
Mechanic cost = 4 X 50 X 4 : Rs.BOO
Total cost of seven bearings
Rs.3,802.36
Maintenance
cost
for
a
single
replacement
of
all
bearings
after
5511 hours
: 2176.16 i
800 i 3802.36 : Rs.6,778.52
370
In.five years total number of replacements = 8

total maintenance cost using preventive maintenance
,
= 8 X 6,778.52 = 54,228.16
in !) years
Percentage saving ~(92,718.J454,228.16)X100/92,718.14=4] .5%
TheD.'~t or e
SCHEME -
II
The
1 east
are
shown)
five
5334,
bearing life values from

5498,
5408,
5502,
the
The scheme-II of
5568.
Breakdown
maintenance resulted in 42 replacements in 5
the
of
cost
Rs.
Maintenance
The
91,320.96.
error
in
the
~ears
at
Preventive
Hence we get a
schedule is limited to 3%
(not
table
value
5498 from the table.

No. of hours for replacing 7 bearings at a time = 4 hours
Loss of production for 4 hours = 4 X 544.04 = Rs.2,176.16
No. of mechanics needed = 4
Mechanic cost = 4 X 50 X 4 ~ Rs. 800
Total cost of seven bearings
= Rs.3,802.36
Maintenance cost
for
a
single replacement of
all
bearings
after
5498 hours
= 2176.16 + 800 + 3802.36 = Rs.6,778.52
In five years total number of replacements = 8
Therefore,
total maintenance cost using preventive maintenance
in 5 years
8 X 6,778.52 = Rs.54,228.16
Percentage saving =(91,320.96-54,228.16) X 100/91,320.96=40.6%
CONCLUSIONS
In
small
scale industries
comparatively
less
significantly
affect
and
where
the income
maintenance may be adopted.

industries
",here
disasteroU8
r"Bsults.
w~ere
any
In
the cost of
break-down
of
the
production
time
does
industry,
is
not
break-down
nut i t is not generally preferable in
break-down
SU~ll
j~a~es
o~
stalling
Preventive
could
caUBe
MairltenanC8 is a
boon.
We
have
shown
that the policy of
earns tho company R savings of I""H.Iy
40~,
Preventive
Maintenance
371

REFERENCES
1.
J~rome Kanter,
"Management Oriented Management Information
SYutems"
Prentice-Hall of India
pvt. Ltd, New Delhi-1978.
2.
Bernard
T.Lewis,
1"'1an~~~enll.~nt
3.
Buffa
":
E.S,
produ(:t.i.ve
Leonard
Cahnt~r.s
rw
M Tow," Readinbs
rubl ishing Company,
" Operations Management

systems ", Wiley, New York,
Maintenance
Inc 11973.
The Ma.nag emen t

1976.
of
4.
Cliffon
R.H,
Pr.inciples
of
Planned
Maintenance",
1st edition, Edward Arnold publishers Ltd, London. 1974.
5.
[1' e!tont
E.
:M lin l-1. [, (~m ell t
Tol-:yo,1974.
(,.
Crag H.P,
Industrial Maintenahce",
Company Ltd, New Delhi .1980.
'7.
Khanna O.P,
Industrial Engineering and Management"
i'ulishers, New Delhi, 1985.
8.
Marline R.L, " Information Management.

Me Gl'UW Hill Book Company, 1969.
9.
Roy D.
Harris, Michael J. Maggard," Computer Models of the
Operations Management ", Harper
Row Publishers
1977.
East,
James E.
" 2nd edit jon
Rosenzweig"
Me Graw
Or6;.c.u11.s.a.t.ion
Oil13rd
KOGRkusha
edition,
f-.lIld
Ltd,
S.Chand
Khanna
The Dynamics of MTS "
The Fundamentals of, and the Application of Computers to,

Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance.
Jason Tranter
ARGO Software Integration P/L, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
ABSTRACT
Machine condition monitoring can playa major role in plant maintenance. However, to take
advantage of this relatively new maintenance strategy, it is necessary to have an understanding
of the technology involved. After a brief discussion of predictive maintenance theory, and a
summary of different techniques, this paper discusses a number of vibration based techniques
used to predict machine condition. The application of computers is then discussed, illustrating the
increased efficiency and flexibility that can be achieved.
1.0
INTRODUCTION
All around the world there are teams of hardy engineers involved in plant maintenance. Their aim
is to stay in control of the maintenance, and to reduce costs. Unfortunately they are managing
rotating machinery which is slowly wearing out, seemingly hell-bent on destroying itself. So the
engineers must stay on their toes to ensure that the plant stays within their control.
For many years plant machinery was either allowed to breakdown, if it was unimportant or
inexpensive to replace, or routine maintenance was perfomed, ideally scheduled before there was
too great a risk of machinery failure. Predictive maintenance is now becoming popular. Using
modern instrumentation, parameters indicating machine condition can be easily collected and
processed by computer software in order to determine machine condition and predict its failure.
Machines are then overhauled ahead of time. The savings can be significant, due to reduced
downtime, lower inventory costs, increased safety, and minimized secondary damage. But a cost
justification must be performed to ensure that it is viable in your plant, as there are expenses in the
purchase of computers and instrumentation, and in the employment and training of staff to operate
the system. And it must be realized that these techniques are not fool proof.
2.0
373
CONOmON MONITORING TECHNIQUES
Many studies have been performed in order to determine which parameters are the most effective
in predicting machine failure.
Unfortunately, no one parameter has been identified as being
consistently the best. Although there are those among us who rely solely on visual and aural
observations to determine machine condition, the most successful results are achieved using
vibration analysis, wear particle analysis, and performance analysis.
All rotating machinery vibrates, and as a machines condition changes, that vibration pattern
will change.
By analysing the nature of the change, and the rate of change, machine
condition can be predicted.

By studying the wear particles in lubricating oils, it is possible to determine what is wearing
(metal type), how severly it is wearing (concentration), and how great the forces are causing
the wear (shape). While this method can give the earliest indication of failure, it is the most
sophisticated and expensive to implement.
As a machine's condition appears to change, so may its performance. By monitoring its
performance, a greater understanding of the machine's true condition can be assertained.
This information is also valuable in the effort of increase plant efficiency.
The most important point is that the use of a number of parameters and techniques in combination
will give the best indication of machine condition. Unfortunately, this means that a large amount
of data must be collected, analysed, and thus understood. But modern instrumentation, coupled
with powerful computer based software, can greatly assist in this area.
3.0 VIBRATION ANALYSIS
As machine condition changes so will the machine's vibration characteristics. Exactly what change
takes place, and how that change is detected and interpreted has been the topic of numerous
studies over many years. Table One (following page) summarises a number of parameters derived
from the time-based vibration signal, and Table Two (following page) summarises a number of
frequency domain techniques.
For many years the overall (R.M.S) level of the vibration signal has been used. The main analysis
performed was to compare new readings against published severity charts, such as VOl 2056 [11.
Although being very easy to implement, the results are not always positive, as the overall level will
very often not give sufficient warning of machine damage [21. Numerous techniques have been
developed over the years which are equal in simplicity, but improve the reliability. These include
shock pulse and spike energy, which have been designed to detect bearing damage.
374
Table 1 - Time Based Vibration Analysis

Most common vibration measurement in use. Most simple and inexpensive type of
Overall Level
(R.M.S.)
measurement. Greatest limitation is the lack of sensitivity and information available
Measurements in the data. Unless a problem is severe, r.m.s may not change significantly.
Peak Level
Detection
Particularly useful for monitoring the change in the amount of impulsiveness, possibly due to increased bearing damage. This method is not 100% reliable, as other
effects can also increase the peak level of a signal (4).
Crest Factor
The crest factor (sometimes called the impact index), is the ratio of the peak level to
the r.m.s. level. This method also has limitations (4).
Shock Pulse &

Spike Energy
Basically a measure of the vibration level at the bearing resonance, usually above
30kHz. Widely used, however concern has been expressed as the reading can
decrease in later stages due to a reduction in impulsiveness, and other conditions,
such as turbulence and cavitation in pumps, can give false readings (1).
Kurtosis
Statistical parameter, derived from the statistical moments of the probability density
function of the vibration signal. The Kutosis technique has the major advantage that
the calculated value is independent of load or speed variations.
Demodulation
(Envelope
Detection)
Often the bearing signals are swamped by more dominant low frequency signals.
This method, which can be implemented as a Hilbert transform, filters out low frequency signals, leaving a clean signal dominated by the bearing frequencies.
Phase
Phase indicates the relative timing between two points. It is used in balancing and is
useful when diagnosing imbalance, misalignment, looseness, and other cases.
Time
Waveform
Using an oscilloscope, it is possible to view the waveform of the vibration. Difficult to

use in isolation, it can be a very helpful tool in combination with others.
Orbits
Taken using a two channel oscilloscope connected to proximity probes. More

recently they have been derived from a pair of frequency spectra. The major benefit
is that they show the relative motion of the dominant vibration of the shaft.
Table 2
- Frequency Based Vibration Analysis
Spectrum
Derived from the vibration waveform by performing a 'Fast Fourier Transform'.

Given that the running speed of the machine is directly proportional to the frequency
measured, it is possible to relate peaks in the spectrum to machine components.
Waterfall Plot
A waterfall plot (also known as spectral map and cascade plot) is a three dimensional representation of spectra, usually with time as the third dimension.
Cepstrum
The FFT of the logarithm of the power spectrum. Used to highlight periodicities in
the spectrum. Useful in bearing and gearbox analysis (3).
Difference
Spectra
By mathematically subtracting two spectra, changes in level are easily identified.

Fault frequency analysis is performed to relate the frequencies to the machine components. Does not cope well with running speed changes.
R.M.S.of
Difference
The r.m.s. of the difference between the current spectrum and the baseline, and the
current spectrum and the previous spectrum, have both been found to be useful
trending parameters (4).
Matched Filter
Another method of trending the difference between vibration spectra. Found to be a

reliable trending parameter. Quantifies the differences between spectra by summing the squares of the corresponding amplitude ratios in the spectra and taking the
logarithm of the result.
375
One of the most powerful techniques is spectrum analysis. The benefit of the spectrum is that each
rotating element in a machine generates identifiable frequencies, thus changes at a given
frequency can be related directly to machine components, and the changes are more easily
detected than with overall level measurements. The spectrum measurement is not, therefore, as
simple as the overall level measurement, although there are a number of indices derived from the
spectrum (matched filter, r.m.s of difference, peak amplitude at a frequency, etc.) which are very
useful trending parameters.
Given that the peaks in the spectrum relate to machine components, it is necessary to be able to
calculate the 'fault' frequencies, i.e. where the peaks should appear. There are a number of
Table 3
Frequency Possible
Cause
- Table Of Common Faults
Comments
1 x RPM
Imbalance
Steady phase that follows transducer. Can be caused by load variation. material
buildup. or pump cavitation.
Misalignment or High axial levels. 180 axial phase relation at
Bent shalt
the shalt ends. Usually characterised by high 2 x rpm.
Caused by casing or foundation distortion, or from attached structures (e.g. piping)
Strain
Directional- changes with transducer location. Usually high harmonic content and
Looseness
random phase.
Resonance
Drops off sharply with change in speed. From attached structures.
Electrical
Broken rotor bar in induction motor. 2 x slip frequency sidebands often produced.
2xRPM
Misalignment or High levels of axial vibration.

Bent Shalt
Harmonics
Looseness
Rubs
Sub-RPM
Oil whirl
Typically 0.43-0.48 of RPM; unstable phase.
Bearing cage [1 Fundamental Train ~t R:oM [ 1 _ Ball Diameter x COS ( Contact Angle) )
P~ch Diameter
NxRPM
Rolling Element Inner Race _ ~ . !!EM.

Bearings [1)
2
60
Impulsive or truncated time waveform; large number of harmonics.

Shalt contacting machine housing.
[1+
Outer Race _~. RPM [1

2
60
Ball Diameter
x COS ( Contact Angle))
Pitch Diameter
Ball Diameter
- Pitch
Diameter
x COS ( Contact Angle) )
P~ch Di~meter . RPM [1 _( ~all Di~. x COS (Contact Angle)2))

2 x Ball Diameter
60
Pnch Dla.
Usually modulated by running speed.
Gearmesh (# teeth x RPM); usually modulated by running speed.
Belt x running speed and 2 x running speed
# Bladeslvanes x RPM; usually present in normal machine. Harmonics usually indicate that a problem exists.
Ball Defect _
Gears
BeRs
BladesNanes
N x Powerline Electrical
Shorted stator; broken or eccentric rotor.
Resonance
Several sources, including shalt, casing. foundation and attached structures. Frequency is proportional to stillness and inversely proportional to mass. Runup tests
and modal analysis are useful in this area.
376
standard formulas that cover bearing, gearbox, pump, fan, pulley, etc., fault frequencies. Likewise,
there are suggested fault conditions that have been described for unbalance, misalignment,
looseness, oil whirl, resonance, and others. Table 3 on the previous page summarizes these
relationships. It must be pointed out that these fault frequencies and fault conditions are not always
easily indentifiable, and it is easy to be mislead if such a table is followed blindly.
There are a number of transformations that can be performed on a spectrum to aid in the analysis
process. The most simple is the waterfall plot, which shows the history of spectra versus time.
Cepstrum analysis is a technique which extracts periodicities from a spectrum, shown to be very
useful in bearings and gearbox analysis [3]. Also, by subtracting a 'healthy' baseline spectrum from
new measurements it is possible to quickly identify changes.
As with almost all of the vibration based techniques, it is necessary to acquire a history of data from
a given point on a machine in order to determine how much it has changed, and how quickly it is
changing. From this information it may be possible to diagnose what is wrong with the machine,
how severe the problem is, and thus determine how long the machine can be left in service. To
do this effectively, you need experience, quality instrumentation, and ideally a computer to help
identify the frequencies and perform the comparisons and transformations.
4.0
THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS
Computers can playa very important role in condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Many of the vibration analysis methods described above would not be possible without a computer.
And the increased efficiency in collecting measurements means that an operator can test more
locations on more machines, and there is ample time for complete analysis of the data.
The main advantages of a computer based system are:
1. Increased efficiency. The collection and storage of data can be performed in far shorter
time than if done manualy. Modern instrumentation can be configured for a 'route', guiding
the operator from machine to machine. The computer can then automatically store the new
measurements on disc. Utilizing a structured database, the data can be quickly retrieved
when required.
2. Scheduling. The computer can remind an operator when measurements should be taken,
and keep track if measurements were not taken due a machine being off-line.
3. Screening. The computer can be used to compare new measurements with preset alarm
levels in order to determine if levels have changed significantly. This can save a great deal
of work, and allow an operator to quickly pinpoint the measurements that require attention.
377
4. Analysis. Often the data from the instrumentation comes in its raw form, i.e. a spectrum or
overall level measurement. The computer can manipulate that data graphically highlighting
trends, extracting information to estimate future levels, and transforming the data to show
it in a more useful or convenient form. Also, by storing a database of bearing parameters,
for example, it is possible to quickly correlate changes in a spectrum with the bearing's fault
frequencies. This can also be applied to gears, blades, vanes, etc.
5. Documentation. Computer software can also be used to automatically extract the most
important information and present in a professional format via a printer or plotter. These
reports may simply display the measured data, or they may summarize the conclusions
made by the maintenance engineer. Given that the success of the predictive maintenance
programme is largely based on being able to communicate the findings to the relevant
people, this is an important application of the computer.
5.0
CONCLUSION
This paper has briefly explained the benefits of implementing a predictive maintenance programme. It has described a number of techniques that can be used to determine machine health,
concentrating on vibration analysis, and covered the basic functions of a computer based system,
highlighting the benefits that can be enjoyed.
There are no guarantees with predictive maintenance, but there is a great deal that you can do to
put the odds in your favour. It is important to have full support from maintenance and production
management, it is important to have a sound knowledge of the technologies involved, and it is
important to have a high quality hardware/software/data collection system that can be understood
by all, yet which has the power and flexibility to help you diagnose difficult problems.
6.0
REFERENCES
1 Stronach, A.F. et al; Condition Monitoring of Rolling Element Bearings ; Condition Monitoring '84; Pineridge Press Ltd; United Kingdom; 1984.
2 Martins, L.G. &

Gerges, S.N.Y.;
Comparison Between Signal Analyses for Detecting Insipjent

Bearing Damage; Condition Monitoring '84; Pineridge Press Ltd;
United Kingdom; 1984.
3 Randall, R.B. &

Hee,J.;
4 Alfredson, R.J. &

Mathew, J.;
Cepstrum Analysis; Machine Condition Monitoring and Fault Diag-
1lQSis.; University of Adelaide, Australia; June 1987.

The Condition Monitoring Of Rolling Element Bearings Using Vibration Analysis; The American Society of Mechanical Engineers;
Publication Number 83-WAlNCA-1; June 1983.
The Use of Thermography in Industrial Predictive Maintenance

Colin Nicholls
NIKAT Associates, Chester, UK
Potential problems in industrial equipment assocLlted Hi th
overheated
bearings, overloaded couplings and overheated motors are often located

using sensitive infrared thermography.
predictive
maintenance
beneficial
in
terms
programmes
of
'I'hermographic inspection-based
can
therefore
increased production
and
extremely
be
profit
and
carrying
out inspections at least every 3-6 months can ensure
benefits
are
determining,
achieved.
Predictive Maintenance has been
plant is going to fail in time to
~Ihen
as
take
corrective
is
statistical
One
ctre used at present.
these
defined
action.
Two
analysis
based on past history to predict future failure.
is
approaches
by
The
other
real time instrumental analysis to diagnose current conditions
of
equipment and if potential problems exist.

The
statistical approach provides precise overall
but
about
individual
items of
equipment.
plant
information
Instrumental
however, can clearly show the condition of specific plant.
analysis,
It is also
non-destructive and can detect problems whilst the plant is operating.

Problems
therefore
can
be
diagnosed long
before
they
can
cause
machinery failure and excessive dOlVntime.

The
three most widely accepted techniques for predictive
are vibration analysis, ultrasonic testing and infrared

The
first
two
techniques are similar
and
depend
maintenance
thermography.
considerably
on
trending
of
data,
379
whereas thermography is unique as
it
bases
its
analysis on the visualisation of temperature differences.

Heat
and
is a by-product of all work - electrical,

biological.
control
it
to
mechanical,
We generate it, transfer it, contain it and

suit our needs.
It is
the
Sensitive, quantitative infrared imaging is
gather the information presented in this paper.

the
try to
thermographer's
record, diagnose and analyse the abnormal heat transfer in

equipment.
chemical
job to
industrial
required
Diagnostic aspects of
work demand use of equipment with the best available spatial
temperature
reasonably
points
resolution.
portable
invariably
Systems must operate in real
radiometers,
although
capabili ties.
Also
variations
cause errors.
can
time
as well as rugged, as the best data

seem to be in the most
useful,
imaging
have
radius
to
unpleasant
severely
limitations
and
places.
limited
and
be
collection
Spot
search
emissivity
and
LED imaging systems
and
single
line
scanners are also limited in measurement capability.

The
art of predictive maintenance has been quite well advanced
using
sensitive infrared imaging systems.

When using industrial thermography the inspection time selected should
ideally
be
when the plant is likely to be under maximum
load.
The
objective is to evaluate as much equipment as possible in the allotted

time
and
budget.
The thermographic inspection
should
start
critical items in which an outage could cause either a plant

or extensive damage.
with
shutdown
The electrical system is analysed beginning with
380
the
outside
lines and poles,
sub-stations,
transformers,
transfer
equipment, main distribution panels and then going on to motor control

centres, starter and major motors.
Large and/or critical motors with
bearings not equipped with thermo-couples or thermometers are surveyed

as well as process equipment.
A well trained operator using high resolution equipment can thoroughly
evaluate
a medium-sized plant in one or two days.
At typical
rates,
this means that the operating condition of millions of pounds worth of

equipment can usually be established for 2,000 or less.
are discovered while the equipment is operating,
When
faults
the faults can often
be
corrected for a few pounds each whereas it may cost many hundreds
of
thousands
of
pounds
equipment fails.
if the faults are
annual thermographic
An
occurrence and the severity of the problem.

inspection can
insight
into
reliability.
conserve
maintenance
system performances
not corrected and
the
survey can
the
A predictive
costs,
and
reduce
provide
improve
maintenance
considerable
plant
operating
In one particular plant annual thermographic inspections
reduced outages due to electrical problems from 15 per year to only 4.

In another large industrial plant
carried out on
electrical
temperature
with
annual
each
thermographic inspections
an annual basis, approximately the
problems
of
,~here
are revealed each year.
However,
the detected problems have been
succeeding
inspection,
annual inspection.
same
number
the
of
average
significantly lower
Starting with
there were no more electrical
are
problems
the
third
detected
that were classified as critical (i.e. faults where temperatures
were
50 C. or higher above normal circuit components).
381
Even so,
these minor faults were still repaired by replacing a
most of
connector for
example at the cost of a few minutes of an electrician's time.

However, in a plant where thermographic inspection is first introduced
it is common to find at least one and
electrical faults.
generally several
If not detected, these critical electrical
could result in plant shutdown or equipment damage.

especially
useful
when diagnosing process
problems
of processes amenable to thermographic
paper and board production.

which
cause
Thermographic
product
where
are
also
the
critical.
trouble-shooting
Uneven plastic extrusion
problems
faults
Thermography is
application or removal of heat from a system or product is

Typical
critical
temperatures
readily
inspection can also be routinely used
energy losses in heated or air conditioned buildings.
to
are
diagnosed.
assess
the
Energy leakage
from insulation voids and air infiltration is readily observable using

thermography as well
as being able to
locate energy leakages
in
process equipment.
In the power generation industry, slipping temperature measurement is
an important application carried out by means of thermography.
rings
carry the main excitation current of several thousand
Slip-
amps
to
The sliprings are air cooled and
if
the
rotors of large generators.
the
temperatures exceed 100 C. increased wear rate of carbon brushes
and
slipring
surface can lead to problems.
The temperature
of
the
sliprings can be obtained with an infrared camera, by measuring the

temperature of grooves cut into the surface which have a
emissivity.
known high
382
Hot joints and fittings on overhead transmission lines can be
located
by means of thermographic survey by using an infrared camera mounted

in a helicopter.
Another important use of thermography in the power generation industry
is
to locate defects in lagging which may be responsible
loss
of
heat.
Heavy magnetic fields in transformers
for
can
induced losses in the casing causing localised hot spots.

survey can
indicate
useful.
These
clamping
bolts.
where additional magnetic
induced
lead to
An infrared
screening
losses can also cause hot spots
would be
on busbar
This problem has been cured by using non-magnetic
bolts and by insulating the bolts from the busbar.
Boiler corrosion
and vibration problems have also been investigated using the

method.
The
blowing of hot gas across a bank of
vibration
against
fret
way through the metal tube.
its
costly
the support which in special
tubes
infrared
can cause
circumstances might
This impact
creates
amount of heat which can be detected by thermography and the
small
severity
of the vibration effect estimated.

The
iron and steel industry also uses thermography very
effectively.
Thermographic studies identify and quantitatively measure the waste of

the
industry's
temperatures
steel
most
and
production
costly
raw material -
energy.
quantity of heat used in all aspects

maake measurement
by direct
The
enormous
of
iron and
contact
hazardous whereas thermography makes it relatively easy.
extremely
383
Hov/ever,
energy
application.
problems,
conservation studies are not the
Other
uses include the location of
detection
identification
regularly
of
only
of
dirt
faulty
surveying
the
accumulation
electrical
surface
and
cost
saving
refractory
lining
in
hydraulic
temperature
mains
gas
of
and
problems.
refractory
By
lined
vessels, an accurate assessment of their condition, planning of maintenance

the
By
and maximisation of Iwrking life can be made.
comparing
thermal measurements with observed conditions, a reference
curve
of refractory lining thickness can be drawn.

Deposition of dust in gas mains can cause serious problems
associated
with flue reduction, excessive pressure drop and mechanical loading of

the
pipe
structure,
thermography
associated
especially in the
overcomes
the
problems of
flange
regions.
precise
with gas pressure testing at selected
blockage
layer.
location
points.
surveys are a valuable aid to measuring dust levels.

profile
infrared
The
infrared
temperature
of the containing surface reflects the geometry of
the
A sharp thermal gradient indicates a horizontal layer while a
more gradual gradient is symptomatic of a concave profile.
One
dirty
blast furnace gas main suffered from frequent fractures of the

bolts.
quantity
and
dust
flange
Thermographic examination indicated that presence of a

of dust within the main.
cleaning
operations
Visual inspection
resulted in over 15 tonnes
large
confirmed
of
dirt
this
being
removed.
Proper
thermographic
data
acquisition
and
interpretation
require
sensitive equipment with quantitative measurement capabilities used by
384
trained
been
operators.
The interpretation of a thermograph screen has
compared to the problem of reading a radar
screen accurately.
Anyone can operate the equipment with a degree of facility after a few
hours of training and experience.
the
operator must
The experience factor is
thoroughly understand
the
critical.
capabilities of his
equipment and be in constant practice through using it in a variety of

industrial situations.
No
claim should be made that thermography is a cure-all.
limitations
to
the
art.
There
The imaging device sees protons
of
energy whether they emanate from the system under study or are
reflected by it.
The
temperatures and
temperature differences of
surfaces
instrument cannot
differentiate,
cannot always be read accurately.
are
heat
merely
therefore,
highly heat-reflective
It is also
difficult or
impossible to develop a meaningful thermal insight into
reciprocating
machinery or into heavily insulated equipment.
Thermography is much
more effective in detecting and measuring temperature differences than

in measuring an object's absolute temperature.
Although thermography can, for example,
problems
in
trouble
spots.
detecting
plant a thorough inspection can

The
fault
following
during
operating when inspected;

type
or
detect most electrical energy
are
all
an inspection:
possible
the
thermally'buried'.
information
miss
causes
certain
for
not
equipment was
not
the equipment is interlocked and/or
that cannot be safely opened under load for

is
still
A thermographic
direct
inspection
on the location and quantity of heat being
is
inspection;
can
develop
lost
through
defects in a system.
audit:
directed
but,
385
Thermography can therefore supplement an
in the absence of additional
information
energy
specifically
to this need, thermography should not be expected to
result
in a formal complete energy balance.
Bibliography
1.
Infrared Thermography, Charles C. Roberts Jr, Heating/Piping/Air

Conditioning, Reinhold Publishing Co. Inc, U.S.A.
2.
Infrared Detection Instruments and Techniques Boost Energy

Management and Analysis Capability, George S. Baird, Electrical
Energy Management 1981 Cleworth Publishing Co. Inc., U.S.A.
3.
Infrared Thermography Sheds New Light,

Systems, March 1988
Kevin
Ellis,
Control
Set Vibration Alarm Levels without Guesswork
R G Smiley and T J Murphy*

VP Engineering and * U K Sales Manager, Entek Scientific Corporation, UK
ABSTRACT
setting vibration alarm levels to screen measurements made as
part of a periodic monitoring project usually requires the
assistance of an experienced vibration analyst or diagnostician.
In this paper we show how to easily use the existing condition of
the machines to establish these levels, and to use industry
guidelines to qualify the results. This eliminates the guesswork
and allows an inexperienced user to set meaningful levels, thus
reducing the cost of implementing a Predictive Maintenance
project.
Two
examples
(overall
vibration
and spectrum
enveloping) are shown to illustrate the methods.
INTRODUCTION
Predictive Maintenance Systems using personal computers, handheld
data collectors and powerful software packages have become widely
used throughout industry. These systems offer a powerful tool to
the maintenance function. Vast quantities of overall data may be
acquired, trended, displayed and reported.
Process variables
such as pressure, flow, current or temperature may also be
gathered easily.
Hundreds of detailed spectrum measurements may
be gathered so that immediate diagnosis may be made when problems
are detected.
This huge influx of data provides the PM staff with more
information about the plant equipment than ever before.
It also
presents the PM staff with the problem of reviewing this data and
making meaningful conclusions from it.
computers can greatly
automate this review and evaluation process. System automation
will only be effective when meaningful alarms are set.
As a PM
system is first setup, quite often the necessary understanding of
the plant equipment has not yet been acquired.
This paper
presents methods to acquire this understanding of the plant
equipment quickly and to employ several
computer assisted
techniques to set appropriate alarm limits.
387
ALARM SETTING METHODS

Three basic approaches to setting alarm levels for Predictive
Maintenance programs will be presented.
These methods include
the use of manufacturer's recommendations, published standards
from technical organisations and statistical analysis of acquired
plant data.
Manufacturer's recommendations can be an effective tool for
setting machinery alarm limits.
These recommendations are
usually available through the manufacturer's field service or
quality testing organisations. Quite often, such recommendations
will be presented in the operator's manuals of complex or
expensive machinery.
These guidelines provide good general
information but quite often have significant problems in PM
applications.
Typical manufacturers limits often require a controlled testing
environment.
This environment may include specific mounting
requirements for the equipment or operating conditions which are
difficult or impossible to reproduce in the field.
Testing at a
manufacturer is nearly always done under ideal or "typical"
application conditions.
These conditions will undoubtedly vary
greatly from many of the field applications of the machinery.
Transducer selection, mounting and units choice may also be quite
different from accepted practices within your plant. Probably
the
most
important
shortcoming
of
most
manufacturers
recommendations is the fact that they address overall vibration
limits only.
No guidelines are generally offered for the
comparison of acquired spectrum data.
This is a significant
shortcoming because many of the most prevalent failure modes (ie:
gear or bearing deterioration) can only be detected through
analysis of the entire machinery spectrum.
These factors make
manufacturers recommendations for vibration limits difficult to
employ in most PM programs as anything more than a reasonable
starting point.
Published standards suffer from many of the same limitations as
manufacturers recommendations.
These standards are developed to
address a broad range of equipment in a variety of applications
and as such are only worthwhile in a very general sense. These
standards also assume a specific testing environment which may be
quite different from the plant application. Published standards
also consider only overall vibration levels. Vibration limits of
operating equipment across the entire spectrum are not addressed.
For these reasons published standards also are only a reasonable
starting point for most PM programs.
388
Statistical
alarms overcome most of
the
shortcomings of
manufacturer's recommendations
or
published
standards.
A
statistical approach to setting alarm limits will quickly build a
good understanding of the plant equipment.
This understanding
allows you to determine appropriate alarm limits for overall
vibration, vibration spectrum data or other plant parameters.
Statistical alarm limits are based on gathering a small sampling
of data from the plant equipment, analysing the distribution of
that data and using this statistical characterisation to set the
alarm limits.
The statistical characterisation consists of the
mean and standard deviation values.
The mean and standard
deviation are calculated as follows:n
x = E xiln
3C = mean
number of samples
5
standard deviation
xi = value of sample i
i=l
=
=
When applied to spectrum data, the same calculations are made for
each line of resolution.
For a 400 line spectra, the mean and
standard deviation are calculated as follows:Mean Spectrum = XlI X2 I X3 I X4 00
Stand. Dev. Spectrum
sli
5 21
5 3/ 5400
x). =i=l
L [xJ/n
) 1
!!
.....
~i=l
Sj =
j
([XjJi-Xj) l(n-1)
line of resolution
(1 -> 400)
There are many significant advantages of this type of analysis.

The analysis is based entirely on the vibration performance of
the plant equipment.
This means that the technique will yield
meaningful alarm limits regardless of the specific equipment
application.
Statistical methods result in alarm limits which
may be applied to the actual measurements which are being made in
the plant.
No changes in measurement technique (ie: transducer
389
or units choice) are required to conform to a standard. Most

importantly, statistical analysis may be applied to vibration
spectrum data.
This results in meaningful limits for the entire
measured spectrum.
These spectrum alarms are very important in
detecting and identifying defects such as gear failure or bearing
damage.
The most important benefit of statistical analysis is that
maintenance resources are allocated to the plant equipment which
is in greatest need of attention.
This allocation is done in an
accurate, methodical fashion that is easy to implement.
CASE HISTORIES
I.
Overall Vibration Levels On Process Pumps
A Predictive Maintenance system had been installed at a major

pulp and paper mill.
One of the principal planned applications
for the system was the periodic monitoring of process pumps.
These pumps were horizontal single stage centrifugal pumps with
direct drive electric motors.
Typical motor size was 150
horsepower- at 3600 RPM. In order to establish meaningful alarms
on this equipment, existing standards for allowable electric
motor and pump vibration levels were studied.
Figures 1 and 2
show the published recommendations from ISO for electric motors
and the United States Hydraulic Institute for centrifugal pumps.
Maximum fm. values or velocity amplitude

lor the ahaft heilM. H In mm.
Rntdtional
QUfllity
Mratle
N (norma.l)
R (reduced)
8 (Ipeclal)
'peed
80<H<132
rpm
mm/lec
600103,600
600 10 1,800
< 1,800103,600
60010 1,800
< 1,800 to 3,600
1,8
0,71
1.12
0,46
0,71
132 < H < 225
22S<H<400
in./lec
mm/aec
in./aee
mm/aec
in./sec
O,Ott
0,018
0,028
0,011
0.018
2,8
1.12
1,8
0,71
1.12
0,071
0,028
O,OU
0,018
0.028
4,5
1.8
2,8
1.12
1.8
0,11
O,OH
0,071
0,028
O.OH
------ ----
A .Ioltle .e~ (II nluee, furh II lhoar IPplicable to tb. 132- to 225-mm .b,ft Ilelaht. may b. uled if
'hO"'D
b)'
elCvenence to be required.
Figure 1.
Rating Of
Electric Motors
Based On
Vibration
Severi ty (ISO
IS 2373)
390
30
10 FT b 'STANCE FROM
~20
w
o
5FT
\zwa.~ 10 " - " 4FT

~~ 8
~~w
a.
tl)a.
00l-
B~sk TO POINT OF MF.ASUREMENT
-r-.
l"- I6FT rBFT
(OR LESS)
t:::::
r-_
.......
........
...........
""<I
~
60
120
240
.......
...........
.............
......
.......
..........
"
1,200
480
"'
Figure 2.
Vibration
Classification
For Vertical
Or Horizontal
Centrifugal Pumps
(Hydraulic
Institute)
"
" I"-1'\
r"- f'.
""
'\
r'\.
2 ,400
fREOUENCY, CPM
Several
problems
were
encountered
in
employing
these
recommendations.
Different measurement units were used to
specify the electric motor limits and the pump limits. In fact,
the choice of units by the user for this application were IPS-PK
and neither standard offered a recommended limit in these units.
Application of both of these standards also required dimension
information for each monitored machine (ie: shaft height Hand
distance from base to measurement point).
For these reasons a
statistical approach to setting these overall vibration alarm
limits was adopted.
The results of the first survey were
statistically analysed to calculate appropriate alarm limits.
The distribution, mean and standard
are shown in Figure 3.
deviation from
this survey
OVERALL VIBRATION ANALYSIS

",.. rUNDE DlaTR,.unON
.2 -r----------~~~~~~-~~~-------------__,
.0
lie
ll.
114
2ll
110
I.
Ie
14
12
10
~,_-_r-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~
0.04
0.0.
0.1 a
0.1.
0.2
0.a4
0 . 2.
o a
0...
0.4
IZZJ A;r~~t;'!_:..:::::.e
Figure 3.
Data Distribution from Initial
Sample of Overall Vibration Data.
(mean=.223; std. dev.=.073)
0.44
0.'"
o.ea
0...
391
Typically, alarm limits may be set at the mean value incremented

by three standard deviations.
This alarm limit will readily
identify measurement points which are in the highest eleven
percent of the acquired sampling of data.
Using this type of
alarm allows the maintenance resources to be effectively focused
on the equipment with the highest vibration.
A statistical study of this type is also an extremely good tool
to demonstrate the success of a PM program. . The same group of
process pumps used above was resurveyed one year later. The
distribution, mean and standard deviation for this later sampling
are shown in Figure 4.
OVERALL VIBRATION ANALYSIS
.0 -r______________________~A=M~~=W~T=U=D=E~D=I=8T~R=I=.=U=n~O~H~________________________--,
J
'Ii
0.04
D.O.
0.' 2
O. t.
0.2
0.24
0.2.
0 2
D...
0.4
IZZJ A:r'!~t~'!":n:r.~
Figure 4.
Data Distribution Six Months
after Installation of PM Program.
(mean=.196; std. dev.=.060)
0.44
0._
0 2
D...
392
The average trend data for this group of

Figure 5.
pumps is
also shown in
AVERAGE VIBRATION TREND
0..
-r--~----------------------------------------------------------------'
o.a.
o.a.
0.a7
o.a.
o.a.
o.a.
o.a.
o.aa
0.a1
o.a
0.1.
0.... ,.".7
1---~--~~r-~---r---r--~~r-~r-~---r---r--T---r-~~~---r--,-~
0.",,".7
0.",.".7
07"0.".7
D.t. .t ....cI'ng
Figure 5. Average Vibration Trend

First six Months of PM Program.
for
These figures clearly show the improvement in vibration levels of

this group of equipment.
II.
Spectrum Alarm Levels on a Paper Machine
Meaningful spectrum alarms are important because many failure

modes will appear in a spectrum measurement long before the
overall vibration value is significantly impacted.
This is
particularly important on unspared machinery which is critical to
production.
On such machinery, extensive efforts to thoroughly
assess the condition of the machinery are readily justified.
Setting appropriate alarm levels for use in comparing an entire
spectrum is typically far more demanding than setting overall
alarm levels. Spectrum data represents the vibration performance
393
Condition-based M aintenance Management
of the plant equipment across a wide frequency range. As such, a

spectrum measurement includes several hundred times as much data
as an overall measurement.
Paper machines are an excellent example of critical, unspared
equipment .
Paper machines include hundreds of bearings and
gears .
Failure of anyone of these components often causes a
complete loss of production.
A machine survey at a major pulp
and paper producer was conducted to
identify any suspect
components of the machine before a planned shutdown. Overall and
spectrum measurements were made in the three dryer sections of
the machine.
It was important to quickly identify any potential
machinery problems through the results of this survey without the
benefit of a large quantity of historical data on the machine .
Statistical analysis of the acquired spectrum data was used to
construct alarm limits .
These spectrum or narrowband alarm
limits were used to identify measurement points with excessive
vibration levels at any discrete frequency.
Design information
on the machine components was then used to diagnose the specific
machine element causing the vibration.
The acquired
Figure 6.
spectrum
data
is
shown in
an
overlay format in
Figure 6.
Overlay Of
Spectrum Data
From Paper
Machine Dryer
Section
CPM
394
The statistical characterisation of this data

generate the narrowband alarm shown in Figure 7.
was
used
to
PINE RIYElI PI1.P MILL

'IS STATISTICAl.
Figure 7.
Statistical Alarm
Envelope Shown
With A Typical
Spectrum
Measurement
0.
0.
0.
0.
o.
MSCR ,AXIAL IPS O-srotl

MACHINE , 12 OIIvtR SECI
POINI lOt OIIYER 10 AXIAL
IIUTS
POINT
,IPS
,00001
27 AUC 1l1li6
PI(
12,3!IP
A typical spectrum measurement is shown in Figure 7 below the

alarm. The alarm shown is calculated based on the mean signature
of
the
dryer measurements incremented by
three standard
deviations.
An enveloping technique has also been employed to
create the window effect seen in this alarm. This step creates a
spectral alarm which will tolerate speed changes of the monitored
equipment .
The width of this envelope was calculated to allow a
twenty percent variation in machine speed.
After calculation of the statistical spectral alarm, the original
spectra were automatically compared to the alarm. The resulting
report is shown in Figure 8.
The spectra identified in this
report are shown in Figures 9, 10 and 11.
The associated
diagnosis for each of these measurements is also shown in the
figures .
395

ro .,
..I'IC"I"'L
---_ ... __ .. _------- .....IICa''IJO''
- ... - ..-- .... ----------.. ---- .. ------
H'
G.Gl'U
0.05011
0.0710'
0 . 05137
0.11321
0.051'
IN
nl
IPS
US
JPI
lPS
,on
O.OUIt
0 . 012&1
O.OUIl
IPS
IPI
lPl
IPS
IPI
IPI
'all
11015
,,.
usn
a""
UUG
0 . 021'1
0 . 0546,
0 . 01211
o.onu
0.04062
0,02117
0./211" 12,5)
1011
O.Dun us
o.onn
0'/21/" l3IU
Ol/ U/U n,Jl
0./)1/" 12UD
01/31/1 nut
11011
0./21116
0./21/11
01/21,16
0./21/16
01/21/16
0./21/U
tOll
'071
IPS
laOO
o./n,II nl52
1200
U.
ll l 'U
0./21116 U.50
0./3'/16 1).50
1200
IPS
Figure 8.
Spectral
Exception Report
Listing
Measurement
Points Violating
Statistical
Alarm
lUlO
llUG
0./211" nUl
.160
us
13105
11121
nUl
OI/n/16 U I Sl
01'31/11 &lIU
2400
PIlE RIVER PI.lP MIll

3S STATISTICAl.
Figure 9.
Dryer Roll
Condensate
Problem Detected
By Spectrum
Comparison
ISCR I AXIAL IPS 0-51X1i1

MAClfIl 12 IIIIYER SECT
POINT 10. IIIIYER 21 AKlAl
\lilTS
POINT
IPS
00034
27 AUG 1986
PI(
CPM
"D5P
PIlE RIVER PlLP MILL

3S STATISTICAL
0.
Figure 10.
Dryer Gear
Problem
Detected By
Spectrum
Comparison
0.
0.
0.
0.
0.
0.
DESCH I AXIAl. IPS D-SlXliI

MAClfllE I f3 IIIIYER SECT
POINT lDo DRYER 31 AXIAL
POINT
IPS
00062
27 AUG 1966
1.3OP
396
PI"'-
~lVER
P\l.P NILL
3S STATISTICAL
Figure 11.
Dryer Bearing
Problem
Detected By
Spectrum
Comparison
oe~
AX IAL IPS 0-5OOIfZ
MACHI"'- 14 DRYER SECT
POINT 10. DRYER 41 AXIAL
~tTS
POI~T
IPS
00083
27 AtJ: 1900
PM
1.52P
CONCLUSION
setting appropriate alarm limits is of paramount importance in
implementing
a
successful Predictive
Maintenance program.
Published standards from trade associations or manufacturers
offer some help in establishing general guidelines. Statistical
analysis of overall and spectrum data can be used to set
effective alarm limits without extensive knowledge
of the
machines' history. Statistical alarm limits offer an effective
tool to properly allocate maintenance
resources
based on
equipment condition.
REFERENCES
1.
Harris, C.M. and Crede, C.E . Shock and Vibration Handbook,

pp 19.1-19.15, McGraw-Hill, New York (1976)
2.
Hydraulic Institute Standard:

"Vibration Limits of Centrifugal Pumps" 11th ed.,
Centrifugal Pump Section, VI, Application Standards
B-74-1, May, 1967
3.
International Standards Organisation:

"Mechanical Vibration of Certain Rotating Electrical
Machinery with Shaft Heights between 80 and 400 mm
- Measurement and Evaluation of the Vibration Severity"
ISO/IS 2373, 1971
4.
Kreyszig, Erwin. Advanced Engineering Mathematics,

pp 699-709, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York (1972)
Sampling Techniques for Monitoring Sinusoidal Waveforms
GDBergman
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. King's College London.
Strand. London WC2R 2LS. UK
Abstract
Microprocessors are being increasingly employed in control and monitoring
equipment. Generally inputs to a microprocessor -based monitoring system are made via
instrumenUion hardware, WGich converts the parameters of interest into appropriate
digital inputs which can be assimilated into the monitoring equipment. With the availability
of increasingly powerful microprocessors it is, however, possible for the microprocessor
to play an increased role in the measurement process. The greater compl:tational power of
the microprocessor can be traded for a decrease in the instrumentation hardware.
A good example of this arises in the monitoring of sinusoidal waveforms at power
frequencies. If a number of samples of the waveforms in question are taken at precise time
instants and the values are inputted into the microprocessor equipment, then the
c )mputational power of the microprocessor can be used to calculate r.m.s. values, frequency
pow: factor or phase difference.
In this contribution the way in which thes sampling techniques can be employed in
monitoring equipment is descriL ed, the 2'gorithms that are used to obtain results are
discussed and the accuracy that can be obtained using these techniques is then considered.
398
1. Introduction.
Microprocessorbased monitoring equipments generally consist of a

microprocessor system together with hardware to take measurements of analogue quantities.
This generally consists of an analogue multiplexer which is used to select the channel of
interest, a sample and hold circuit which is used to sample the value of interest at a precise
instant and an analogue to digital converter which converts the value into a digital number
that can be inputted into the digital part of the system.
A system of this type can store for subsequ:mt examination large numbers of
samples of quantities of interest. The microprocessor can also be used to perform rapid
calculations on the data. This can provide for economies in the signal conditioning hardware
(G.D. Bergman 1988). In addition to this if switched memory decoding hardware is included
(G.D. Bergman 1987) rapid calculations can be executed on sets of SLmples of data that are
being updated repetitively.
This has made possible the implementation of sampling techniques for continuous
monitoring of parameters of interest and these techniques can be employed very effectively
upon sinusoidal waveforms at power frecuencies. In particular they can be used for
monitoring mean square values of currents or voltages and for the calculation of power
factors and power frequencies.
In this ccntribution the principle of this type of measurement of mean square
values is described. When the sampling frequency can by synchronized to a multiple of the
power frequency it is found that the rr:easurement can be very accurate. Errors can arise
however if synchronization is not possible. A powerful algorithm is described which can be
applied to unsynchronized results which reduces the erros to a very small magnitude.
The way in which this sampling technique can be used to make power factor and
power frequency measurements is then explained.
2. rJean square values from waveform samples
The mean square value of a sinusoidal waveform can be measured from samples in
the following way. If eight samples of the voltage waveform xo to x7 are taken at
successive time instants such that the phase angle differs by 7tf4 between each sample.
Assuming first sample occurs at an arbitrary phase angle
then sdmples can be written as
399
Xo -x7 as follows
xn = A sin
(13 + n7tl4)
where n can take values of 0-7
(1 )
and A is the peak amplitude of the waveform.
The mean square value of this waveform irrespectively of the value of the
arbitrary phase angle
13 can be calculated to a high accuracy by taking the mean of the square
of each of the eight samrles.

In an MPU-based monitoring system samples can be taken continuously and as each
fresh sample is made the value of the mean square voltage can be updated by recalculation
from the most recent eight samples.
This technique obviously provides a highly accur<:te measure of mean square
voltage fer the idealized case where the sampling frequency is exactly synchronized to a
multiple of the power frequency. As the power frequency in a given system can generally
vary between specified limits this is not always possible. The errors that arise when the
samp,es are not synchronized to the power frequency are considered in the next section.
3. Samples not synchronized
If the sampling frequency is not synchronized to the power frequency. If for
example the power frequency were low by about 5.5% the su;:ples would be separated by an
angle of 42.5 0
an error would be introduced.
The fractional error is zero if the eight sumples Je symmetrically disposed about a zero
crossing point of the sinusoid and it has a maximum value of abo'Jt 6.3% if the eight samples
are symmetrically disposed about peak value of the sinusoid.
In practice this means that, if the mean square value is evaluated from any ei'1ht
consecutive samples samples of the waveform, there will be an error of between -6.3% and
+ 6.3% if the power frequency is 3.5% below its nominal value. A similar magnitude of
error occurs if the power frequency is 5.5% above its nominal value.
4. Weighting Algorithm
It is, however, possible to devise weighted sums of the eight samples which can
reduce th- error to zero at two frequencies other than the nominal frequency and when this
is done the error at intermediate frequencies is also very much reduced.
For example, an eight sample measurement the weighted sum S:
S = (xO + x1 + 2.97 x2 + 2.97 x3 + 2.97 x4 + 2.97 x5 + x6 + x7) /15.88
givES zero error when the angle between samples is 42.5 0 or 47.50 .
- (2)
400
The algorithm provides high accuracy. Between a sample angle of 42.5 and 47.50 ,
the worst error in the measurement is 0.018%. Even for the
10% frequency variation
the maximum error is less than 0.3%.
5. Musurement of power factor

The sampling technique can be adapted to two waveforms which differ in phase. For
example if samples Xo and x7 (equations (1) are taken of one waveform, and another
waveform which lags by angle 0 behind this is sarr,Jled at approximately the same instant to
give samples Yo - Y7 as follows:
Yn = 13 sin ( 13 -0 + n 7tl4)
(3)
It can be shown that:

n=7
1/8
1:
xn Yn +2 = AB cos 0/2
(4)
n=O
For appropriate current and voltage waveforons this expression would yield the
power factor cos 0 assuming that the sampling is synchronized to the power frequency.
When the samples are not synchronized to the power frequency the algorithms given in
the previous section can be used, and the accur, :y obtained will be similar to
the accuracy for the mean square values.
6. Power Frequency Measurement

Power frequency can be measured by a sampling technique which is an
extension of the phase angle measurement df)scribed previously. If eight samples of a
waveform Xo to x7 are taken as shown in equations (1) -then the mean of the square of the
eight samples gives A2/2
From equa:ion (4) it can be shr:wn that:
1/8
n=7
xn-1 xn
n=O
1:
A2 cos 7tl4 12
So that this sum divided by A2/2 is equal to cos It/4 which is
(5)
constant value when the
sampling frequency is synchronized so that the samples are separated by 7tl4.
401
If however, the sampling frequency is not synchronized this measurement

will give an angle differing from 7tl4 in proportion to the differer,ce of the frequency from
the nominal frequency. As the samples are not synchronized the appropriate algorithm
must be used to calculate the sums used.
When the algorithm given in equation (2) is used for a frequency variation of
5.0% the error in the frequency measurement that can arise from
the sampling
aproximation is 0.0003% which is an acceptably high accuracy.

7. Conclusions
A sampling technique has been described which can be readily implemented
using currently available microprocessor - based monitoring equipment. This is
particularly suitable for measurements on the current and voltage waveforms of power
syst( ms.
When the sampling frequency is synchronized with the power frequency,
highly accurate measurements can Le obtained, but as power frequencies can vary over a
specified range it is g( nerally more convenient to determine the sampling frequency from
the internal timing circuits of the microprocessor. When this is done a weighting
algorithm can be used to calcJlate mean square values. Using this algorithm an accuracy of
better than 0.05% can be obtained for a frequency variation of 10%.
These techniques can be adapted to power factor and power frequency
measurement where, using the appropriate algorithm, the theoretical accuracy of the
mea2urement is generally higher than would be set by practical limitations of the
measuring system.
The sampling technique appears to provide a useful means for monitoring
power system waveforms using microprocessor-based equipment.
8. REFERENCES
(1 )
Bergman, G.D. 1987. 'High-speed access to stored data using switched

memory
decoding' Microprocessors and Micro ,ysterns Vol.11
No.4.pp.209-214
(2)
Bergman, G.D. 1~88 'Optimizing the software/hardware balance in

microprocessor-based instrumentation. Proc. IMEKO XI Vol.4, pp.93-100.
Surface Temperature and Heat Flow Measurement
TKimber
Divisional Manager, Rhopoint Ltd, Oxted , Surrey, UK
~urta c e
femperature
~easurement
value
for
I'hi8 is
interest in many applications and is
of
of
assessing co nditions at any accessible Locatlons 1n others.
~ith
S;ll'ta c e
dev'llces, the usual selection criteria app1.y as
tor
all.Y
other
temperature measurement, namely, temperature range
to
De
m~ asur p d,
ac cur acy ,
sensLtivity, ruggedness
and
environmental
constraints such as sensitivity to substances likely to come into
contacr.
with the sensor.
Further considerations
are
thiCKness
and flexibility of the devices as well as heat exchange with
the
ob.je e t of me asur e ment and its surroundings.
Two
t y pes of
surface temperature sensors
are
namely,
resistance
temperature
detectors
r.be cm<)c oup Les.
commonly
(RTD's)
used,
and
Th,>rrnoco upLt> Sensors or RTD Sensors ?

A review of the various sensor types and tables of specifications
clea rly id e ntify the most significant differences
between
RIll and Thermocouple sensin.g types.
in some applIcations such as
thos e
Involving temporary, non-crltica1. measurements
at
medium
temp e ratures,
either
type would suffice and cost would
be
the
determirllng
fac tnr .
In
.general, thermocoupLes
have
a
H.ider
npera[lng r a nge, faster speed of response and are lower in cost.
[{TD's o ffer hLgher' "" c uracy and. 1.on .g term stability.
~iL1.
Tllree types are com monly used,
namely, Hire wound,
foil and film:
4f)3
Wire wound surface RTD's can be produced in almost any of tne

standard materials,
and resistance tolerance can be specified
down to .25%. This form of construction is sufficiently flexible
to matoh ordinary surface contours and sensors are compatible
with most adhesives.
Foil RTD's are strips of resistance
mater'ial typically 2 .5 microns to 1:3 microns in thickness bonded
to a non-conductive carrier and etched to form the desired
pattern.
Resistance tolerances can be held to 0.1% hut standard
units are usually 1%.
This form gives accuracy and fast
response,
small size and compatibility with standard adhesives.
Film RTD's are vapoured-deposited onto a film substrate in the
desired pattern and trimmed with lasers or abrasive to specified
resistance.
Sensors are normally platinum on ceramic substrates
Hnd rnn he glass encapsulated for moistllre prntertinn.
This form
of constrllction ,gives high stability and resist.ance
t.olerances
of .1% or better.
RTD Advantages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
High accuracy.
Good long-term stability.
Hi.~h signal output.
No reference points or compensation circuits needed.
Temperature range -150C to 1000C.
THERMOCOUPLE SURFACE SENSORS

Surface thermocouple sensors are available in wire or
thin-foil
types.
As the thermocouples are not a resistance device using a
grid wire as in the RTD type surface sensors,
they
are
considerably more rugged and not affected by strain due to
mounting materials or methods.
They are inherently simple in
design which leads to their lower cost.
All thermocouple surface
sensors are c haracterised by their ability to function at
c onsiderably higher temperatures than RTD sensors and their
faster time response.
However, the thermocouple sensor generates
a low voltage signal requiring accessory amplification, which may
prove disadvantageous
in a high electrical noise environment.
There are two forms of construction, namely,
the conventional
welded junction and the butt-bonded junction:
Optional arrier
Welded Junction Foil Thermocouples

These devices are standard welded junctions offering small
physical size.
They offer a low cost solution for surface
temperature
measurement
including
environmental
testin.,
404
temperature
surveys
of electrical components,
oven
wall
temperature etc.
The construction provides low thermal
inertia
resulting in fast response for an ungrounded thermocouple.
By
the use of the right adhesives these can be used from -190C to
+26UC continuously, and up to 370C for limited periods.
Butt Bonded Foil Thermocouples
The special butt bonding method produces thermocouples with no
increase in thickness or mass at the junction.
The location of
the
junction is definite and concise and essentially at right
angles to the plane of the foil and not spread out.
The carrier
or substrate can be designed so the thermocouple can be insulated
or uninsulated.
The units have extremely low mass at the
junction with a foil thickness between 5 microns and 13 microns
giving extremely low thermal inertia and hence extremely fast
response.
Grounded junctions have response times in the order of
to 5 milliseconds depending on range, and ungrounded take 10
milliseconds to reach 63% response to step change when properly
bonded.
The thin flat junction and filaments provide maximum
thermal coupling to the mounting surface.
Errors caused by
thermal conduction between the leads and junction are negligible
since
the Length to thickness ratio of the filaments range from
500 to 1 to 2000 to 1.
Thermocouple grade materials are used
throughout to ensure accuracy.
FoiL Thermocouple Advantages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Very fast response

Wide operating range
Low cost
Rugged construction
Very easy to use
Surface Preparation
It is extremely important that the sensor and mounting surfaces
are properly prepared.
Dirt, oil, grit, fingerprints ect.,
can
act as a mould release and affect the adhesion of the sensor to
the surface.
As a minimum the sensor and the surface should be
soLvent cleaned with a clean cloth, wetted with alcohol, acetone,
MEK or touluol.
Care must be taken to ensure that the surface is
not adversely affected by the cleaning agent used. In the case of
metal or shiny hard surfaces, roughening of the finish is usually
reql.lit'ed to ensure an effective bond:-
SURFACE
PREPARATION
405
Inst a llation
rhe s e nsor should be first held in the area it is to be installed
to c h ec k for any size or contour problems.
A method of attachin~
th e l ead wires to provide strain relief and thermal heat sinking
should be determined.
When all ihe pre-installation preparations
are c omplete.
adhesive should be applied to both sensor and
sur face . and th e se n s or pushed into pl a ce.
Pressur e should be
appli e d
t o the s ensor durin~ cure to ensure that the entire
sen s or is bonded t o the surface:
~
o.
~t
.... "':::'::' ~ENSOR
ADHESIVE
MOUN"NG MWtOO
After bondin~. insulation should

be placed over the sensor and
lead
wires,
and
electrical
continuity tests
should
be
carried out with a DVM.
(AOHESNEl
HEAT FLOW VERSUS SURFACE
TEMPERAT~RE
MEASUREME ~ T
Surface t e mperature measurements are perfectly satisfac tor y for

appli c ation s
in whi c h immediate single surface temperature is
required.
However, the temperature in a single or outer s urface
is almost the result of thermal conduction acting upon inner
surface a s w ell as the thermal properties of the total mate r i a l
thi c kn e s s .
He a t
fl o w sensors are the only practi c al wa y of
a ctu a lly m ea surin~ the thermal properties of a surfac e mat e rial
and th e rm a l characterist ic s affe c ting both sides o f that material
The mic r o-foil heat flow sensor provides the lowest thermal
capac ity,
fastest
response time and least disturbance to heat
flow ie. is a differential type sensor which utilises a thin foil
type th er mo-pile bonded to both sides of a known thermal barrier.
Typi c al appli c ations exist in industries such as plastic,
paper,
machinery,
processing,
aerospace,
ablation
studies
and
aerodynamic wi nd tunnel s tudies.
406
The sensors are very thin and flexible and can be attached to
flat or curved surfaces in a similar manner as described for foil
thermocouples.
They require no special wiring,
reference
junctions or signal conditioning.
Readout is accomplished by
connecting the sensor to any direct reading micro volt meter or
recorder.
The reading is a direct measurement of the heating or
cooling transfer rate through a material in wlm or other units.
This is made possible because there is a direct relationship or
calibration factor between the micro voltage change and the heat
flow ['ate.
HOW HEAT FLOW SENSORS IWRK
A Simplified Explanation
The
function of a heat flow sensor is to measure the heat flow
transfer (loss or gain) through a surface.
It does this by
differentiating
temperature between the opposite sides
of
certain rigid materials thereby allowing a direct measurement of
the heat loss or gain through the material surface.
Before heat flow sensors were developed, a typical method for
determining heat loss transfer was to install two temperature
mea suring devices, one on either side of the rigid materials to
b e measured.
The differential or change between the readings could then be
mathematically calculated to show heat loss or gain through that
surface.
provided
that the thermal characteristics of
the
material was known.
In ma ny situations however. it is neither desirable nor possible
to install temperature measuring devices on both sides of a rigid
material. even if the thermal characteristics of the materi~l are
known;
also. instantaneous direct reading measurements are not
practical.
The heat flow sensor allows the same heat transfer
meusllrements
to be made from a single convenient surface with
instant a neous readout and nothing need be known about the
properties of the surface materials.
The above shows two thermocouple elements, physically separated

by a thermal
insulating material; both these devices
are
407
connected in series.
When heat begins to transfer through the
surface Tl, the thermal energy at junction Jl generates a small
voltage.
As the heat passes through the material to reach the
thermocouple junction J2, it generates the differential voltage.
In other words as the temperature of Jl is warmer or cooler
than
the temperature at Jl, that temperature differential in turn
c~eaLes d similar differential in voltage.
Since the temperature
differential
is proportional to the heat
(or cooling),
the
transfer rate can be directly read out as a function of voltage.
If such a heat flow device were to be embedded in the subject
material,
it would tend to become an integral part of that
material,
duplicating
and reading out the heat/loss transfer
characteristics of the composite materials.
Due to the unique design of the Micro-foil heat flow sensor it is
not necessary to implant or in any way damage or invade the
subject surface in order to achieve highly reliable and precise
readings.
The sensors are extremely thin and flexible so that
when properly mounted they become virtually a component of the
subject surface, the heat flow sensor faithfully simulates the
action and reaction of temperature changes (transfer of heat)
through the subject surface.
The above shows

the symbolic construction of the heat flow
sensor,
the thermal barrier thickness S is exal)l;erated for
thereby
clarity.
The output leads from the sensor are copper,
simplifying the instrumentation procedures.
408
Unique Construction
Conventional heat flow sensors are usually fabricated with wire
and electro-plated junctions which tend to create excessive
thermal losses within the sensor as well as bulky configuration.
The unique Micro-foil heat flow sensors are fabricated with
special homogenius alloys and extremely thin foil legs between
the junctions;
this greatly reduces thermal loss due to leg
conduction.
Equally important is that the formation of sensor
.junctions is achieved by a unique bonding process which joins to
similar metals without degradation of physical or
th~rmal
properties. Moreover, the overall fabrication results in a very
thin, strong and flexible sensor unit.
SUMMARY
Micro-foil heat flow sensors are simple devices that can be used
to measure heat flow in discrete locations.
The sensors are
unique because they are thin and provide minimal interference to
the heat flow.
They require no special wiring,
reference
.junctions or specialised si~nal conditioning. The accuracy of
the measurement with these devices is optimised by proper
installation and the ability to adequately couple the sensor to
the materials surrounding it. This makes the application of the
sensors almost unlimited, since they can be attached to either
flat or curved surfaces and permanently bonded in place with
conventional adhesives or epoxys. Once installed, the lead wires
of the sensors can be connected to direct reading micro volt
indicators
to provide accurate measurement of heat
flow.
Examples of use of the devices:-
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Determining thermal properties of materials.

Heat exchange characteristics within living tissues.
Aerodynamic wind tunnel studies.
Thermal stress analysis.
Structural heat transfer monitoring.
Process control in heat treating, rolling mills and glass
production.
7.
Heat loss determination in housing structures.
8.
Monitoring solar heat collector performance.
9.
Checking insulation efficiency.
10. Evaluating refrigeration and heating system performance.
11. Approving architectural design energy conservation efficiency.
High Quality Non-contact Measurement Using Capacitance Gauges
1M Hale, H Walton and G McCarten

UKAEA - Windscale Laboratory, UK
Abstract
This paper describes a series of tests designed to demonstrate the ability

of small capacitance gauges to detect and measure surface defects.
Results are presented of two sets of tests:
(a)
Scans across rectangular grooves of various dimensions.
(b)
A three dimensional raster scan image of an actual defect caused by

dry rubbing.
The results obtained are compared with equivalents obtainable using a

conventional Talysurf gauge.
A trade off is demonstrated between the
blurring of fine detail caused by the capacitance gauge and the advantage of
noncontact measurement.
1.
Introduction
The capacitance displacement transducer (CDT) has found wide application in

the nuclear industry for vibration measurement and other applications where
noncontact gap measurement is required (1).
Expertise gained in the use of
CDTs for relatively coarse measurement at long range (a resolution of

0.03 mm can be achieved with a probe to target gap of 25 mm) has led to work
410
on very high resolution measurement obtainable with a small area transducer

probe at a range of less than 1 mm.
Measurement of the gap between a CDT probe and a flat plate is quite
straight forward using the equipment developed at the Windscale Laboratory
(2) and excellent resolution and repeatability can be achieved.
More
difficult is the measurement of discontinuities in the target plate due to

the finite size of the probe tip and the smoothing of the electrostatic
field with distance from the target.
The work presented here is an investigation of the ability of a capacitance
displacement transducer to (a) detect and (b) measure small rectangular
section grooves machined in a flat brass testpiece.
These results are set
in context by using the CDT to measure a typical defect caused by dry

rubbing, and comparing this with conventional mechanical measurements made
with a Talysurf surface gauging machine.
2.
The Transducer
The CDT probe used for the current work was made very small in order to give
good spatial resolution (ie to enable it to "see" fine detail).
element was an electrode just 1.0 mm wide by 0.1 mm thick.
The active
For practical
reasons a minimum working gap of 0.4 mm was specified which effectively took
the transducer out of its optimum working range.
Nevertheless it will be
shown that good measurements were still obtained.

3.
Results
3.1
Groove Depth Measurement
A brass testpiece was made up with parallel rectangular grooves machined in

it.
These were of nominal dimensions ranging in width from 0.2 to 2.0 mm
and depth from 0.1 to 0.8 mm.
The true depths were measured using a
standard Talysurf (stylUS included angle 40,
tip radius 0.05 mm).
The Talysurf was then modified to take the cnT probe in place of the
411

standard mechanical measuring head.
This was scanned over the test piece at
a constant height of 0.4 mm above the surface.
The traces obtained are
shown in Figs 1 - 4 with the true groove profiles superimposed.
0.3 ....
l r0.5""1 1-- rl l~ I
il Q flV\L
2.0....
Fig 1:
eDT trace from 800vm
Fig 2: eDT trace from
deep grooves
0.'''''
Fig 3:
eDT trace from
400~m
deep grooves
--I r- 0.5.... 1 I
Fig 4: eDT trace from
200~m
deep grooves
100~m
deep grooves
The following points are apparent:

(a)
The eDT gives an accurate measure of depth provided the width to depth
ratio is not less than 10:1.
This allows the probe to measure the
electrostatic field in a region unaffected by the vertical wall of the

groove.
(b)
Accuracy better than 80% is maintained down to a groove width to depth

ratio of 3:1 provided the width is at least 1 mm.
(ie an order of
magnitude wider than the probe).

(c)
Even narrow grooves less than half as wide as the eDT probe can easily
be detected by the eDT even though they cannot be reliably measured.
3.2
Rubbing Defect Measurement
Fig 5 shows two images of a surface abraded by dry rubbing, produced using a
raster scan technique measured (a) by the eDT probe mounted on the Ta1ysurf
as before and (b) using the Talysurf with its conventional stylus.
shows a section through the deepest point of the defect with the eDT
measurement superimposed upon that of the stylus.
Fig 6
412
Talysurf
COT
Fig 5:
Images of a defect caused by rubbing
0
50
100
1.50
Fig 6:
Axial position (mm)
Section through the defect in Fig 5
It is clear that the CDT gives a smoothed approximation to the true defect
shape and so provides less detail than the mechanical measurement.
However
it does provide a good approximation to the depth of the defect and its
overall size.
4.
Comparison of Mechanical and Capacitance Surface Measurement
It is clear from this work that conventional mechanical measurement with a

surface following stylus will give more surface detail than CDT measurement
ever can.
This is inevitable since the CDT is measuring the electrostatic
field above the surface rather than the surface itself.

However, it has been shown that the CDT system can give adequate depth
measurements on defects provided they are significantly bigger than the
probe itself and can detect considerably smaller defects quite reliably.
413
When this reduced detail measurement is acceptable the CDT system has some
significant advantages over the conventional technique:
(a)
There is no contact and hence no wear.
(b)
CDT equipment has a wide bandwidth.
This means that measurements can
be taken very rapidly and so scanning rate is normally limited only by

the traversing mechanism.
(c)
CDT probes are physically small and a number of them can be combined
into a compact measuring head.
(d)
The combination of high scanning rate and compact size make it

practical to build up raster scan images with comparable resolution in
both directions.
This is as opposed to mechanical stylus measurement
in which detail that can readily be seen if it happens to be

encountered by the stylus would be missed altogether if it falls
between scans.
5.
Conclusion
It has been shown that the capacitance displacement transducer system

developed at the Windscale Laboratory is capable of good quality measurement
of fine surface features.
Its capabilities are compared with those of
conventional stylus measurement equipment and it is shown to have

significant advantages in the appropriate circumstances.
References:
1.
A Novel High Temperature Transducer System Based on a Differential

Charge Amplifier.
H Walton
lEE Coloquium on Electrical Transducers for Measurement of Mechanical
Quantities.
2.
February 1971.
Capacitance Transducer Applications

H Walton
Transducer Technology
Vol 1 No. 5 July/August 1979.
Analysis of Sigma Delta Modulators
C P Lewis and C M Gordon

The Non-linear Systems Design Group, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering,
Coventry Polytechnic, Coventry, UK
Abstract
Sigma delta modulators are used for high
performance
analogue to digital conversion. Here an introduction to the
analysis and properties of these devices is considered.
1.0 Introduction
Sigma delta modulators are used in the analogue to digital
conversion in audio and telecommunications applications.
Such devices may be realised using switched capacitor
techniques in silicon technology. The advantages of this
type of conversion include; low component count, low power
consumption
and
a trade off between
bandwidth
and
resolution.
Ideal values for a modern telecommunication
application would be l6dB resolution for a signal of
0-30kHz.
A proposed high specification instrumentation
system to measure seismic vibration should aim for a
24dB
resolution, but with a much lower bandwidth.
Such accuracy can be obtained because the modulator is
"oversampled" nonlinear closed loop system. Fig (1.0)
Y(z)
Fig (1.0)
an
415
The output signal from the modulator consists of a stream of

pulses the average value of which over a given period
represents the analogue value within that period. Typically
upper sampling frequencies in switched capacitor technology
approach 5MHz.
Obviously the signal is robust since there are many sampling
pulses to represent the analogue value and is in an ideal
form for data transmission purposes.
It is usual for the telecommunication engineer to view
device as a linear system as in Fig (2.0).
the
Q(z)
Y(z)
Fig (2.0)
Here the feedback is chosen to optimise the signal to noise

ratio. The object being to sweep the noise out of the signal
band.Ref[2.01
If Q(z) represents the quantisation noise produced by
comparator then the closed loop relationships are:
Y (z) =X (z)
+ Q (z) (1 +
the
z -, )
For
increased performance it may be shown that
the order improves the noise shaping.
increasing
2.0 Stabil i ty
It is tempting to analyse the system using linear techniques
of root locus etc. However this must be used with caution
since fundamentally the system is nonlinear; basic to the
operation is the production of a limit cycle superimposed
upon which is the signal.
416
It has been shown by Lewis, Ref [1.0) that the system can be
analysed by modelling the nonlinearity using describing
function techniques in the w-domain:
Nw(x,9)
li.tll
X(~.~~)
X(z) z=ejwt
Fig.
(3.0)
where Nw(x,9) is the W-domain describing function.

The system limit cycles can then be predicted in a manner
similar to that used for continuous systems, by the solution
of the characteristic equation;
1 + Nw(x,9)G(jvl = 0
(1)
However the describing function form is more complicated

than for a continuous system and for the relay type of
nonlinearity is a complex quantity.
A graphical solution of the characteristic equation is used,
computer aided design programmes have been developed to
facilitate such design techniques for complicated systems.
Ref. Blundell et al [4.0].
To model the closed loop performance of the system a dual
input
describing
function model may
be
used.
The
nonlinearity is modelled as two separate gains, one for the
limit cycle the other for the input signal. The analysis for
the
input signal may be simplified further by noting that
the signal is a much lower frequency than the limit cycle,
and can be considered to be constant signal B.
To further aid the analysis the input signal is considered
to be small compared to the limit cycle magnitude, in which
case the incremental input describing function Ni(AI may be
used. For a relay characteristic this is:
Ni(AI = 2D
(2)
ltA
where A is the limit cycle magnitude,note that this gain is

not now input signal dependent.
Using this model it is easy to show that the closed loop
transfer function -Y (wI is self adaptive in that it is
X
independent of the limit cycle magnitudes. This is important

since fOl" a typical system, several limit cycles may exist.
417
This results in a flat frequency response within the signal

band.Ref[S.O].
However the system is not self adaptive to
the quantisation noise.
3.0 Noise
The noise transfer function -X-(w) can be obtained using the
Q
incremental input describing function model.

However analysis
is complicated since the noise signal
varies with the input signal magnitude. This is because
it
is the difference between the input and the output signals
to the comparator and is not a true external signal.
It is the choice of system parameters to optimise the noise
performance which prevents a third order modulator
exhibiting stable limit cycles.
~o overcome this problem Japanese researchers have suggested
cascaded low order systems as a means of obtaining high
resolution with stability.
Ref [3.0].
4.0 Instrumentation Systems

Since the bandwidth of typical instrumentation systems is
relatively
low
compared
to
that
required
for
telecommunication applications there are options available
to the designer
1)
2)
3)
Higher accuracy for a lower bandwidth.

Less complicated structures.
Reduction of sampling period for a given
structure.
4)
Integration within the transducer itself for

rugged data transmission.
5.0 Conclusions
The advantages of the w-domain describing function analysis
is that the stability of modulator structures may be readily
analysed and the small signal closed loop transfer function
obtained.
It is intended to extend the use of such devices into the
condition monitoring and industrial measurement field.
A
prototype electrical transducer has already been designed.
418
REFERENCES
[1.0] Lewis C.P. :W-domain Design of Single and Double Valued
Relay Control Systems. Proc. lEE. Vol 132, Pt D, No 5
Sept. 1985.
[2.0] Ardalan S., Paulos J.:Analysis of Sinusoidally Excited
Sigma Delta Modulators.
Int. Conf. on Accoustics Speech & Signals.
Proc.ICASSP1987, Dallas, Texas.
[3.0] Yasuyuku Matsuya et al: A 16 Bit Oversamplked A to D
conversion technology using triple integration noise
shaping. IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits.
vOL SC-22, No 6, Dec. 1987.
[4.0] Blundell A.J.,B=idgett N., Lewis C.P., Matthew M.I.
:Computer Aided Design of Sigma Delyta Modulators.
Fourth IFAC .Symposium on Computer Aided Design in
Control Systems. Beijing, China, Aug. 1988.
[5.0] Lewis C.P. and Zikic A.: Parameter Sensitivity of
Sigma Delta Modulators. Int Conf. Systems Eng.
Coventry Polytechnic Sept. 1988.
Dynamic Tip Clearance Measurements in Axial Flow Compressors

CJParrish
Rolls-Royce pic, UK
ABSTRACT
The clearance between rotor blade tips and rotor path lining
in the compressor of a modern jet engine is an increasingly
important factor affecting the efficiency.
This paper
details recent advances in the measurement of tip clearance
and the detection of tip rubs.
BACKGROUND
Modern jet engines have an axial flow compressor
delivering highly compressed air to a combustion
chamber.
The compressor consists of many rows of rotor
blades built on a drum, mounted within a casing, with
rows of stator vanes between the rotors to straighten
the airflow out.
The efficiency with which a
compressor operates depends upon many factors but since
modern compressors are already highly efficient
improving this becomes increasingly difficult.
Gas
leakage over the tips of rotor blades has become an
important parameter to be minimised.
The casing is lined above the rotor blades with an
abradable material so that if a blade tip rub occurs
due to thermal expansions etc then no serious damage is
done, but this event will increase the overall
clearance and deposit lining material on the aerofoil
blades and so reduce the efficiency.
During the development testing of a new compressor step
changes in the efficiency were noted and on strip of
the development rig, the rotor path lining material had
420
been rubbed by blade tips.
Thes. events were suspecte
to be linked but could not be positively demonstrated
to be so.
Probes to measure the mean tip clearance ha
been used on the development test rig but had never
detected a tip rub, so it was presumed that the rubs
were happening during surge testing (when the
compressor is deliberately run in such a manner that
the gas flow breaks down and flows from the high
pressure outlet to the low pressure inlet).
The r"ubs were assumed to be fast transi ent events, too
fast to be monitored, so in an attempt to determine
what was occurring two lines of approach were taken.
These were to detect the rubs when they happened and t
modify the tip clearance system to detect 'fast'
eventllll.
TIP RUB DETECTION SYSTEM

The tip rub detection system wallll designed on the
principle of the metal rotor blades shor'ting out an
electrode flush with the rotor path.
This design,
combined with the nature of the compressor test rig
necessitates a probe with some local conditioning and
then a r-emote indicating and r-ecording system.
The
envir"onment where the probes were required to work was
at up to 6f2Jf2J C, so the probe was made from a miner-al
insulated metal clad cable inserted into a small hole
in the r-otor path lining with the centr-e wir-e, acting
as the 'live' electr-ode, flush with the lining.
The
probe was connected to a conditioning unit close to thl
compr-essor which supplied signals to a master contr-ol
unit.
When a probe was 'shor-ted' the dur-ation of the
event could be as brief as a fraction of a millisecond
so the Signal was used to oper-ate a latch to give an
indication until reset.
Var-ious designs of pr-obe were
tested under- repr-esentative conditions and the final
deIDign proved to be sw~prisingly robust, abl~ to
withstand r-epeated rubs, but very deep rub causes thl
probes to fail due to conductive lining material
shorting the probe to the c.sing permanently.
".
'.'
TIP CLEARANCE SYSTEM

The tip clear-ance measurement system is a system
designed by Rolls-Royce to measure the mean distance
between the blade tips of a compr-essor- stage and the
tip electrode of a sensing probe.
The probe is mount~
on the casing such that the electrode is set to a kno~
position, usually nominally 25 thou underflush of the
rotor path, to allow tip rubs to occur without damage
to the probe or blade tips.
The operating range of thE
system is 5 to 100 thou and in order- to oper-ate the
blades must be of conducting material and
electr-ieally gr-ounded.
421
The system consists of a probe with integral

electronics, a ground station housing demodulator
modules, interconnecting cables and an output to a
recording and display system.
The probe measures the capacitance between the probe
electrode and the blade tip, this capacitance being
dependent upon the area of the blade tip seen by the
probe, approximately inversely to the separation of the
blades and probe electrode, the separation of the
blades and probe electrode, and also affected by edge
effects (the calibration also depends upon the blade
spacings, ie the mark to space ratio).
This complex
dependence of calibration upon many parameters requires
that the probes be calibrated against a representative
target - usually a speCially made disc with blades
machined into its edge with the correct geometry
(thickness,
stagger angle and spaCing).
This target is
then set up with the probe at a known separation, the

disc spun and the probe output measured.
n,ere are various standards of probe with different

designs to suit different environmental conditions,
principally different temperature ranges.
The probe
functions by having an integral radio frequency
oscillator modulated in frequency by variations in
capacitance between the probe and blade tips, and then
driving a matched co-axial transmission line to the
demodulator in the ground station (the ground station
also houses the power supply and an automatic frequency
control which regulates the probe oscillator centre
frequency and so compensates for frequency drift due to
temperature variations).
The demodulator demodulates
the FM signal from the probe to produce a pulse train
representative of the passing blades.
This signal is
then averaged to produce a de output Signal which
varies approximately inversely to the separation of the
blades and probe.
This inverse relation between
clearance and output means that a look up table in a
computer based monitoring system is required for
accurate on line readings.
Off line analysis is
performed on tape recorded signals.
The ground station and certain probe types are
manufactured under a licensing agreement by Meclec and
also by Rotadata.
4
TIP PROBE RESULTS

The tip rub probes show conclusively that tip rubs were
occurring during surge showing that the hypothesis of
reduced efficiency due to tip rubs during surge is
likely to be true.
However a few tip rub events do
422
occur at steady running conditions, or during
manOel-IVreS, indicating conditions where there is
minimum possible clearance.
iii
TIP CLEARANCE RESULTS

The results of measurements of tip clearance made on
development compressors can be broken down into several
types
(i)
Closure
(i i)
Surge
(iii)
Orbit
5. 1
CLOSURE - When a compressor is fi rst run up to

speed it is cold, but the hot compressed gas will
warm both the rotor and the casings causing both
to expand.
The casing generally warms up fastest
and expands first with the rotor (including
massive Y"otOY" discs) warming up more slowly
(centrifugal effects also occur).
Thus after an
initial period the tip clearance slowly closes up.
Measurements of this closure have been made to
confirm computer models of the thermal changes and
centrifugal growth.
5.2
SURGE - An analysis of the tip clearance probe

outputs during surge showed some interesting
closures which have been interpreted in terms of
temperature rise of the aerofoil.
However the tip
rubs which occur rub some abradable lining
material away causing probe short circuits and
other spurious effects which makes detailed
interpretation of the signals difficult.
Other
effects which may happen and need further
investigation are axial blade movements and casing
deflections due to different pressure
distributions.
This latter effect is to be
investigated using accelerometers mounted on the
casing.
5.3
ORBIT - For the compressors under study,

conwmti r.mal whirl (a skipping y"ope mode of sllaft
vibration) is expected to be excited in the middle
of the rig running range so it is not surprising
to find that some rotor orbit occurs throughout
the rLmning range, with a maximum amplitude at tile
whirl speed.
Since the closest approach of a
blade tip to the casing is determined by the peak
of the orbit as well as closure effects then the
magnitude of orbit can be important.
Measurements
made have helped to quantify this effect.
423
In addition subharmonics of engine order have been

seen in the signals, and these effects have been
confirmed by analysis of a strain gauge signal
from a rotor blade which had a tip rub once every
three revolutions.
This effect of subharmonic
orbiting had not hitherto been suspected but it
has been demonstrated to exist and is known to be
due to non linear effects.
6
SUMMARY
As a result of the measurements made it has been
confirmed that tip rubs occur during surge with the
resultant loss in compressor efficiency.
Closures have
been measured together with rotor orbit to enable
calculations of the best cold build clearances for
maximum compressor efficiency.
A Portable Scanning Laser Vibrometer for Surface Vibration Analysis
C J D Pickering, N R N Gant* and N A Halliwell

Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, The University, Southampton
* now at Signal Processing Technology Ltd, PO Box 68, Southampton, UK
ABSTRACT
A portable Scanning Laser Vibrometer (SLV) is described which will
measure the surface velocity of a vibrating object at locations on a user-defined
grid of up to 64 x 64 points. This velocity information can then be displayed in
slow motion on a standard laboratory oscilloscope or stored for analysis at a
later date. The instrument is robust, compact, user-friendly, inexpensive and safe
for use by an engineer on-site.
1. INTRODUCTION
The measurement of vibration of a solid surface is usually achieved with

an accelerometer or some other form of contacting transducer. There are,
however, many cases of practical interest where this approach is impractical, for
example, the light-weight cone of a loudspeaker or the red-hot exhaust pipe of
engine. Since the advent of the laser in the early 1960's, optical metrology has
provided a means of obtaining remote measurements of vibration in situations
which had been hitherto thought unobtainable. Laser Doppler Velocimetry
(LDV) is now a well established technique which has been widely used for this
pupose and there are currently a number of commercially available instruments
on the market. Indeed, a system has recently been introduced which incorporates
a scanning head for obtaining surface velocity maps [1].
To date, LDV systems have tended to be laboratory bound and expensive
(typically of the order of 30,000 for the basic transducer). In a previous paper
425
[2], we described the physics of operation of a new cost effective LDV which has
subsequently been developed for manufacture and is now available
commercially. In this paper, we describe the addition of a scanning head and a
signal processing unit which extends the use of the instrument to permit surface
velocity maps, sometimes referred to as Overall Displacement Maps (ODM's), to
be obtained at a single excitation frequency. The signal processor is also capable
of animating the ODM in slow motion on a standard laboratory oscilloscope.
2. INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION
The SL V system uses the Laser Doppler Vibrometer described in
reference 2 as it's basic velocity transducer. The reader is referred to this paper
for a full description of the instrument physics. A two-axis scanning head has
been incorporated which allows the position of the laser beam on the target
surface to be positioned within a region defined by the maximum angular
deviation of the scanning mirrors, in this case, 20.
The velocity measurement procedure is goverened by a signal processing
and control unit which controls the positioning of the laser beam, velocity signal
acquisition, data processing, storage and display as shown schematically in figure
1. The optical head and the processor/control unit are housed in separate
enclosures offering the following advantages
- vibration isolation of the optical head from the processor unit
- ability to operate the optical head from a remote position, for example, in
hazardous conditions.
- ability to use other LDV systems for specialised applications.
The system hardware has been designed using a modular approach to
allow updating as new components and techniques become available and to
permit customised modules to be included as required. The system software is
menu driven either via a keypad and two line liquid crystal display on the
processor/control unit or remotely from a terminal or microcomputer via a
serial data link. An internal 3.5" floppy disk drive is used to store application
programs and velocity data. To date, three application programs have been
426
VIBRATING SURFACE
ISVR LASER VIBROMETER
/
o
HEAD
SCAN
CONTROLLER
ANALOGUE
TO DIGITAL
CONVERTER
1-- -
SHAKER
INPUT
SYNc
MICROPROCESSOR
DISC
STORAGE.
CONTROL
UNIT
DIGITAL TO
ANALOGUE
_J
SERIAL
COMMUNICATIONS
. -
' - - - -_ _ _.-1~
X-Y OSCILLOSCOEE
I
1
X-Y PLOTTER
FIGURE 1 SCANNING VIBROMETER : GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
427
written for the SLY system, 'ScanVib', 'Calibration Editor' and 'Data Uploader'.
The latter two are used for overall system calibration and transferring data from
the processor/controller to a computer (e.g. IBM PC) respectively. The ScanVib
application is used to obtain an animated surface velocity map as described in the
following section.
3. THE ScanVib APPLICATION
The ScanVib application program is menu driven and provides the
operator with control over the acquisition, storage and display of velocity data
from the vibrating target surface. In addition, it incorporates a means of
entering and manipulating the surface rest-shape data.
In the 'acquisition' menu, the user can define the size of the measurement
area and the number of points which are scanned in the vertical and horizontal
directions to a maximum of 64 x 64. The size of the measurement area is set
interactively by varying the size of a rectangle drawn on the target surface with
the LDV laser beam with a joystick mounted on the front panel of the
processor/control unit. In addition, the exitation/measurement frequency is set in
this menu. The SLV has its own built in signal generator which produces a single
frequency output suitable for driving the structure under examination via an
external amplifier. Measurements of the phase of the surface velocity are made
relative to the internal generator signal.
Velocity data acquisition can be performed in two modes, fast or slow,
depending on the required signal-to-noise ratio (45dB and 70dB respectively). In
exchange for greater precision, there is a. corresponding increase in the
acquisition period. Typically, in fast mode, a 20 x 20 point acquision takes
approx. 30 secs compared with a few minutes in slow mode. A full 64x 64 point
aquisition in slow mode takes approx. 15 mins.
Having acquired the velocity data, the data can be displayed on an x,y
oscilloscope in the form of a three dimensional isometric mesh plot animated at
at a variable rate from approx. 0.5 - 2 Hz. In addition, it is possible to adjust the
viewpoint interactively in any axis using the joystick. It is also possible for the
user to examine the surface at a given phase on a static display. When the display
428
is static, a plot can be output to a conventional laboratory analogue x,y pen

recorder.
Finally, in the 'file access' menu, velocity data can be stored or retrieved
from the floppy disk. When data is saved, the entire system set-up is stored with
the data in order to preserve the corresponding calibration and set-up
information.
3. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
The Scanning Laser Vibrometer offers the diagnostic engineer the ability
to measure the amplitude and relative phase of a surface during its vibration
cycle. It is user-friendly, portable, robust and safe for on-site use. In addition, it
can be operated from a twelve volt battery in hazardous or remote
environments.
In the future, it is planned to add a mass storage device to the signal
processing unit which will enable storage of the vibration spectrum at each
scanned point on the vibrating surface. In this way, with the addition of an
external force input reference it will be possible to calculate transfer functions
between the driving point and the velocity sensor and obtain modal plots over a
range of frequencies. The ability to perform this type of analysis on-site with
portable, inexpensive equipment will represent a major advance for the
diagnostic engineer.
4. REFERENCES
1. "Vibration Pattern Imager" Technical brief, Ometron Ltd., London SE26
5BX (1987)
2. C.J.D.Pickering N.A.Halliwell & T.H.Wilmshurst "The Laser Vibrometer: A
Portable Instrument" J.S.Vib 107(3) p.471-485
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The financial support of the British Technology Group is gratefully
acknowledged.
Clean Window Design for Optical Access
P J Foster and P Panaka

Chemical Engineering and Fuel Technology Group, Department of Mechanical
and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK
Mlstract
A computational fluid dynamic program has been used to develop a compact
air purged clean window design for optical access by a laser beam to the
particle laden gases above a fluidised bed. The window worked well above
a bed of particles of size 5 to 350 micrometres.
1.
Introduction
Clean windows are needed for optical access to equipment containing
particle laden flows either to effect the entrance and exit of a laser
beam as
in laser doppler anemometry
and
in particle Sizing
by
laser
diffraction, or to give a view of a hot object such as a gas turbine blade

for optical pyrometry.
passive windows are sensitive to the deposition of
dust or other particles so that an actively cleaned or protected window is

usually needed.
In the type of clean window examined in this work,
clean purge air
or other gas is introduced through a Circumferential slot radially inwards

parallel to the face of a circular optical glass window discharging
through a short sight tube.
The prinCiple involved is that the jet slot
should be continuous, Swithenbank (1987).
The use of multiple jets or a
series of slots fails to keep the window clean because material entrained
by
an individual jet is carried to the window in those regions between the
jets.
2.
Clean Window DeSign

Although the principle of the continuous slot is fundamental to the
deSign of this type of clean window, other practical questions arise in

its implementation.
430
(i )
How does it work?
Is the window protected by the undisturbed core of
the slot jet and should the slot be sized to keep the outer boundary layer
from reaching the window, or is it protected by the advection of material
away from the window by the flow?
The undisturbed core theory requires a
relatively large settling chamber to lIlinimise turbulence prior to the

slot.
The settling chamber in our case was an annular tube with a length
to gap ratio of ten with the annular gap about ten times the slot width.
This is awkwardly bulky.
Is it necessary?
( 11) What design of manifold can provide a circUlllferentially uniform flow

to the slot in the most compact way?
( iii) What is the lIlinimum purge gas flow needed for particular particle
sizes and injection velocities towards the window?
(iv) Will the purge gas flow disturb the flow system under examination?
It is the purpose of this paper to show by an example how these
questions can be explored by using a computational fluid dynamics (CPO)
program, FLUENT, Which has a facility for tracking partiCles in turbulent
flows.
The specific application is to the measurement by a MALVERN laser
diffraction instrument of the particle size distribution in the freeboard

above a fluidised bed of sand and coal ash of sizes 5 to 800 lIlicrometers.
The smaller particles adhere to a window Whereas the larger ones bounce
away.
The laser beam is directed through the freeboard with inlet and
out let windows.

3.
The system is slight ly above atmospheric pressure.
~omputational
Results
A first design with a window 76
1II1II
in diameter and a turbulence
settling chamber was constructed in brass and worked satisfactorily but it

was bulky, 250
105
1II1II.
1II1II
long with inner and outer annulus diameters of 159 and
However, FLUENT predicted that turbulence developed in the slot
even with zero turbulence intensity in the settling chamber which was
therefore judged unnecessary.
A more compact deSign shown in Figures 1
and 2 was constructed in perspex, 300

tube 76.2
1II1II
1II1II
diameter 32
1II1II
deep, with a sight
Ld. There a.re eight symmetrically located al.r inlet pipes
connected to the back plate perpendicular to the window axis each 19

diameter on a circle of 270
1II1II
1II1II
diameter.
In Figure 1 the contours of turbulent kinetic energy predict a strong

generation of turbulence in the slot.
lIlicrometre diameter
particles
injected
Numerical experiments with 5

near the slot
from downstream
431
showed that turbulent diffusion towards is completely swamped by advection

away from the window. which appears to be the main mechanism of window
protection.
The flow vectors in Figure 2 show a stagnation point at the centre of
the window and a strong central flow in the sight tube.
The stepped
boundaries in the numerical domain represent smooth curved surfaces i.n the
actual device.
In the other numerical experiments. Figure 3. particles of the same
size are injected towards the window at the same velocity at different
radial poSitions. Furthest penetration occurs in the low exit gas velocity
region near the wall. none reach the window.
Many numerical experiments
were run to locate the boundary between penetration and no penetration as

a function of particle size. density and injection velocity and the air
velocity in the slot based on its nominal area of 7.1 mm x 239 mm.
These
results. Figure 4 are a guide to the performance of this window.

The results in the figures all come from two-dimensional axisymmetric
solutions.
Full three-dimensiona.l solutions have been made to model the
flow in the manifold and the flow through the sight tube into the flow
system observed.
4.
!=xperimental
The compact window was tested on a fluidised bed containj.ng particles
of 5 to 350 micrometres.
An
air flow of 1 to 2 litres per second was
sufficient to keep the window clean indefinitely. indicated by the MALVERN

instrument and visually in a strong light when the fluidised bed was
switched off.
5.
Conclusion
Computational fluid dynamics has proved a useful tool in developing
an air purge clean window design for a particular application.

6.
References
FLUENT from Flow Simulation Ltd . Suite 26. Huttons Building. west Street,
Sheffield. Sl 4ES. U.K.
swithenbank.
7.
J .
Private communication. Sheffield University. U.K.
Acknowledgement
This work
No. EN3F-00l3.
was
supported by European Economic Community Contract
432
Figure 1. Contours of the kinetic energy of turbulence. Maximum contour

is 0.905 mVs 2 . Air velocity in the slot is 4.2 mVs. The window is on the
recessed surface and the inlet pipes at the extremities.
n:::
~:Y/AY:;'
~~r%;
11:
1W
.,..
..
,"
I'"
,.,.
:: ::
,I"I"....""
,.
,.
I ,,
..
I ,,,
111
10
jl""
til'"
,11 1 10
...
, I
"Hili
J'
11'1'
1,,1'"
, , t I I ...
IIIIIJI""
::: t1::I t II t 11111 : : ~ : : : :
Figure 2. Flow pattern in the circumferential slot jet and sight tube.
Each arrow indicates the magnitude and direction of flow.
433
.....
---
Figure 3. The trajectories of pa.rticles injected into the sight tube at

various radial positions. Pa.rticle size 200 micrometres. density 2630
kg/m 3 initial velocity 1 mVs. Air velocity in the slot is 4.2 mVs.
150
NO
PENETRATION
10m/s .
15m/s.
Part icle injection

velocity
~1(}0
o
"i
>
....
50
PENETRATION
O~~~~--~--~--~---L--~--~--~~
100
200
300
400
500
Particle size (~m)

Figure 4. A particle penetration diagram for sand particles of density
2630 kgfm 3
Numerical Solution ofthe Matrix Riccati Equation for a

Time Variant Jet Engine System
Department of Transport Technology, University of Technology, Loughborough, UK
The application of optimal control problem that give rise to an optimal control law of linear
state feedback form for time variant system will lead to the fonnation of what is known as the
matrix Riccati equation, MRE. The numerical solution of this non-linear matrix differential
equation is necessary to obtain the required feedback control law which gives the desired
dynamic response of the system.
1.
Introduction
Although certain approximation can be made that transfer the matrix differential equation to an
algebraic one and form what is known as the algebraic Riccati equation, ARE, this
approximation may be applicable only for time invariant systems. The solution of the MRE is
the accurate way of representing the solution of this control problem. In this paper an attempt
has been made to apply the above control problem to a linear model of the F-l00 jet engine at a
particular operating level to optimise its dynamic response so that the required thrust response
can be achieved without violating the engine's operational requirements. This linear model of
the F-lOO engine was derived from a non-linear mathematical model of the engine, and its
dynamics is governed by a stiff differential equation with time varying matrices.
2. Control Problem
A linearised model of the F-l 00 Pratt & Whitney jet engine was developed from a non-linear
model, Mahmoud (1988), and is represented by the following state and output equations:
x(t)
A(t) x(t) + B(t) u (t)
( 1)
y(t)
C(t)x(t) + D(t)u(t)
( 2)
where x(t) is the state vector e9tn, u(t) is a control vector e9t m, y(t) is an output vector e9tP,
A(t), B(t), C(t), D(t) are time-variant matrices of appropriate order. The state, control and
output vectors are defined as follows:
xl
High pressure compressor speed
NC
Xz
Low pressure compressor speed
NF
x3
Combustor internal pressure
P4
x4
Afterburner pressure
P7
x5
Combustion chamber internal energy
U4
Combustor fuel flow rate
WFB
Exhaust nozzle area
A8
Yl
Engine Thrust
FG
Yz
TurbLrte inlet temperature
T4
Y3
HP compressor surge margin
ZC
Y4
LP compressor surge margin
ZF
[::1
435
For the case where direct control of the output vector is required, a performance index, such
as (3), is minimized:
tr
=~/(9Sy(tf)
f~T(t)Qy(t)
+ uT(t)G u(t) dt
(3 )
o
where Q is the output weighting matrix of order [p*p] and G is an input weighting matrix of
order [m*mJ
S is a matrix weighting terminal values of the output vector and is of order
[p*p].The associated Hamiltonian, H, is expressed as:

H =
M(CX(t)+DU(t)T Q(CX(t) + DU(t) + UT(t)GU(t)]
+ 'VT(t)
(A x(t) + BU(t)
For H to be minimized with respect to u(t), then:

aH
ToT
- - = D Q C x(t) + (G + D QD) u(t) + B
'V(t)
=0
au (t)
Uo (t) =
] [ DT Q C x(t) + BT
(G + DT
QD)
'V(t)]
aH
T
T
T
ax(t) = - 'V(t) = C Q C x(t) + C Q D u(t) + A 'V(t)
'V(t)
(5)
p(t) x(t)
(7)
(8)
where equation (8) is the solution of equation (7),and the matrix, pet), is positive definite and
is the solution to a matrix Riccati equation viz equation (9),
436
-Q- ATp(t)
pet)
1\
1\
- p(t)
A+
pet) B G1BTp(t)
( 9)
A - B G-1DTQ C
(10 )
G + DT QD
(1 I)
C1Q - QDG-1DTQ]C
(12)
and
1\
Figure 1 shows a block diagram representation of this control problem. In theory the Riccati
matrix pet) can be found by integrating equation (9) backwards in time from a known final
condition. The handling of a problem like this has been reported by several authors, Lee
(1968), Owens (1981),and Soroka et al. (1986) . In this work, the algorithm presented by
Gear (1971) for solving ordinary stiff differential equations was adopted. Figure 2 shows a
numerical solution of the MRE of this problem. In equation (9) pet) is a positive definite and
symmetric matrix. If pet) is symmetric at a time t, then it remains so. The n2 elements of the
pet) matrix call therefore be evaluated by integrating ordinary (although non-linear) differential
equations and since pet) is symmetric all the elements are not required: only n(n+1)/2 need be
integrated. A procedure to provide a measure of anti-symmetry for the solution of the matrix
Riccati equation pet) was developed. In this procedure a matrixP(t) is defined as :
pet) + p\t)
2
pet)
( 13 )
The matrix pet) is the best available estimate of a base value for comparison, about which
deviation may be measured. Then a comparison is made between each element of the strict
lower (or the higher) triangle of the matrix pet), with its corresponding element in the
symmetrized version pet). The resulting relative errors are stored in the vector ERR(t), a
vector of dimension (n(n-1)/2), and is defined as:
ERR ..
1J
IPij -
i\1
---"~-:-"'--
IPijl
, all are time dependent,
or
ERR..
1J
Figure 3 shows the variation of the ERR(t) with reverse time. From this figure it can be
shown that the deviations are very small in value, nevertheless, they have been suppressed
with time, i.e. as the solution proceeds.
437
REFERENCES
Gear C. W., Numerical Initial Value Problems in Ordinary Differential Equations
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1971
Lee E.S., Quasilinearization and Invariant Imbedding with Applications to Chemical
Engineering and Adaptive Control Academic Press, New York, 1968.

Mahmoud S., Effective Optimal Control
of A Fighter Aircraft Engine, Ph. D. Thesis,
Loughborough University, Sep. 1988.

Owens D. H., Multivariable and Optimal Systems, Academic Press, London, 1981.
Soroka E., Shaked U., Sequential Decomposition of the Matrix Riccati Equation and its
Application to the Linear Quadratic Regulator Problem, International Journal of Control, Vol
43, No.6, pp. 1763-1783, 1986.
-G B
P(t)
RQltbeSIIJcd
11i~ 0/ the Ri:ari

Ml~iI f(lll'llU in in trnc
P(t
P(Omatm isgeneraled backwards in time.
Figud: Block d~gram Rtpre!ClltatilJl of the Regulattr PrOOlem wid! TIJIleVuying Fecdteck Milrix.
COMADE M 89 Intern ational
438
150
(!)
m
C
,f
100
;S
I...
Q)
c...
c...
::>
50
. ___ .- --
tl.W.L
ti..!.J.)_
ti..J...!.L
ti..!.'.L
t:.
X
UJ....1.l..
t(.J..2J _.
\l
r -------------- ""----8 6 :g ::
.....0
~
.- - - - - - -'
x
C
:;:
- - - ---
..-/'
Legend
eu~u _
'- ~-~__=_~~~_~~.~~_~~~~~~~~~~_~~_~~_~~~~ i ~~L
-=-------------------
()
.~
e:::
~ ~;t
- is! EB ~U.'-l. .
----E)
-50 4----~--------~------~--------,--------.
''0
.......
*
0.2
0 .4
REVERSE TIME
.,
6.0
0 .6
0 .8
(sec) .
Figure 2 Variation Of Riccati Matrix With Reverse Time

..
I
I
e:::
e:::
w
I...
.....o
4.0
()
Legem
e
I...
. ~
I...
(!)
2.0
>
:;:
ERR(21.
ERRG)
t:.
ERR(5t
o
e:::
Qi
O_O~------~~~---r--~~~--~~~~~~~
0.2
0 .4
0.6
Reverse Time (sec).
Figure 3 Va ri ation of ERR Wit h The Reverse Time
0.8
ERR(4}
Non-linear Optimal Tracking Problem for Jet Engine Control

Department of Transport Technology, University of Technology , Loughborough,UK
Non-linear Optimal Tracking Problem For Jet Engine Control

S.M. mahmoud, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. and I.H. Farhan, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Department of Transport Technology, University of Technology, Loughborough
The determination of the optimal control of any non-linear system is, in general, a very
difficult task. Only in the most restricted cases can an analytical solution be obtained.
Therefore, the determination of optimal trajectories and their associated optimal controls
must often be carried out numerically by means of some iterative procedure on a
computer.In this paper, the solution of the optimal control problem which results from the
application of the optimal tracking problem to a non-linear jet engine model is presented.
1. Introduction
The application of optimal control theory to a non-linear system leads to the formulation of
the problem as a non-linear,two-(or multi-) point, boundary-value problem, and there is no
general method capable of solving such a problem that results from various non-linear
systems without numerical complications.OMAR a fifth order non-linear mathematical
model of the F-l00 jet engine, which correctly describes most of the dynamic behaviour of
the jet engine throughout its operating range.In this paper, an attempt has been made to
solve the non-linear, two-point, boundary value problem, which results from the application
of the optimal tracking problem to OMAR. The gradient method has shown a positive
capability for providing an approximate solution to this problem which proved to be useful
from the practical point of view.
2. Engine Model
Given the non-linear engine model, OMAR, developed by Mahmoud(1988) (all the
variables in this model and the associated algebraic relationships, which relate the
intermediate variables have been defined in this reference) presented here as:
dNC
(it
(30 )2 _1_JCPC(WPC)(r21-TI)+CPHT(WG50)(f4-T50) ]
1t
IC(NC)l
(1)
440
dNF
dt
(30)2 _J_ FPF(WAf)(f2-TII)+CPLT(WG55)(T50-T55)]

1t
IRNF)
(2)
d P4
dt
R(Yj(T4) [WA3 + WFB - WG4]

VCOMB
(3)
dP7
dt
R(y)(TI) [WG4 - WA3 + WAF + WFA - WG7]

VAFBN
d U4
dt
CVB~) ([4) [T4{WG4 _WFB _WA3} +

VCOMB(P4)
(4)
{T3 WA3 - T4 WG4
'Y
(5)
+T4(1 + 11) WFB}]
3. Non-linear Optimal Tracking Problem

Given non-linear engine model, OMAR, described by equations (1) to (5) and the associated
algebraic relationships. Suppose that the variable Z is the desired thrust output,then the
objective is to control this non-linear engine model, in such a manner as to make the thrust
variable, FG, close to Z without excessive expenditure of control energy, and ensuring that
other output variables T4, ZC and ZF are kept within their operational limits. The optimal
control vector u(t) which is capable of achieving this objective can be obtained by
minimizing a performance index of the type :
="2If
It
(Q(1,J)(Z-FG) 2+ uT(t) G u(t dt
(6 )
o
The Hamiltonian function, H, and the associated co-state function are defined as:
H =
(Q(1,1)(Z-FG)2+ uT(t)Gu(t)
~lxl
~2x2
+ iv3x3 +
~4x4 +~5x5
(I )
( 8)
441
(11 )
where F is the partial derivative of the thrust FG with respect to the state vector x.
uO(t) can be obtained by
~~o
=0
Equations (1) to (5) and (7) to (11) represent the canonical equations of the non-linear
tracking problem, which is a non-linear, two-point, boundary value problem. Considering
the numerical difficulties in solving such a problem as reported by Mahmoud (1988),
Elsayed (1985) and Roddy (1985), and in particular the instability of the co-state variables in
forward time, the gradient method, GM,was found to be a useful algorithim for solving
this tracking problem.The steps of the solution process could be summarized as :
1-
The initial solution guess was established by application of the control law obtained
from piecewise-linear optimal tracking problem (p.W.L.T) to the non-linear engine
model.
2-
Using the controls of OMAR which resulted from step one, the state equations (1) to
(5) were integrated forwards in time and the value of J was
calculated
simultaneously using the state and control trajectories of steps one and two. Then the
co-state equations (7) to (11) were integrated backwards in time.
3 -
Update the controls by determining
ul i + 1
uli
dH
+ c dul
dH
+ c du2
and repeat from step two.
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 show the responses of the engine's variables when subjected to the
control law from the gradient method. In figure 2 the surge margins are kept within the
working limit, i.e below the value of one,while the engine thrust in figure 3 is near to the
desired one.
REFERENCES
Elsayed M.A.N., Aircarft Trajectory Optimization, Ph.D. Thesis, Loughborough University
of Technology ,Aug. 1985.
Mahmoud S.M., Effective Optimal Control of A Fighter Aircraft Engine, Ph.D. Thesis,
Loughborough University of Technology,Sep. 1988.
Roddy D.J., Application of Optimal Control to Bank-to-Turn CLOS Guidance, Ph.D.
Thesis, The Queen's University of Belfast, Feb. 1985.
442
3.
~-----------------8
Q)
2.B
2.6
~
0
G:
Q)
2.4
~
0:::
::::!:
/
/
/
Legend
2.2
o
2
0.2
0.4
WFB
AB
__ _
O.B
0.6
TIME (sec).
Figure 1 OMAR WFB & A7 Resulted From Gradient Method

0.95
III
C
.~
::::!:
E>
Q)
0.85
::J
(/)
0:::
::::!:
o
---
_---------fJ
0.80
Legend
z_c_ _
D~_
0.75 " F - - - - - , - - - - - , , - - - - - , - - - - - , - - - - - - ,
0.2
o
0.4
0.6
0.8
TIME (sec).
Figure 2 OMAR Surge Margins Subject to Gradient Method Control
443

14000
1/ ---
13000
-'"
f:i:
:::J
....
I-
I ---/---
12000
I
11000
0::
{
~
Legend
10000
9000
Desired Thrust Response
Thrust
FG O.J?et!J.oQP Respons..!.. _
Re~nse
Using G.M
8000 +-- - - - - - - . - - - - - - - . - -- - - - - - r -- - - - - -. -- - - - - - - ,
0 .2
0.4
0.6
0.8
TIME (sec).
Figure 3 OMAR Thrust Responses With GM Control Law
15000
-6
-v;
o
10000
--------
Q)
a:::
~
-------- ---- ---- -- -- ~
Legend
o
o
5000
6.
N_C___
__
_.
~
~
P
_7_ _
~
__
------ --- ---- - - ------------- --t:,
O ~------_r------~--------r_------~------
0.2
0.4
0 .6
0.8
__
TIME (sec).
Figure 4 State Vector Response Subject to GM Control
Technical Diagnostics of Shafts and Bearings by

Analysing Relative Speeds
A Sturm and T Kiel

Technische Hochschule Zittau, Zittau, East Germany
1. Introduction
Procedures in the field of sliding bearing and rolling-element
bearing diagnostics have already been known. Expecially with
respec'i; to rolling-element bearings, there exist procedures of
aconstic emission monitoring within the sonic (e.g. K(t) method
/1/) as well as the ultrasonic range (e.g. SPM method /2/). The
application of these procedures, however, is dependent on a
sound-transmitting connection between the bearing to be monitored
and the transducer, which is not always available. Therefore a
procedure for diagnosing damages at inaccessible rolling-element
bearing was developed based on analysing rotary motion non-uniformi ties.
2. Physical fundamentals
Damage phenomena in kinetic pairings are characterised by synchronisation faults due to increased friction and locking effects,
respectively. This is a precondition for determining rotary motion
non-uniformities. The procedure applied is based on an angular
shaft velocity alteration owing to track or rolling element
damages. The rolling-element bearing has to be considered as a
complex element. Regarding the acting masses of the rotating
system (Figure 1) reveals that in case of over-rolling a pitting
the shaft experiences minimal positive and negative accelerations.
This non-uniformity as well as "jamming-in" the respective bearing
element into the pitting results in developing forces responsible
for "acceleratingll or "braking" the shaft. In this way angular
velocity fluctuations will be created, which can,be recorded in
dependence on the rotational speed, the following relation being
valid
Au
f(damage degree, mass, rotational speed)
~~ - angular velocity alteration
445
3. Experimental. setup
For evaluating the procedure a laboratory test stand was developed,
its principle arrangement being shovm in Figure 2.
The basic engineering design of the test stand involves a drive
element, a controllable d.c. motor (type TMN 16 AbF 091), an
elastic coupling mechanism, two bearing shells as well as a shaft
and the corresponding bearings. The following bearing types can
be utilised:
- deep groove ball bearings of the 6309 type
- cylindrical roller bearings of the 1m 309 type
- angular contact ball bearings of the 3709 type.
By means of special metering equipment the following quantities
can be determined: power P, voltage U, current I, rotational motor
speed n as well as the load acting. In order to register the
measured values an incremental transducer (IGR) will be used /3/.
This transducer can be coupled in different ways (I~igure 3), namely
- using a bellow coupling (a)
- flexible (b)
- rigid (c)
Regarding the measurements conducted so far the flexible variant
transducer/shaft was chosen for the present.
4. :Me as uring te chni ques
The measuring part of the test stand consists of following
components (cf. Figure 4):
- incremental transducer (IGR)
- Signal analysis device
- rectangular-wave generator
- data logger
- data output
On analysing the non-uniformities of the rotational shaft speed,
e.g. due to over-rolling of track defects, the pulse-to-pulse
intervals of the pulses generated by the transducer will be investigated. The pulse-to-pulse interval analySiS is based on
446
determining the cycle duration T of a rectangular pulse by means

of a second pulse train counting, the cycle duration of which is
essentially smaller than that of the pulse to be determined
(Figure 5). This measuring principle is of universal validity,
but in particular dependent on the measuring and analysing
techniques applied.
1.000 pulses will be generated per revolution, i.e. 1.000 increments will be recorded. The transducer output is connected
to a multi-counter input of a signal analyser which evaluates
the high/low pulse fronts. Another signal analyser input is fed
with a rectangular pulse having a constant pulse repetition
frequency substantial~y larger than the maximum transducer pulse
repetition frequency, which~is present. The multi-counter determines the number of counting pulses read-in per transducer pulse
(cf. Figure 5). Additionally the incremental transducer generates
one zero-pulse per revolution. A specific measuring program
enables plotting the counting pulses in relation to one revolution.
The counting pulses are represented over 2.000 increments and two
revolutions, respectively.
5. Investigation results
Investigations concerning varying rotational speeds were done.
In Figure 6 the rotational shaft speed non-uniformity measurement
in case of undamaged bearings is shown, whereas the measurement
of a bearing damaged by pitting on the inner ring track is
demonstrated in Figure 7. All tests were performed using deep
groove ball bearings of the 6309 type.
Two shaft revolutions ,vere measured each time. The additional
pulse per revolution generateq by the incremental transducer
provides for designating a complete revolution (perpendicular
continuous line in the diagram).
Starting from an ideal shaft synchronism should result in developint
a constant ordinate axis value concerning the countine pulses read-j
per transducer pulse. In Figure 6 small fluctuations can be seen
due to the systems dynamics, but not the characteristic peaks
presented in ]i'igure 7. These distinct shaft synchronism fluctuation<
447
are due to over-rolling of a pitting by some bearing elements.

Measurements done at different rotational speeds revealed that
these alterations will decrease on increasing the speed, i.e. in
case of increasing rotational speeds it is impossible to detect
these effects by means of the measuring techniques available;
they will be masked by the dynamic behaviour of the system as
shown in Figure 8.
Therefore the conclusion can be dra,v.n that this method can be
used for diagnosing slow-speed rolling-element bearings.
6. Summary
Experimental investigations done have shown that the procedure
of analysing the non-uniformity of rotational shaft speed gives
the prospective to diagnose slow-speed rolling-element bearings
/4/. Additional investigations are meant to result in a further
improvement of the procedure. Different methods of evaluating
the rotational non-uniformi ty as well as different damage types
will be investigated.
7. Bi bliography
/1/
Sturm, A.; Kinsky, D.; Forster, R.; Bode, M.

Maschinendiagnose zur Ausschopfung von Abnutzungsreserven
und zur Erhohung der Zuverlassigkei t, Maschinenbautechnik,
Berlin, 33(1984) 3, S.100-105
/2/
Firmenschrift von SP.M-Instrument AR,

Strangnas, Schweden, 1982, 1983
/3/
Firmenschrift VEB Carl Zeiss Jena

Inkrementaler Geber rotatorisch
Druckschrift 67-040b-1
/4/
Sturm, A.; Forster, R.

I\Iiaschinen- und Aulagendiagnostik fur die zU/:ltandsbezogene
Instandhaltung, Berlin, VEB Verlag Technik, 1988
448
Figure 1 Rolling-clarrent bearing with a ptting

i
on 1M
outer ring track
Figu re It
Figure 2
Pr inciple laboratory test stond arrangement
Block diagram of tre measuring chain
x(l)
Figure 5
Figure 3
C().Jpling variants
ot Ihll jncrerrental transducer
0- belloW' coupling, b-flexible I c-rigid
~osu(in9
principle
449
~ +----------------i--------~----------t---
rooo+--------------------~~~,~--------------------~
a~
=
IN<RMe:NT
Fig.,rc 6
Rotctior.ol shalt
speed :'lOtl -un ~ormitr
represenlul ion in case d lSldomaged bea flng
""'"
~'T
- j
:1---------+-----------839
~
1
tM.MM[~H
F.9J1C -:
Flotaticr.ol s:lOft
......
s~<!d
;-,ol"l_vnilormily reprc scn1ohon
11"1
cose of
H"I--t--lI!
100
200
JOO
'00
dam~d
bear,ng
Ferrogram Quantitive Analyser - Its Application in Industry
Huo Yuxiang, Xu Xiaodi

The Friction and Wear Research Laboratory, Beijing Graduate School,
China University of Mining Technology, No13, Xueynan Road,
Beijing 100083, China
ABSTRACT
The failure of a machinery lubricant system can be monitored
and diagnosed more effectively with Analytic Ferrography
Quantitiative Technology. However the development of this
technology is limited by some disadvantages of its measurement
system [for instance, it is time-consuming etc]. For this
reason we need to use a micro-computer which will make it
possible for the Ferrography Quantitative Testing to be done at
high speed and yet be accurate. In this paper micro-computer
based quantitative ferrography [TJD] is introduced.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Ferrography Technology is an effective way of monitoring
and diagnosing machine condition, but there exists many
defects for quantitative operation. To overcome these
defects, the Ferrogram Quantitative Analyser is developed,
which is used to match the Analytical Ferrography. By
combining the power of the micro-computer, the process of
testing, computation and the data handling capabilities of
the system can be increased and automated. Such an
analyser can be a powerful, useful and practical tool in
many industrial applications.
2.
DESIGN OF THE ANALYSER

For the Ferrogram Quantitative Analyser, defining Al and As
by linear regression, AUC, output of optical density in all
the positions on the ferrogram [automatically] are very
important. Obviously, the method of measuring and
monitoring such parameters are equally important. Figure 1
shows the block diagram of the Ferrogram Quantitative
Analyser.
451
TPIDI
mi cro-romputor
the rontrot curcui t

of work-table
Figur. ,
2.l.THE PRINCIPLE OF THE TESTING SYSTEM

In Figure I, light signals are transformed into electrical
signals by the transducer, then these electrical signals
are amplified and transformed into digital signals. These
digital signals are delivered to the micro-computer and the
data is suitably processed by computer software. Hard
copies of results are obtained from the printer.
2.2.THE FUNCTION OF THE FERROGRAM QUANTITAITVE ANALYSER
The Ferrogram Quantitative Analyser performs the following
functions:-
3.
[a]
collects optical density values in all the positions

on the ferrogram and prints the results,
[b]
plots optical density curves in all the positions on

the ferrogram and also prints the parameters As, Ai'
Is and trend curve, etc.,
[c]
gives warning signals,
[d]
increases the density of collecting the optical

density, and explains in more detail the distribution
of optical density in some position on the ferrogram.
SOME EXAMPLES IN USE OF THE FERROGRAM QUANTITATIVE ANALYSER

Example 1.
Some black marks on the ferrogram at regular intervals are
shown in Figure 2. The optical density curve of all the
positions on the ferrogram made by the Ferrogram
Quantitative Analyser is shown in Figure 3.
Example 2.
There are two debris spots on a clean ferrogram. Figure 4
shows the optical density curve of all the positions on the
ferrogram. Figure 5 shows the optical density distribution
of abnormal positions on the ferrogram. In Figure 6 the
density of debris is increased. Figure 6 also shows the
shape of the debris.
452
3.2.APPLICATION IN INDUSTRY
The Ferrogram Quantitative Analyser has been effectively
used in Huo Lin He coal mine. Some examples of its
application are shown in Figures 7 and 8.
REFERENCES
1.
Xhou minde, "Hardware and Software of Micro-Computers &

their Application".
2.
X.D.Xu, Y.F.Qiao, Y.X.Huo, "Ferrography Analysis of Wear

Condition of Large Equipment in open pit". The Fourth
National Conference of anti-wear metallic materials, 1987.
3.
Huo Yuxiang, "Development of a Ferrogram Quantitative

Analyser and its Application in industry". The paper of
master, 1988.
............. . .
:~
,
.. .. ... . ....
. ... . .. .
'
.,'
"
0 0'
'
','
f~, . 2-
......
. . . . .. ... . . ... . '4'"
..
"
. ,'
....
i'1!5
I.
"
... ..
. .-....... '".' ... ..'.' ...
Methods and Experiences in the Application of Technical

Diagnosis for Prevention and Early Detection of Damages to
Components of the Water-Stearn-Cycle of Thermal Power Stations
H Kalina and B Hahn
Scientific-Technological Centre for Plant Supervision of the National Combine of
Brown-Coal Fired Power Stations, Vetschau. East Germany
SUMMARY
In the German Democratic Republic about 85 percent of electric
power are generated
on the basis of raw bro~m-coal. For the
guaranty of a high degree in operational safety and availability
greater and greater demands are made upon the supervision of
conditions of power station installations as assumption for
a preventive maintenance strategy. In the paper it
is reported
about experiences of supervising components of the \'iater-steamcycle of conventional power stations.
In particular approaches
are presented to reduce supervision expenses \>1ith
simultaneous
increase of the reliability in condition monitoring.
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
In the GDR about 85 per cent of electrio po\ver are generated

by
condensing, heating and industrial povler stations on the basis of
raw brown-coal.
The share of power station installations basing on units of a
single capacity of 100 l-lW
and more is of about 60 percent.
In general the power station installations are desingned for 25
operative years, the packages under permanent stress
load
operated at temperatures of 450
C and more are designed for 100
thousand operative hours, that means 13 to 15 operative years.
For the case of povler station units of 500 !:Ivl
single capacity
those packages are designed for 200 thousand operative hours.
To assure a stable and economic generation of electric power by
the existing brown-coal fired power stations requires a long-term
technically and economically based strategy for maintenance and
the realization of this strategy on a high technic and technologic
level.
Fundamentals for this are provided by the systematic superVl.Sl.on
of damaging processes and the damage conditions caused by them.
(1)
454
2. JilETHODS
AND EXPERIENCES IN CONDIT ION
COIlPONENTS OF THE \iATER-STEAN-CYCLE
MONITORING
OF
THE
2.1. To minimize the expenses for superV1S1on when assuring a

high level of operational safety of installations we passed
over to the supervision of operational life fixed
on the
exhaustion
degree concerning the components of the watersteam cycle. On the basis of the acting stress loadings due
to creep strength depending on time and to alternating stress
the theoretical exhaustion degress are estimated considering
the actual geometry of structural elements and material
characteristics. Corresponding to the estimated differenciated exhaustion degress also differnciated supervision cycles
are fixed.
Along with considerably reduced
expenses for
superV1S10n the reguired
safety for all structural components is assured by supervisory measures concentrated on the
peak-loaded components.
Software solutions are available for the determination and
the continuation of exhaustion degress.
Through on-line superV1S10n by means of process and/or
structural element computers the momentary stress load of
the components are calculated and presented in relation to
admissible loadings. This information is used as
reference
input for process control. On this basis are simultancously
determined as well the use of lifetime per shift as the
analogously cumulated quantity. (2)
For installations ",here process and for structural element
computers are not installed at present secondary programmes
are used for off-line supervision. (3)
2.2.
The results of stress supervision and of calculating the

exhaustion degree are fundamentals for adjusting measures of
non-destructive testing and diagnosis concerning components
to be supervised.
The method s to be applied are determined by the mode of
stress (creep stress depending on time and/or fatique
stress) and by the possible damages resulting therefrom.
Among them are as follows:
2.2.1. r.Ieasurement of widenings

For construction elements of piping creep stressed depending
on time the measurement of widening represents as usual an
importand criterion for the estimation of reaction of construction elements and material. The widening reaction represents creep stress in its temporal change
Therefore
additionally to the calculation of the exhaustion degree it
is well fitting for the discovery of peak-loaded construction elements and for the fixation of continuing testing
measures.
By the application of the device for measuring widenings of
our own development measuring errors can be eliminated and
the effort for measuring processes can be reduced. (4)
455
2.2.2. Visual check

The visual check as the most simple testing method is often
underestimated in its effect.
For many cases it is possible on this way to discover flaws.
After cleaning the surface to be checked flaws and appearences of both erosion and corrosion are visible very easy.
The endoscop~T for the inspection of inner surfaces of construction elements is incorporated in visual check methods.
In the assertion of the results it is equated "lith the visual check a magnifier is used. (4)
2.2.3. Checking of surface flaws
lla.terial defects during operation are usually starting from
the surface of the material. If surfaces of construction
elements are accessable therefore for the diagnosis of such
fla\vs the magnetic stray flux method or the dye-penetrant
method are used.
"Then flaws (cracks) are detected it is usual to measure them
by the use of a crack-depth measuring instrument operated on
the basis of the potential probe method. (4)
2.2.4. Check of the volume

For the volume check including wall-thickness gange the
ultrasonic flaw detection is prevailingly used.
It is used then for the control of faults caused by stress
when defects on the inside wall surface of construction
elements are to be diagnosed due to harmfully acting mechanisms.
Transmission technique is used only then when due to
geometric reasons ultrasonic flaw detection is impossible or
when results of ultrasonic fla,,: detection are not clear. (4)
2.2.5. Construction element metallography
Construction element metallography admits assertions on the
structure and on existing material changes within the microange. When construction elements creep stressed depending
on time are supervised this method is used as a fundamental
rating method for the assessment of the structure in the
preceeding stage of crack.
Additionally construction element metallography is used
throughout there where information on the existing structure
is required for decisions on weld repair and non-destructive
testing cannot be applied. (4)
2.2.6. Ijagnetic residual field strength measurement
By the use of the correlation ratio between hardness and
structure \vith the magnetic residual field strength of operationally
stressed
construction
elements
a
coarse
evaluation of the condition of the tested construction elements are possible at only a low testing effort. This method
is still in the stage of development. At present it is used
among others for the localization of thermally damaged areas
of heating surfaces and as an add itional method
for the
complex state evaluation of operationally stressed components.
456
2.3.
Md itionally to the non-destructive testings for a limited

extent also destructive materials testing is carried out.
This is used for qualitative estimation of the real reduction of operative life and of the still remaining residual
operative life.
The data obtained from prophylactic destructive testings are
used for exact definition of input data for the calculation
of the exhaustion degree.
By destructive testings are determined
mechanic/technologiC short-time caracteristic data and
the creep resistance and the creep elongation for creep
stresse components depending on time. (4)
2.4.
In addition to the above mentioned destructive and non

destructive
superversion methods increasingly new
and
adapted. diagnosis methods are used during operation. These
are as following:
- the o'n-line supervision of stress applied on components of
the water/steam-cycle by means of process-and/or construction element
computers;
the noise emission analysis for detection of leakages at
thick-walled construction elements and for controlling the
tightness of fittings;
the infrared diagnosis for determining temperature rises
of single pipes of membrane walls caused by flow disturbances.
liith the acoustic supervision of pressurized components of
steam generators was started for the first.
3. Summarizing it can be stated:
In
the electric power industry of our country
too
the
recognizable international tendency of increasing requirements
for superv~s~on appeared at operation of pO~/er stations using
units of high single capacity. Our experiences verify that
maintenance of installations can be realized more economical by
an extended systematic application of Technical Diagnosis Methods
and
by further cleB,ring up of
quantitative
dependencies
between stress and damage. The presented strategy on
the
superv~s~on
of operative life directed on the exhaustion degree
represents an example for a solution to meet those requirements.
457
References
(1) Kalina, H.
Aktuelle Aufgaben der AnlagenUberwachung

in vlarmekrafhoferke n auf Roh braunkoh Ie basis (Actual Problems of Installation SuperV1S10n at Thermal Power
Stations
Operated on Ra"r Brovrn-Coal)
Informationen,
ORGREB-Institut
fUr
Kraftwerke,
Vetschau (1987) 132, S.
4-
16,
(2) Grabig, J .
and other
ProzeB- und
lhkrorechnerechtzeitsystem
zur Betriebs- und LebensdauerUbervTachung
von Dampfkessel- und Rohrleitungsbauteilen des 500-Nvl-Blockes (Real-Time System
of Process and l'Iicrocomputers for the
Supervision of Components of Steam Generators and Piping of the 500 UW
unit)
Informationen, ORGREB-Institut fUr Kraft\'1erke, Vetschau (1987) 133, S. 3 - 11
(3) Grabig, J.
Pavllowski, B.
Dokumentation zum Programmsystem

"ZEISTA-S" (Documentation on the Program System "ZEISTA-S")
ORGREB-Institut fUr Kraftwerke
Vetschau, 1989 - Forschungsbericht
Nr. FL/6185/A4/89,
(4) Hahn, B.
';le rk st 0 f fUbe rvTachung in konvent ione lIen

Kraftwerken (Supervision of Haterials
at Conventional Power Stations)
Informationen, ORGREB-Institut fUr
Kraftwerke, Vetschau (1988) 134,
s. 89 - 97.
An Experimental Facility for Investigation into the Control and

Monitoring of Energy Consumption of VA V and CAV Air
Conditioning Systems
Soon Ai-K wang and Ahmadul Ameen
School of Mechanical Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the background, objectives and features of the
environmental chamber built at Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore for
conducting research in the area of air conditioning.
In particular, it
highlights the application of computers in controlling the operation and
monitoring the performances of the prototype variable-air-volume (VAV) and
constant-air-volume (CAV) air distribution systems built inside a partitioned
environmental chamber.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Several different types of air distribution systems are in use in Singapore.

The trend is towards using all-air systems of either constant-air-vo1ume
variable temperature (CAV) or variab1e-air-volume constant temperature (VAV)
types of systems in most commercial premises. In multi-room hotel buildings,
however, use of all-water system with fan-coil units as terminal units are
the most common.
Of late, there is a growing trend towards using more VAV
systems in different commercial premises, due primarily to the perceived
notion that it is a more economical system as has been proven in many
installations in the United States.
By and large, local architects specify
the system based on the recommendation of the mechanical and electrical
engineers, notwithstanding the fact that their superiority over other
alternative systems are questionable.
Apparently, no study has been undertaken in Singapore to date to ascertain
the relative performances of the different types of air conditioning systems,
particularly in respect of their energy consumption.
Hence, it was felt at
NTI that there is a need to develop some facility where performance tests,
particularly the energy consumption of various types of air conditioning
systems could be carried out. The availability of such basic information/data
is an essential prerequisite to more economic and responsible design. These
data are also necessary in case the decision is to be based on life cycle
cost analysis of technically acceptable alternative designs.
459
Since the comparative tests are not practical in actual building installations,
it was considered that an environmental chamber would be constructed, where
prototype air conditioning systems would be installed and operated under
simulated load conditions.
2.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
On reviewing various such facilities which have been built elsewhere 'Fahrni,
(1986)', 'Jensen (1975)', it was decided that the project would rather aim
for a moderately budgeted facility that could be developed in stages over an
extended period of time. Accordingly, it was decided to develop an environmental
chamber constructed with demountable clip-lock type insulated panels making
it possible to vary the configuration and dimension of the chamber.
Additionally, it was planned that the structure would rest on raised beams
rather than on the floor to keep provision for possible future conversion
into a balanced ambient room type of calorimeter. It was also envisaged that
with the availability of such a facility at the Institute, there would be
spin off benefits in respect of students' projects, laboratory experiments
and future research activities.
The immediate obj ec ti ve was, however, to
compare the energy consumption of the CAV and the VAV air conditioning systems
under identical simulated load conditions.
3.
CONSTRUCTION FEATURES
The construction specifications reflect the above mentioned objectives of

maximum flexibility and economy in terms of space and budget. The details
of the construction and equipment are given below:
3.1
Structure
The 8mD x 5mw x 3mH environmental chamber was located inside the Energy
Conversion Laboratory of the Institute. The 100 mm (4") insulated panels
are of zinc - aluminium alloy coated steel sheets, pre-painted with
silicone modified polyester based paint, laminated to an insulation core
of polyurethane. The chamber was partitioned in the centre to create
two equal-sized chambers for comparative tests.
3.2
Equipment
Two air conditioning systems of same capacity, one of CAV type and the
other of VAV type were installed in the two adjoining chambers. There
are two identical Air Handling Units (AHU) supplying chilled air to the
two duct systems in the chambers. The air-cooled chillers were located
outside the Energy Conversion Laboratory while the AHUs were located
inside the laboratory. The nominal capacity of the chillers is 10.5 kW
(3 tons). The CAV duct system comprises supply air duct, two diffuses
and a return air duct. The VAV duct system comprises supply air duct,
2 VAV boxes, 2 diffuses and the return air duct.
4.
USE OF COMPUTER
Since the main objective of the development of the facility was for the
Institute's research, development and testing activities, it was felt at the
very conceptual stage that inclusion of computers would greatly enhance the
versatility and efficiency of the facility.
This would not only ensure
automatic operation under various pre-set conditions, but also enable
460
continuous data logging so vital for any research endeavour. With this end
in view, it was decided that a supervisory computer would be integrated into
the environmental control system and an additional micro computer would be
used for continuous logging of temperatures at various points inside the
chambers. Another benefit derived was the feasibility of using the facility
concurrently by more than one researcher at anyone time.
4.1
Environmental control
The indoor air temperature is maintained by room thermostats, located in
the two chambers. In the CAV system, in which the supply air volume is
constant, the variation of load is taken care of by varying the supply
air temperature. This temperature is controlled by variation of chilled
water flow through the 3-way by-pass valve controlled by supply/return
air temperature. In the VAV system, however, the room thermostat controls
the damper inside the VAV box, and the supply air volume varies according
to the cooling load inside the conditioned space. With reduced load
there is a build up of air pressure inside the supply duct. A static
pressure controller, then in turn, reduces the fan speed controlled by
a static frequency converter.
There is a 3-way valve in the chilled
water supply line which is controlled by return air temperature. There
are individual watt-hour-meters for recording the energy consumption of
the two AHU motors, the two pump motors, and the two chillers.
The
chiller meter, however, records the power consumption of the chiller
compressor motor as well as that of the air-cooled condenser fan motor.
Additionally, two electro magnetic flow meters along with electronic heat
meters have been installed in the two chiller water circuit for recording
the chilled water flow rate as well as the cooling rate provided by the
two chillers.
The above mentioned instruments and controls are monitored by a modified
EPSON HX-20 computer. The control strategy could be programmed and down
loaded into the said computer, which is being used to control conditions
in both the chambers in accordance with the research requirements. Figure
1 shows the control schematics of the CAV and VAV air conditioning systems.
4.2
Monitoring Data
A micro-computer has been used for recording temperatures at various
locations in the two environmental chambers. In all, thermocouples have
been fixed at 24 strategic points inside the two chambers, and the same
have been interfaced with the computer for automatic temperature recording.
5.
CONCLUSION
The development of an environmental chamber at Nanyang Technological Institute

is a step forward in the direction of building an up-to-date testing facility
in the areas of air conditioning and refrigeration. Incorporation of various
controls, measuring instruments, particularly the supervisory and monitoring
computers into the facility has enhanced its capacity towards accommodating
diverse research activities.
461

CAV SYSTEM
RETURN AIR
RS
RS
HS
CAV
SUPPLY
AIR
OUTSIDE
AIR
MV
DOC
CONTROLLER
LEGENDS
RS
HS
MV
TS
SPT
VSD
ROOM TEMPERATURE SENSOR

ROOM HUMIDITY SENSOR
MODULATING VALVE COMPLETE
WITH ACTUATOR
DUCT TEMPERATURE SENSOR
VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE
STATIC PRESSURE SENSOR
COMM BUS
TO DSC 1020
VAV SYSTEM
SUPPLY
AIR
VSD
DOC
CONTROLLER
Figure 1: Control schematics of the CAV and

VAV air conditioning system
HS
462
6.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This proj ect was supported by Nanyang Technological Institute's Applied

Research Grant (RP 18/87) and the support is gratefully acknowledged. M/s
Price Asia Sales Ltd has donated an electronic VAV Box for carrying out the
research and their contribution is also appreciated.
7.
REFERENCE
1.
Jensen, P.K., Nishi, Y., Graichen, H., Rascati, R. (1975), 'A test chamber
design for investigating mans' thermal comfort and physiological
response', ASHRAE Transactions Vol. 81, Part I, pp. 73-82.
2.
Standard Association of Australia,

(1976),
'Australian standard
specification for refrigerated room air conditioners', Sydney.
3.
ASHRAE standard, (1984), 'Method for testing for rating room air
conditioners and packaged terminal air conditioners', Atlanta.
4.
Fahrni, H. (1986), 'Heating and air conditioning test facilities', Sulzer

Technical Review, 4, pp. 15-19.
AA/aa(pub.2:AA-PUB)
6.3.89
Advanced Control Techniques for BEMS
G S Virk, K I H Alkadhimi, J M Cheung and D L Loveday*

Department of Control Engineering, University of Sheffield and
'Department of Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, UK
Abstract
The last twenty years or so have seen tremendous developments in the theoretical and applied
aspects of control systems design/analysis, but these advancements have to date had limited impact
in their application to building services systems. The advent of BEMS, however ,opens the door to
the application of these advanced control techniques in this field; such techniques can offer significant
improvements in performance and energy savings. An indication of the benefits are presented in this
paper. A test cell is used to demonstrate an improved controller algorithm using predictive methods
based on thermal mathematical models.
1. Introduction
The use of controllers is essential in applications where required specifications need to be met.
The area of building services is no exception to this; over the years, the controlling function has
evolved from the use of conventional analogue controllers to direct digital control (DDC) implemented by computers. This exploitation of computer technology in buildings and their services is
known under the generic term of building energy management systems (BEMS) and represents a
major development in the area of environmental control. As opposed to the classical methods this
new 'hi-tech' approach offers the building operator insights into the behaviour of his plant which
hitherto has been difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. For example, the dynamic monitoring and
automatic data-logging facilities offered by BEMS now permit transient responses of the systems
to be observed. The possibilities of further enhancements to building systems control are only now
beginning to be recognised.
At present, BEMS, although using sophisticated enabling technology, still rely on classical control algorithms. Instantaneous measurements are used in responding to and maintaining optimal
settings in the DDC control systems. This can lead to overshooting and undershooting from the
desired set points due to time lags present in the actuators and zone dynamics. Most buildings also
possess a dead time over which no output response is observed after the application of an input.
This adds to the complications. In the light of these difficulties we consider the use of advanced
control techniques where a mathematical model of the thermal behaviour of a zone is used to design
the control action. Such models can be predictive in nature which allows an estimate of the room
temperature, say, to be made before it actually occurs. Based upon this prediction, control actions
can be taken. Since the actions are taken before hard limits are reached it is plausible to expect
tighter control in comparison with the classical methods. This, in turn, will lead to savings in energy
and improved occupant comfort.
In this paper we take the first step towards the development of practical predictive control for
buildings. In particular, for a test cell, we will present:
464
(i)
a validated predictive model of its thermal behaviour
(ii)
a predictive controller algorithm design and its performance
(iii)
a comparison of predictive results with thermostatic on/off control.
I
Test Cell
Dimensions
Length=420mm
Width =190mm
Height =380mm
Tc~---U
"'\il/
~
I
Thermocouples
Ta
COMPUTER
D/A
Figure 1 Computer Control of the Temperture in a Test Cell
2. Mathematical Modelling
To achieve adequate control performance requires the application of test signals to the system under
consideration so that controller parameters can be tuned (as in the PID strategy) or mathematical
models developed for use in controller algorithm design. We adopt the latter approach whereby
the system under study (a test cell) is identified using time series analysis (refs Box and Jenkins,
Norton,Ljung). The test cell depicted in Fig 1 consists of a single zone enclosure of low thermal
enertia and can be represented by an nth order mathematical model of the form:
(0.1)
where
The term Z-l is the delay operator ( z-l f(t) = f(t - T) where T is the sampling interval in
seconds), Te(t) is the cell internal air temperature at time t, T.(t) is the ambient air temperture,
u(t) is the heat input to the test cell, e(t) is a white noise process to represent stochastic effects,
and e is the dead time of the system.
The test cell was subjected to a pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) heating input at a sampling interval of 5 seconds for a total time of one hour, and readings of Te, T. and u were recorded.
Over this monitoring period the ambient air temperture remained constant to within O.loe and so
465
for convenience can be treated as a constant . The normalised output temperature Te time series
obtained is shown in Fig 2, and was used together with the PRBS input in the identification of the
test cell .
-20~~----'-OO----'-O-"----'O-O----'-OO----'~O~O----.O~O----70-0--~.O0
i'llJ mb e r
o f Data Po i nts
Wi t h Ta constant, equation (0.1 ) can be reduced to

(0.2)
where do is some constant d. c term. Equation (0.2) now represents a single input single output
system and standard identification techniques can be employed.
, .. ,. I ' ''M~
,----
I M~"_~'
, .... "
Figure 3
Applying several standard (off-line) indentification schemes to the data the following model was
obtained:
466
(1- 1.5877z- 1 +0.5945z- 2)Tc(t)
= z-I(2.0476-1.756z-
)u(t) + (1- 0.6988z- 1 )e(t) + 0.1375 (0.3)
To reinforce confidence in this model Fig 3 shows the outcomes of validation studies and the crosscorrelations of the residuals together with a comparison of actual data values with model predictions.
These are seen to be satisfactory.
3. Controller Design
Using the model obtained in Section 2 it is possible to implement several control algorithms, for
example pole placement, optimal control, minimum variance and so on. The minimum variance of
Tc for instance (ref Harris and Billings, Astrom, Goodwin and Sin) about a set point T... (say 40C
) can be obtained by defining y(t) = Tc(t) - 40 and minimising the expected value of [y2(t)] . This
gives the required control law as
u(t) = -0.434y(t)
+ 0.2903y(t -
T)
+ 0.8576u(t -
T)
(0.4)
where y(t) is described by
(1 - 1.5877z- 1 + 0.5945z- 2)y(t)
Z-1
(2 .0476 - 1.756z- 1 )u(t) + (1- 0.6988z- 1 )e(t) - 0.1345 (0.5)
It was not possible for this control law to be tested since our control input was digital in nature
(i .e on/off) whereas (0.4) requires an analogue signal implementation. An alternative predictive

strategy was therefore considered for maintaining a set temperature Tc
40C . This consisted
of using the model (0.3) to predict one step ahead the temperature Tc for the heat input to be on
and then for it to be off. The control action that minimised the deviation from the set point was
selected and applied and this procedure was repeated at each sampling instant (every 5 seconds).
The performance of this control law is shown in Fig 4 where, over a trial of one hour, 149 kJ of
energy were consumed.
tnler"nl Cf1I
"..
u
JO
36
~
.
..
l'r .. ,Hc llvt> Co ntr o l

-----r------------__
T e"'r"'rnlun~ \ l!un~
4 2r-----------~------
________
----~
u
u
"u
'"
34
J2
30
100
200
300
100
500
Number of Data Points
000
700
000
467
11
12
10
v
in
~
:IU
:w
v
v
"
"- 1
:12
:)0
.21)
"
100
200
' \00
NUlldlf'1'
If}4J
(lr
Hot.n
7 tHl
'JOO
r"'o illl.~
4. Conclusion
For comparison purposes an on/off control law was implemented on the test cell. Using a sampling period of 5 seconds and hysteresis of lC for a set point of 40C the results shown in Fig 5
were obtained , where over a trial of one hour, 180 kJ of energy were consumed. Practical thermostat
controllers as installed in building zones can have typical hysteresis values of 0.5C . These control
to a set point usually of 20C , however. Thus a value of l"C for a 40C set point was considered
acceptable.
12
..
f
."
prl'di c Uw ,.
~ "lIlr nl
468
It is dear from these results for a simple test cell that the improvements are considerable both in
terms of control performance (comparison shown in Fig 6) and in energy consumption (the predictive strategy requiring 17% less energy than standard on/off control. It is therefore concluded
that there is scope for the investigation into the use of advanced control techniques on full scale
structures. The consideration of other areas of control engineering, namely multivariable, nonlinear
and adaptive control methods may bring similiar benefits. The application of such technology to
BEMS will be the first step towards the introduction of advanced control techniques in this area to
compliment the advances already in place as regards hardware and implementation methods. The
authors are currently engaged in this study.
5. References
Box,G E P and Jenkins, G M, Time Series Analysis Forcasting and Control, Holden-Day, 1978.
Norton, J P, An Introduction to Identification, Academic Press, London 1986.
Ljung, L, System Identification: Theory for the User, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1987.
Harris, C, and Billings, S A, (Editors), Self-Thning and Adaptive Control Theory and Apps., Peter Peregrinus, 1981
Loveday, D L, Virk, G S, and Qadri,N H, The Appl. of Predictive Control to BEMS, Proc of first
U K Seminar on COMADEM, Birmingham Polytechnic, Kogan Page, 1988.
Astrom, K J, Introduction to Stochastic Control Theory, Academic Press, 1970.
Goodwin, G C, and Sin, K S, Adaptive Filtering, Prediction and Control, Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, N J, 1984.
Energy Management and Optimisation Using Adaptive

Control Techniques
T T Al-Shemmeri and C Bouchalis

Department of Mechanical and Computer- Aided Engineering, Staffordshire Polytechnic,
Beaconside, Stafford STl8 DAD, UK
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is twofold:
1.
An algorithm is developed for the thermodynamic design of buildings,

ensuring maximum heating efficiency.
2.
A disturbancp. estimator is formulated for optimising the operation of

space heating.
The steady state conditions are studied and the optimum structure's
geometry and orientation of the building are determined.
A computer model
is used to study the thermal response of a typical structure and the
contributing factors to the heating load and losses.
These include solar
heating, heat released from people, machinery and lighting; and heat loss
through ventilation, and infilteration.
A model reference approach is used for disturbance estimation and
rejection. This information can be used to "optimally" control the heating
system during transients and in the steady state conditions of operation.
Finally,
the mathematical models
measurements from real life data.
are
validated
by
comparison
with
470
1.0
THERMAL ENERGY BALANCE OF A BUILDING
Energy Management is a vital exercise for managers who need to devise

fairly accurately a space heating budgeting scheme.
Such a scheme should
produce an energy budget prediction for each month of the year.
To
construct such a scheme, the mechanism of heat transfer in a control volume
must be analysed.
There are four different sources of heat within a
building.
These are the transmission or conduction through fabrics Qf
(this could be gain or loss depending upon the temperature difference
across the wall); heat generation from people, machinery,
electric
lighting, otherwise, known as casual heat gains, Qc ; heat gain from solar
radiation, Qs ; and heat exchange through ventilation Qv.
1.1
Heat Transmission Through Fabrics. Of
The mean heat transfer through the six boundaries of the control volume of
a building (a room) are calculated using:
AU dT
where
. . (1)
A - is the area through which heat is transmitted.

U - is the overall heat transfer coefficient of the composite
boundary wall, roof or floor.
dT - is the difference between the mean environmental temperature.
and that of the surrounding ambient conditions outside the boundary in the
direction of heat transmission.
Values of the overall thermal transmission coefficients, U, of typical
construction materials are extracted from the IHVE, guide A (1970), some of
these are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1
U VALUES OF SOME BUILDING MATERIALS

U Value Wjm 2 K
Item
Glass: single, glazed
Brick: solid brick
& 16 mm plaster
5.60
2.30
Breeze Block: 150 mm concrete

plus internal plaster
0.97
Roofing: plaster ceiling
2.20
471
Solar Heat Gain. 0&
1.2
The mean solar heat gain through a window is given by:S. I.Ag
where
. .
. (2)
S - is the solar gain factor

I - is the mean direct solar intensity
Ag - is the sunlit area of glazing
Details of evaluation of this source of heat are given by T Al-Shemmeri and

Georgiou (1988), in which a software package is available to compute Qs at
any location any time of day.
1.3
Casual Heat Gain. Og
This refers to heat emitting sources generated from lights, machines and
Some typical
occupants within the control volume under consideration.
values are given below.
TABLE 2
CASUAL HEAT GAINS
Gain Type
Magnitude W
Person at rest
115
Person doing heavy work
440
Three foot flourescent tube
17
Computer Printer
1100
Kettle
1000
The heat gain from such sources is determined by multiplying the duration
of the event (seconds) by the power rating of all casual sources with the
boundary.
Qc = sum of (individual rating x time used)

1.4
Heat Exchange Through Ventilation.
. . . . . . . . (3)
~,
If a door or a window is opened, a volume of air will be displaced across

that opening and consequently an exchange of heat will take place, this is
calculated using:
p C n V
where
p -
C
n
V
dT
dT
. . .
. . . (4)
is the density of air

is the specific heat capacity of air
is the number of air changes
is the volume of the room
is the difference in temperature of the air inside and
outside the room.
472
Table 3 shows typical values of air changes for common buildings.
TABLE 3
Space
Living Rooms
Rate of Infilteration
m3 jh per m3 of space
1
Bedrooms
0.5
Hospitals
1 - 2
Hotels
1 - 1.5
Offices
Schools
1 - 2
Shops
Factories
1.5
AIR INFILTERATION RATES
0.5 - 1
1 - 2
Test Case
To carry out the energy balance described earlier, a typical office was
chosen with dimensions 4 x 5 x 3 meters and occupied by four people for a
period of 8 hours between 9.00 am - 5.00 pm. Figure 1 shows the variation
of each source of heat during a full day within that office. The net heat
exchange (shown as solid curve) reveals that heat energy required to
maintain a comfortable temperature condition within the office is
continuously changing and consequently monitoring this variation and
control the heat input would produce a saving in the cost of heating.
2.0
ESTIMATION THEORY APPLIED TO ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Conventional heating/cooling control systems rely on feedback from a

thermostat, to regulate the temperature of a room subjected to the
disturbances described in the above section.
Because of long time
constants encountered in space heating, corrective action to overcome a
disturbance is delayed, reSUlting in undesirable transient errors.
If the disturbances were known, the performance of a feedback control
system would be improved substantially by additional forward
loop
compensation.
In the next section a dynamic disturbance estimator is derived which
enables implementation of forward loop disturbance rejection.

2.1
473
Adaptive Disturbance Estimation
From a dynamics point of view, a room can be represented as a first order

system, as shown in diagram I below:
D
+/J+
-~"-)-
K
---)l>
Diagram I
The gain, k, is a function of materials of the structure,
constant T is a function of the room volume.
and the
time
u is the heat input to the room and D is the disturbance heat input/output,
from all sources described in the previous section.
The absolute value of
D is stochastic, and knowledge of D would enable better control of 8.
A model reference approach has been used to identify D.
This relies on a
real time mathematical model of the room, subjected to the same input, u,
as the room, but not of the disturbances D.
~+
Room
~--I
L---L _ _ ~-+-1
Room
Estimator
"IT
'---i
---1
i
__ +_.....J
Model
Diagram 2
Assuming the model is a reasonable representation of the room,
estimated temperature 9 will be identical to 0 in the absence of
disturbances.
the
all
When disturbances D are present the difference between the two outputs is:
if
8 - ~
G'
GD
G (u + D) - G'u
(5)
474
Signal X is post processed by the inverse room transfer function to yield

the disturbance D.
D -
. . . .
. .
. .
. .
. (6)
In practical terms
G - I + TS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . (7)
and
I
I + TS
-K--
. . . .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. (8)
The implementation of IIG posess a problem because of its infinite high

frequency gain.
This is improved by adding a low pass filter, which will
reduce the high frequency noise, but will also slow down the response of
the estimator.
2.2
Evaluation of the Model Reference Estimator
Due to the stochastic nature of disturbances, the above system was

evaluated using a computer simulation.
In the controlled environment of
the simulation, the exact values of the disturbances are known and can
therefore be compared with the estimator results.
A computer simulation of a room with gain of I deg/kW, and time constant of
10 minutes was constructed.
Pomfret (Reference 3) has obtained life data
for such a room, figure 2 being one example.
Simulation responses were
compared with Pomfrets' s results, (solid curve, Figure 2) and correlated
very well, any discrepancy being due to the O. SoC resolution of the data
logger used in the experiment.
Two simulation results are shown in Figures 3 and 4.
The room is being
heated, and at the same time subjected to a sinusoidal disturbance (Figure
3), and a step disturbance (eg opening a window, Figure 4).
As expected from the analysis of the previous section, the disturbances are
tracked instantaneously.
475
3.0
l.
LIST OF REFERENCES
T T AI - Shemmeri & A N Georgiou
"Computer Modelling of Solar Radiation"
Internal
Report
No
TASj1988j2,
Department
of
Mechanical
Computer-Aided Engineering, Staffordshire Polytechnic, June 1988 .
2.
IHVE Guide A (1970)

"Institute of Heating Ventilation Engineers".
3.
D Pomfret
"Control Aspects of Energy Management"
Final Year BEng Degree Project Report in Mechanical Engineering,
June 1989, Staffordshire Polytechnic, UK.
l.l
,J
1.\
- Iotil liin
. - Ri to lIr "in
Q~
.. Sulldin, Iione "in r
-. Soilr ,tl l " in
-(,ml ' lillin
/,1
:l
I.l ,
K'/J
,5
1: ~
:rI
l.J '
!.J
"j
/ ,1
I ,:
'!.l
'i:" .
:U ~-.......~_~
-l,i I
II
Ii
II
21
GMT
C
3 1. 9
ROOI,I RESP OIl SE
30 .5
3 0.0
n.5
29 . 0
21 . 5 :
21.0 :
....
- .-
a nd
476
09
06
07
u
"'
<I
05
0 4
III
It:
J
0 .3
til
02
I-
OJ
0
- 01
I
U
-0.3
Q.
- 02
:!
-0.4
I-
-0.5
"'
-1----
0 .1
Cl
O.e
-06
-D.?
- 0 .8
- 09
- 1
,---,----,---.---- ,--~~-,----, --.-
"
T~,p
Fi~ure
10
8
TIME
12
14
D est
1.5
1
.3
.2
OJ
0
Z
//
1. 1
//
III
It:
J
I-
til
0
I
Cl
';'
;(
II
Q.
:!
"'
I-
ttttttttttttttttttttttt++ttttlllllllllllll ill ~~ t1fllllll fili i fllttttt+ttttttftttttttttllllllHllllAli tl llP
0 .9
0 .8
0 .7
0 .6
0 .5
0 .4
0 .3
//
0 .2
01
/'
.//
0
0
T..,.,.,p
12
10
6
TIME
figure 4
D est
14
Monitoring and Control of Unmanned Machinery at Sea

David Gordon Redpath
Lecturer in Marine Engineering, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland
ABSTRACT
Over the past decade there has been a significant reduction in
Engineering personnel at sea and at the same time a great
improvement in the reliability of the machinery monitoring
equipment. These two things together have led to the operation
of the machinery without the presence of personnel in the engine
room.
Alarms systems are set up to warn of any dangerous condition and
if appropriate action is not taken, the control system will
reduce power with the eventual shut down of the system.
Ships corne under the rules and regulations of the various
Classification societies and if they are complied with the ship
can be given an unmanned notation.
The systems involved vary from ship to ship and each one is
considered separately. The following is the general requirements
for the unmanned notation.
478
1.
MAIN OIL ENGINES
The main concern in large bore oil engines is a crankcase

explosion. To try and comabt the explosion happening an oil mist
detector must be fitted, this is usually of the Graviner type
shown in Fig. 1.
..
j,...,... ...... ,
,0>
".""'"
9~..s
"
:"-.0
il
U ~..- f 7 " 4 -t -
@-r d=J
00;. "'\1
' ''''I'''''''1OJt
\.>000" ';
Figure
Together with the oil mist detector monitoring of the main
bearing temperatures is also required.
Alarms will operate and a reduction in power will take place
under the following conditions:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
high scavenge air temperature

oil mist in the crankcase or high main hearing
temperatures
low piston cooling flow rate
low cylinder coolant flow
high piston outlet temperature
high cylinder coolant temperature
high exhaust gas temperature in a particular cylinder
Automatic temperature controls should be fitted to the following

engine services .

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
2.
479
lubricating oil supply

fuel oil supply
piston cooling supply
cylinder coolant supply
fuel valve coolant supply
AUXILIARY SYSTEMS
In addition to the above other services are associated with slow

speed diesel engines such as the compressed air for starting. If
this pressure is Iowan alarm will sound.
Alarms are also fitted to the stern tube lubricating oil header
tank, daily fuel oil service tank, fuel oil purifiers, pneumatic
contrel system pressure.
Due to the leakage of water into the engine room space from sea
water and fresh water cooling systems the level of water can be
detected with the automatic start up of a bilge pump. If this
does not happen an alarm will sound and can be dealt with by the
duty engineer.
Steering machinery is a very important item in the operation of a
ship, failure of such will render the ship helpless. On modern
ships two systems must be supplied, failure of one giving
automatic start up of the other, and an alarm system indicating
which one has failed. If a pipe fails the system must be capable
of handling this failure automatically without imparing the
operation of the steering gear, Fig. 2.
480
Figure 2
3.
STEAM PROPULSION SHIPS
3.1
Steam Turbines
Pawtr units stopped

PenniS$ible fOf all ships. EfH:h pair of r.ms un
dovelop 100%torque
Today only about 5% of tonnage built is steam turbine propelled

and this only when high powers are required although similar
powers can be obtained from multi-engined medium speed
installations. Audible and visual alarms are required for the
following conditions:
(i)
low lubricating oil pressure for turbine and gearing in

two stages the second giving automatic shut down.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
lubricating oil temperature high and hearing

temperature high.
Astern temperature high.
condenser cooling water pressure low.
Together with the above automatic shut down or speed reduction

will take place if:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
3.2
481
Turbine vibration is high

Axial movement of the turbine rotor is high
Main condenser vacuum is low
Main condenser condensate is high
Main boilers
Main boilers supply steam to the main turbines and are fitted
with automatic combustion control which is capable of supplying
varying loads particularly during manoeuvring conditions.
Alarms are fitted for the following conditions:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
drum water level low giving automatic shut off of the

oil burners and set off audible alarm.
drum superheater outlet pressure high or low.
superheat steam temperature high.
feed water sality high.
combustion air pressure low (oil shut off
automatically.
burner flame failure.
482
4.
CONTROL STATIONS
The main control station is usually situated in the engine room.

The monitoring and control of all machinery can be accomplished
from this station and can override bridge control if required.
Bridge control is as the name suggests from the bridge which has
duplicate alarm systems to indicate to the officer on watch any
malfunction of the machinery. With no physical presence of
engineers in the engine room an alarm system is set up in every
engineer's cabin which is switched to the duty engineer in the
event of a fault occurring. If the fault is not dealt with
within the prescribed time the alarm will sound in other cabins.
To combine the control stations was a logical step and in the
latest ships the engineering control room has been placed on the
bridge.
Condition Monitoring for Fatigue Implications of Fatigue Crack Shape
RASmith
Professor of Mechanical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK
Abstract
Condition monitoring
knowledge
of
component.
for
crack dimensions;
fatigue
is
often hampered
by
incomplete
particularly penetration depth into
This paper discusses
the
some generalizations made possible by
results from a finite element technique which automatically predicts crack

shape for planar cracks of initially general profile.
Two specific exam-
ples are given: that of two interacting cracks and a practical case of a
crack in industrial component where considerations of crack shape were able
to assist in formulating a monitoring policy.
1.
Introduction
The author and co-workers have recently developed a finite element
model capable of following the shape changes of initially irregular planar

cracks growing
under imposed fatigue loadings.
For a given crack shape. a
finite element analysis is used to calculate opening mode stress intensity

factors, K1
at various positions along the crack front.
The displacements
at quarter point elements immediately behind the crack tip have proved to
give satisfactory Kl values when used in the standard near-crack tip equations of linear elastic fracture mechanics.
By employing a relationship
between fiKl and fatigue crack growth rates, an increment of crack advance
for each of the known Kl values along the crack front can be calculated for
an increment of fatigue cycles.
crack
front
and
of
length
The tips of vectors normal to the original

equal
to
the
calculated
increments
484
thus define a new crack front . The finite element mesh is then reconfigured
to the new crack front and the whole process can be repeated to generate a
succession of profiles .
The process has been described in a recent publication (Smith and
Cooper , 1989); the details need not be repeated here.
It is sufficient to
state that although the method is limited to planar cracks, the boundary
conditions can be general (uniform stress, bending and stress gradients) as
long as crack plane symmetry is maintained .
This paper only discusses
fatigue growth , but any type of crack extension process which can be quantified by an elastic crack tip parameter can be treated by this approach .
It is our intention to extend the technique to such problems. Care has been
taken to check the validity of the Kl solution produced against other published results produced by different techniques, whenever these have been
available.
Broadly speaking agreement has been better than 5% .
We are
therefore confident that results for previously unknown problems also lie
within this range .
Key
2.
Fig.
aspects of crack profile deyelopgent
(Smith and Cooper,
(1),
kinds of crack front profile.
1989),
illustrates the effects of two
Posi tions Band D are surrounded by un-
cracked material on three sides and are therefore constrained.
Kl value is reduced .
strained corner, surrounded on three sides by cracked material .
Kl value is elevated .
..
.;r.
The local
Position C, however, is an exposed re-entrant unconThe local
We therefore expect the profile at C to advance
12
'0
0
0'
01
Fig. 1.
---'---,--"I-J-L.4J.I-- - - - - - - - - -
-- ~
Defect with constrained (B & D) and unconstrained (C) corners and

subsequent shape development.
485
rapidly under fatigue loading, whilst the regions near Band D should lag
behind.
This effect is clearly illustrated on the computed profiles of
Fig. (1).
The overall effect is to generate eventually a profile with a
constant Kl value around the boundary (an iso-K profile). Simple, and perhaps obvious in hindsight, as these results are, they have significance for
condi tion monitoring of fatigue cracks,
Fig.
(2).
If any single crack
found by non-destructive examination contains re-entrant corners,
then a
smoothed profile enclosing the re-entrant corner should be assumed, because
-.... .....
~
......
Fig 2.
--
--
Re-entrant corner approximated by smooth profile.

profile requires many cycles to smooth itself.
Protruding
Arrow indicates
direction of crash propagation.

very few further fatigue cycles would be required for this to occur.
the other hand,
On
if a profile is found to contain projecting constrained
corners, it is certain that the projection has not been caused by fatigue;
other reasons for its existence should be sought; has a growing crack encountered on manufacturing defect or a low toughness zone (Smith, 1989)?
Further, considerable fatigue life could be used up before the rest of the
profile catches up with the protrusion and it would be pessimistic to treat
the defect plus protrusion as a profile drawn to envelop the protrusion.
Thus protrusions are inherently stable under fatigue loadings and will not
grow as localised finger-like extensions.
3.
Practical UMPlo.
3.1
Interaction of two cracks

The interaction of two thumbnail co-planar cracks has been analysed by
this technique (Soboyejo et aI, 1989 and Kishimoto et aI, 1989).

shows the simple design rule that emerges.
virtually
merge.
Fig.(3)
The two separate cracks develop
unaffected by the other' s presence, until the two inner tips
At this stage a re-entrant cusp is formed, which promotes high
growth rates on the line of symmetry.
In very few cycles the profile loses
486
Fig.3.
Two coplanar defects grow independently; touch to form re-entrant

corner and can be approximated by single enveloping profile.
its convexity and the two separate cracks have coalesced to form a single
defect.
Thus a containing profile can be drawn round the two just touching
profiles, and the remaining fatigue on the basis of this single combined
crack.
A note of caution should be made.
The high stress intensity fac-
tors of the cusp should not be neglected in a fracture (as opposed to fatigue) assessment, unless there is complete confidence in the crack arrest
capabilities of the material ahead of the cusp.
3.2
Monitorin& a hidden crack

The author recently advised on a monitoring technique for the problem
shown in Fig. (4).
The schematic shows a corner of a large 810 x 710 mm
casting in which a crack was detected on the surface of two adjacent bolt
holes; the heavy line gives the known surface locations of the crack. It is
,..o
2/;0
:-,
"
!.....::
I.,
10
A
E;
Fig. 4.
11/0
-I
Cracked (heavy line) bolt holes at the corner of a large casting

(dimensions in mm).
487
scarcely conceivable that the ligament between the holes was not cracked
through as indicated by the dashed lines.
Knowledge of the stresses in the
bulk of the casting enabled a critical crack size of 500 rom to be calculated. In service the face OA of the casting was inaccessible, but the continuing safe operation of the machine was vi tal
to production.
The only
chance of a repair without disruption was in the next annual shutdown. From
our knowledge of crack shape development. we were certain that the critical
crack size could not be approached before the crack broke out on the exposed surface OB. where moni toring was easy.
Thus safe operation could
continue until repair was convenient and be guaranteed by observation and

instrumentation on the accessible face.
References
1.
K. Kishimoto, W.O. Soboyejo, R.A. Smith & J.F. Knott. 1989.
A Numeri-
cal Investigation of the Interaction and Coalescence of Twin Coplanar

Semi-Elliptical Fatigue Cracks.
International Journal of Fatigue, 11,
2. pp 91-96.
2.
R.A. Smith, [Y89.
Aspects of the Interaction Between a Fatigue Crack
and a Local Brittle Zone
(LBZ).
In Proceedings 8th International
Conference Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, The Hague. March

19-23.
3.
R.A.
1, Ed. M.M. Salama et al, ASME. New York. pp 705-708.
Smith and J.F.
Cooper.
1989.
A Finite Element Model for the
Shape Development of Irregular Planar Cracks.

of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 36, 4, pp
4.
International Journal
31~-326.
W.O. Soboyejo, K. Kishimoto, R.A. Smith & J.F. Knott, 1989.
Fatigue
of Engineering Materials and Structures, 12, 3, 1989. pp 167-174.
Biofouling on Offshore Installations An Impact and Monitoring Assessment
S Kapoor, K J Chauhan, A K Srivastava, Renu Saxena and K L Goyal

KDMIPE, ONGC, Dehra Dun - 248195, India
ABSTRACT
ONGC - a state owned company is engaged in exploitation of natural
hydrocarbons from the east and the west coast of India, both near and far shore,
from deep and shallow waters using both fixed and floating structures. The occurenc
of marine fouling on fixed offshore structures has attracted interest because of its
potential adverse effects on structural loading. corrosion.
The biofouling is a
complex biological process, their growth and attachment on offshore platforms
is a universal phenomenon. The major biological growth of foulers do not differ
much in tropical and other waters. An average growth of 5-10 cms. increases
the structural load by about 5.5 to 11.5% necessiating the periodical mechanical
removal, which appears to be the solution so far, for fixed offshore structures.
This process is cost intensive and is a structural weakening process.
Almost all the known preventative methods envisage use of toxicants.
Their conventional application though is effective, but have short life span. The
present study deals with analysis and impact of biofouling phenomenon, recent
development in preventive methods and evaluation of some prospective anti foulants.
A new concept based on continuous release of toxicants, ensuring long
time protection has been attempted. Two sets of test pannels of standard dimensions of commonly used metals in offshore structures (ASTM-A-36 and API-2H)
were installed at test platform for two different time intervals. The deposition
on control pannels and members of structures found to be moderate yet quite
significant. The slow release of copper ion was found to have considerably reduced
the attachment and growth of biofoulers.
The results are being evaluated for
long exposure.
489
1 INTRODUCTION
The biological activities in sea due to bacteria, fungi, algae, barnacles,
weeds etc., result in biofouling [Sawant et.al. (1985)] of offshore installations,
eHIi' cause severe corrosion problems including structural failures. Since offshore
structures are cost intensive nearly 30 times more than their onshore counter
parts, the need of protecting them from biofouling can not be over -emphasized.
Biofouling organisms can be broadly classified under the following two
headings [Crisp (1981)]:
microfouling organisms including bacteria, microalgae, diatoms and fungi.
macrobiofouling organisms including mussels, barnacles, bryozoans, sponges
and macroalgae.
Microfouling organisms form thin layer of the order of 300 microns on the
surface. This impair efficiency of heat exchange surface (se a water system) and
increases chances of corrosion. The microfouling generally form much thicker layers
(even 300 mm) are responsible for more severe problems which sometime results
into disasters.
1.1 Zonation of Marine Growth
The marine growth thickness in Arabian sea area, where company's activities are predominently concentrated, range from 5 to 10 cm and some time
upto 15 cm, while in Arabian Gulf, also a tropical zone, the thickness range
from 30 to 50 cms on maturity. This indicates that even though the sequence
of the process may remain the same, no two area can be similar in respect
of the quantity and to some extent the quality of growth also.
The survey at the test platform where the water column is about 60 m
indicates that the maximum growth was noticed in uppermost 10m zone (splash
zone) from MSL and was nAgligible at the proximity of the sea bed (TABLE-1).
TABLE-1
PROMINANCE OF MARINE GROWTH ON TEST PLATFORM AT VARIOUS DEPTHS
51.
Nu.
Depth (m)
Average Marine growth

thickness (mm)
Prominent foulers
1.
6.0
72.26
Hard - 80%
Barancles, oysters
50ft - 80%
Hydroids, sponges
2.
21.5
37.25
50ft - 80%
Hydroids, sea weeds
Anemones
3.
40.0
09.89
50ft - 85%
Hydroids, soft corals
Hard - 60%
Tube worms, Barancles
oysters, Corals
4.
60.1
Not measured
Hard - 80%
Tube worms, Corals,
Oysters, Hydroids
490
The deposition in Indian coastal and offshore water has been studied by
various agencies and workers, Harkantra et.al. (1977). The analysis of various
non -destructi ve testing and Oi vers reports indicate that Oysters and Hydroids
are present almost at all the depths but predominently at upper zones. Interestingly bryozoa and to some extent barnacles were predominent only in bottom
zone, except in the test platform where barnacles were prominent in the upper
zones. The discharge of produced water in the vicinity of platforms is believed
to have effect on marine growth. However, Lewbel et.al. (1987) carried studies
near Lousiana coast USA and found no evidence of any significant change.
1.2 Recent Developments in Remedial Measures
Various methods starting from sheathing with lead, use of mercury, copper,
Cu -Ni alloy [Oass Murthy (1985)], drilling muds/cutting (Ralph 1980), chlorination
and hydrochlorination [(Kretchmetr et.al. (1980)] raising the temperature to
40-45C, application of cuprion electrolytic and antifoulant system have been
tried over the years to check the foulers growth. All these methods could gi ve
protection for a limited duration only. Almost all the recent methods for prevention of fouling envisage use of copper in some form or the other.
1.3 Antifouling Properties of Copper
As low as 0.03 mg/1 copper concentration in sea water can prevent settlement of barnacles [Pyefinch & Mott (1948)]. Copper oxides are most commonly
used in antifouling pain2s. These are quite effective if their rate of leaching
is greater than 10 .u.g/cm /day [WISELY (1964)].
2. INFLUENCE/IMPACT OF MARINE GROWTH
The two important parameters are:
2.1 Increase Load/Structural Failure
Using Morisson's equation on one of the member of test platform attempts
were made to assess qualitative effect [Heaf (1979)] of marine fouling with
different growth thickness, varying hardness, vis -a -vis other design criteria such
as life time waves, dynamic resonance, fatigue and life etc. The data indicate,
that a 50 mm thickness of biofoular correspond to an increase in weight by 5.5%
and a 250 mm thickness increase the load by 29.3%. In Indian western offshore
area the growth from 50 to 100 mm and some time upto 150 mm is found to
be common whereas in Arabian Gulf (tropical zone) thickness of biofoulers ranges
from 300 -500 mm.
2.2 Corrosion
Two schools of thought prevail as to the effect of fouling on corrosion
as there are instances demonstrating acceleration as well as inhibition of corrosion
due to marine organisms. The sulphide content after 200 days exposure in the
scrap of the pannels was as high as 28.6 PPM against 2.18 PPM exposed for
30 days. Study on mild steel done elsewhere in marine environment indicated
that the barnacles are generally protective by their shielding effect, whereas
algae and SRB accelerate the corrosion rate.
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEEOURE
Two sets of test assemblies of test coupons of size 12" x 4" x 0.2", material
API -2H and ASTM -A -36 (carbon -0.18% and 0.26% respectively), framed in mild
st"el and stainless steel - 316 were used and lowered at test platform on Nov .11,
1986 and Feb .24, 1988 respecti vely. The test coupons were prepared using sand
blasting (Sa 2 1/2) then coating emulsion, anti fouling and/or anticorrosi ve paints
on few pannels, some pannels were electroplated with copper and others kept
as control pannels before lowering at test site.

racks before placing near boat landing area.
491
The fig.1 shows the two test
Fig.1 - Test pannels be fore installation
The two national companies Mis Asian and Bombay Paints carried out
the preparation and coating of two test coupons of each material.
3.1
Zonation Selection
Since the marine growth in the upper

splash zone (upper 30 mts)
was maximum, it was selected for the evaluation study. The first experimentation
was initiated in November 1986 and discontinued after 9 months in August 1987
because of failure of test assembly due to errosion and corrosion. Second set
of experimentation is in progress since Feb., 1988.
4. METHODOLOGY
As a part of the evaluation programme, inspection of the test pannels,
relative abundance of the foulers deposition in terms of biomass and load etc.
along with the antifoulants have been carried out quarterly in two sets of ex peri ments for about a year.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIOI\I

Marine growth changes significantly with variation of water column,
and marine environment. Fig .-2 shows under water photographs of MG at water
depth of 5 m from sea surface. The test coupons were removed quarterly for
inspection, photographed and then compared with original.
Inspection photographs are shown in Fig .-3.
492
Fig.2 - Water photographs of M.G.

at -5m depth.
Fig.3 - Inspection photographs of

the test pannels.
No significant growth on painted coupon with anti corrosive + antifoulant was

observed during both the studies.
Some M.G. was observed on control test
pannels. Significant M.G. observed on rubber painted frame. The paint f.hich
on contact with sea water releases copper at controlled rate ( ' V 30 .tIg/cm /day)
was found to be most effective.
6. CONCLUSIONS
o
Biofouling a natural process has wide ranging implications on the safty,

performance and maintenance of the fixed offshore installations.
The growth is dependent on temperature, food, tidal currents, water

column depth etc. The thickness of biofouling ranges from 50 to 100
mm and can sometime go upto 150 cm.
The
pattern of M.G. attachment in the test platform does not conform
the average attachment patterns observed elsewhere in the' closeby area.
Continuous generation of copper appears to be capable of keeping foulers

away for a longer period.
To evaluate control release of copper should be tested on the structure

member rather than on test pannels which has limitations of corrosion
and err,ossion. Special copper based paints are
found to be the best
method to control M.G.
493
The authors are thankful to Director, KDMIPE, Vice Chairman and Chairman
ONGC, for providing opportunity to publish and present this paper in
COMAOEM'89 InLernul.ioflnl nt i1il'millfjh<lm lJ.I<.
B.
REFERENCES
Pye finch K.A. and MoiL J.C. (1948), "The sensitivity of Barnacles
and their larvae to Copper and Mercury" J Exp Bioi 25 (3) 276-298.
Wisely B. (1964) "An antifouling and anti corrosion system" Nature
203, 1132-3.
HeLlf N-J (1';17';1), "The GffccL of marine growth 011 the performance
of fixed offshore platforms in the North Sea" DTC 3386, Page 255268.
Kretschmer T.R., Smith A.P. and Streets B.C. (1980) "A technique
for prevention or removal of biofouling from surfaces exposed to
the marine environment OTC 385 9 P 39-46.
Ralph R. and. Troake
3860 P 49-52.
R.I". (1980), Offshore technology conference
Crisp D.J. (1981), "Marine Biology and the fouling of offshorc strucLures"
University of North Wales, U.K.
Das 5 & Murthy A.M.K. (1985), "Microbial cortosion
Internal report IPT, ONGC P.55.
md its control".
Sawant 5.5., Ani! A.C. and Wash A.!:l. c-I985), "A service for biofouling
studies in estuaries to tidal cycle", Mahasagar. 18(1),67-70.
Anon (1986), "Marine growth under waleI' insrcction r('port
HC, Vol. 1.
Lewbel G.S. et.al.
No.3 PP 199-224.
Williams
"Control
P 33-35.
(1987),
No.flMV)~)/
"Marine environment research" Vol.
21
[.E., Knox-Holmes B Diprose M.F. and Muss31Le (1989),

biofouling wi th low environmental impact" Vol.24 No.1,
The Monitoring oflndustrial Processes Using Ultrasound
Be Haywood, C B Scruby and K A Stacey

Process Engineering Research Centre, Harewell Laboratory, Didcot, axon aXIl ORA, UK
Abstract
This paper describes work which has been carried out at Harwell
to develop a method of determining the endpoint of a mixing
process by monitoring the ultrasound which is produced.
The
method is has been shown to work on a wide variety of
industrial mixing processes ranging from dry powders
to
slurries.
The paper also lists other processes such as extrusion, wire
drawing and the detection of tramp material which can be
monitored by this ultrasonic technique.
1
INTRODUCTION
All processes used in industry dissipate some energy in the

form of sound. If we study the sounds in the audible region we
can often diagnose what is happening in the process without
being able to see what is going on. In many instances we can
predict problems with machines just by noting that they are
making an unfamiliar sound and this is often used as an
indication that preventative maintenance should be carried out.
Audible sound is confined to frequencies in the range 50 to
20,000
Hz, depending on the age of the hearer.
These
frequencies correspond to wavelengths in the region of a metre
and thus the sounds arise from large objects such as machinery
shafts. If we move into the ultrasonic region with frequencies
in the region 100 kHz to 10 MHz we are dealing with much
smaller wavelengths, of the order of mm, and these sounds are
localised to much smaller volumes of the system. Ultrasound is
thus ideally suited to monitor the condition of the product
rather than the machinery.
Advances in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)/Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE)
495
MIXING
The efficiency of a mixing process is very difficult to monitor

since determining the degree of homogeneity of a mixture by
conventional methods is very laborious. In practice, where a
completely mixed product is essential, the mixing process is
usually continued well past the end point to ensure an
adequately uniform mixture.
This overm~x~ng is wasteful of
time and energy and in some cases can lead to degradation of
the product.
It is possible to determine the endpoint of a m~x~ng process by
monitoring the ultrasound produced by the friction and impacts
in the materials being mixed. The characteristic sounds of the
products change in a well defined manner as mixing progresses
so that we can predict the point at which the mixture becomes
completely uniform.
The method is also valuable for monitoring processes where the
state of the product changes during the mixing. ego kneading
of dough where the viscosity and elasticity are changing
continuously or the mixing of plastic powders where the power
input during the process melts one or more components.
In
other
processes of this kind powders are broken up by
comminution to arrive at a homogeneous product with uniform
sized granules. In this case the plant operator needs to know
when this has been achieved.
The ultrasound is detected by a small piezoelectric transducer,
attached to a suitable part of the plant such as the outside of
the mixing bowl or the scraper blade.
Signals. from this
transducer are amplified and are then processed by dedicated
electronics and passed to a computer. Dedicated software has
been written which analyses the input signal and estimates the
time required to complete the mixing process, continually
updating this estimate until the end point is reached. The
analogue signal output can also be passed to a chart recorder
to produce a continuous record.
An example of data produced by the system which illustrates the
method is shown in Figure 1. These data were taken on a large
industrial bowl mixer in which several components were added
one by one to form the final product. In this example the
mixer blades and the bowl were rotated in opposite directions
and the transducer was attached magnetically to the outer end
of the scraper blade.
In the first part of the process, from A to B in Figure 1,
two
496
BC
10
11
Time (sees)
Figure 1 . Monitoring a multi-stage mixing process .
dry
most
and
that
components were mixed together . The fall in signal during

of this process indicates that the mixing is progressing
the level region right at the end of this section shows
the mixture is homogeneous.
The mixer is then turned off and a liquid component is added at

C. When the mixer is restarted the liquid is quickly mixed in,
forming a locally wet mixture which produces l i ttle noise. The
liquid in this wet region rapidly disperses to give a uniform
moist mixture with a steady, more intense noise level .
The mixing is resumed at point E and the fall in signal
intensity is resumed as the wet, sticky residue scraped from
bowl and blades is worked back into the mixture.
The signal
again reache s
a region of constant level until the mixer is
stopped and some dry powder is added at F . Adding this powder
into the moist mixture causes the signal to drop quite
dramatically . The steps in the slope as the signal falls after
point
F show that the mixture consists of large scale
inhomogeneities swirling around the bowl and impinging on the
scraper blade .
At G the mixer is stopped for a final scrape and the period
from H to I is occupied with a final m~x~ng period which falls
to an almost constant level by the end.
The chart recorder output shown in this Figure can be used as a
method of quality control to verify that all ingredients of a
mixture have been added in the correct proportions
and
adequately mixed in .
In addition, these data indicate that
Advances in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)/Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE)
497
some time is being wasted at the start of the process between A

and F in mixing components beyond the point at which they have
become homogeneous . On the other hand, at the end of the
process the mixture could well do with a further period of
mixing to produce a more constant signal level at I, signifying
a uniform product.
In this particular case the signals can be readily analysed to
predict the end pOints of mixing processes while the mixing is
taking place. This enables the operator or a control computer
to monitor the process and minimise the time and energy
requirements.
The method has been shown to work on a wide variety of
industrial
mixing processes ranging from dry powders to
slurries. One of the more interesting examples from the food
industry is the mixing of doughs. In this type of mixing flour
is mixed with a liquid using large blades.
As the dough is
created in the mixer it is possible to follow its formation by
noting the sounds made as the lumps of dough strike the walls
of the mixer vessel. This makes it possible to ensure that the
process is proceeding satisfactorily and, if not, to take
remedial action before it is too late, avoiding wastage of the
product.
Another interesting example from the food industry involves
mixing water with maize flour. The ultrasonic signal arising
from this process is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 .
Time (minutes)
Mixing water into maize flour
In this Figure the initial part of the signal comes from the
flour being stirred in a dry state. When water is added an
498
initial rise, in the signal occurs, at A, as a result of the

water reaching the bowl and increasing the acoustic coupling.
This signal then falls, B, as a result of the water lubricating
the friction between the flour grains. The shape of the curve
at C indicates the degree of homogeneity which the water and
flour have reached.
As the m~x~ng proceeds, however, the
grains take up water and the mixture begins to dry out.
This
results in an increase of the sound as the lubricant disappears
and the sound level rises, 0, with a slower time constant. The
time at which the water will have been fully absorbed can be
derived from the shape of this curve.
3
OTHER APPLICATIONS
Passive ultrasonics can be used to detect foreign bodies and

tramp material in products.
For example, stones falling
against a sounding plate will have a different acoustic
signature from raisins or flour and this can be used in a
method of separation. Small slivers of glass can be detected
in empty bottles by detecting the sound they make when they
bounce against the side as the bottle is tapped.
Hard
particles can be detected in gas or liquid flows by the sound
they make when they strike a transducer.
This can also be
applied to the detection of bubbles in a liquid from an
aeration plant or a fermentation process.
Other applications include extrusions and wire drawing, where
the condition of the dies can be derived from the sounds made
during the process. Once the sound signature of a good process
has been established it is possible to compare this with a
process which is taking place on the machine. This comparison
can then be used to determine the quality of the surface of the
extruded product.
4
CONCLUSIONS
In all of these processes it is possible to see what is going

on by studying the sounds being made. The ultrasonic apparatus
is non-invasive and the monitoring system can be added to
existing equipment without difficulty.
Condition Monitoring of British Gas Pipelines

MJThomas
Area Transmission Maintenance Engineer. British Gas pic (West Midlands). Birmingham. UK
1. INTRODUCTION
British
Gas
has
used
steel
pipelines
for
bulk
gas
transmission since the early 1960's.
A 17,OQO Km system of
pipelines
is
now
used to carry gas from
its on-shore
terminals to local distribution networks at pressures between
7 and 75 bar, and operating at stress levels up to 72%
s.m.y.s.
Whilst these pipelines were designed, constructed
and tested to high engineering standards, the only monitoring
initially was by surveillance, leaj{age tests, pipe cO<'l.ting
checks, and monitor ing of the cathodic protection systems.
From operating experience by the early 1970's concern was
being expressed that, in common with any structure operating
at
hlgh
stress
levels,
a
reliable
form
of
condition
monitoring was required to maintain the pipeline system in a
safe condition.
2. HYDRAULIC TESTING
All
British Gas Transmission pipelines are hydraulically
tested before commissioning, and periodic testing has been
used
by
several
pipeline
operators
as
a
means
of
re-validation.
The oDject of the test is to prove there are
no
defects
which
could
cause
failure
under
operating
conditions.
Pipeline
re-testing
however
is
expensive,
inconvenient ana often impractical.
It requires duplication
of the system to enable pipe sections to be de-commissioned
and isolated for the test.
As a means ot condition monitoring hyraulic re-tests are most
unsatisfactory.
The test only confirms the absence of
defects above the test threshold.
No meaningful information
is obtained about the type or number of defects which survive
the test or about their growth mechanisms which could lead to
future failure.
500
3. DEVELOPMENT OF ON LINE INSPECTION
3.1.
pig Development
obvious solution to the prOblems with re-testing
was to examine the pipe using non-destructive testing
techniques.
To avoid excavation, this could only be
done with equipment inside the pipeline,
hence the
development oE On-line inspection pigs.
A pig is a
piston-like device with flexible
seals which moves
along the pipeline with the flow of gas.
In the early
1970's inspection systems were commercially available
using
N.D.T. and
suitable
recording
equ1pment
incorporated into pipeline pigs.
British Gas evaluated
these uS1ng trials on the National Transmission System.
Resul ts
however
were
unsatisfactory
and
in
1974,
British Gas made the ambitious decision to undertake a
research and development project to develop its own
On-l1ne inspection facility.
Th~
The basic targets for this system were;

1.
The equipment should

pipel1ne operation.
not
interfere wi th the
2.
It must detect all significant defects.
3.
There should be no spurious indications.
4.
The
Slze
and
indentitied.
5.
Defects must be accurately located.
significance
of
detects
normal
must
be
From detailed examination of pipeline defect data it

was evident that pipeline faults could be classified
into the following groups.
GEOMETRIC
Ovali ty
Denting
Wrinicling
METAL
LOSS
Gouging
CorrOSlon
Spalling
CRACKING
\
Laminations
I
Fatigue
Stress Corrosion
Defect data also confirmed that metal loss and geometric

defects associated with third party interference were
the most prevalent.
Therefore development of a system
to identify these defects was made a priority.
The inspection technique used to identify metal loss
was magnetic flux.
Inspection pigs were produced
incorporating powerful permanent magnets to induce a
magnetic field into the pipe wall.
This was then
detected throughout the circumierence of the pipe by a
series of electromagnetic sensors.
In pipe iree from
fittings or defects, the magnetic field forms a uniform
pattern.
Any fittings
or metal
loss defects are
Advances in Non-destructive Testing (NDT)/Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE)
501
~nd1cat~d
by
aistortion of the magnetIc field.
~
further
set
or
electronic
detector"
,He
..Ise.::!
to
discriminate b~tween internal and external metal loss
defects.
Measurement3
from
the
sensors,
with
indicat ions of distance and orientation, are stored by
a
robust magnetic tape recorder housed within the
inspection pig.
3.~.
Design Requirements
British Gas pipelines operate under a wide range of
temperatures, pressures and flow rates, and have a wide
range of pipe \."all thicKness, tees, bends, valves,
fittings and mitres.
To ensure the inspection pig can
accommodate these without compromising the inspection
quality or
worse
becoming stuck
1n the pipeline,
inspection pig design requirements were established as
shown on table 1.
3.3.
Minimum Inspection Requirements

In oraer to establish Inspection standards an extensive
evaluation of the significance of various def2cts using
fr.acture mechanics technique::. Wi'lS undertaken.
It was
essential to ha\le a thorough understanding of pipeline
defect tolerance and to appreciate the type, number and
distribution of dei'2cts and their growth mechanisms
which could result in pipeline failure.
~rmed
with
this study, minimum inspection standards have been
produced (see table 2) which have allowed on-line
inspection to be directly compared with the performance
of hydrostatic testing.
3.4.
Service Development
A 600mm diameter magnetic flux inspection pig was first
developed for the most common pipeline size.
A. full
inspection service for 600mm diameter pipelines was
introduced in 1977, following extensive field trials.
Development continued with other size pigs, and a
magnetic flux inspection service is now available in
3JOmm, 35Jmm, 400mm, 450mm, 500mm, 600mm, 750mm, 900mm
and IJ50mm sizes.
Development of 200mm and 250~n
diameter inspection pigs is currently in progress.
Initial inspection pig development was carried out by
the
British
Gas
Engineering
Research
Station
in
Newcastle
on Tyne.
The
full
inspection services
subsequently
estaolished
ar2
now
provided
by
the
On-line Inspection Centre with its own Directorate.
502
'1. ON-LINE INSPECTION PLANNING
An inietal cxam1natlon of pipeline construction records is

made to ensure there are no abn::lrm~lttles in diameter, no
bends with radius less than 3 times the pipe diameter, and no
other obstructions which reduce the bore more than 5%.
If
necessary,
modifications
are carried out
to
meet
these
criteria.
At the ends of the pipeline, loading and receive 'pig traps'
are required, consisting of oversized pipe sections with end
closures, pig indicators, and bypass faci l i ties at-tached to
the pipeline termimltion valves.
In practice, most pipelines
have required some modif ication to provide these faci Ii ties.
In many cases temporary pig traps are used with flanged
connections.
To assist co-ordination of all activities associated with the
site
inspection
operations
a
comprehensive
operational
procedure is produced.
This details all valv,e movements and
operations
required
to
run
the
pigs,
and
includes
authorisation for these operations to be carr1ed out.
5. INSPECTION SEQUENCE
The complete
inspection operation requires the following
sequence of pig runs to guarantee the safe passage of the
heavy on-line inspection pig through the pipeline, and to
ensure a satisfactory inspection record is obtained.
5.1.
Flexible Cupped pig

The first pig to be run in the pigging sequence is
dedigned to pass any severe obstructions, and conf irm
the pipeline is acceptable for the geometric pig.
In
the unlikely event of this pig becoming stucK its
flexible cups would 'blow-over' and allow gas flow to
continue.
5.2.
Geometric Pigs
Two geometr ic pigs record changes in cross sectional
dimension throughout the pipeline.
This confirms the
existence of any restrictions exceeding 5%, of the pipe
diameter, and allows such defects to be investigated.
These
pigs
therefore
satisfy
the
inspection
requirements in section 3.1 above.
5.3.
Magnetic Cleaning pigs

A series of brush cleaning and magnetic pigs are run
until the line is free from debris which could obstruct
the pig.
It is
necessary to remove any ferrous
material
which
could
interfere
with
the
magnetic
inspection equipment.

:).4.
503
Single Profile Pig

Thi s pig conf i rms the absence of any bends with radius
less than 3 times the pipeline diameter.
5.:i .
Multi Profile Pig

The multi profile pig mimics the external dimensions of
the on-line inspection Dig.
It inc:or:-porates a ser:-ies
of plates and rollers which are designed to collapse it
the
pipeline
is
still
not capable
of
passing
the
inspection pi'].
6.
INSPECTION OPERATION
A functional check of the inspection pig is carried out Dy an
On-line In.-3pection Centre (OLIC) :::eam CIt a local base.
The
pig, complete ',.,ith hydraulic loading equipment is then ta;;:en
to
the
launch site on a
large custom built wagon with
integral
hydraulic
crane.
The
pi']
is
loaded
into
the
decommissioned pig trap oy the OLIC team, Clnd it is then the
r:-esponsibility or Reg10nal Transmission personnel to send the
pig
through
the
pipeline
within
the
r:-equir:-ed
velocity
constrairtts.
On compi<c?tion of the run, Clnd de-commissionirtg
of the receive rig trap, the OLIC team r-emove the p1g and
return it to their temporary base.
Checks of the magnetic
r-eeording tape are then made to ensure a sat 1st'accory record
has Deen obtained.
7. PIGGING OPERATIONS
Each pig run r-equi res a sequence of operations and vCllve
movements
to
be
cClreiully
carried
out
by
transmission
personnel in conJunction with their:- Regional Control.
Whilst
every
pipeline
has
its
own
speci t ic
requirements
and
problems, a typical operational sequence is as follows:
1)
Obtain permission from Regional Control to start.
2)
Carry out
control.
3)
Adjust and confirm satisfactory flows.
4)
Decommission launch pig tr:-ap and load the pig.
5)
Confirm
6)
Launch pig with Cluthority from Regional Contr-ol.
7)
Monitor progress of pig and adjust flows as necessary.
8)
Receive pig
remolle pig.
9)
Re-configure valves in conjunction with Regional Control.
valve
monitoring
into
operations
personnel
reception
required
and
pig
to
equipment
trap,
achieve
are
set
decommission
flow
up.
and
504
~.
PROCESSING RESULTS
The inspection record obtained on magnetic tape is sent to
the On-line Inspection Centre (OLIC) for processing and
productlon of an inspection report.
Each inspection run
produces several hundred million measurements which have to
be analysed to produce a meaningful defect report.
This
complex task is undertaken by powerful computer systems.
To
develop thi:;; process a considerable investigation had to be
carried out to thoroughly appreciate the nature ot the
pipeline material which was being inspected.
This was
particularly necessary to identify aefects in seamless pipe
which inherently has significant variations in wall thickness
due to its manufacturing process.
Initial d'lta processing eliminates normal defect free pipe
and fittings.
A mathematic'll analysis is then carried out to
determine the shape and size of any metal loss defect which
can then oe displayed in a number of ways.
Significant
defects are reported by tele~ within 7 days and a full
inspection report is produced within 30 days.
Figure I is an
example of a defect report with accompanying referenced
location plan which makes location of defects an easy task.
At a later stage a full pipe I tally I is produced listing all
pipe lengths, girth welds, bends, offtake tees, sleeves and
other identifiable features.
This is produced with full
reference to construction records.
9. BRITISH GAS CONDITION MONITORING POLICY

It is British Gas policy to monitor the condition of all
transmission plpelines using On-line inspection pigs except
where the pipeline cannot accept the pig or under exceptional
operational or design constraints.
9.1.
Inspection Frequency
To determine the frequency of inspect ions, a system
using priority numbers has been devised.
These are
calculated from numerical values assigned to factors
which influence the probability and consequence of
pipeline failure.
Pipelines are inspected at two, six
or ten yearly intervals depending on the priority
number.
9.2.
Pipelines Not Inspected by pigs

For those pipelines which cannot be inspected using
pigs,
routine
condition
monitoring
is
concerned
primarily with detecting coating damage.
Priority
numbers are der ived for these pipelines as described
above, and they are inspected at one, three or five
year intervals.
The inspection consists of a coating
defect survey and a polarised potential survey to cheCK
the effectiveness ot the c'lthodic protection system.
Hydraulic testing is then carried out at a maximum
twenty year interval, if the pipeline is operating at a
hoop stress level greater than 30% s.m.y.s. - otherwise
the interval is decided by the responsible engineer.
505
iJ. EXPERIENCE WITH ON-LINE INSPECTION

By the end of 1988, 86% percent of British Gas Transmi~aion
pipelines capable of accepting
inspection pigs had been
inspected (over
10,000 km),
and nine percent have
been
re-inspected.
The results of tnese inspections are shown on
table 3.
The low occurence of defects reported is considered
very satisfactory and only a minority have required major
repair.
Some minor features have not requir-ed any remedial
worK following pipe coating tests.
Particularly encouraging
are the results fr-om re-inspecting 1216 km of pipelines.
Of
the 22 defects found only one was particularly significant.
The significance of corrosion on Transmission pipelines is
the most important r-evelation of On-line inspection.
Many
instances at corrosion have been found and recti E ied which
would inevitably have resu1teCl in sever-e leakage.
On-line
inspection
has
allowed
most
of
these
defects
to
be
permanently r-epaired at minimal cost.
The 8ignif icance of
these
carr-asian
defecta
ia
particularly
disturbing
considering recent improvement in pipe coating and cathodic
protection monitoring.
Feedback of investigation results compared to Eeature reports
currently indicate::; a per-formance standard of over 87% for
reatur-e description and 97% for feature location.
ll. CONCLUSIONS
11.1. Bri tish Gas has achieved its objective of monitoring
the
condition
of
its
Transmission
pipelines
by
developing its own on-line inspection service.
British
Gas are now recognised as wor-ld leaders in this field.
11.2. Oper-ating
experience
with
On-line
inspection
has
confirmeCl
its
technical
superiority
over
other
commercially available inspection systems and other
hydrostatic testing with considerable cost benefits.
1l.3. The
integrity
of
British
Gas
pipelines
has
consiCler-ab1y enhanced by the
r-epair of metal
defects found by On-line inspection.
been
loss
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The views ex:pressed in this paper- are those
and not necessarily those at the company.
of
the
author-,
The author wishes to thanK the Chai rman of British Gad West
Midlands Region for permission to print this paper.
506
TYPICAL INSPECTION PIG DESIGN REQUIRF.MENTS
MINIMUM INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR SBAM WEI.DBD PIPELINES

DPERA'l'I NG ,\1' STRESS LEVELS UP TO O. 7 Z SMYS
PRESSU"'R"'._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _7'"'-:<7"-.-".".R~_ _ _ _ _ __
:rn!!fERATURF...._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"'.:::c-.",.,,C"-_ _ _ _ _ _ __
1-4 .. /sec
VELOCITY
CUP
BLOW~~~~S~SU~R"'.
____
~3~.S,,8~.~R
_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
TO BE ASSUMED PRESENT
D~BRIS
:!~}=~= ~~:~T.~~~~R'f~ii'.ppT!IP".ii:LIfiNii.--!H;,.~,;,::.~P:-i::"?,:uiii~ii:i.ll~...
L...~iiAL"'U"'E---RADIUS
COMPLIi\YCB WITH MINIMUM
PIPELINE BORE
DETECTION SENSITIVI'rY
MITRES
GENERAL CORROSlON
0.2t
t. D.lt
CIRCUMFERENTIAL GOUGING
O.U
AXIAL COUGING
0.2t
REPAIRED DAMAGE
0.2t
BRANCH CONNECTION'--_ _ _ _ _~...L"'L'_'D!..!I!!J."!!!E<:!T!!J

!'!S'_'U!!!P:...TD!!L~PUL~L..!8!2D!!!RBL
BXTERNAL
BTl'lL
S"
'E-
INSPECTION
NONE TO BE CLASSIFIED AS A SIGNIFICANT DEFECT

IRRESPECTIVE
11
LOSS
TERMED PITTING.
REI INS:~~ioN I-~
CORROSION
GOUGE
PREVIOUS REPAIR
MILL DEFECT
SPALLING
WELD ARC STRIKE
INTERNAL DEFECT
EXTERNAL OBJECT/
FITTING
MID WALL DEFECT

EXTERNAL
~:~~~T
LEEVE
~~CENTRICI
ll.
OBJECT ADJACENT
TO PIPE
OBJECT IN CONTACT
INTERNAL DEFECT
73
ECCENTRIC' NO
SHORT
ECCENTRIC , SHORT
ASSOCIATED
CORROSION
BNORMAL
INTERNAL
~~TAL
oss
USPECT
30
NIL
UNSPECIFIED INT.
METAL LOSS
INTERNAL CORROSION
INTERNAL GOUGE
I
EXTERNAL CORROSION
NO FEATURE
..
34
14
..,
.
17
18
,
,
12
2
MISALIGNMENT
SHALLOW WELD
CRACK
II
II
DENT
II
16
23
~~TII
LD
ENT
or
PIPELtNE LENGTH
t - NOMINAL PIPE WALL THICkNESS

NOMINAL PI PE DIAMETER
IIIICORROS]ON AFFECTING A SURFACE "RRA or PIPE
CONTAINED WITHIN A SQUARE OF DIMENSIONS It
R~~~~~~~
D.lt
* D.lt
ALL DEFECTS TO 8E LOCATED WITHIN t
DEFECT LOCATION
RESULTS OF OL1 FEATURE INVESTIGATIONS 1917-1988
FIRST
INSPECTION
D.Lt
t D.lt
'*
n1,,-
REPORTED
BATUR\!! TYPE
SIZING ACCURACY
O.4t
SPURIA
~~~~!.~~~:~S~~~IUS------"l',.~:~~:~~i"Dn!:fl:~=~"T~:~S~'*,~:~S~~!l:"~':"l:l.f-eo\CK 'ro SACK BI:>ND "S"'oo"'""E.'"T"'S---"Ll'iLt"'"~OM""'

...
IN"'.....I;;;D"'NS""W"'IT.,H"'OilT..--~!,IHUM ANGLE OF MITRE JOINTS
FEATURE
PITTING CORROSION'"
S
7
NIL
x 3t IS
1. Sill
COMMENTS
[0
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~"iocaled
00""
,
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11 7
FEATURE
lOfIJ~25'O
25!lO
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!U 6n'I uJ)'5cream r,om relIKence 1 .no 98 4m
'he IUIurl! IS:] 5m GOwnslream 'rom thoS Q1ttI'I w4t1<J
'rom 'tte' ~ne. 2
Grln .... eICI
,ett.tne.- IS [he dOWnStream end at lhe sleeved 82.a3 road crOSSing
Th,,, fetetenc." ''50 41'1. cenlre 01 U10e 90' lett 301(1", DenC CQmOtISIAQ 2 ~
IOUled on me ~ n S~ at lhe A.14 ' oao croul"'\)
2 Tl'us
Scno Map No 'NG 879
wt.LO COUNT 2660 j "35m1
FtECOAO AEF
1$ "~f"oe Wlttl Oint"" UO 10 15.....
OS Mao Ret OT ,~ .. 12 Sheet 73
0.0 ..
clodl]
PIC)i!i SectIOn I..eng'"' ["'I
Seam 'Ne1O
G<rtn'NeIONo
Fe.ru,e
Reference .
LOCATION
""aI
C.rCumlefento;l1
2SOmm
olSOmm
EXTERNAL MEl AI.. L.OSS
re"'UAe OfP. ' ENSIONS IlT'Im)
iOClOCKI
OAtENfATION
FEA f\JAE ~PE
Figure 1.
Example of Defect Report
Vl
o
21
:::l
0'
c:
",
<
'tTl"'
:;;'
c:
'~"'
6..
:::l
"
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d
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o
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Q.
Research on Quantitative Ferrography Technology
Xu Xiaodi, Qiao Yufei and Huo Yuxiang

The Friction and Wear Research Laboratory, Beijing Graduate School,
China University of Mining Technology, No 13 Xueynan Road, Beijing 100083, China
ABSTRACT
The new technique of Quantitative Ferrography is described in
this paper.
It consists of:1.
Defining Al and As as linear regression;
2.
Intercept correcting;
3.
Analysing the density reading curves of all the positions on

the Ferrogram by micro-computer;
4.
Introducing a new parameter J as wear severity index;
The experimental results from both the laboratory and the field
show that this method is more effective for the plant's
maintenance engineers than the old methods in machine condition
trend analysis and fault diagnosis.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Ferrography analyses the debris in a machine's lubricating
or hydraulic fluids to determine what components are wearing
and the cause and extent of the wear.
It can virtually
eliminate unscheduled equipment shutdowns or failures and
reduce maintenance expenditures significantly.
Though there are some differences in the methods of
quantifying wear debris, the analysis depends on the same
principle that the different wear debris deposits in
definite positions of the magnetic field.
At present arguments exist relating to the methods used to
quantify wear debris concentration of machine lubricant oil
when ferrography is used in industry.
509
Some people think that direct ferrography is the main method

of monitoring and diagnosis and analytical ferrography is
mainly used to test the shape, size and distribution of
debris deposit.
Sometimes analytical ferrography is also
used to measure the optical density values of large or small
debris, but it just confirms the results of direct
ferrography.
Other people think that the parameters of the
ferrography can only provide a rough indication of wear
debris in the lubricant oil because of the large error
involved in the procedure of collecting oil samples.
By
using the quantitative ferrography method that is described in
this paper, it is possible to reduce the measurement error
to 10%.
2.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
2.1. EXPERIMENTS IN INDUSTRY
The oil sample is collected from large open instruments
in the HOU LIN HE coal mine which include 91 WABCO,HD-680
and LN-392 trucks, each with a capacity of 75 tons.
The trucks are brought in for service every 250 hours,
during which time a ferrography oil analysis is made.
The scheme of collecting samples can be shown below:1.
Analysis of oil samples every 50 hours in every

period of oil change;
2.
Change of oil and collection of sample every 250

hours during the diesel operation;
3.
Oil sample is collected according to the

collection rules.
2.2. MEASUREMENT IN THE LABORATORY

In order to make ferrography technology apply in
industry, the oil sample is measured and analysed by
direct ferrography and analytical ferrography.
The
viscosity of the oil sample is diluted at the rate of
3:1 in normal circumstances; the optical density values
of the ferrogram are modified with the same intercept
and a different intercept; the optical density values
of all the positions on the ferrogram are tested with
manually and with the ferrogram quantitative analyser.
Al and As are defined by linear regression.
2.3. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Normal statistical distributions were treated with the
data of samples when oil was changed after 250 hours or
some other appropriate time.
The expected values of Al
and As are j..'-;t andF'::.t ' the variance of Al and As are
ufo
and /.,:.J'
[see figure 1]
510
fig. 1.
3.
Normal distribution of Al and As at time t
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. DEFINING Al AND As BY REGRESSION METHODS
Defining Al and As by regression can reduce the
arbitrary level of measurement data more than that of
Al and As in normal use.
In a period of oil change the
results of the two methods of testing are given in
table 1 and figure 2.
It is obvious that the modified
method enables spread of data to decrease and wear
regularity is better reflected. The linear regression
of the modified data is made, the regression
coefficient of which increases from 0.182 to 0.988 and
the variance of which is improved from 1.68 to 1.22.
Table 1: the data table of the modified method and the original
one.
I!operation
im('
f
:noJ i fi I'd :tIf'tho,1
oriqin,d l'l.('!h.),ll
At
As
Ito.\s
I' ff
'"')"9
V\
t ~. 2
7.J
5.9
11.2
S.l
S.l
37
~.
7.2
I'Ll
8.2
In.6 18.8
117
9.
i.O
H.t
~ ..J
C.O
19~
,.\
7.1
11.1
7.1
'; . ~
11.9
253
10.8 1.1
In.2
8.0
i.1
15.1
,;1;'lor:.""". , ".
j.l[o\,
I
!
:~I
;,,,!
'.'':'0';
.-:
~.
/;thr r'!rVI'.~ of thE'
l!Jp Ilw,flfl . . ,: lAP 1~~'l .. , i ~ !'
orifjin . . t 01'\(>.
fi!IUri' 2.
3.2. INTERCEPT CORRECTION

The experimental results show that the optical values
are linear in the range of 10-30% after diluting. A-V
curves do not cross the origin, and there is a
intercept b on the vertical axis.
The relation of the
optical density values and quantity of diesel oil
passing that operate for 196 hours after oil change is
given in figure 3.
If the intecept of the optical
density values of all the positions is modified, the
results that are more suitable for practical
circumstances can be obtained, see figure 4.
Novel Application of COMA OEM Techniques
511
...
~~-~
a . the relation between

Al[As] and V.
figure 3 .
b the relation between

A and V
the relation between the optical density values

[A] and the pa s sing quantity [VJ .
i'
(,\ Ion) V
( ~
figure 4 .
h ; ) \'
the relation curve of the modified data and the

passing oil quantity.
3.3 . APPLICATION OF THE CURVE TO ALL THE POSITIONS ON THE

FERRO GRAM
Through testing the optical density values of all the
positions on the ferrogram, more detailed information
can be obtained . The condition of the machine can be
judged by means of the shape and position of the curve .
The velocity and accuracy of measurement can be
increased greatly with the ferrogram quantitative
analyser [reference 4J.
3.4. THE PARAMETER J
Ai and As are tested when machines are working to time
t . According to quality control techniques, the
statistical distribution of Ai and As are of normal
appearance when large amounts of data are obtained.
When we use trend analysis, the value of time t is
different from the original one .
To compare the real
and the expected value of time t we use J= ( (Al-.u~) /D;~)
+((As~p..'1)/fjy) as the degree of deviation of AT and As
to their base line.
Figure 5 shows a practical example
of using J as the wear value .
512
10.6 _ ' __ ' _

' _
0 _ ' _ _ a = O.OO ~
9. 2_."' ~ _._. rri I i rn l. ______ n=O. 01
7.9 __ , _
. _
. _
. _ _ ' _ _ O.a=
005
6, ~_ 1Il - 1 _ . _ _ . _"1 rm. _ _
. _~ = O.
01
I i no"
figure 10.
The values of parameter J vs working time of HD680 No 3 truck in 1986-1987
REFERENCES
1.
J H Johnson & C J Hubert, Wear, 90 (1983), 199
2.
D N Anderson et al., Wear, 90 (1983), 297
3.
C J Hubert et al., Wear, 90 (1983), 335
4.
Huo yuxiang, xu xiaodi, Ferrogram quantitative analyser_

Its application in industry, COMADEM 89 PROCEEDINGS.
5.
R L Launer, E A Saible, Lubrication Engineering 43 (1987), 749
Wear Detection ofa Vane Pump Using a Novel Flowmeter

Phenomenon
K Watkins andJ Watton *
School of Engineering, University of Wales, College of Cardiff and' Jetage Engineering, Kent, UK
Abstract
A variable area flowmeter incorporating electrOlnagnetic sensing and
electronic signal processing is used to measure the flow characteristics of
a positive displacement vane pump. It is then shown how the basic signal
may be used to indicate stator wear, and trending is shown to favourably
compare with accelerometer measuring taken from the pump port plate.
Introduction
Industrial systems incorporating Fluid Power components tend to be
highly interactive and hence a component failure often has serious
financial consequences. Condition monitoring is therefore slowly replacing
the common practice of regular preventative maintenance whereby components
are replaced at pre-determined intervals before failure occurs, although it
may not be impending.
Fluid Power systems often form only a part of the total industrial
operation and it is perhaps the area which is currently receiving the least
attention from a monitoring point of view.
Fluid losses alone in such
areas as Mining and Steel processing can result in many thousands of pounds
in replacement costs apart from costs due to resulting failed components.
Fluid Power Systems monitoring may
typically [Brown and Duan (1986); Ding and Hu
Tilley (1984); Kibble (1987); Lewis (1987);
Qian and Dai (1986); Raw (1987); South (1986);
i)
ii)
adopt a variety of forms

(1987); Hunt (1986); Hunt and
Mbari and McCandlish (1986);
Watton (1986)].
visual inspection
pressure
iii) flow rate
iv) energy methods - temperature changes
v)
oil debris analysis
vi) vibration, particularly via accelerometer measurements.
514
This paper concentrates on flow measurement applied to a positive

displacement vane pump that has experienced significant stator wear.
Conventional pressure/flow characteristics may be taken on such components
by either switching in appropriate transducers or using purpose built test
units.
It is important that comparisons are made at the same working
temperature since fluid losses will vary as the temperature changes. This
variation may also affect on-line computations such as power spectra
[Watkins and Watton (1988), Watton and Creber (1988).
On-Line Flow Measurement
In Industrial applications where on-line measurements are required, a
flow meter is desired that will give an electronic output that may be
calibrated against flow rate, the output being in a form that can be
further processed.
This processing may be carried out by an operator
"visiting" various stations within the plant or more efficiently by a
microcomputer dedicated to the task. There are a number of ways in which a
flow rate may be converted, via mechanical or fluid phenomena means, into
an electrical signal, and they may be classified as fo110ws:i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
turbine meter
positive displacement
fluidic oscillator
Doppler shift (ultrasonic or LOA)
magnetic particle detection
variable area.
Flow meters containing rotating elements such as turbine types and

positive displacement types, utilising accurately machined gears, are
limited to particular types of fluids. Bearings may quickly deteriorate in
harsh environments where particles may be generated, and particularly where
high water based fluids are used. The fluidic oscillator principle has not
yet been commercially exploited, although there is evidence that this may
change in the near future.
It employs the principle of a frequency
generating fixed component within the meter, the frequency changing with
flow rate.
The frequency detection requires an accurate pressure
transducer, but this may be an asset since load pressure may possibly be
indicated by the same transducer.
Lack of commercial exploitation of
Doppler shift meters also seems to be the case in accurate oil-hydraulic
type applications. Accurate instrumentation is needed to detect frequency
shift between a transmitter and receiver which often have to be positioned
apart in a fluid line.
Magnetic particle velocity detection meters are
available, but the accuracy and reliability must be questioned for
condition monitoring applications where small change in flow rate need to
be detected. They are, however, often used to simply indicate whether or
not flow exists, and in applications where particles are generated due to
wear.
A Variable-Area Flowmeter
Fig. 1 shows the flowmeter [Jetage Engineering Co.) and its associated
electronic processing unit.
It is a spring loaded variable orifice type
flowmeter with an integral temperature sensor and an optional pressure
transducer. The outputs from the three sensors are conditioned by on-board
electronics, and are calibrated to match the unit. Flowrate is detected by
the movement of a plunger within a female cone, the plunger incorporating a
Novel Application of COM ADEM Techniques
Fig.
515
Flo'] n e ter u n i.T.
magnet . The position of the magnet is sensed by a Hall-effect device. the

output of which is a measure of the actual flow rate through the meter. An
appropriate signal is stored in memory in the electronic processing unit
and added to the Hall-effect device output to produce an overall linear
characteristic.
The flow characteristic is programmed at the calibration
stage of manufacture. and may be re-calibrated as required.
The flowmeter has a number of features that make it suitable for fluid
power application. and may be briefly outlined as follows:i)
It is robust. with a long service life.

It utilises a high-stiffness spring which gives it a good dynamic
response,
less susceptibility to sticking. and insensitivity to
monitoring attitude.
iii) It has a high turndown ratio.
iv) It can be used with water-based fluids
v)
The output may be processed using the digital information only and is
therefore suitable for microcomputer-based applications.
vi) The output of the unit may also be used for vibration indication and
is the subject of this paper.
vii) The flow meter tends to cost less than the other types discussed. and
the latest development using different signal processing techniques
will
substantially
improve
this
position.
This
should
make
applications in multi-unit industrial applications more cost-effective
combined with high accuracy in the near future.
H)
Operating Characteristics of the Flowmeter

Fig. 2 shows typical flow/pressure characteristics with the meter
positioned directly at the vane pump delivery port.
Characteristics are
shown for the pump in its new condition and also in its worn condition.
which is dominated by stator wear [Watkins and Watton (1988)]. It will be
deduced that the damaged pump produces a lower flow rate due to both
geometry changes affecting the displacement and producing increased fluid
leakage losses. Although the stator shows damage. it is still useable and
considered to be at a condition that shows cause for concern.
The
measurements shown in Fig . 2 have also been confirmed using a more
516
expensive positive displacement flowmeter,

Glaims made by the manufacturer.
and substantiate the accuracy
46
42
flow
L/min
damaged
~n,p..'"
"
38
"
30k---~~~--~~----~ro~--~W~--~1~OO
pressure bar
Fig. 2
Pressure/flow characteristic of the the pump
Consider next the flowmeter direct output, i.e., the generated signal
before electronic processing.
Some typical time records for the damaged
pump at a number of operating load pressures are shown in Fig. 3.
It is
clear that additional noise is being measured by the electromagnetic
circuit as
load pressure is
increased,
and that the
levels are
significantly above the non-running condition.
It is this phenomenon that
will be utilised to produce an on-line indication of pump wear.
A
comparison of time records for the new pump and the damaged pump at the
same load pressure of 100 bar is given in Fig. 4, and again illustrates
that a difference is being indicated by the flowmeter.
The question now
arises as to how this information is best processed.
Peak-to-peak, rms
readings, etc. could be used, but a more accurate method is to use signal
processing incorporating spectrum analysis. This has already been pursued
in some detail in an industrial Rod Mill environment [Watkins and
Watton (1988);
Morgan
and
Watton (1988) 1
and
in
particular
using
accelerometers mounted on component bodies. in this example the pump port
plate.
Typical power spectra are shown in Fig. 5 which compares that
obtained from the accelerometer and that obtained from the flowmeter.
It
may be deduced that the body vibration characteristic, and caused by
exci tation due to pump stator wear, in both cases is centred around the
same frequency of typically 8.2 kHz. This frequency does not correspond to
any instrument natural frequency characteristic. If the mean power is then
computed and trended with pump running time, then a comparison may be made
as shown in Fig. 6. The flowmeter trend is compared with that previously
obtained using an accelerometer [Watkins and Watton (1988)1 and with
boundaries set from experience gained in the industrial environment.
The
trending is not so dominant as that obtained using the accelerometer, but
it clearly exists and may be used to indicate the state of pump wear.
Conclusions
A novel measurement phenomenon has been experimentally obtained from a
variable-area flowmeter with electromagnetic sensing.
This does have
significant implications in Condition Monitoring since it means that both
pump flow rate and pump wear may be deduced from the same flowmeter without
the use of an additional and expensive accelerometer.
Novel Application of COMA OEM Techniques
E-I~------------------------------------'
'0
r 'ig. 3
b;t.r
I""tant:anecus time sisr.als for the (lamaged stbtor

I~-------------------------------------,
-e
und.maged
INS!
UPPER
[HI lIftE (V) I lIftE (SE[S)
II /tiE - OJ
Fig. 4 Instantaneous time si.gnals for t.he unc.amagec1 ar,d

damagbc s1'ator at a 10ao pressurp of 100 bar
517
518
9.76
a)
accelerometer measurement
4.88
(0
b)
f l owmeter mea 5urement
VI.
100 bar
'"
u
o
Fig. 5
[HI IU10
,own c.m
(N, >
10000
Power s pectrum for dap,agE,d stator
UP,!
I flEa
1000
100 ____ Laboratory tests

--l'c
...
.8
o 10
--Plant measuremeds
u! i nq ! 10... spec ' 11m
"0
C
...o
__ 'IW" -
3
USi n9
a ce e l ct one ~er
s pec t r um
running
Fig. 6
~!ear
indicate,I variation with running time
519
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Cardiff Rod Mill of ASW Ltd. for support in
the general area of Condition Monitoring, and also to Jetage Engineering,
Erith, Kent for their particular support on this phase of research using
their variable-area flowmeter.
References
Hunt, T.M.
and
Tilley, D.G.
"Techniques
for
the
Assessment
of
Contamination in Hydraulic Oils", Contamination Control in Hydraulic
Systems, I.Mech.E., Bath, 1984, pp 57-63.
Brown, F.T.
and
Duan, C.B.
"Measurement
of
Surface
Temperature
Differentials as Indicators of Hydraulic Pressure Drop and Flow", 7th
International Fluid Power symposium, Sept. 1986, Bath, pp 121-129.
Hunt, T.M.
"A Review of Condition Monitoring Techniques applicable to
Fluid Power Systems", 7th International Fluid Power Symposium,
Sept. 1986, Bath, pp 285-294.
Mbari, P.N. and McCandlish, D.
"Re1iab1ity and Fault Tree Analysis in
Hydraulic
Systems" ,
7th
International
Fluid
Power
Symposium,
Sept. 1986, Bath, pp 303-311.
Qian Ziang-Sheng and Dai Neng-Cai. "Identification of Energy Loss in Fluid
Power System", Fluid Control and Measurement, Soc. Inst. and Control
Engineers, Japan, Edited by M. Harada. Published by Pergammon Press,
1986, pp 249-256.
South, C.J.
"Aircraft Hydraulic Supply Circuit Health Monitoring", 7th
International Fluid Power Symposium, Sept. 1986, Bath, pp 295-302.
Watton, J. "Monitoring the Wear Characteristics of a positive Displacement
Vane Pump operating with a Water-Based Emulsion", Pumps for Difficult
Liquids Seminar, I.Mech.E. 1986, pp 43-47.
Ding Guangjian and Hu Dayue.
"Monitoring and Diagnosis of Typical Faults
of Hydraulic Systems",
Conditioning Monitoring
'87,
edited by
M.H. Jones, Pineridge Press Ltd., 1987, pp 593-603.
Kibble, J. D.
"Flow Metering and Other Means for checking Fluid Systems",
Condition Monitoring '87, edited by M.H. Jones, Pineridge Press Ltd.,
1987, pp 863-874.
Lewis, R.T.
"Analysis of Ferrous Wear Debris", Condition Monitoring '87,
edited by M.H. Jones, Pineridge Press Ltd., 1987, pp 360-370.
Raw,!.
"Particle Size Analyser based on Filter Blockage", Condition
Monitoring 87, edited by M.H. Jones, Pineridge Press Ltd., 1987,
pp 875-894.
Morgan, G. and Watton, J.
"Vibration Monitoring of a No-Twist Rod
Finishing Mill", 2nd International Conference on Condition Monitoring,
London, May 1988, pp 17-27.
Watkins, K. and Watton, J.
"Wear Monitoring of Positive Displacement Vane
pumps", 2nd International Conference on Condition Monitoring, London,
May 1988, pp 107-115.
Watton, J. and Creber D.J. "Leakage Flow Detection in a Fluid Power Speed
Control System using a Persona1-Computer-Based Condition Monitoring
Package", Proc. I.Mech.E, Vol. 202, No. B4, 1988, pp 213-226.
Technical and Commercial Information available from Jetage Engineering
Co. (Kent) Ltd., Manor Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 2AD.
Condition Monitoring Using Conventional Process Instrumentation

P J Hurren, J E Amadi-Echendu and E H Higham
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. University of Sussex. Falmer. Brighton BNI9QT. UK
ABSTRACT
Recent work has shown that from analysis of the 'noise' in
sensor signals prior to the customary conditioning to a 4 to
20 rnA transmission signal, signatures of the health or status of
the sensors and of associated process plant can be identified.
Thus, in addition to the basic measurement signals for process
control, these sensors can provide information for condition
monitoring which may be complementary to that obtained from
vibration sensors.
This paper reports studies of the signature of a tri-Iobe pump
as observed in the low frequency noise spectrum of a turbine
flowmeter.
A 0.5 mm-deep flat is machined on one of the lobes
to simulate wear and the pump signature is observed to change
significantly as a result of this.
This demonstrates that the
pulse output of the turbine flowmeter can contain equipment
status information.
1. INTRODUCTION
In process plants it is desirable to monitor the condition of
both
the process sensors and the machinery or equipment
installed
on the plant.
For the former purpose 'smart' or
'intelligent' instruments have emerged which have a limited
range of self diagnostic functions.
For the latter purpose
521
standard condition monitoring

analysis can be applied.
techniques
such
as
vibration
It has become apparent, however, that condition monitoring

information for process plant equipment might be obtainable from
the sensors themselves.
Recent work has demonstrated that
spectral analysis on the pulse signal from a turbine flowmeter
reveals
information on the health of the flowmeter
and
furthermore frequency peaks due to equipment on the line can be
identified (Higham et ale
(1986)).
Further studies have
extended this concept to an orifice plate flowmeter employing a
resonant wire differential pressure transmitter (Hurren et ale
(1988)).
We demonstrate here that the signal from a turbine
flowmeter can be analysed to detect faults in a lobe pump when
they occur.
2. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS
A Foxboro 81 Series 19 mm turbine flowmeter was installed in a
water flow rig constructed of plastic piping, with at least 30
diameters of straight pipe upstream and downstream of the
Back pressure for the turb"ine was provided by an
instrument.
orifice plate. The water was pumped around the system by a trilobe pump.
For the initial tests the pump was run at two different speeds
to produce flow rates of 12 llmin and 16 l/min.
Several runs
(at least 6) were made at each speed, and on ~ach run the data
were recorded by measuring successive periods of the turbine
pulse signal using a high frequency clock, and storing the
measured
values on computer disc.
One of the pump lobes was removed and ~o simulate wear a flat of
depth 0.5 mm was machined as depicted in figure 1. The lobe was
re-inserted into the pump and the above tests were repeated.
522
figure 1:
Pump lobe after machining (simulated wear)
3. SIGNAL ANALYSIS
The period of the turbine flowmeter pulse signal is inversely
proportional to flow rate. A pulsation of frequency f Hz in the
flow will give rise to a modulation of f Hz in the pulse signal
period, provided the instrument can respond to that pulsation.
Therefore an analysis of the frequency content of the signal
period data using the fast Fourier transform (FFT)
can reveal
the frequency components which are present in the flow.
Other
spectral peaks which are associated with the turbine itself are
also present in the frequency spectrum but only at the turbine
rotor frequency and above.
With FFT analysis the sampling
interval should be constant but that is not the case here
because the sampling interval T is the pulse width, which
varies.
However T can be considered to be constant to a fair
degree of approximation because the flowmeter signal period only
suffers small perturbations about its mean value.
4. RESULTS
Figure 2 shows the frequency spectrum of the turbine period data
in the frequency range 0 to 25 Hz. The flow rate was 12 l/min.
523
6 . 0.-____________________________________--,
o . o~~~~~~~~~~
______
~~~~
______
6.0,.-____________________________________
O.O~
0.0
A..
5. 0
10 . 0
15.0
20 . 0
25. 0
FREQUENCY (HZ)
figure 2: The peaks in the spectrum are caused by the lobe pump.
Upper frame: good lobes.
Lower frame: damaged lobes.
The
pump rotation frequency is 2.8 Hz
and the
amplitude is in arbitrary units.
The pump rotation speed was measured to be 2.8 Hz and in the
upper frame spectral peaks are observed at 2.8 Hz, 5.6 Hz,
8.3 Hz and 16.8 Hz corresponding to lx, 2x, 3x and 6x the pump
frequency.
The three lower frequency peaks would be associated
with the lobe and bearing asymmetry and the peak at 6x the rotor
frequency corresponds with the number of volumes of fluid pumped
out each revolution.
In the lower frame the corresponding
spectrum after one of the lobes was damaged is shown.
There is
a large difference between the two spectra which can only be
attributed to the lobe damage because in every other respect the
tests were similar.
524
At a flow rate of 16 l/min the pump rotation frequency was

3.8 Hz and a corresponding peak was observed in the frequency
spectrum together with a peak at 6x the pump frequency.
There
were no other peaks present between these two frequencies.
Therefore the signature of the pump was different from that at
the lower flow rate, and furthermore the change in the pump
signature resulting from lobe damage was not as apparent, with
only a 20% decrease in the amplitude of the higher frequency
peak.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The above results demonstrate that turbine flowmeters can
provide signatures of equipment faults and thus can have a dual
role as devices to monitor the condition of process plant
equipment.
The principle could be extended to other process
instruments.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Foxboro
(Great Britain) Limited
flowmeter and SSP Limited for the lobe pump.
for
the
turbine
REFERENCES
Higham, E.H., Fell, R. and Ajayi, A. (1986)
"Signal analysis and intelligent flowmeters"
Measurement and Control, Vol 19 No 5 pp47-50.
Hurren, P. J., Amadi, J. E. and Higham, E. H. (1988)
"Condition
monitoring using a resonant
wire differential
pressure sensor"
The Journal of Condition Monitoring (BHRA) Vol 2 No 1 pp17-25.
Condition Monitoring of Bends in Pneumatic Conveying Systems
R M Henry and M S M AI-Fays ale

Department of Control Engineering. University of Bradford. Bradford. West Yorkshire BD7 1DP. UK
Abstract
Pneumatic
conveying
systems provide
a
convenient
and
effective way of transporting solids over modest distances. One
of the biggest problems concerns the way bends wear out when
abrasive materials are conveyed. At present there is no direct
method for monitoring the bend wear and condition. This paper
presents a novel method for bend condition monitoring based on
cross-correlation techniques.
1. Introduction
Although the technique has been known for over a hundred years,
the use of pipelines to transport solids pneumatically has been
increasingly used by many industries, e.g. the National Coal
Board, over the last twenty five years.
All
practical
pneumatic conveying
systems
.use
bends.
Unfortunately,
insertion of bends in such systems introduce
some difficult problems such as pressure losses, bend wear and
roping problems in horizontal sections following a bend.
The biggest and the most costly problem in pneumatic conveying
systems concerns the bend wear. Monitoring the bend wear and
condition is another major problem wherever these systems are
used. Removing bends, after continuously conveying a preset
amount of materials, and subjecting them to visual inspection
is not the ideal way to monitor and detect bend wear, though
widely used [ Firstbrook 1980 ].
In this paper, the authors have experimentally describe the
work in hand to design an on-line instrument for detecting
bends wear and monitoring their conditions.
526
2. Experimental apparatus
2.1 Test rig
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental plant in
the Department of Control Engineering at Bradford University
where all the experimental tests were carried. Basically, the
system is a negative pressure pneumatic conveyer with air drawn
through it by a compressor. The pipework is 76mm r.D aluminium
pipes. Solids enter the system with the air at one end. At the
other end the air and solids are separated using a cyclone and
the solids are fed via a rotary valve into a hopper for
recirculation. Thus continuous operation can be achieved. The
rig only operates in light phase.
I
1
5 "
VACUUM PUMP
~-----------lcM--------~
Figure 1. Pneumatic conveying test rig

2.2 Test bend
A special 3 inches square-section bend made from perspex were
designed for the purpose of visually observing solids flow
patterns and testing the suggested method, see Figure 2.
'Polyfilla' was used to fill the wooden box so that bend wear
could
be studied whilst continuously conveying
abrasive
material. The use of 'Polyfilla' meant that the trial could be
performed over a short period.
The bend can be reused for many trials in studying the effect
of different materials or different wear patterns. That is,
after each experiment the eroded area can be re-filled with the
'Polyfilla' and smoothed, ready for next test.
527
2.3 Electrodynamic transducer

When solid particles are conveyed pneumatically, electrostatic
charges
accumulate on the particles.
An
electrodynamic
transducer is used to detect these charges, process it and
convert it to a voltage signal. This transducer consists of a
charge detecting sensor and a signal processing unit [ AlFaysale 1989 ]. Because of the random movement of solids
particles, the transducer output signal will be a random
voltage signal. This voltage signal represents the fluctuation
of
solids concentration at that
measuring
point.
Two
electrodynamic transducers, placed immediately before and after
the test bend, were used.
MICROCOMPUTER
WOOD BOX
----------~~--,-3 INCHES
PERSPEX
--------'---'
---"'----
Figure 2. The 3 inches square-section perspex test bend

3. Theory of the method
In terms of signals, the correlation means the way in which one
signal depends on another. The normalized cross-correlation
function
is normally used
to measure the
degree
of
correlation between two time variant signals. That is, the
measured value of the cross-correlation peak divided by the
standard deviation of the two signals.
with a new and smooth bend, rope flow occurs. That is, solids
flow pattern at the bend end is quite different from that at
its input. However, the transducers output signals are still
correlate. As the bend wears, a small pocket, i.e. the eroded
area, will be formed on the bend outer side. As a result, a
small proportion of solids thrown back into the air stream.
This proportion varies as wear increases. Therefore, the
correlation coefficient between the two signal decreases.
528
4. Experimental results
Experimental tests were performed to investigate the relation
between the maximum depth wear and the correlation coefficient
between the transducers output signals.
The results of these experiments are shown in Figure 3. This
figure shows that as the depth wear increases, the correlation
coefficient between the transducer signals decreases. And this
is in agreement with what was expected in the preceding
section.
Cr088-correlation coefficient
0.6,--------,---------,--------,,--------,---------,
0.5--
0.4
0.3 f-
......................... _1_1
0.2 f- . . ._............................
Vs-42.4 m/SBC
-*
0.1
-+-
Ws-O.46.kg/SBC
Ws-O.62 kg/SBC
o~~~~~~~----~----~--~
20
40
60
Depth of penetration ( mm )
80
100
Figure 3. The relation between maximum depth of bend wear

correlation coefficient
and
5. Conclusion and futures work

As has been proved, that the correlation coefficient between
the two signals varies with the change in the maximum depth of
bends wear. Hence monitoring the condition of a new and an
eroded bend could be performed by measuring the correlation
coefficient between the two transducers output signals.
During the experimental tests, the cross-correlation and then
the correlation coefficient was calculated using a computer
program based on the Fast fourier transform. For the purpose of
an on-line system for multi-bends condition monitoring and wear
detection,
a fast and cheap correlator is needed.
One
possibility is using a microprocessor based cross-correlation
instrument [ Henry 1979 ].
529
6. References
1- Henry,
R.M., 1979,
'On-line cross-correlation for flow
measurement', Journal of Microcomputer applications, Vol. 3,
No.3, pp. 43-51.
2- Firstbrook, J., 1980,

'operation and development of the
pneumatic pipeline coal transportation system', Proceedings of
Pneumotransport 5,
pp.
47-74,
BHRA Fluid
Engineering,
Cranfield, England.
3- Al-Faysale, M.S.M., 1989.
'Instrumentation, measurements
and signal processing for pneumatic conveying systems', Ph.D.
thesis to be submitted, Department of Control Engineering,
University of Bradford, U.K.
Stress Wave Sensing - A New Measurand for Condition Monitoring

Trevor J Holroyd and Simon King
Stresswave Technology Ltd, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, UK
Abstract
Using a highly integrated design a new form of sensor has been
created which is responsive to high frequency structure borne
stress waves. Such stress waves, accompany the distress
mechanisms of interest in condition monitoring applications.
The nature of these stress wave signals is discussed together
with their interpretation.
1 INTRODUCTION
The detection and analysis of high frequency noise as a means
of monitoring or diag~osing the condition of machinery has
been the subject of various investigations since the 1960's (eg
Refs 1 to 3). Whilst several different approaches to the
detection and analysis of the signals have been proposed one of
the most frequently (and successfully) employed has been the
use of level detection (eg enveloping or rms) of the amplified
output from a narrowband sensor operating on the high frequency
surface displacements resulting from the various distress
mechanisms. Recent developments have led to the creation of a
fully integrated sensor which performs these functions directly
thus making a new measurand for condition monitoring generally
available. Since these sensors
are responsive to stress wave
--,.------ .......... ,
(irrespective of the source
--""
--- / /"
process) they are referred
\
to as 'Stress Wave Sensors'
, ,_.....
"
E........,'
\
and the associated technology
1\
\
IT"'-~I\I
\
.....
,
I
as Stress Wave Sensing (SWS).
I
\
ClIP'1
A Schematic layout of such a
I, ,. ,
\
AmpIIIIor
EnwIopot
I
..... \...
\
I
sensor is presented in Fig 1.
When applied to the condition
- __
,
I' /
monitoring of machinery, SW
--~....
...../
----Sensors make use of the stress
wave energy released in the
form of transients from material
in distress.
Fig.1
Stress Wave Sensor
,----,
------,
531
These transient bursts propagate relatively easily within

metallic structures giving rise to multiple reflections and
leading to a complex waveform at the point of detection. It is
therefore more appropriate to analyse the signal statistically
rather than deterministically. SW Sensors are therefore
designed to be responsive to randomly occuring transients and
provide outputs suitable for statistical analysis.
Since the source transients are inherently broadband it is
usual to conduct SW monitoring at high frequencies (greater
than 50 kHz) in order to effect good discrimination against
unwanted vibrations and airborne sounds. At these higher
frequencies the statistical properties of the detected signal
are largely independent of the point of detection for many
structures or sub-elements since the individual structural
resonances merge together into a continuum. For these reasons
the mounting of a SW Sensor is not critical in terms of its
positioning and orientation as that of accelerometers in
Vibration Monitoring.
2 TYPES OF DETECTED SW SIGNAL
A perfect bearing or gearbox operating without any energy loss
would generate no stress wave activity. As machinery degrades
from this ideal an increasing amount of energy is lost in the
form of stress waves. The resulting SW signals from an
operating machine can take one or more of the following three
forms; individual transients, multiple transients and
continuous emission.
a) Individual (randomly occuring) transients (see Fig 2)
An individual transient SW
signal is usually associated
with an individual occurrence
within the material being
monitored. In the operation
of rotating machinery its
origin is most likely to be
from crack growth or the
til
interaction of a piece of
til
Ql
debris with the moving
1-1
elements. If there are high
+J
levels of stress wave activity Ul
from other sources during the
Time (Bms total)
operation of the machine it
Fig.2 Single Transient
will only be possible to detect
the larger transients. In order to detect such transient
activity it will clearly be necessary to constantly monitor
with an appropriate transient detection/characterisation
system.
b) Multiple transients (see Fig 3)
The most likely cause of mUltiple transient activity in
rotating machinery is from mUltiple impacts when imperfect and
inadequately lubricated surfaces are brought together.
532
The repetition frequency of the transients can often enable the

location of the imperfection to be identified.
Examples are imperfections of bearing races (repetition at the
ball passing period), imperfections of the rolling elements
(repetition of the rolling element rotation period) and
imperfections of gear teeth (repetition at the gear shaft
rotation or gear meshing period) . The imperfection could arise
from one of a number of reasons such as fatigue crack growth,
spalling, adherance of debris, the scoring of surfaces or the
loss of a gear tooth. The extent of such activity can (if
dominant) be determined from the overall level of a long time
constant envelope signal. It is also possible to further
analyse the periodicity/repetition frequency of the transients
by appropriate time or frequency domain analysis.
c) Continuous emission (see Fig 4)
Continuous emission results from the overlapping of the
response to many randomly occurring transients.The two most
likely sources of this activity in rotating machinery are (a)
rubbing giving rise to slip-stick activity and (b) a host of
minor impacts due to a breakdown of the oil film. Continuous
emission may be modulated at the shaft rotation frequency if
the rub is not uniform throughout a revolution or shaft out of
balance cyclically varies the bearing loads. Continuous
emission due to the breakdown of the lubrication film in a
gearbox might be expected to be modulated at the gear meshing
frequency. Again the mean level would be responsive to the
presence of such activity and its modulation detail could be
extracted by the use of appropriate time or frequency domain
analysis .
M
Q)
:>
Q)
...:l
Q)
:>
III
3:
[II
[II
Q)
l-<
-IJ
CIl
Time (2 0ms total)

Time (80ms total)
Continuous
Emission
F;g.4
Fig.3 Multiple Transients
~
3 MACHINERY MONITORING WITH SWS
a) Health Monitoring
Health monitoring is conducted in order to prevent the complete
failure of machinery by the early recognition of degradation
and thereafter managing its continued operation and eventual
maintenance. In general the relevant SW activity would be in
the form of continuous emission or repetitive transients. The
mean SW level can be thought of as indicating the level of
distress; hence higher levels will be experienced at high
speeds or under more arduous operating conditions as well as
progressive deterioration.
533
Since repetitive transients also usually increase with

increasing distress the variability of the signal (ie its
roughness) can also provide a valuable indicator.
In order to provide on-line detection of machinery distress it
is necessary to refer the present measurements to previous ones
and in the absence of a pre-existing experimental database this
can only be done by a trending approach. If the machinery
operates at a standard condition or follows a standard
operation cycle a trend can then be obtained from the SW
activity detected during successive measurements at the
standard condition. If alternatively the machinery is operated
or configured in a variety of ways it is best to monitor the
machine at specific points during its operation (eg at certain
speeds, loads etc.) and trend on the detected SW activity every
time these points occur. When the machine contains a period of
continuous running under steady conditions then these periods
can be used to enable confirmation that the SW levels are
constant (since a progressive increase at these times would
indicate increasing distress).
b) Diagnostic measurements
In the light of such early indications it may be desirable to
conduct diagnostic measurements in order to attempt to
determine the nature of the developing problem without taking
the machinery out of use so that appropriate preparations can
be made for its repair. The key to diagnosing the origins of
repetitive transients and continuous emission is clearly by the
analysis of its repetition or modulation frequency and relating
the detected frequency components to known frequencies such as
once per rev, ball passing etc.
c) Failure prevention
If the nature of the distress machanism is such that it is not
possible to provide a very early failure warning or the cost
analysis is such that the machine is intentionally run up to
the point of failure then it is highly desirable to have a
warning of imminent failure in order to minimise secondary
damage.
A failure prevention system would need to recognise exceptional
SW activity immediately prior to failure and initiate a shut
down. At this late stage in the life of the machine there is
so much energy being lost that very high stress wave levels are
generated. Most forms of signal analysis will readily detect
the presence of such activity.
4 DISCUSSION
The basis of the use of stress wave sensors for condition
monitoring has been briefly described in this paper.
Considerable industry based experience of their use for
condition monitoring has now been built up and it is becoming
clear that they can rapidly provide valuable new information
across a broad range of applications.
534
Their easy to use bolt-on design and the freedom in their

positioning avoids the need for machinery design modifications
or specially constructed mounting brackets. Finally the
straightforward sensor concept of 'powersupply in and distress
related signal out' minimises the need for previous experience
in their use.
5 CONCLUSIONS
1
Stress Wave Sensing (SWS) is applicable to the condition

monitoring of machinery.
The physical principles governing the generation and

propagation of high frequency stress waves together with
the highly integrated design of Stress Wave Sensors make
them easy to install and their outputs simple to
interpret.
Stress wave (SW) signals contain information appropriate

to failure prevention, health monitoring and diagnostic
instrumentation systems.
6 REFERENCES
H.L. Balderston, 'The detection of incipient failure in

bearings', Mat Eval, 27, pp 121-128, 1969.
B. Weichbrodt & K.A. Smith, 'Signature Analysis Non-intrusive techniques for incipient failure
identification application to bearings and gears',
ASTM/IES.AlAA Space Simulation Conf., 14-16 Sept. 1970.
H.P. Bloch, 'Predict problems with acoustic incipient

failure detection systems', Hydrocarbon processing, Oct
1977, Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas.
Novel Adaptive Control Schemes for Peripheral Milling
F Gajendran and M A Joseph *

Department of Electrical Engineering and
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Regional Engineering College, Calicut, India
!.~ract
This work is concerned with the parameter adaptive control or regulating the cutting force in peripheral milling
under varying cutting conditions. The novel adaptive scheme
proposed earlier is applied to this problem. The adaptive controller proposed can yield better perormance even under nonideal conditions. This is because this scheme retains higher
(or required) degree of stability even in the presence of noise
or disturbances.
1. Introduction
Elbestawi and Sagherian (1987) has reported a few control.schemes or peripheral milling under varying cutting condi tions. The large variations in the gain of the cutting forces is one of the main problems encountered.
The adaptive
control scheme considered by them appears to give agreeable
performance. They have used the discrete version of the wellknown adaptive laws. The speed of convergence of error signals
in these schemes can be improved well by adapting the new adaptive schemes reported by Gajendran (1980, 1981, 1988, 1989).
The performance is better with such schemes having fast converging errors ensuring higher degree of stability even in the
presence of noise. The output scalar error e and the scalar
parameter error () converges to zero without requiring the reference input (Fr) to be sufficiently rich. The above features
make this scheme (Gajendran and Santosh, 1988) ideally suited
for many applications operating under disturbances. Peripheral
milling is one such an application requiring such versatile
adaptive controllers.
The paper is structured as follows. The proposed adaptive scheme is presented in Section 2, while the stability
analysis is very briefly given in Section ,.
536
2.
The Adaptive Control Scheme
The proposed navel adaptive control configuration is

shown in Fig.l. This is an artful combination of conventional
MRAC (Model Reference Adaptive Control) and well-known regulator configurations, with no dynamics (integrator or lIs) interposed between the adaptive controller output u and .ef. The
error signal ef = Fr - Fc' (where Fc. Fc + d, d being the
noise or disturbance) is directly applied to the reference
model RM instead of u, the input to the servo system S (via
the zero order hold ZOIl, if a computer is employed). The
feed rate f is given to the cutting process CP by S. These
two improvements or changes in the structure greatly contribute
to the superior performance of the scheme. We will get excellent performance by incorporating the navel adaptive law proposed
by Gajendran (1980, 1981). Both continuous and discrete versions of this adaptive law (reported) could be used depending
RM
K et)
Fr
i
AM
,~
ZOH
CP
GO::s)
Ge(s)
H H
Fig.1 The novel adaptive control scheme for peripheral milling
537
on the requireDlent. Due to limitations in space, we shall confine ourselves to the continuous time version of the adaptive law
(with ZOH dropped).
It may be noted that Elbestawi and Sagherian could not
get the expected performance primarily due to the incorporation
of a dynamic element (integrator in the controller leading to
u - JKac( t) ef dt) 1he discrete version of the conventional adaptive law used is equally responsible for this, as the cutt1n&
process C P is non-linear and it may be contaminated by the
noise d.
The adaptive Ilechanism AM incor~urating this adaptive
law is unable to compensate fully the nonlinearity of C P., The
plant transfer function Gp(S) is given by
Gp(s) (Go(s)(Kc b) ]/(l+s
to>.
kp GpO(s), kp [Ke
bl tel [b2lal)
(la)
Go(s). (blNo(s)]1 (alIb(s)]

(bual][S+(b2lbl)J/[s3+(a/al)s2+ (a,lal)s+ (a4/al)J .(lb)
km
The reference model RM is represented by Gm(s).

Gmo (s) with G;(s). [No(s)]/[Do(s) (s + 1/ tc)l and Gm (s)
[No(s)] I [Do(S)](s + I/tcJJ
tem
where the model parameters
are to be chosen appropriately.
kat and
1he adaptive law used is
with K(t) recovered usine ap~ropriate initial condition K(9)

and an additional integrator ~ex:ploiting the fact 6(t). kp K(t.
The adaptive scheme varies K(t) such that e -> 0 as fast as
possi ble (in spite of the nonline ari ties in the C P and the disturbance Id l ). It Dlay be noted that () converges to zero depending on the choice of la I. It is better to choose larger values
of~a~for high speed and high performance. The scheme can tolerate even the inaccllracies present in the modelling to a large
extent.
However if we increase '~, the bandwidth of the
operator [A / (s+ai] is also increased. 1his limitation has to
be considered in the design. Also,we need the approximate value
of the.upper bound kpm of slowly varying kp to recover K(t)
from 6(t).
3.
lW9)
Stability Analysis
The overall system can be reduced to
(F. Gajendran,
. (3a)
(3b)
538
and (2). By employing Lyapunov theory OE' hyperstabil1ty theory,

we can .show that e -> 0 aOO () ~ 0 (even it d 18 present).
4.
Conclusions
Though there are different configurations fOE' adaptive

control of peripheral milling, only one (the best) is presented
here with very attractive features. The proposed scheme will
operate satisfactorily in the presence of disturbances, nonlinearities of cP aOO other inacuracies.
Tbe presentation
is very brief due to the limitations in space.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
F. Gajendran, 'Novel adaptive control schemes: Part 1',

Research Report No. EED-FG-Adcl-l, Regional Engg. College,
Calicut, India, Apr. 1980.
F. Gajendran, 'Novel adaptive control schemes: Part 3',
Research Report No.EED-FG-Adcl-3, Regional Engg. College,
Calicut, India, June 1981.
3.
M.A. Elbestawi and R. Sagherian, 'Parameter adaptive

control in peripheral milling', Int. J .Mach. Tools.
Manufact. , Vol.ZI, No.3, pp. 399-414,1987.
4.
F. Gajendran, and K. San tosh 'A new structural principle

for a class of adaptive systems', '!'Welth National Systems
Conference, CoimbatOE'e, India, Dec. 1988.
:,.
F. Gajendran, 'Adaptive control of machine tools',

Research Report No.FG-EED-ADMT 1, Regional Engg. College,
Calicut, India, Apr., 1989.
A New Technique for Condition Monitoring of Rolling

Element Bearings Using a Portable Data Collector
G A Ratcliffe
Fellow ofInstitute of Diagnostic Engineers, Development Engineering International Ltd, UK
(1)
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the techniques used to monitor the

condition of rolling element bearings in the field.
The
limitations of present techniques are discussed and a new
technique that overcomes most of these limitations is
introduced.
Implementation of the techniques using a
portable data collector is demonstrated together with
typical case studies.
(2)
INTRODUCTION
Condition monitoring of rolling element bearings has been

in use for a number of years with varying degrees of
success.
The techniques most widely used measure the
magnitude or energy distribution of the shock pulse
emitted whenever a defect in a bearing comes into contact
with another surface.
On high speed machines this has
proved perfectly adequate and some useful information has
been obtained on the condition of the bearing.
However,
the techniques have proved unsuitable in two main areas:
(i)
(ii)
On very low speed machinery i.e conveyor drives

On machines with high levels of background
noise i.e. reciprocating machines, cavitating
pumps etc
A further disadvantage of techniques based purely on the

magnitude of the pulse is that the pulse is attenuated by
540
joint interfaces between the bearing and measurement

point. Proximity of the measurement point to the bearing
is therefore important.
Because of this it is difficult
to set universal bearing damage criteria and most assessment techniques are based on trending of pulse levels
with time combined with the previous failure history of
that bearing in that particular installation.
(3)
THE THEORY OF ENVELOPING
In common with earlier techniques enveloping monitors the

shock pulses generated by a bearing defect.
These shock
pulses are picked up by an accelerometer mounted on the
bearing housing and converted into electrical pulses.
The magnitude of these pulses will depend on the extent
of the defect but the repetition frequency of the pulses
will depend on the type of defect. There are four main
defects associated with a rolling element bearing each
with its own unique frequency which depends on bearing
geometry and machine speed. These four frequencies are
ball rotation frequency, cage frequency, outer race
frequency and inner race frequency.
These frequencies are similar to the frequencies associated with defects in the rotating elements of a machine
and, as the latter defects generate is far higher signal
levels, it is not possible to extract bearing information
from a normal vibration velocity or acceleration spectrum.
However the impulse caused by contact between the
defect and the corresponding surface appears as a short
burst of energy with a wide frequency bandwidth.
This
excites the natural frequencies of the bearing i.e outer
or inner race panting mode which occurs in the many KHz
range. Hence the impulses appear as a series of decaying
waveforms whose frequencies correspond to bearing resonance frequencies but whose repetition rate corresponds
to one of the bearing defect frequencies.
To extract
these bearing defect frequencies the signal is passed
through a bandpass filter circuit to reject the low
frequency rotor vibration and the very high frequency
541
random noise to leave the bursts of narrow band bearing

signal.
The signal is then rectified and enveloped
(demodulated) to produce a signal at one of the bearing
defect frequencies .
Frequency analysis of this signal
determines the type of fault and the amplitude level of
the degree of the fault.
A typical bearing failure
sequence from a 60 rpm conveyor is shown in Figure 1.
)01 (..,It Sped
-t
.,
. ~~""""""'-'''''''-N'
frequency Hz
'Os r..,11 Speed
IOtt!
l&ft.", .ry
I'll
100S r..,l1 Speed
Zltd hltt''''''')' 1 " .
Freq ue ney Hz
rIel-on( 1:
SIDE S(ARIN e 's'
[NVELOPE SPECTRA 0 - 10 Hz
The advantages of this method over the other traditional

methods are readily apparent.
(i)
The identification of unique bearing frequencies and the averaging of the envelope spectrum
enables valid measurements to be taken in high
noise and vibration environments .
(ii)
The frequency resolution of enveloping enables

enveloping to be used on very slow speed bearings as in rolling mills. It does however take
(iii)
slightly longer for a reading.

As enveloping measures the relative height of
the defect frequency above the carpet level
542
and, as both are subject to the same attenuation across joint faces, the reading is not as
dependent on measurement position as with
techniques measuring absolute pulse height or
energy content.
Hence the technique is more
amenable to one shot bearing assessment.
(")
FIELD IMPLEMEN'l'ATION
The machinery data collector used for enveloping.
It is
portable, battery-powered and will communicate with an

IBM-PC compatible for downloading of machine and route
information and for uploading of results and spectra. In
addition to enveloping the data collector carries out
vibration velocity measurements for detecting faults in
the rotors of machines. All spectra are displayed on the
screen of the data collector.
Host computer software is available for storing of all
machine data and results and for sending route information to the data collector.
The software will also carry
out an automatic alarm comparison and produce an exception report detailing the machines or bearings in alarm.
The next edition of software will also incorporate an
expert system for assessing the bearing damage data.
Measurements on the machines themselves are taken with a
roving accelerometer which has a quick-fit connector
which attaches to mounting studs permanently glued to the
bearing positions.
with this system the operator has
simply to go round the plant taking measurements on the

fixed mounting studs as instructed by the route information on the screen of the data collector.
(5)
543
EXAMPLES IN THE USE OF ENVELOPING
"'1 ' "I I
1(111'II1II'11
I.
I II 1'1
i ' !I
I'
I
i
I
~' t
:~
1I
. ,.11111'
:'
:I
'U1CI~"
"
Jrd ~tC"'" 1 '"

lI'l ...n ~
I II"
1<: 11[1l1li 11
"
nCUR E l:
Rec lprocattn!l Sc reen
Figure 2 shows envelope spectra from a reciprocating

screen with an eccentric mass rotating at 720 rpm. The
screen is mounted on coil springs and vibrates at 300
mmls rms at 12Hz.
The spectrum for December shows no
evidence of bearing defects but a component at Ix running
speed.
This normally indicates looseness and is an
inherent characteristic of screens.
The spectra for
January however shows harmonics of inner race defect
frequency and side bands at machine running speed.
A
bearing inspection showed a deep groove in the inner race
in line with the eccentric mass.
The spectrum on 3rd
March is after bearing replacement.
544
Sh,rL NO! Dr
Lift i ng
i 9th Decembe r 1 988
.,
ix
JO
sh .,rt 1
"
"
Freq ue ncy
[' lCURE 3d :
to
Hz
"
to
..
Ho ist Gearbox Env e lope Spectrum
Sh orl Nol DE DescendIng
19th December 1988
"
..
.
Ix
5 h ".I ( I
ix
sh" r l
Jx
h. 4"
6.
S h il( II
Frequency Hz
rIGUIlL Jb:
Hoist
Ge ,] riJox Envelope Spec t rum
Figure 3 shows the envelope spectra from a new gearbox

with 5 shafts reducing the speed from 741 rpm to 2.5 rpm.
The modulation in Figure 3 corresponds to Ix shaft No2
speed and was caused by one tooth on the gear wheel of
No2 shaft being profile ground 0.005 inches undersize on
one flank.
The modulation only occurred with the hoist
descending but not lifting.
This illustrates that as
enveloping is essentially a modulation technique it can
also be applied to gear boxes.
On Condition Monitoring and Maintenance
TMEZaal
Utrecht Polytechnic. Technological Centre Utrecht. Netherlands
This paper will describe:

1.
A recently started Post Graduate Course titled:

Monitoring and Maintenance'
'On-Condition
2. A report on 'Education in On-Condition Monitoring for

maintenance', a meeting held during the 12th WCNDT at
Amsterdam, April 1989.
1. A Post Graduate Course:
'On-Condition Monitoring and Maintenance'.
1.1
This course has been set up in cooperation with the

workgroup on 'On-Condition Maintenance' of the Dutch Quality
Surveillance and Non-Destructive Testing Society (KINT).
The Course has been developed by the Technological Centre
Utrecht (TeU), a subsidiary of the Utrecht Polytechnic.
1.2
In September 1988 the Post Graduate Course in 'On-Condition

Monitoring and Maintenance' has started at the Utrecht
Polytechnic.
1.3
The course has been developed in close cooperation with

experts of industry and professional organisations in the
field of maintenance. The course provides a theoretical
basis for the 'on-condition maintenance-technology' and is
intended for
those already working in a
maintenance
organisation, as well as for those who are expected to
do so in the near future.
546
1.4
Starting points for the set-up in this training course are:

- Maintenance Management.
- Maintenance Methods.
- Installation Behaviour.
- Operational Maintenance.
1.5
Brief summary of the Post Graduate Course:

Subjects:
Hours:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
20
20
50
40
Maintenance Management
Maintenance and Computer Applications
Condition Monitoring and Control
(Non-Destructive) Inspection Methods
Reliability and Failure Mechanisms
Design and Maintenance
Material and Maintenance
Total hours:
30
20
30
210
1.6
The lectures are given by professionals from industry and

from authorities, as well as by lecturers from the Utrecht
Polytechnic.
1.7
A great deal of attention is given to practical training and

demonstrations.
A few excursions are included in the
programme. In order to be able to follow this course it is
advisable
for
course-members
to
have
some
years
of
experience in the maintenance field.
1.8
The training course is executed by the Institution 'PTO-U',

a subsidiary of the Utrecht Polytechnic. The course is
supervised by an outside body.
1.9
The course is intended for engineers who are already working

in the field of On-Condition Monitoring and Maintenance and
who feel the need for further acquiring knowledge in this
field.
The course is al so intended for those who, in the near
future, can expect a manager's function in this field.
Participants to this course come from the process- and foodindustries, transport, lift- and crane-equipment, machines,
tools, building equipment, etc.
1.10 Summary of the course-material for a Post Graduate Course

in: 'On-Condition Monitoring and Maintenance
1 10 1. Maintenance
Mana~ement
Maintenance
Management
covers
the
complete
field
of
management technics and problems in relation to maintenance.
Special attention is given to the practical training of the
various technics.
547
1 10 2. Maintenance and Computer Applications:

The course-members are
invited to
implement their own
problems from their workspots in relation to PC computer
applications.
A market study of available software for
maintenance applications is provided. Some software suppliers
are invited to show the possibilities of the software. The
course-members are trained to define their own information
needs (in relation to maintenance).
1.10.3. Condition Monitorin& and Control:
A review is given of the complete field of Condition
Monitoring.
Attention is given to machine vibration behaviour and its
relation to machine condition. Practical training gives the
course-members the opportunity to practice the vibration
measurements technics. A special topic is the analysis of
lubrication oil with respect to debris and constituants.
1 10 4.
(Non-Destructive) Inspection Methods:
A review
inspection
included.
of
current
methods
is
destructiveand non-destructive
presented.
Practical
training is
1.10.5. Reliability and Failure Mechanisms:

Reliability and the knowledge of failure mechanisms is
introduced among others, in order to assess reliability,
availability and
maintainability.
For each of
these
objectives essential goals are set.
1 10 6
Desi&n and Maintainability:
A systematic approach to 'Design and Maintainability' is

presented to the course-members. This method shows the
possibilities to influence the design with respect to
maintenance.
This
scheme
for
a
conscious design on
reliability and maintainability may play an important part
in purchasing equipment.
1.10 7. Materials and Maintainance:
A general 'brushing-up' of material properties is presented
both for metals and for plastics. A review of deterioration
processes such as: corrosion, erosion and fatigue will be
presented. Testing and repairing methods will be reviewed.
548
As stated, the Post Graduate Course started in september 1988.

International exchange of experiences in this field was very much
wanted, a first opportunity was found at a forum meeting held by
interested parties from EC-member countries during the 12th World
Conference on Non-Destructive Testing at Amsterdam, April 1989.
The forum meeting was held on:
'Education in On-Condition Monitoring for maintenance'.
A report of this meeting is given below.
2. Report on:
aaintenance' :
'Education
in On-Condition Monitoring
for
2.1
The forum meeting: 'Education in On-Condition Monitoring for

maintenance', held Friday, April 27 at the 12th WCNDT at
Amsterdam, was organized by KINT (Dutch Quality Surveillance
and Non-Destructive Testing Society)
together with the
Utrecht Polytechnic and the Technological Centre Utrecht.
2.2
Mr. T.M.E.Zaal (Utrecht Polytechnic), chairman, opened this

meeting by reviewing the education/training situation in
The
Netherlands.
He
discussed
in particular
the
Post
Graduate Course in On-Condition Monitoring.
2.3
Mr. J.J.Caarls (Fokker Aircraft) gave an explanation of the

Post Graduate Course in Non-Destructive Testing, organized
by the Utrecht Polytechnic.
Mr.Caarls answered a question from the Swiss delegate about
possible access to this course for non-graduate engineers by
stating that in this case non-graduate participants should
show a thorough knowledge in physics and mathematics, as far
as essential for understanding the course material.
However, Utrecht Polytechnic is looking into possibilities
of better linking with NOT-level 3 requirements.
2.4
Prof. Pawlowsky (Poland) completed the subject by giving an

illustration of the education in his country. He showed a
relationship between NDT and Maintenance, and between NDT
and Construction. At the end of his presentation, Prof.
Pawlowsky invited all members of the forum meeting to the
'Euromaintenance 90' to be held May 1990 at Warschaw.
2.5
Mr.
Zaal reported on the response of an international
enquiry.
Only
Austria
and
Poland had
fully
filled
in
the
questionnaire sent by KINT, three months prior to the 12th
WCNDT.
2.6
Two main items for discussion can be distinguished from the

results of the questionnaires:
2.6.1.
International Cooperation.
2.6.2.
Position of NDT with respect

mainly Condition Monitoring.
to other disciplines,
549
The discussion on those main items can be summarized as follows:

2.6.1.
International Cooperation:
International cooperation is very much required.
- Exchange of information is essential.
Seminars, conferences, congresses, etc, are important,
but the intervals between those meetings are too long.
A team of leading experts with world-wide reputation
should organize programmed instruction, video tapes,
teaching software and other instruction material for
levelland 2.
2.6.2.
The position of NDT with respect to other disciplines,

mainly Condition Monitoring:
- On the 12th WCNDT at Amsterdam some time was dedicated
to specific subjects concerning Condition Monitoring.
In general, this initiative is seldom found on NDT
conferences.
- The Dutch delegation stated that the classical field of
NDT can well be enlarged with Condition Monitoringtechniques, like infra-red application and vibration
behaviour analysis of rotating equipment and
foundations of heavy machineries.
According to the questionnaires, the point of view of
France, Austria an Poland coincides with the Dutch
approach, which was explained by Mr. Toersen. Mr.
Toersen is Condition Monitoring expert at the Technical
University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. He emphasized
there should be no separation between Condition
Monitoring and NDT, but that both should be integrated
into one discipline. The delegates of Czechoslovakia
and of the above mentioned countries shared this
opinion. They also concluded that the field of NDT
should be confined to measurement and the measurementtechniques only, directly leading to the description
of the condition, but without assessing possible
consequences.
After the discussions

meeting as follows:
the
chairman,
Mr.
Zaal,
summarized
the
- There exists consensus on exchange of information with respect

to education on NDT, Condition Monitoring and Maintenance.
- Founding of an international platform for realizing this
exchange and for cooperation and coordination.
- Each delegate should take the outcome of this meeting to his
own national NDT-organization in order to support the forming
of an international platform.
The next opportunity to dicuss this process
International Conference at Taormina, Italy.
will
be
on
the
Computer-based Training in Statistical Quality Control
D Holmes, K McKelvie, D Meehan, A Price and D Rush

Liverpool Polytechnic, UK
ABSTRACT
This paper briefly reviews the use of artificial intelligence
(AI) techniques to improve computer-based training. It then
describes the design and facilities of a system to teach some of
the basics of statistical process control (SPC) constructed
using a proprietary expert system shell.
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper reports on a project to produce an intelligent
tutoring system which provides tutorial assistance for
statistical process control. SPC applies statistical techniques
in the area of quality control. It has been widely accepted
that the promotion of quality control procedures into the
working practices of industry is of vital importance. The
project was funded by the Training Agency under its 'A.I.
Applied to Learning' programme.
2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING (CBT)
There are some severe restrictions inherent in the traditional
design of CBT programs, since these programs do not teach as
does a human teacher. The teacher has knowledge of the subject
being taught and is thus able to generate questions, to assess
the correctness of answers given and to diagnose any underlying
student misconceptions. A good teacher will have a clear
teaching strategy, and the important capability of keeping a
record of students' progress.
551
These activities are a manifestation of intelligence. Hence

there is an obvious way of attempting to improve the teaching
capacity of CBT programs; to extend them using AI techniques so
that they may better replicate human teachers. This leads to
the idea of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS).
An ITS system must have an overall structure. One which follows
from the above is as follows:
- Knowledge base or domain expertise module
- Teaching strategy module
- Student model module
- Interface module
- Teacher, or system executive, module
Much has been written recently about ITS- see Wenger (1987).
3. STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL
The aim of quality management within an organisation is to
strive for improvement in the quality of its output through
effective control of all the processes within the organisation.
The success of quality management depends on the application of
appropriate and timely statistical techniques. Success also
depends on the informed involvement of all employees engaged in
the implementation of quality control.
The training system described here is targetted at SPC operators
and is intended to enhance their awareness and understanding of
the statistical principles underlying the techniques they apply.
The approach adopted is to discuss samples of output and their
representation as histograms. The ideas thus established are
then extended to cover process output patterns as represented by
distribution curves. Next, appropriate process output pattern
measures of mean and spread are compared with the customer's
specified requirements. This leads on to a consideration of
process capability.
In aiming for the enhancement of awareness and understanding of
statistical principles the system concentrates on:
- variable (measured) data
- Normal distributions
- test procedures based on samples of 5
552
other cases are mentioned but not developed.

4. METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT
The main aim of this project was to develop an ITS with a simple
design and implementation tools. The system was implemented with
an expert system shell which runs on IBM PCs- 'Leonardo' from
creative Logic. This offered the advantages of short
familiarisation time, fast systems development, and a
prototyping capability. Most modern shells offer an extensive
range of facilities, including graphical capabilities- important
for the present project. The use of an expert system shell to
produce an ITS has been reported previously e.g. Ward et. al.
(1988), but as yet little experience has been gained with this
approach.
The emphasis of the system was on the structure and contents of
the dialogue, thus allowing direct involvement of the domain
expert in development from an early stage. In outline a
tutoring session would:
- Ensure that upon termination, trainees would be competent
in the several interrelated topics of the curriculum;
- start by testing existing understanding, reinforcing this
with appropriate summaries;
- Descend to more detailed teaching only where trainees
lacked understanding or had misconceptions.
This approach was designed to limit the trainees' time on the
system.
The choice of teaching strategy was determined largely by the
nature of the domain. The fundamentals of SPC are predominantly
declarative, emphasising ability to understand concepts such as
control limits, shape of distribution and customer requirements.
For declarative knowledge a state transition description of the
dialogue is appropriate.lt has the advantage of allowing a more
explicit characterisation of teaching strategies in terms of the
states of the system. There have been several proposals of this
type. The one which provided a starting point for the present
work was that of Woolf et. al. (1984).
553
5. DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM

The subject matter of the system focusses on classified samples
of measurements expressed as histograms, and the corresponding
distributions, so the user interface is mainly in the form of
graphical presentations with accompanying text.
A clear separation has been maintained between the components of
the system. The teaching strategy is implemented as a set of
rules operating on and fired by the values of objects. Each
object has an associated ruleset which refers to the current
topic. Thus the only connection between the subject matter and
the teaching strategy is the states of a common set of objects.
The subject matter to be taught is divided into topics, such
that one topic can be explained in not more than two or three
screens, and the student's understanding tested in not more than
four or five questions. The relationship between topics is
described separately by a knowledge base (KB) which consists of
a database of nodes and links, which are dynamically dependent
on current values of variables. This allows flexibility in
structuring the subject material.
6. FACILITIES OF THE SYSTEM
As far as possible, the system is self-explanatory. Each topic
starts with a brief introduction, followed by questions to
assess the student's existing knowledge. Each answer is
acknowledged as correct or incorrect, and the correct answer,
possibly with some explanatory material, is displayed, thus
confirming a correct answer, or providing a first level of
correction for a wrong answer. If the student supplies enough
correct answers, the topic is concluded with a brief summary.
If the student gives enough wrong answers, the system switches
to a more detailed exposition, using the same mechanism of
introduce-question-summarize.
If an answer indicates that the student has a specific but
incorrect view of some aspect of the topic, the system invokes a
remedial topic sequence. This starts by asking further
questions.
If the answers do not confirm the misconception the
interrupted topic is resumed: otherwise, remediation continues.
554
Further facilities allow the student to invoke or curtail

additional teaching or remediation sequences, and to browse
through the system. To facilitate this, the student can display
a diagram of the system showing the interrelationship between
topics.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Experience with the development method proposed here has
demonstrated its feasibility. The working system is now under
evaluation with groups of employees from collaborating
organisations. Preliminary indications are that the system has
value as part of a scheme of SPC training.
Adopting a simple structure has left considerable scope for
design elaboration, if evaluation should show that to be
necessary. Two areas in particular would be candidates. The
present domain expertise representation is a network of topics
and sub-topics. Expanding this to include concepts and
relationships between them would allow the system to generate
questions and check the answers to them. Another area of
elaboration might be the inclusion of more complex teaching
strategies.
Finally it should be noted that the clear separation in the
system of teaching content from teaching strategy implies that
it would be a comparatively small task to produce a similar
system for another domain.
8. REFERENCES
Ward R.D, Kirby I.K, Smith J.B, Cramond J.R, Sleeman 0, Lowe K.
(1988) "Building an Intelligent Tutoring System within an Expert
System Shell", Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference
on Technology and Education, Vol.2, pp 13-16
Wenger, E. "Artificial Intelligence and Tutoring Systems", 1987,
Morgan Kauffman Publishers.
Woolf B.P. et. al. (1984) "Building a Computer Tutor:Design
Issues", IEEE Computer, vol.17, pp66-73.
A Project to Examine the Use of Open Learning Techniques

inCOMADEM
RHarding
Consultant Engineer, Wolfson Maintenance, University of Manchester, UK
J. 1l,II'urj uc;Ji
tll"l,
l1Jn"] +(:;)(")1"1
j"];:\i nt pn~:~.nc.c'
:i. ~:;
~':':'
cur"lsul -Laney
qr'oup
ba~;ed
in
the
IJnivPI"';:i.ty
of
t'1:c"nch;";I':f';f'.
It
~;p~c:iali~;es in
cor',dition based
maintpnance.
designinu
and
installing
condition
monitoring
~:;yt~:;l:(:'lf1i::;
in
a
\/i:1t"jpt.y
C)f
indu:~:;tlr'lE~:3"
wOlrold-wicie ..
Amonq its
activities i t rW,s a now well-established range of
short courses
fur' illd",1,<:"t.y'y.
Illre +Clur'
C::ClUf'~;;,E'S
nffE~I"r,d
arE'
"Condition ba!:5E)cl
1"1i::I] nt.F~n(~\r)CF;~ ~
'Vitll. . at-.inn 1"'loni.t:.CJr-inq~, ~CCJmputer's in Maintenance'
,'lrlel "Lo';t"'Ef+pct,ivp Ivlai,nteni,;,nC!'-".
I t also mounts these courses,
or
si.milat'- cnurses r)a(:~~aged
for a customer's
needs~
in foreign
"/!'"fIU",,,:.
f~ec(',ntly vJDl+,,:on
cour"5PS havE' been pr'ec,;entpd
in India
"nd rhi,~il',lrld.
Wolfson has now secured, under tbe USC PICKUP proposals a project
to p:(,3minp hnw nel~ If''al''ninq ejeli,vE'I"y techni,ques might
be applied
to
su,ch c:nUf'SfC' matel"ial,
par'ticularly inso'far as
they mpet, the
rE'quiremf"nts
0+
small-tn-medium sized
companies.
The author,
having hackground both in the subject of condition monitoring and
in thE' pducation scene,
has been asked by Wolfson Maintenance to
cfmrJu,ct the pr"oject.
At thf" time
0+ writinq, ttH~ project is
~pprn:'imatply a quarter of
the way tbrouqh,
so
the
purpose of
tbis paper is to describp what has bE'en achieved so far,
and the
,juhJt',p ciiY'E'eLion envis,3,(]E'd.
By the time the paper is presented,
siqnj+ic"lnt I.l.pc:lc\tinq ~;houlcl bp possi,b'lle.
HIP
fir-st
pE'f'ceivpej
nbjE'ct,ive
was
to
e,;tablish
whether, as
pn?v:ic"Isly
thouqht,
';iTl~111
"rid
medium
sized
fir'ms
had
not
"UPPUf't,Pel Wolf",un courses
strongly in the past.
E:.:amination of
lists 0+ delpqates for past courses
showed that only
some 2% of
dE'l("CI<,lps vJ(~r-e 'from fir"ms with uncleI" 200 employees.
Wf2 had hopeel
to analyse the sizE'S 0+ companies on Wolfson's mailshot
l i s t s to
find wl'iE'ther' tl'IP percent,3ge 0+ delegates attracted
reflected t.he
proportion 0+ small companies in the mail shot l i s t .
This proved
impr-ac:t:ic:al,
as vaf'ious
different
mail
shot
lists
and other
publicity media had beE'n used
by Wol+son over the
period during
which recurds of deleqates were available.
556
~ mailshot was specifically
targeted at 1000 small companies in

trades in selected geographical areas.
This had a
two-fold purpose; as a controlled experiment to gauge interest
~rom small companies in the 'Condition Based Maintenance' course
.n June 1989, and to seek help in collecting opinions for the
/survey,
[lnl y one response has been ob.tai. ned so far, wi t,h no
delegates resulting.
~elected
Tt1e main information gather'ing exercises have centred round

purpose-designed questionnaires. These have formed the bases for
interviews by three researchers of personnel in small/medium
sized companies,
and of people with established expertise in
lear'ning delivery systems, particularly open le,arning.
Different
questionnaires have been designed for each application.
The small company questionnaire seeks to establish th~

company's attitudes,
firstly to maintenance.
It is we~l known
that for many small firms,
operating in hectic under-resourced
envircmments,
maintenance falls well down the priority list and
is usually on the basis of 'repair-an-failure'.
The pressure is
to get the product out of the door,
and to get the next job
rolling.
Right or wrong,
breakdown maintenance is usually
adopted,
of necessity.
'D~isis management' and 'Fire fighting'
are frequently heard catch phrases.
The indications from most
firms canvassed, however,
an? o'f positive attitudes to the
importance of maintenance;
this could be due to the personnel
interviewed,
who were in the main maintenance managers.
The
questionnaire
next addresses
attitudes
to training.
Intuitively the expectation is that small firms could find only
scant resources for such activities,
but quite positive signals
are coming through.
This is particularly true of firms which are
autonomous parts of larger groups,
where group policies apply.
Questions on the priorities given to the training of different
categcwies of personnel have yielded no real concensus views.
The first
two
sections lead naturally
to
training for
maintenance.
The object is to ascertain companies' preferences
for the types of training available,
both in content and
delivery.
I"~ressions so
far are that short courses
(a la
Wolfson')
are popular for maintenance
managers,
and that
day-release courses for operatives and technicians form the bulk
of most companies'
training efforts,
measured in man-days of
training per year.
Of those who had supported Wolfson's courses
most expressed high degrees of satisfaction with format, content
and delivery method.
Most thought that 'hands-on' experince was
vit.al.
557
The final part

questions awareness of
open
learning techniques
3nd new educational
technology.
Despite all
of
the Training
Agency's advertisements with
skipping ropes on television, it
seems t.hat small. company p~?opl E? ewe qenel"all y unawal"e
of cur-r-ent
drives.
Glimmers of awar-eness flicker on mention
of the Open
University,
hut such initiatives as The Open Colleqe are as yet
not wmll
known.
Problems of motivation of
personnel. to tackle
oper'l Ip~r"nir'lg packages are envisaged by most.
Some see these as
unsurmountable.
Clearly any effort
to sell
open
learning
packages
in
maintenance into small companies would have to be
C:oLlflled
wittl
an
awar"eness
campaign
strssir\g
the
general
,,,dvallt.a.C]E!!3 uf upen I PCl.tninq.
Frum
this study it
is hoped to create a pict.ure of
the small
f i. r"m" ';;
II E,<,,,ci,,'; :i. n
fnE!thods of
del i V(,?I'-y
i. n
mai ntf~nanCf.! tr-ai ni ng.
80me 20 interviews have been conducted.
All of t.he past Wolfson
delegates from
small companies have been approached,
as have a
11UmbE)I'" fr'olll otl'lel'" cCllllpani es.
'The up,,)n
I Qi',\I'"ni nq
pr"ovi dpl'-:;;; havp 1::l(~E!n:i nter-vi E'v.ed
by the same
three rpsearchers.
The
first requirement was to
seek insight
into
I::. h r" mF!t:hods
U!5E!d
+or'
d("!l i, vet-y,
and
attE?ndance at the
Educational
Technoloqy
International
Conferpnce
(ETIC)
at
Birminqham PolytechnIC provided a timely and appropriate initial
Sl"lTVE;y 0+ thE! SCf=ne.
HomE! u~5f!'ful contac:t.r,; Wl':!r,,~ established.
The questionnair-e which was subsequently devised was to ascertain
the
methods used
by providers,
the particular constraints and
merits of these methods, and the reasoninq behind the decision to
use
them.
Quest.ions about
ensur-ing adequate opportunity for
interruption-free
study were addressed,
togetherwith
the
provision of tutorial and
workshop support.
An e+fort was also
made
to
locate
packages
appropriate
to
condition based
maintenance,
and t.o use these as examples of
open learning when
visitinq small companies.
12
int.v;!y'views had been conducted at.
ti.me of writinq.
It
that. t.h8 fflay"h?t. is +or
te:d:,
!3upport.ed by audio tapes. In
some cases video tapes are employed, but at considerable increase
in
cost.
The di++iculty with video tapes is that
people have
come
to expect
a
hiqh
degree 0+
pro+essionalism
in
theirproduction,
and
any
video
t.hat
requires
+requent
updat.e is
P I'" oh :i, b :i, t. i vf?l Y cO~5t.l y.
The taped I. ec:tuY'e, on the ot.hel~ hand, (and
this can
include students'
questions),
is relatively cheap.
Computey'-"bas;F,![J
trainil'lq and
home e:{periment kit.s
ar-e also used
qU:i,tp l"JiclE!ly thouqh t.h("!se can also be costly.
Nice ideas like
interact.ive videos are seen
as too expensive,
especially for
~3cllnf'-)
~"E)<:'~'li'!';
small
c:ompani(?;:; ..
In cClntl"a,;t. to thp qen8raJ. vi. ews about

small
cumpany awarf~ness,
howpver,
the
+indings from
this
part 0+
t.he
survey appea~
'bullish'
on
thi.s
point.
Many
Open
Learning
centres are
558
reporting good take-up from

the small company sector.
One very
strong common
thread
which has appeared
is the
necessity for
t.utOl"ial SUPPOI"t.
This is ,,,n area which the local colleges seem
to be
making
their own.
Many of
these colleges
have set. up
ent.repreneurial
act.ivities...
developing
and
selling
open
learning mat.erials for example.
The nr?::t.
ph"'ISiB in
t.he conduct
of
t.he
project
is
t.o collate
results,
and to organise a 'brainstorm' session to point the way
forward fur the
remainder of
the
project.
A report on the
outcome will
be
made
when
the paper is
presented.
The three
researchers
involved
in
data
collection
will
be accompanied
hoppfully hy
r-epl"esent.ativr,(s)
fl'-ofll sm~... ll firms
and
from open
]parning organisat.ions as well as by the director and others frofll
WolFson Maintenance.
It is planned t.o address such questions as:
\,<Jhethpt t.O-cjPVf.eICJp i, new coursp,
Whether to put an existing course in D.L.
form,
~'.Jh<,thF'r to i'~dapt:. any p:d=;ti.ng D.L.
material which fIIi;\y bf.~
ar'pl"opri ate>.
~'JhpthF<r
A.nv
c:1 E!mcm<;;t I-at 1 on
:1-[-,,';
could
fIIi'lke
specific
inroads into small company markets.
targpt thp rpmaining rpsources Clf
P>:Pt::~(:t
tC]
pl'-ndu.cti. or; of a package, or elements thereof.
Wf::'
the project at
Author Index
Ananda Rao, M
Adkin, P
AI-Faysale, M S M
Alkadhimi, K I H
Allenby,G
AI-Shemmeri, TT
AmadiEchendu, J E
Ameen,A
AU,YHJ
559
364
260
525
463
303
469
154,520
458
170
Benhadj, R
Bergman,GD
Bouchalis, C
206
397
469
Cempel,C
Chan,KW
Chauhan,KJ
Cherrington, J E
Cheung,J M
Chui,D
Chui,T
Clark, T
29
104
488
226
463
199
199
93
Dadd,A T
Davies,J
Davies, PB
Dawson,B
Derry, J S
Ding,Z
Divakar Roy, K R
Dunlop,RM
Edmunds,JM
Efstathiou, J
EI Shabrawy, M
EI Sherif, A H
Esat, I
Farhan, I H
Farley,JM
Firoozian, R
Fletcher, E J
Forrest, J D
Foster, P J
139
212,219
254
206
165
50
364
212
50
238
290
308
199
434,439
15
34
271
45
429
Gajendran, F
Gant,NRN
Ghallab,S
Gordon,CM
Goyal,KL
Hadden,SGC
Hahn,B
Hale,JM
Halliwell,NA
Harding,R
Harris,MJ
Harvey, SJ
Harvey,SN
Haywood, B C
HengjunZhu
Henry,RM
Herraty,AG
Hewitt,PD
Higham,EH
Hilliard, R
HiIIs,PW
Holmes,D
Holroyd, TJ
Hunt,TM
HuoYuxiang
Hurren, PJ
Hyde,G
535
424
238
414
488
175
453
409
424
555
122
260
358
494
34
525
358
194
154,520
159
325
550
530
348,353
450,508
154,520
187
Jenkins,MP
Johnson,DE
Jones,NB
Joseph,MA
175
98
247
535
Kaghazchi, H
Kalina,H
Kapoor,S
Kavaratzis, Y
Kiel,T
Kimber,T
King,S
Kumar,K
159
453
488
148
444
402
530
117
Lewis,BA
Lewis,CP
Lim,R
Loveday,DL
226
414
117
463
Mahmoud,SM
Maiden,JD
Mann,RS
Mardapittas, A S
Maughan,K
May,APH
McCarten,G
McKelvie,K
Meehan,D
Moss,TR
Murphy,TJ
Murray,BG
434,439
148
122
170
242
104
409
550
550
122
386
182
Nicholls,C
Nwagboso, C 0
335,378
254
Obeid,N
Ooi,TH
266
117
Pajukoski, M
Panaka,P
Parrish,CJ
Parsons,B
Paviour, G H V
Pearce,DF
Penter,A
Pickering, C J D
Price, A
Pritchard, W D N
Provost,MJ
314
429
419
199
144
127
68
424
550
187
74
QiaoYufei
508
Rao,BKN
Ratcliffe, G A
Raubenheimer, D S T
Reason, 1M
Redpath,DG
Rider, RJ
Robinson, N L
Rush,D
13
539
20
219
477
260
247
550
Sadeque,S
Safa,MMA
Sanders,BE
Sanders, SAC
Santilli,R
Satyanarayana, K
Sawyers,S
Saxena,R
Scruby,CB
Sehmi,AS
Self,A W
Sherwin,DJ
Skitt, PJC
Smiley,RG
Smith,P
Smith,RA
Soon,A
Southcombe, G
Srivastava, A K
Stacey,KA
Sturm,A
Tang,SL
Thomas,MJ
Thompson,G
Toole,S
Tranter,J
Trmal,GJ
206
206
226
226
55
364
276
488
494
247
127
281
194
386
271
483
458
104
488
494
444
134
499
111
231
373
98,104
Virk,GS
463
Walker,W
Walton,H
Wang, WJ
Waterfall, R C
Watkins,K
Watton,J
West,DAL
Whomes, TL
Winfield,M
Witcomb,RC
Wong,TT
242
409
40
165
513
513
25
254
231
194
134
XuXiaodi
XuYuankai
Zaal,TME
Zoltowski, B
450,508
111
545
88

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COMADEM89

Proceedings of the First International

Organised by Birmingham Polytechnic, 4 to 6 September 1989

B K N Rao, A D Hope and contributors, 1989

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

COMADEM International 89. Conference

Dedicated to Eng, Laxmi, Aruna

This international proceedings couldn't have been produced at such

Machinery/Systems Health Monitoring

Practical Gear Fault Diagnosis Using Vibration-based Methods ................................... 68

A Revolution in Rotating Machinery Monitoring ..................................................... 93

Quality, Reliability, Health and Safety

Plant and Process Health Monitoring

Blanking Process Characterization Using Acoustic Emission

A Monitor for the Cooling System of a Large Electrical Generator ....

Pump Performance - Its Application to Condition Monitoring.

Application of Expert Systems in COMADEM

Power System Network Loadflow Management Using Fuzzy Knowledge-based

Post Flight Analysis of EH 10l Helicopter Maintenance Data

A Strategy of Knowledge Elicitation for the Monitoring and Control of

Computerised Technical Documentation

A Diagnostic Expert System which Generates Explanations.

Concurrent System Behaviour ............................................................................. 276

Condition-based Maintenance Management

Condition-based Maintenance System Engineering .................................................. 303

Advances in Instrumentation and Control Technology

Clean Window Design for Optical Access

Advances in Diagnostic Technology

Energy Monitoring and Management

Condition Monitoring of Offshore Structures and Installations

Advances in Non-destructive Testing (NDT)/Non-destructive

Novel Application of COMADEM Techniques

Continuing Education and Training in COMADEM

Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management (COMADEM) is a relatively

Total Quality in NDT and Condition Monitoring

THE VALUE OF NDT AND CONDITION MONITORING

NDT of nuclear reactor plant

fire detection in jet engines

monitoring of emissions from incinerator plant

remanent life assessment of boiler pressure parts

security checking of airline baggage.

In many cases significant economic benefits accrue from extending

THE NEEO FOR QUALITY

the Piper Alpha platform explosion

Key Note Lecture 1

the Ml plane crash

the USSR gas pipeline explosion.

Can we be sure that none of these disasters was caused by a lack of

DEFINITION OF TOTAL QUALITY

1988) exhorts its

"Commitment to Total Quality is a way of life.

Are the customer's needs properly

Does the product/service properly

Are the results definitive?

Total quality clearly requires close co-operation between the

Qualification of test equipment

In the particular case of NDT, initially because of the requirements

Key Note Lecture 1

international debate appears to have come down on the side of

Condition-based Maintenance - Where to Next?

When I was invited to present the keynote address to this conference, it

Key Note Lecture 2

Key Note Lecture 2