VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION

VIBRATION PARAMETERS
DISPLACEMENT - Microns peak to peak
Used for analyzing data from shaft vibration probes. May also be used on low speed machines with events occurring at lower than 600 CPM. Not recommended to double integrate acceleration to obtain displacement.

VELOCITY - mm/sec
Best parameter for frequencies between 600 to 120,000 CPM May be obtained by integrating accelerometer output. Velocity transducer or Velometer give best signal.

ACCELERATION - g's
Used for measuring frequencies above 120,000 CPM. Used for monitoring gear mesh frequencies, blade and vane passing frequencies etc.

SELECTION OF VIBRATION PARAMETERS

For machines with rolling element bearings measure bearing housing vibration Measure both velocity and displacement to get a quick idea about dominant frequencies.
We can see if the dominant frequency is 1x or if higher frequencies are present Presence of high frequencies from bearing defect or flow related causes can also be identified.

If only one parameter is measured we must look at the spectrum each time to see what frequencies are present.

UNITS OF AMPLITUDE
Vibration data is usually read in
Peak to peak Zero to peak (or just peak) RMS (Root mean squared)

Shaft displacement monitors measure the vibration in peak to peak units

Velocity and acceleration may be measured either in "peak" or "RMS" units.

In USA both velocity and acceleration are measured as zero to peak In Europe both are measured in RMS

AMPLITUDE MEASUREMENT
All FFT data collectors measure only the RMS value and convert to peak values using;
Zero to Peak = 1.414 x RMS and Peak to peak = 2,828 x RMS

However, these relationships are valid only for sinusoidal waveform and a single frequency
If more than one frequency is present the conversion will also be in error Since vibration is rarely sinusoidal such converted values will only be approximate

Only way to measure true peak values is to use a peak detector of the type used in Bently monitors.

Optimizing Data collection Parameters

Maximum Frequency Spectral Resolution - Number of Lines Averages - Linear, Exponential, Peak Hold, Synchronous, Order tracking Amplitude Parameters - Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration Unit of Amplitude - Peak to peak, Peak or RMS Windows Functions - Flat top, Hanning, Uniform Overlapping Process Time Traces Phase Angle

MAXIMUM FREQUENCY
Depends on
Type of machine Speed Frequency Components

If frequency is set too low - Necessary information may be discarded. If frequency is set too high - Information at lower end might be lost due to poor resolution. For Machines with Sleeve Bearings - 20 times Running Speed For machines with rolling element bearings without gear box - 40 times Running Speed For Gear Boxes - 3.5 times Gear Mesh Frequency For Motors - 3.5 times Rotor Bar Frequency

SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
Number of lines is a compromise between Resolution
Memory Speed

Resolution - 1 to 2 Hz (60 to 120 CPM) resolution adequate for most analysis work Number of lines = Maximum Frequency / Resolution
Example - F max = 72,000 CPM, Resolution = 60 CPM Number of Lines = 72,000 / 60 = 1,200

Select one of standard lines - either 800 or 1,600

Memory - More the number of lines more the memory required to store the spectrum.
Speed - Higher the resolution the longer it takes for data collection

AVERAGES
LINEAR AVERAGING Most commonly used average - 4 to 8 averages are captured during data collection At each spectral line, values are linearly added and then divided by the number of averages. Advantages
Good for steady environment Reduces or eliminates non-repeatable events in noisy environment

Disadvantages - Instantaneous events such as rubs, slippage, bearing defects can be missed. Errors may be reduced by looking at the instantaneous spectrum before linear averaging.

AVERAGES
EXPONENTIAL AVERAGING Puts more weight on the data that is collected last - useful for real time analysis. Time consuming - not commonly used for periodic vibration monitoring program. Advantages - Sensitive to newer nonrepeatable events Disadvantages - If over-averaged earlier events will be less obvious

AVERAGES
PEAK-HOLD AVERAGING
Saves the highest peak at every frequency. Used to determine the worst case scenario in a noisy machine. Susceptible to noise from surroundings .

Should be used with caution - not used for periodic monitoring.

AVERAGES
Synchronous Time averaging
Once per turn (keyphasor) signal required. Averaging is triggered at the same instant of time in the cycle Ten or more averages will minimize nonsynchronous events. May be used to emphasize synchronous events of one gear while suppressing those from another.

AVERAGES
ORDER-TRACKING AVERAGING Used on machines whose speed may vary while capturing data. Once-per-turn Keyphasor signal required to trigger averaging. Spectrum displayed in orders of running speed irrespective of speed changes. Ten or more averages will remove all nonsynchronous signals.

AVERAGES
NO AVERAGING
Instantaneous spectrum - Real Time Analysis Should be performed to see how machine is operating before averaging. Real time analysis is essential for detecting many electrical and mechanical problems.

WINDOWS FUNCTIONS
Window functions are weighing filters that force vibration signal to be periodic.

FFT processing needs the signal to be periodic for calculating the frequency spectrum.
Three types of windows are widely available
Hanning The Flat top The Uniform

Hanning is the default window in all data collectors

Good compromise between frequency resolution and amplitude accuracy (15% error

WINDOWS FUNCTIONS
Hanning is the default window in all data collectors
Good compromise between frequency resolution and amplitude accuracy (15% error)

The Flat Top Window

Better amplitude accuracy (0.5% error) Poor frequency resolution

The Uniform Window

Better frequency resolution (sharp peaks) Worst amplitude accuracy (up to 33% error)

OVERLAPPING PROCESS
Used to speed up data collection process Uses the principle of not emptying the whole bottle before refilling it.

Uses part of the data from the first spectrum and some new data to obtain new spectrum
Overlapping process available with all data collectors

40% overlap means 40% old data and 60% new data
Up to 50% overlap can be used without affecting the accuracy of the data.

Higher overlap can be used during transient events to display spectra fast.