VIBRATION

MONITORING

ALIGNMENT &
BALANCING
 TRIVENI
RELIABILITY SERVICES
&
TRAINING ACADEMY, PUNE
 Importance of Vibration Analysis
• Human in their day-to-day activities involve vibration
in various forms
• While hearing our ear drum vibrate.
• When we see light waves undergo vibration.
• Breathing is associated with vibration of lungs.
• Walking involves oscillatory motion of legs and hands.
• We speak due to oscillatory motion of larynges and
tongue.
• Heart beats rhythmically.
 Health checks for Human
• Blood pressure
• Body temperature
• Lung capacity
• Blood checkup
• Endoscopy
• X-Ray
• CT Scan
• Many investigations revolve around design of
machines, foundations, structures, turbines, Gear
transmittions
• Most prime movers have vibration problems due
to inherent unbalance which is due to faulty
design or poor manufacturing.
• Imbalance in diesel engines can cause ground
waves which create nuisance in urban areas.
• Wheels of some locomotives can rise more than
a centimeter off the track at high speed due to
imbalance.
--Vibrations cause spectacular mechanical failure.
--Engineers have not been able to prevent the

failures that result from blade and disc

vibrations in turbine.
--Structures designed to support heavy machines
are also subjected to vibrations.
• Failure can be due to material fatigue resulting
from the cyclic variations of induced stress.
• Vibrations cause rapid wear of machine parts
such as bearings and gears.
• Vibrations also create excessive noise.
• Vibrations cause fasteners like nuts and bolts
to become loose.
•• In metal cutting can cause chatter which leads
to poor surface finish. Vibrations are not
desirable in machinery and structures.
• Vibration tests are carried out to ensure low
vibrations in machinery.
• These tests are done during design and
development phase and in normal operation
of the machine.
 CONDITION MONITORING
• The technique of monitoring the condition of
machine with various parameters like
vibration, thermography, etc.
• Analysing the defects
• Taking corrective actions
 Health checkup for Machinery
• Machine vibrations
• Bearing Temperature
• Visual inspection
• Oil inspection
• P-V curves and Efficiency curves
• MCSA – Motor Current Signature Analysis
• Thermography
• Online Monitoring
• Corrosion monitoring
• Thickness testing
• Ultrasonic tests
• Acoustic emission
 Parameters of machine checkup
• Pressure
• Flow
• Current and voltage
• Power
• Noise
• Strain
• Torque
 Condition monitoring frequency
• Quarterly : Non-critical machines
• Monthly : Sub-critical machines
• Weekly : Critical machines
• Daily and Online : High speed turbines,
compressor and generators
 Applications of Condition Monitoring

• Rotating machines
• Reciprocating machines
• Pipes and structures
• Pipes and foundations
• Buildings and structures
• Automobile industry
• Lubrication
 Consequences
• Vibrations are caused due to internal and
external forces acting on a machine.
• These forces will consume more power and
hence energy consumption.
• The life of machine will be reduced due to
wear and tear.
• Hence finally machine breaks down due to
fatigue.
 Devices
• Many vibration measuring instruments are
available today at affordable prices.
• But they should be handled by an engineer who
has thorough knowledge of vibration theory and
practice.
• The engineer should also know how to adapt a
field test.
• He should be in a position to judge the vibration
parameters as per the frequency range.
 Definition of Vibratory motion
• Any motion that repeats itself after a fixed interval of time is
called vibration or oscillation. example is that of a pendulum.
• A vibratory system in general, includes a means for storing
potential enery (spring or elasticity), a means for storing
kinetic energy (mass or inertia) and a means by which energy
is gradually lost ( damper);
• The vibration of a system involves transfer of its potential
energy to kinetic energy and vice versa;
• If the system is damped, some energy is dissipated in each
cycle of vibration and must be replaced by an external source
if a steady state of vibration is to be maintained.
 Classification of Vibrations
1. Free Vibrations: a system after initial disturbance is left to
vibrate on its own. No external force acts on the system. For
example, oscillation of a simple pendulum.
2. Forced Vibration: if a system is subjected to an external
repeating force, the resulting vibration is known as forced
vibration. For example, diesel engines.
3. Deterministic or Random vibration: if the value or magnitude of
excitation (force or motion) acting on a vibratory system at any
given time then the excitation is called as deterministic. In
some cases excitation is non deterministic or random. The
value of excitation at given time cannot be predicted, is known
as Random vibration.
 Applications of Vibration Monitoring
Vibration monitoring is carried out for:
 Determination of response of vibrating machine or
structure.
 Finding response of a human being in a vibrating
environment in a building or while operating a machine.
 Determination of vibration levels in machinery and
vehicles.
 Finding the natural frequencies, damping ratios and
mode shapes.
 Determination of forces causing vibrations.
Applications of Vibration Monitoring Contd…

 Vibration isolation with AVM’S

 Calibration of a transducer
 Condition monitoring of rotating machines
 Estimating vibration levels on massive
structures, like machine foundations,
buildings, highways and bridges.
 Measurement of ground motion during an
earthquake.
 Theory of Vibration
• The study of vibrations is concerned with
oscillatory motion.
• Vibration is back and forth motion of a machine
component.
• The parameters concerned in the study of
vibration are the following three amplitudes:
1. Displacement
2. Velocity
3. Acceleration
Displacement amplitude (microns)
• Used for low speed machines typically less than
600 CPM and structural vibrations.
• Displacement indicates the stress levels to which
the machine is subjected to.
• Higher the displacement, higher will be the
tensile and compressive stresses on either side
of the specimen.
• Higher the frequency, higher will be the reversal
of stresses.
 Velocity amplitude (mm/sec)
• Used for machines typically more than 600 CPM
and LESS THAN 60000 cpm structural vibrations.
• Displacement indicates the stress levels to which
the machine is subjected to.
• Higher the displacement, higher will be the
tensile and compressive stresses on either side of
the specimen.
• Higher the frequency, higher will be the reversal
of stresses.
Acceleration amplitude (mm/sec2)
• Used for low speed machines typically more than
60,000 CPM and structural vibrations.
• Displacement indicates the stress levels to which
the machine is subjected to.
• Higher the displacement, higher will be the
tensile and compressive stresses on either side
of the specimen.
• Higher the frequency, higher will be the reversal
of stresses
Time waveform
 Period
• Time period over which signal completes one
cycle.

• T =1/F

• F=1/T
Frequency Domain
 Vectors
• Vector has magnitude and direction.
• Many vibration phenomenon are rotating
vectors.
 Vibration transducers
Transducer convert mechanical signal to
equivalent electrical signal. Eg:
• Accelerometer
• Velometer
• Eddy current probe
 Vibration transducers… cont
• Accelerometer :
 It is the source of the electrical signal that
corresponds to the vibration level.
 The accuracy of a vibration monitoring system
depends on the quality of data received from the
accelerometer.
 Accelerometers are full-contact transducers typically
mounted directly on high-frequency elements, such as
rolling-element bearings, gearboxes, or spinning
blades.
 Vibration transducers… cont
• Velometer:
piezoelectric accelerometers which have an
integrating circuit built into them to convert
acceleration to velocity.
 velocity sensor(piezoelectric)
 velocity sensor (electro-dynamic)
 Vibration transducers… cont
• Eddy current probes :
Eddy current sensors are used to measure position
and expansion on shafts, bearing housings, and
machine cases on rotating machines.
 Location of measurement points
• The best point for measurement of vibration is
bearing housing.
• Vibration measurement taken in 3 directions
• Horizontal – Vertical – Axial
• For Vertical machines it is E-W, N-S and Axial
• Limitation for motor NDE bearing.
 Most likely cause
When vibration is highest in
• Horizontal – Unbalance
• Vertical – Looseness
• Axial - Misalignment
 Test Point Location
Accelerometer Location

No No
Best
location

No

01/12/2022 35
 Assessment as per ISO 10816

CLASS KW ACCEPTABLE VIBRATION (MM/SEC) RMS

I <15 4.5
II 15-75 7.1
III >75 11.2
IV Reciprocating 18
 Condition monitoring program
Aim : To increase MTBF and reduce MTTR

Steps :
1. Detection
2. Analysis
3. Correction
 DETECTION
• List out all the critical machines
• Collect vibration data with appropriate unit
• Displacement, velocity or acceleration
• Prepare exception report as per ISO 10816
 ANALYSIS
• From the exception report take FFT spectrum to
identify the probable fault.
• Different faults will give different FFT spectrums.

time domain

frequency
domain
domain
 Detection By Vibration Analysis

1. Unbalance(Static, Couple, Quasi-Static),

2. Misalignment(Angular, Parallel, Combination)
3. Eccentric Rotor, Bent Shaft
4. Mechanical Looseness, Structural Weakness, Soft Foot
5. Resonance, Beat Vibration
6. Mechanical Rubbing
7. Problems Of Belt Driven Machines
8. Journal Bearing Defects
9. Antifriction Bearing Defects
(Inner race, Outer race, Cage, Rolling Elements)
10.Problems of Hydrodynamic & Aerodynamic Machines
(Blade Or Vane, Flow turbulence, Cavitation)
11.Gear Problems (Tooth wear, Tooth load, Gear eccentricity,
Backlash, Gear misalignment, Cracked Or Broken Tooth)
12.Electrical Problems of AC & DC Motor ( Variable Air Gap,
Rotor Bar Defect, Problems of SCRs)
 Common Machinery Faults
1) Unbalance: This is the most common contributor
to vibration. If not taken care of then it might result
in fatigue in support structures, excessive bearing
wear and power losses. It can be corrected by static
or dynamic balancing.
Common Machinery Faults contd…
1) Misalignment: It may cause excessive radial
loads on bearings, leading to their premature
failure. Its common forms are: parallel
misalignment, angular misalignment and
combination of both.
Common Machinery Faults contd…
1) Mechanical looseness: it may appear in the
form of a bearing loose on a shaft or a
bearing loose in its housing, etc.
Common Machinery Faults contd…
4) Rubs: When there is excessive mechanical
looseness, moving parts of machines come
into contact with stationary parts causing
rubs. Here the resulting vibration amplitude is
high in vertical direction.
5) Soft-Foot: It is a form of mechanical looseness
which manifests as misalignment. It occurs
when there is a gap in one of the machine
foot, among the four feet.
Common Machinery Faults contd…
6) Resonance: its characteristics is such that it
gives rise to a strong peak, the frequency of
which is independent of the rotating speed of
the machine. It can be clearly seen during coast-
up or coast-down test. The amplitude of
response at resonance is limited only by the
damping in the system. Highly damped systems
will not show large amplitudes.
Common Machinery Faults contd…
7) Foundation problems: Any foundation is to be
designed such that its natural frequency does
not coincide with the speed of the machine.
Vibration frequencies below the natural
frequency will be transmitted to the earth. A
foundation is also expected to be sufficiently
rigid so as to keep the machine properly
aligned.
 Faults in Rolling Element Bearings
• Bearing is an important component of machine
which sustains load and speed of the machine.
• It is an interface between static and rotating
part of the machine.
• Bearing consists of outer race, inner race, cage
and rolling elements.
• The faults of these elements are detected with
defect frequencies.
 Defect Frequencies
 Inner race defect frequency

 Outer race defect frequency

 Rolling element defect frequency

 Cage defect frequency

 Types of Bearings
• Journal bearings – Babbit metal / white metal
• Anti-friction bearings
 Resonance
• Whenever the natural frequency of vibration of a machine or
structure coincides with the frequency of external excitation,
there occurs phenomenon known as resonance.
• It leads to excessive deflections and failures;
• Because of devastating effects of excessive vibrations on
machines and structures, vibration testing has become a
standard procedure in design and development of
engineering systems.
• In engineering systems human being acts as an integral part
of the system.
• The transmission of vibrations to human beings results in
discomfort and loss of efficiency.
• Looseness

1. Structural frame/base looseness (1X)

2. Cracked structure/bearing pedestal (2X)
3. Rotating looseness - Loose bearing/improper fit
between component parts. (Multiple)
 Gear box

T1
RPM1

RPM2

T2

GMF (Gear Mesh Frequency)

T1 .RPM1 = T2 .RPM2
where T = no. of teeth and RPM shaft speed
Mating gears produce only one ‘Gear Mesh Frequency’
 Eccentricity
 When center of rotation is offset from geometric
center.
 Dominant frequency 1X.
 Horizontal to Vertical phase difference either 00
or 1800 at the same bearing housing
BELT ALIGNMENT

offset and angular

 Electrical problems
Faults possible to detect with vibration analysis:
Rotor thermal bow
Air gap eccentricity
Loose rotor
Eccentric rotor
Loose windings
Necessary data:
No. of stator slots (SPF)
No. of rotor bars (RBPF)
Line frequency (LF)
Slip frequency (SF)
 Other applications :
In spite of the detrimental effects, vibration can be
utilized in several consumers and industry applications,
for e.g.:
1. Vibration is desired in vibratory conveyors, hoppers,
sieves, washing machines, electric tooth brush,
dentist drills, clocks and electric massaging units.
2. Vibration is found to improve efficiency of certain
machining, casting, forging and welding processes.