Centrifuges are notorious for having the potential to generate large out of balance forces, and this example was no different. The unit was mounted on steelwork structure of an upper floor of the building, not on a solid concrete plinth on the ground, which gave rise to significant structural vibration in normal operation. A range of problems had been experienced including unbalance, damaged bearings, incomplete clearance of separated solids, misalignment of gearbox to motor, etc.
The nature of the equipment makes it extremely hard to perform conventional condition monitoring. Because the equipment can only run when the solid cover is locked down over the rotating drum, conventional vibration monitoring directly on the bearing housings is virtually impossible, thermography is virtually impossible. And the inner shaft runs on bearings that are mounted inside the outer shaft assembly, so are completely inaccessible to conventional vibration monitoring systems.
By contrast, the Faraday Predictive system, which takes its readings from the voltage and current drawn by the motor, is unaffected by this inaccessibility. In fact, having two motors driving the one piece of equipment gives us two bites at the cherry, with some signals from one of the shafts also affecting the signals from the other shaft, giving two alternative views on the same equipment, allowing a better perspective view.
This test gave the company concerned a new insight into how the equipment functions, and how to operate, monitor and maintain it.
What to do next
If you are interested in applying Faraday Predictive condition monitoring systems to your plant, give us a call on 0333 772 0748, or email us on info@faradaypredictive.com.
If you want to develop your business case for investment in Faraday Predictive condition monitoring systems, take a look at this.
And if you want to know more about our condition monitoring systems themselves, click here.