In the road, rail and aircraft sectors, there are many different applications for condition monitoring. Areas of specific application for MBVI systems can be found in infrastructure such as road and rail tunnels which rely on ventilation fans and water pumps, to keep tunnels clear.
Access to monitor these assets using conventional, walk-around vibration monitoring can be difficult, with fans often mounted right inside ductwork, and pumps often submerged or in boreholes. MBVI systems have a unique advantage for these assets in that the measurement is done in the safe, dry, accessible motor switch room area.
The transport sector tends to operate under tight margins, so all aspects of the business need to run at their most efficient to succeed commercially. Deploying the optimum Maintenance Strategy saves money on the maintenance work itself, and saves the business much more money from reduced levels of unexpected equipment failures and the associated disruption.
Infrastructure such as road tunnels and rail tunnels frequently rely on the effective operation of pumps to clear water out, and ventilation fans to maintain an acceptable breathable atmosphere inside the tunnel. Ventilation fans also have a crucial role to play in the event of fire, to control the direction of air flow, allowing travellers to evacuate safely and to survive in a smoke-free zone.
Drainage pumps are often located in inaccessible locations, making routine condition monitoring difficult. Ventilation fans are often suspended above the carriageway in road tunnels, making access contingent on traffic management, with the corresponding restrictions on traffic flow rates, which can force condition monitoring tasks to be done at night only. Safety ventilation fans, for fire and evacuation management, are often mounted right inside the ductwork, which can make accessing them completely impossible whilst they are running.
All these factors make conventional condition monitoring, using vibration sensors, very difficult. Hand-held portable vibration data collection can be difficult or impossible; permanently installed vibration sensors can be extremely expensive to run cabling back to a central monitoring point.
By contrast, Faraday Predictive condition monitoring systems are ideally suited to monitoring these inaccessible assets, because the sensing is all done in the switchgear feeding the motor, which is typically mounted in a clean, dry, safe, accessible switch room. Access is not an issue, and there is no need to run long cables to connect sensors to the central monitoring unit.
Case studies in the Transport industry
Condition monitoring of tunnel ventilation fans – case 1 and case 2.
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 our benefits calculator.