Catastrophic failure avoid on a cement crusher planetary gearbox

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Wi-care wireless vibration and temperature condition monitoring system

Introduction

In a perfect world, the easiest solution to ensure maximum production uptime is for all industry experts to live onsite around the clock! With the aim of ensuring that dedicated experts are always in the neighborhood, I-care has developed its own condition monitoring remote diagnosis solution. Wi-care wireless condition monitoring system performs online, real-time analysis of a particular machine to predict eventual failure. The system performs the onsite data collection while certified analysts analyze your data to deliver comprehensive recommendations 24/7. This wireless and remote strategy offers cost savings over routine-based maintenance and very flexible solution for troubleshooting and monitoring.

The following case study represents a typical remote analysis application of a gear defect. Default was detected in a very comfortable way for both customer and analyst:

*For customer, continuous surveillance of its critical asset with low upfront investment and lower cost than manual/classic online monitoring. *For analyst, continuous data (historic and change follow-up) from office without any travel or measurement time spent.

The world turns to wireless, condition monitoring too.

Equipment, plant overview, Context

The plant is a cement industry producing close to full capacity, established for many years in Western Europe. The Equipment is a huge cement ball mill. The suspected mechanical assembly is the gearbox and its electrical drive 1MW. Customer requests I-Care support after a suspected increase in vibration level. In order to do a close monitoring and diagnostic of the vibration on the complete assembly, the analyst decide to install Wi-care wireless system.

Analyst diagnosis and spectrum justification: Gear frequency

Wi-care system is set on the gearbox and the electrical drive in a minute using magnet to cover classical vibration directions, vertical, horizontal and axial.

Note on the right side of the picture the Wi-care speed sensor directly measuring with a keyphasor on the shaft.

Standard spectrum collected via Wi-care in vertical direction. Display in speed units. The dominant frequency appear at 373,9 Hz and its harmonics.

On a closer zoom on 373,9 Hz appears modulation at 5Hz. The amplitude is close to 4 mm/sec RMS.

Looking in the drawings and data sheet, we can find the gearbox specifications and calculate theoretical fault frequencies

Calculate Gear mesh frequency of 373,71 Hz and its harmonics match the measured frequency of 373,9 Hz. Detected 5Hz modulation are linked to a ring defect (5.01 calculated). Amplitude trend indicate a 100% growth in a few days. Decision was taken by customer based on analyst recommendations via Wi-care measurement to start the maintenance process. Root cause of gear defect is an excessive looseness in the gear assembly due to structural cracks.

ROI and time frame

The measurements performed with Wi-care helped to plan and implement targeted maintenance successfully. Consequential damages and many month of lost production could be prevented.

Wi-care product and remote diagnosis overview

What it is?
The Wi-care™ system is the latest wireless condition monitoring system from I-Care. The system has been designed to detect, measure and analyze the root causes of excessive levels of vibration and temperature. The Wi-care system is a cost-effective tool used to report any vibration or temperature deviation in a short time. The I-CARE team of engineers using the data from Wi-care is able to give you a condition monitoring remote diagnosis at any time 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The condition based maintenance partnership has been created to give you the chance to correct a potential problem before it occurs.

The solution developed in the Wi-care system is based on a receiver connected on the internet and able to manage up to 144 transmitters, each transmitter sending vibration and temperature data. In order to reach long distance data transfer and remote locations, the WI-care involves a range extender in its network. Using a web-based portal to manage the system avoids any extra cost and any difficulties linked to software. We all know how frustrating it is when you are waiting for your data analysis and you can’t take any quick condition based maintenance decision due to software issues. www.wirelessvibration.eu

Added values?
Online monitoring based on permanent wired sensors can be expensive in many applications. Wireless monitoring with wireless vibration sensors improves the reliability of difficult-to-monitor assets with quick and cost effective installation. Wireless vibration added values result in a more flexible system, cutting expense and labor costs on installation and maintenance of the old wired vibration and temperature sensors. Consider that you fix the sensors using extra-strong magnets where you need them and in minutes they create a large network of real time data transmission to the gateway data manger in accordance with the range extender. The solution created by Wi-care is very flexible and cost effective because it allows the reuse of existing piezoelectric vibration sensors and turns them into wireless vibration sensors with one action – plugging the transmitter.