December 2016Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
It is possible to extend the lifetime of pumps and fans by keeping a close eye on them through online asset monitoring. This technique is commonly used to monitor expensive, process-critical equipment by spotting problems as they happen. For example, it can detect the tiniest changes in bearing vibration, giving an early indication of impending failure and allowing remedial action to be taken before the problem escalates into inefficiency or even a catastrophic failure.
It is usually applied to expensive machinery, but the emergence of reliable, affordable sensors and the ability to process large amounts of data means it can also be used with smaller equipment such as pumps and fans. Equipping each pump or fan with sensors, including a transmitter, for instance, SKF’s Wireless Machine Condition Sensor, allows the creation of a sensor network. Output data can regularly be analysed and acted upon. For example, sensors can identify whether cavitation is developing in a pump, allowing operators to respond to the problem by adjusting its running speed, or switching to a back-up pump.
There are often hundreds of pumps in a process plant or refinery. The challenge, as always, is to process the vast amounts of data generated by the sensors.
Online monitoring can be used to nurse a ‘problem’ machine back to health by monitoring it more frequently than similar machines. It also allows machines in hazardous areas to be monitored without endangering staff, or, at least minimising the number of times they have to check them.
That said, there are some things, such as a leaking seal, that a sensor cannot spot. In these instances, it is vital that operators make visual assessments of components and supply this information alongside the automated online data. This operator-driven reliability (ODR) is another vital factor in keeping pumps and fans running for as long as possible.
ODR has become popular in applications such as pump farms in refineries, and can make a huge difference in performance. These two approaches – online monitoring and ODR – are complementary to one another, and are best used side by side. In each case, a skilled operator – one at the machine side, the other analysing process data – is using their experience to help squeeze more performance and longevity from a pump or fan.
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