A new technology combines automated vibration monitoring with the diagnostic capabilities of smart instrumentation and the FOUNDATION™ fieldbus digital communications protocol, providing a never-before-available means of continuously evaluating and reporting on the condition of motor-pump machine trains.
By applying their expertise in digital plant architecture, predictive diagnostics, asset management, and field communications, as well as vibration monitoring and analysis, Emerson Process Management engineers have created a whole new class of instrument designed to help prevent the unexpected failure of rotating equipment. This is nothing less than a technology-driven breakthrough -- continuous online monitoring of vibration in all types of rotating machinery with data analysis in the field.
Emerson recently introduced a smart field device with embedded analytical capability for use on one type of machinery -- the ac induction motor/centrifugal pump train commonly found in most process industry plants. The new CSI 9210 Machinery Health™ Transmitter receives continuous inputs from six different locations on a motor-pump train, tachometer readings for shaft speed, motor flux inputs from a flux coil, and temperatures measured at the motor surface. Each vibration channel delivers 6,400 data points during a collection period of 1.5 seconds, and data collection is repeated every 25 seconds. All this information is analyzed instantly, and a composite view of current performance characteristics of the machine is generated.
Motor-pump trains tend to have similar failure patterns, which the embedded intelligence recognizes. Probable cause and effect relationships based on these patterns are used in determining what's happening in a machine and whether a warning is justified. Results are delivered directly to a user through the process automation system using the fieldbus protocol. While alerts identify changing conditions that need attention, operators don't have to interpret the inputs; they can use the actionable recommendations provided by the transmitter in order to alter the process as necessary to avoid an upset.
When operators carry out a suggested course of action, they're able to see in real-time the dynamic interaction between the process and operating machine, the effect that the process is having on that machine, and vice versa. Operators can get a quick fix on the condition of any monitored motor-pump train by checking periodically on machinery health values -- a ranking from 1 to 100 with the highest number indicating a machine is 100% healthy.
Successful field testing for the CSI 9210 transmitter began in January 2004 at ten sites in North America under environments ranging from extended periods of below freezing temperatures in Canada to hot and humid exposures near the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout this period, no device failures occurred.
Personnel with minimal knowledge of vibration analysis methods can install and configure these transmitters, but Emerson provides installation and support services to ensure users receive full value from this technology. This transmitter is similar to other smart instruments with respect to configuration and commissioning.
This new technology functions as a component of Emerson's PlantWeb® digital plant architecture and will, in time, be applied to other pumps and to other types of rotating machinery, such as blowers, fans, and compressors.
