ORBIT

VOLUME 32 NUMBER 2 APRIL 2012

orbit

VOL. 32 | NO. 2 | APR. 2012

A Technical Publication for
Advancing the Practice of
Operating Asset Condition
Monitoring, Diagnostics, and
Performance Optimization

MOTOR CONDITION
MONITORING & DIAGNOSTICS

AnomAlert* Motor Anomaly Detector Under the Hood PG10

Vibration Data Identifies
Hot Spot on Motor Rotor PG26
NEW DEPARTMENT ITEMS

Application Notes PG25

System 1* Software Tips & Tricks PG42
ANOMALERT* UNDER THE HOOD

EDITORS NOTE

Editors Notepad
Greetings, and welcome to
Orbit! This issues cover is
based on the graphic that
accompanies our Feature
Gary Swift

article. I anticipate that

Editor

our technical readers will

Orbit Magazine

appreciate the humorous

gary.swift@ge.com

analogy of a tiny V-8 engine

We are also continuing with our series of ADRE* Tips, and

for the first time in a while, have included a Recip Tips
article as well. For the first time ever, we are including
a System 1* Software Tips & Tricks article, and an
Application Note summary. I anticipate sharing many
more of these useful software tips and application
references as we continue updating the content of Orbit.
Speaking of sharing, we will soon be posting Orbit articles
at a convenient public blogsite, so that our readers can ask
questions and post comments about individual articles

symbolizing the power of

and related concepts. I look forward to learning from these

the monitor. In keeping with

follow-on articles to address the points that are raised.

conversations, and getting some ideas for additional

the theme of motor condition

monitoring, we also have
a classic case history that
describes how vibration
analysis detected a problem

Finally, I couldnt help but notice that the little stop sign
icon in our reader service card looked a bit odd for some
reason. It was introduced in 2004, and apparently was
not questioned until now. Gina and I fixed it for this
issue. Can you spot the difference? I suppose these
older back-issues will now become valuable collectors

with a motor that had a

items like double-struck coins, or

load-related thermal bow.

postage stamps that are printed

upside down. If you are lucky enough
to have one of these rarities, hang
onto it as a treasured family heirloom!
Cheers!
Gary

IN THIS ISSUE

In this Issue
FEATURES

  AnomAlert* Motor Anomaly

10

Detector Under the Hood

NEWS
04

Advanced Machinery Dynamics Course Invitation

06

Celebrating Our Experience

DEPARTMENTS

ADRE* Tips
18 How to Display Filtered and Unfiltered Orbits Together

Application Note
25 Resources for Managing Electrical Runout

26

Case Histories
Vibration Data Identifies Hot Spot on Motor Rotor

34

Recip Tips
Vibration Analysis for Reciprocating Compressors Part 1

42

System 1* Software Tips & Tricks

How to Create a Machine Reference Dataset

orbit
Volume 32 | Number 2 | April 2012
A Technical Publication for Advancing
the Practice of Operating Asset
Condition Monitoring, Diagnostics,
and Performance Optimization
Publisher: GE Energy
Editor: Gary B. Swift
Design Coordination: Eileen OConnell
Design: Gina Alteri
European Circulation: Estelle Sjourn
North American Circulation: Karen Schanhals
Printer: RR Donnelley
CONTRIBUTORS
GE Energy
Roengchai Chumai
Charles Hatch
John Kingham
Stuart Rochon
Gaia Rossi
Rob Winter
Adrian Cobb
Nate Littrell
Artesis
Caner Kuzkaya
CREDITS
GE Measurement and Control
Global Communications
Nik Noel
Questions, suggestions, and letters
to the editor may be addressed to:
ORBIT Magazine
1631 Bently Parkway South
Minden, Nevada USA 89423
Phone: 775.782.3611
Fax: 775.215.2855
e-mail: orbit@ge.com
Printed quarterly in the USA. More than 35,000
hard copies of each issue distributed worldwide
*Denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric
Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Company. All rights reserved.

NEWS

Advanced Machinery
Dynamics Course
a GE Oil & Gas business

techniques will be presented

Presenters

throughout the course.

Ron Bosmans

invites you to extend your Who should attend?

knowledge of machinery
diagnostic techniques
and rotor dynamics as
applicable to rotating
machinery in a 5-days

Engineers desiring to advance

diagnostics skills

MDS Technical Leader for South

Engineers involved in the design,

acceptance testing, and maintenance of rotating machinery

Dynamics Course, from

Academic researchers and professors involved in rotor dynamics

Prerequisites
Prior to this course, participants

This high-level course was last

should have completed the Machinery

conducted in 2009 and is now fully

Diagnostics course or be

updated in response to previous

ISO category 3 certified.

participants feedback and to meet

the most demanding machinery
diagnostics challenges.
In our hands-on workshops you will
use standard vibration diagnostic
tools on machine simulating rotor kits.
With us you will for sure put

The Machinery Diagnostics course will

be offered the week before for those
who do not yet meet the prerequisite.
If you wish to take part in this
course even though you dont

theory into practice.

fulfill the prerequisites, your

Case histories highlighting vibration

in this case you may not get the

documentation, analysis, and

machine malfunction corrective

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

19952006 (Retired)
Nicolas Peton

Advanced Machinery

in Florence, Italy.

Machinery Diagnostics Services

their machinery vibration

Post-graduate engineers

June 11th through 15th

Global Director

enrolment will be accepted but

expected return on investment.

and West Europe

GE Measurement & Control
Rob Winter
Senior Specialist
Learning and Development
GE Measurement & Control
Arun Menon
Global Director
Machinery Diagnostics Services
GE Measurement & Control

REGISTER
TODAY!

Measurement & Control,

Advanced Machinery Dynamics Course

1115 June 2012 | Florence, Italy | GE Learning Center
For registration and logistics details please contact
Marta Petruzzelli at marta.petruzzelli@ge.com or call +39 0396561420
EUR 3,500.00 (including one joint dinner)

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 OR B I T

NEWS

35
YEARS

Celebrating Our Experience

The Bently Nevada team had a saying back in 1990:

customers depend on. In keeping with tradition,

Duplicating our products

is challenging. Duplicating
our people is impossible.

in Nevada, USA, pause once a year to recognize

Although a lot has changed over the past 22 years,

it is still our people who create the high-quality
products and provide the excellent care that our

the employees at the home of our product line

the dedicated work of our coworkers who have
reached significant service milestones. The people
listed here are only a small fraction of our total
team, yet they represent more than 1800 years
of combined experience! Our multinational team
extends around the world, where similar commitment can be found in every global region.

BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Ron Sanchez, Jack Howard, Al Davis. FRONT ROW: Candy Baldwin, Pam Caughron.

Photos by Adrian Cobb

NEWS

30

BACK ROW, LEFT

TO RIGHT: Tim
Walmsley, Randy
Willis, Paul Blair.
MIDDLE ROW:
Alan Thomson,
Gerry ONeill,
Mike Evans,
Jana Ferguson.
FRONT ROW:
Debbie Hartzell,
Jill Evans.
NOT SHOWN:
Denise Clendenen,
John Grant,
Andrew Grimm,
Doug Hoover.

YEARS

BACK ROW,
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Rob Rose,
Dave McNeilly.
MIDDLE ROW:
Brenda Allmett,
Jerry Pritchard,
Jean Van Den Berg.
FRONT ROW:
Dave Whitefield,
Robert Nikkels.
NOT SHOWN:
Sherrie Ashurst,
Stan McPartland,
Tim Sheets, Dave
Van Den Berg.

25
YEARS

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

NEWS

BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Thane Tahti, Mike Holcomb,
Tammy Rhead.
FRONT ROW: Ronnie Swan,
Francie Welsh, Diana Thomas.
NOT SHOWN: Rudy Capa, Ken
Ceglia, Ken Forbes, Steve Kichler,
Dave McElroy, Barbara Uemura.

20
YEARS

15
YEARS

O R B I T Vo l.3 2 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Carol Brennaman, Kyle Hoffman,
Tim Gross, Landon Boyer.
NEXT ROW FORWARD:
Pamela Greek, Deana Cormier,
Paul Lindsay, Ben Willis.
SECOND ROW FROM FRONT:
Leslie Yered, Beth Ferrara,
Ray Jensen, Scott Williams.
FRONT ROW: Enrique
Corcostegui, Larry Mcdonald,
Steve Schmid.
NOT SHOWN: Daniel Abawi,
Matt Anderson, Alex Beitel,
Dale Bradley, Chien Cheng,
Mitch Cohen, Doran Cushing,
Mike Hanifan, Mike Rokusek,
Bryan Shadel.

NEWS

10
YEARS

BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Ron Robbins, Daniel Jenkins, Todd Balcon, Paul Carrion. NEXT ROW FORWARD: Stephen Lau, Kris Wickstead,
Becky Cawthorne, Donna Barber. NEXT ROW FORWARD: Jay Brown, Bev McMahon, Lisa Akins, Kelly Kondo, Sandi Bachstein, Tina Ku,
Christina Caldwell. SECOND ROW FROM FRONT: Ray Murphy, Brian Steinkraus, Richard Fraser, Laura Love, Ruby Ecobisag, Lynne Towle.
FRONT ROW: Manuel Lara, Violeta Della Pella, Jack Riley, Joe Jenks. NOT SHOWN: Jennifer Carlson, Ken Crosby, Michael Gaynor,
Paul Gonzi, Dustin Hess, Brad Kelly, Rick Lohroff, Lelana Moralez, Paul Parisien, Jean Untereiner.

Ap r. 2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

FEATURES

The AnomAlert Motor Anomaly Detector is a

system of software and networked hardware that
continuously identifies faults on electric motors
and their driven equipment. AnomAlert utilizes
an intelligent, model-based approach to provide
anomaly detection by measuring the current
and voltage signals from the electrical supply to
the motor. It is permanently mounted, generally
in the motor control center and is applicable
to 3-phase AC, induction or synchronous, fixed
or variable speed motors. AnomAlert models
are also available for monitoring generators.

Anom
O R B IT Vo l.3 2 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

Charles T. Hatch

Caner Kuzkaya

Principal Engineer

Vice President, Artesis A.S.

charles.hatch@ge.com

caner.kuzkaya@artesis.com

FEATURES

Alert
under the hood
Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

FEATURES

The AnomAlert diagnostic solution can be used together with

The AnomAlert monitor uses a

a vibration monitoring system as a complementary tool for

stable reference data set that is

detecting electrical faults. Alternatively, it can be used where

obtained from ten days of motor

dedicated vibration monitoring is not practical, economical, or

comprehensive enough. It can detect changes in the load the
motor is experiencing due to anomalies in the driven equipment or
process such as cavitation or plugged filters and screens. Since it

operation, and it calculates

alarm threshold levels specific
to the equipment itself.
Detected anomalies are subjected
to a sophisticated change

doesnt require any sensor installation on the motor itself or on the

persistence algorithm to guard

associated load, AnomAlert is especially attractive for inaccessible

against false alarms, making the

driven equipment and is applicable to most types of pumps,

AnomAlert monitor less sensitive to

compressors, and similar loads. It is also well suited to the monitoring of submersible, borehole, downhole, and canned pumps.

random fluctuations in the signals.

We will now delve more deeply
into the operating principles of the
AnomAlert monitor. We will not dis-

The AnomAlert monitor uses a

approach, mechanical fault detection

cuss current and voltage transformer

combination of voltage and current

is not precise, but provides guidance

selection or installation, or operating

dynamic waveforms, together

toward a class of possible faults. The

modes and programming; these

with learned models, to detect

sensitivity to some faults (for example

aspects are covered elsewhere.1

motor or driven equipment faults.

rolling-element bearing faults) will

Active learning is backed up by

decrease with distance from the

Data Acquisition

an additional fleet model in case

fault. On the other hand, faults that

Voltage and current signals from

the monitor has been installed on

increase motor load are independent

all three phases (6 total signals) are

an already defective motor. The

of the distance from the motor.

sent to the monitor where they are

monitor detects differences between

digitized for further signal processing.

observed current characteristics

The spectrum-based mechanical

Voltages less than 480 V can be

and learned characteristics and

fault detection in the AnomAlert

input directly, while higher voltages

relates these differences to faults.

monitor seems similar to Motor

require a potential transformer.

Current Signature Analysis (MCSA),

Depending on the application,

Motor fault detection is based on a

but several important differences

current transformers or Hall-effect

learned, physics-based motor model,

set it apart from typical MCSA:

current sensors are used to sense

where constants in the model are calculated from real-time data and compared to previously learned values.

and step down the motor currents.

The AnomAlert monitor uses causeeffect (voltage-current) relation-

AnomAlert processing operates on

ships, while MCSA uses the current

a 90 second iteration cycle. At the

Mechanical fault detection is based

only. Changes in input voltage will

beginning of every 90 second itera-

on power spectral density amplitudes

cause changes in the current that

tion, the monitor samples voltage and

in particular frequency bands, in

could lead to false alarms in MCSA.

current waveforms. The remainder of

relation to learned values. This infor-

The cause-effect relationship in

the period is used for post processing

mation is combined automatically

the AnomAlert processing helps

analysis and front panel update.

with expert diagnostic knowledge.

protect against these false alarms.

Because of this spectral band

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

FEATURES

All six waveforms can be exported to

The monitor uses a linear model

While monitoring, the AnomAlert

a text file for further post process-

for the electrical and mechanical

monitor takes the input voltage

ing. The text file has no headers

internals of the motor. This physics-

waveform and passes it through the

and six columns, corresponding

based model is derived from a set

model transfer function to obtain

to paired voltage and current

of differential equations, and it can

a theoretical current waveform.

waveforms V1, I1, V2, I2, and V3, I3.

be expressed as a transfer function.

Meanwhile, the real motor transfer

During the learning process, the

function converts the input volt-

monitor determines the coefficients

age waveform into the observed

Modeling And Fault

Detection

of this model. For a normal motor,

(measured) current waveform. The

The AnomAlert monitor uses four

the model transfer function is a

theoretical current waveform is sub-

different approaches to fault detec-

close approximation to the real

tracted from the measured current

tion. One is based on internal motor

physical transfer function of the

waveform to produce a residual cur-

characteristics; another is based on

motor. We will discuss later the

rent waveform (Figure 2). The residual

frequency analysis of the residual cur-

special case of what happens when

waveform contains the errors

rent spectrum; a third analyzes actual

the AnomAlert monitor models a

between theory and reality, and the

line voltages and currents to check for

motor that already has a defect.

monitor uses this residual waveform

certain types of line and current faults;

for mechanical fault analysis.

finally, the fourth uses fleet data from

similar motors to provide an inde-

Input
Voltage

pendent diagnostic reference. We will

discuss how all of these work in turn.

The Internal Motor Model

For an ideal motor, voltage and cur-

Output
Current
Motor

FIGURE 1: The motor as a transfer function. A voltage waveform is converted to a current

waveform by the motor.

rent waveforms are sinusoidal at line

frequency. The changing line voltage
creates magnetic forces that cause
the rotor to turn, and the amplitude
and phase of the motor currents are
related to the input voltages through

Motor

Residual
Current

IMotor

the internal mechanical and electrical

workings of the motor. We can think

of the line voltage waveforms as
inputs to the motor, and the current
waveforms as outputs. The motor

Learned
Model

IModel
-1

electrical and mechanical internals

can be thought of as a transfer function that converts the input voltage
waveform into the output current
waveform (Figure 1). This is the key
to understanding the internal motor
model in the AnomAlert monitor.

FIGURE 2: A source voltage waveform passes through the real motor transfer function,
producing a current waveform with harmonic distortion, IMotor. The same voltage waveform
is passed through the learned model transfer function, producing a theoretical current
waveform, IModel. The two waveforms are subtracted, producing a residual current waveform.
The residual waveform represents the error between theory and reality.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

FEATURES

Motor Electrical
Fault Detection
Changes in the internal characteristics of the motor (for example, a
shorted winding) will cause the real
motor transfer function to change.
While monitoring, the AnomAlert
unit takes the measured voltage and
current waveforms and calculates
a new set of observed coefficients
for the internal motor model. The
original model coefficients are
subtracted from the observed
coefficients to yield residuals.
These residuals are used to detect
internal electrical motor problems.

Mechanical Fault Detection

In an ideal motor, the rotor would
be perfectly centered in the stator
clearance, turn smoothly, and have no
unbalance. In real motors, the rotor is
never perfectly centered in the stator,
bearings and driven equipment create
disturbances, and the rotor always
has some unbalance.

disturbance in the rotor position;

this disturbance in rotor position will
create a corresponding disturbance
in rotor/stator gap and amplitude
modulation of the motor current.
The modulation produces sidebands
around the line frequency in the
residual current spectrum, and the
distance of the sidebands from the
line frequency will correspond to the
bearing defect frequency. Other kinds
of faults can produce a wide variety
of additional frequency content in
the current waveforms. AnomAlert
processing (and in general, MCSA)
looks for this additional frequency
content and uses it to diagnose different classes of mechanical problems.
AnomAlert analysis is different
from MCSA. MCSA involves spectral
analysis of the observed current
waveform (sometimes demodulated),
while AnomAlert processing
produces a Power Spectral Density
(PSD) plot from the residual current
waveform (the difference between

Mechanical faults disturb the rotor

the theoretical current waveform and

position and create disturbances and

the measured current waveform).

distortions in the current waveforms.

The AnomAlert residual current

As faults develop in the machine train,

waveform is based on a learned

they will cause the output current to

model, so the PSD is a spectrum of the

deviate further from the theoretical.

difference between theory and reality.

For example, an unbalanced rotor

Thus, AnomAlert methodology first

will move in a 1X orbit that causes a

detects change in the motor current,

rotating rotor/stator gap change. This

and then classifies the spectral

change causes amplitude modulation

characteristics of that change into

of the current signals and causes

fault classes. The monitor classifies

sidebands to appear around the line

PSD energy into 12 typical spectral

frequency in the spectrum. In another

frequency ranges that are associated

example, a race fault in a rolling

with particular fault classes.

element bearing will cause a periodic

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

Line and Current Faults

During the learning period, the
monitor learns typical behavior for
that motor. Deviations of voltage or
current from normal behavior can
signal a problem. The monitor checks
for significant changes in power
factor, voltage, and current imbalance. Because an increase in driven
load will cause an increase in motor
current, AnomAlert methodology uses
abnormal current as an indicator
of a load problem. For example,
decreasing flow through a fan or
blower would cause a decrease in
fan load and motor current, and this
could signal an obstruction in flow.

The Fleet Model

What happens if the monitor is
installed on a motor that has an
existing fault? Will it learn the fault
and fail to detect that something is
wrong? No. This is where the fleet
model comes in. The monitor has a
database of residual waveform signal
characteristics that are representative of a large fleet of similar motors.
This is used as a backup to guard
against missed alarms in case the
AnomAlert monitor has learned
a bad motor. When a measured
value exceeds the High value in
the database for that frequency
range (Figure 3), the monitor will
alarm assuming that the alarm
level has passed the persistence
test. We will discuss this test later.

FEATURES

Learning Period (10 days)

Learn

Improve

3 days

7 days
Monitor

FIGURE 4: The AnomAlert learning period. After installation,

AnomAlert spends about 10 days learning the motor
behavior. It will start to monitor after the initial 3 day Learn
period is complete.

FIGURE 3: Residual current PSD plot showing the motor spectrum

(blue) and the fleet High curve (red). If a motor frequency persistently
exceeds a fleet High value, the monitor will alarm.

Learning
When first installed, the monitor
learns the behavior of the motor it is
hooked up to. It spends some time
learning before starting to monitor the
motor. Some motors drive equipment
that operates at a constant speed and
load. This is the simplest operating
mode to learn and monitor because
any change in operating characteristics is probably indicative of a fault.
Many other machine trains operate
at variable speed or variable load. In
this case, what is normal for one load
range may be abnormal for another.
In this situation, the monitor learns
and creates a separate internal motor
model for each operating mode.
Then, later, as conditions change, it
will shift from one model to the next.
The AnomAlert learning period takes
about 10 days (Figure 4), whether
the motor is fixed or variable
speed. During learning, the monitor
iterates by collecting waveforms,
performing analysis, then repeating

the process. During each 90 second

Once the entire learning process has

iteration, it simultaneously collects

been completed, the monitor stops

voltage and current waveforms

model refinement and continuously

for each phase, and then performs

monitors the motor using the

numerical analysis of the data. During

completed internal motor model

the initial, 3 day Learn phase, the

and PSD spectral characteristics.

AnomAlert unit will not monitor. It is

busy building a preliminary internal

If, after model completion, the motor

motor model and spectral statistics.

enters a new operating mode that

hasnt been seen before, the monitor

After the initial Learn phase is

may go into alarm if the current

complete, the AnomAlert unit will

waveforms are significantly different

begin to monitor the motor. While it

from what has been modeled. At

does this, it will continue to improve

that time, the user can manually

the model for another 7 days (the

direct the AnomAlert unit to learn

Improve phase). For variable speed

the new mode using the Update

motors, these iterations are spread

command. It will then learn the new

over as many operating modes as

operating mode. It will not monitor

necessary. During the Learn and

the new mode until the update

Improve phases, if motor operation

learning process is completed.

shifts from one operating mode to

another, the monitor will save the

During all learning, if either motor

previous data and start learning

power or AnomAlert power is

the new operating mode. When

interrupted, the monitor will

the motor returns to a partially

automatically recover and continue

completed mode, the monitor will

learning from the last point.

continue learning from the last point.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

FEATURES

Change Detection,
Persistence, and Alarming
Because of noise and small changes
in operating characteristics, there
is always some variation between
successively observed model and
spectrum parameters. During the
learning phase, the AnomAlert
monitor builds statistics that describe
the variation that occurs. When
learning is complete, the monitor has
a set of statistics for every model
coefficient (electrical faults) and
spectral band2 (mechanical faults).
The AnomAlert unit operates by
detecting differences between
observed and previously learned
parameters; either internal model
coefficients or spectral band
amplitudes. These differences must
pass a statistical test before being
considered significantly different.
These tests define minimum alarm
thresholds. Check Line alarms are
generated based on voltage imbalance variations and voltage fluctuations from the range encountered
during the Learn phase. A similar
alarm method is used for power
factor, total harmonic distortion,
voltage and current rms values, and
voltage and current imbalance values.
Even large deviations could be
expected to occur in a normal
machine once in a while. To guard
against false alarms, AnomAlert
processing requires that the detected
change be persistent over time.
The monitor uses a sophisticated
algorithm that compares the amount

O R B IT Vo l.3 2 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

by which a parameter exceeds the

threshold value and the number of
times this has occurred in a window
of time. This sliding window varies
depending on the amount the
measured parameter exceeds the
statistical threshold. Large threshold
exceedance will require only a short
time window, while mild exceedance
will require a long window. The monitor will alarm only when the persistence requirement has been satisfied.

Diagnostics
For the most part, the AnomAlert
monitor does not provide precise
diagnoses of particular faults. Instead,
it reports categories of faults that
act as indications and point to areas
that should be further investigated.
It uses four independent fault
detection methods that cover two
categories, electrical and mechanical.
Electrical faults are associated with
either motor internal problems or
external power supply issues. The
AnomAlert unit monitors both using
two independent methods. Internal
motor faults are detected using the
learned internal motor model as a
reference. During each monitoring
iteration, the monitor calculates a set
of 8 internal motor model parameters
based on the observed voltage and
current. These observed parameters
are compared against the parameters that were obtained during the
learning phase, and significant and
persistent changes are detected and
reported as electrical faults. These
faults include the following examples:

Loose windings
Stator problem
Short circuit
External supply is directly checked
for voltage or current imbalance,
voltage range, maximum current,
and low voltage or current.
Mechanical fault categories are
detected and diagnosed using the
PSD of the residual current waveform.
The residual current represents the
difference between the observed
current and the theoretical current
produced by the internal motor
model using the same observed
voltage. The PSD is divided into 12
frequency ranges that are typically
associated with certain mechanical
problems (listed below). Analysis of
these frequency ranges produces
fault classes for further investigation.
Loose Foundation/Components
Unbalance/Misalignment/
Coupling/Bearing
Belt/Transmission Element/
Driven Equipment
Bearing
Rotor
Note that the Check Load alarm,
caused by abnormally high or low
current, is usually caused by a
change in the driven machines load;
machine load can change for two
reasons, fault or process change. If
the machine is running in a different
condition which is not seen during
the learn period, the user has to set

FEATURES

the AnomAlert unit to update mode

spectrum produced by the AnomAlert

to learn this new condition. If the

unit can be helpful, but may not be

load is changed due to a fault, the

sufficient for problem identification.

problem should be investigated,

and the user needs to make sure

The AnomAlert unit cannot be

the alarm is cleared in the monitor.

used on motors that have rapidly

varying voltage or power. Voltage,

The Fleet Model provides an

frequency and current amplitude

independent analysis in the event

must not change by more than 15%

that the AnomAlert unit has learned

in six seconds. This is not a serious

a faulty system. The Fleet Model

restriction for most applications, but

consists of Normal and High values

some applications, like crushers, will

for each of the 12 PSD ranges based

not fit this requirement. Note that

on experience with a large number

if a sudden change of load occurs,

of similar motors. If a residual

the monitor will reject that sample;

current PSD range value exceeds

however, the same machine could run

the fleet High value, then, after

steadily at some load, and this would

persistence checking, the monitor

allow the unit to monitor the machine.

will warn that something is wrong.

Limitations

The AnomAlert unit will work very

well on applications where the

The AnomAlert Motor Anomaly

motor is located some distance

Detector is a powerful motor

from the current or potential

monitoring system. However,

transformers. However, the line at

there are some limitations on

the current measurement point

its use and interpretation.

must be dedicated to a single motor;

multiple motors downstream from

It cannot be used for DC or

single-phase motors.

a single CT cannot be monitored. On

the other hand, one set of PTs can be
used for all motors that are supplied

For variable frequency drives,

from the same voltage source. The

the inverter chopping frequency

current measurement restriction is a

should be higher than 2 kHz.

consideration for subsea applications

where power may be delivered to the

Mechanical diagnostics are based

sea floor only to branch off to multiple

on energy in 12 spectral frequency

motors. In this case, an AnomAlert

ranges. This is, by nature, an approxi-

unit could not be used on the main

mate analysis, and diagnostic indica-

delivery power line. However, it could

tions usually only represent broad

be used if CTs could be installed on

classes of problems. The customer will

each branch (CT burden limits apply3).

Summary
The AnomAlert Motor Anomaly
Detector is a powerful motor monitoring system. Its power comes from
both sophisticated signal processing
and analysis algorithms and from
built-in redundancy. Its ability to learn
makes it sensitive and flexible, and
a fleet reference database protects
against missed alarms caused by
learning an already defective motor.
Alarming is clever and uses statistical
analysis combined with an adaptive
persistence test. These features
produce a product that is a significant
improvement over conventional Motor
Current Signature Analysis, and it has
a proven track record documented
by many case histories.
*Denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
General Electric Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Company. All rights reserved.
For sensor selection and installation, see
Bently Nevada Guide 286752, Selection
of CTs, CSs, and PTs for AnomAlert. For
general ordering information, see 286754-01,
Specifications and Ordering Information.

1

Note that the AnomAlert monitor identifies

the largest amplitude spectral line in a
particular frequency range and uses that lines
amplitude for the value in that range. It does
not add up all the spectral energy in a range.

2

The burden of a current transformer is the

maximum resistance that the secondary of
the CT (the part hooked up to the AnomAlert
monitor) can drive and meet specification. Long
wires from the CT will have more resistance that
will limit the allowable distance from the CT to
the monitor. See Bently Nevada Guide 286752,
Selection of CTs, CSs, and PTs for AnomAlert.

3

have to follow up using other methods

to determine the actual fault. The PSD

Ap r. 2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

How to Display Direct and

Filtered Orbits Together,
Synchronized by Sample

John W. Kingham
Field Application Engineer
john.kingham@ge.com

When I used to be a Machinery Diagnostic Services (MDS) engineer,

and travelled the world to diagnose machinery problems,

glance at the unfiltered orbit can show problems such as

I had several plot formats that I used all of the time. One of

glitch (electrical & mechanical runout noise), unbalance,

my favorites was the Orbit plot. Ive always described the

misalignment, oil whirl (instabilities), looseness and rubs.

orbit plot as what the shaft would draw if there were a

The 1X filtered plot gives you some insight into these

pencil lead at its centerline, and you held a piece of paper

malfunctions as well, and is especially good for observing

up to it. Seeing what the shaft is doing graphically allows

shaft precession.

you to interpret what it is doing mechanically, and from

there a diagnosis may be made.

The plots in Figure 1 are of a steam turbine exciting its first

natural rotor vibration frequency due to a rub. The plots

Typically, most people look at orbit plots for the unfiltered,

have been scaled using the Auto, All Plots function, which

or direct data and the 1X filtered data. I particularly like to

allows you to see at a quick glance that there is significant

look at these two orbits together on the same page. A quick

NOT 1X activity.

O R B I T Vo l.3 2 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

Overview
For those who are fairly experienced in configuring
ADRE plot sessions, this brief overview summarizes the
process. A more complete description with step by
step instructions is included after this summary.
Create your Orbit/Timebase plot group.
Make sure that you are using the
Synchronous waveform.
Copy and paste the new plot group below the original,
and reconfigure it for 1X (or 2X or nX). While you are
configuring, make sure that the Use Static Samples
FIGURE 1: Orbit and timebase waveform plots for vibration of a
steam turbine rotor within the clearances of its fluid film bearings.
The upper plots show Direct (unfiltered) data, while the lower
plots show 1X-filtered data.

for Filtered Waveforms check box is cleared.

Drag the 1X plots up into the original plot group.
Do this at the New Orbit/Timebase Plot level,
not at the variable (waveform) level.

While we are on the subject, it is easy to determine that

the frequency is locked in to X by looking closely at
the signal from the X (horizontal) probe. First, notice that
there is only 1 positive peak seen for every 2 Keyphasor*

Once the plots are organized correctly, delete

the 1X plot group it is no longer needed.
If you are using a 2x1 plot layout with paging by

marks. Second, to determine it is exactly 1/2X, note that

sample, the direct orbit will be on top with the filtered

you can draw two straight lines through the Keyphasor

orbit on the bottom. If you have a 2x2 plot layout,

marks as shown by the red dashed lines (Figure 2).

the filtered orbits will be on the right hand side. This

can be changed by changing the order (dragging
and dropping) of the plots at the plot group level.
For steady-state machine conditions, it is recommended
that you set scaling to auto all plots. This way, it is
easy to see which bearing is giving you a problem. If
you are observing a startup or shutdown transient,
setting manual scaling may be better, as the auto all
plots will scale for the amplitude extremes (such as
when the machine passes through a resonance).

FIGURE 2: Magnified view of the unfiltered timebase waveform

signal from the X (horizontal) probe.

Detailed Description
1. CREATE A BASIC ORBIT TIMEBASE PLOT
Select the channel(s) that you want to show orbit
plots for from the Configuration hierarchy on the
left side of the screen. It is only necessary to select
one channel from each channel pair (Figure 3):

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

we need to make sure that the Orbit/Timebase plot is

configured to use the Synchronous waveform data.
Right-click on the new plot group in the plot hierarchy
and select Configure: from the menu (Figure 5). This
will open the plot group configuration dialog.

FIGURE 5: Opening the plot group configuration dialog.

In the Orbit Timebase plot group configuration dialog,

first verify that the Sync Waveform variables are
selected for each channel. If they are not, select the
FIGURE 3: In this example, two channels have been selected for

correct variables from the drop-down boxes (Figure 6):

display. We will be viewing data for bearings 1 and 2.

Right-click on the selected channel(s) and select the

Orbit/Timebase plot from the shortcut menu (Figure 4):

FIGURE 6: Checking which variables are selected.

Click the arrow button to expand the drop-down

list. Select Sync Waveform for display (Figure 7).

FIGURE 4: Selecting Orbit/Timebase plot option.

When you do this, the Orbit/Timebase plot

will open. Close the plot for now, since we
will not be looking at it for a while.
Direct Orbit/Timebase plots are typically made from
the Synchronous waveform sample. The 1X filtered

FIGURE 7: Ensure the Sync Waveform is selected.

and Slow Roll Compensated data is always taken

Repeat the process for the channel pair variable (Figure 8):

from the Synchronous waveform sample. Therefore,

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

The result should look something like the example in

Figure 11.

FIGURE 8: Selecting Sync Waveform for the paired variables

to be displayed.

2. DUPLICATE THE PLOT

In the Plot Session hierarchy (right hand tree), make
a copy of the plot group that you just created, and
place it just below the original plot group. There are
several ways to accomplish this. The easiest way is to
right-click on the plot group and select Copy (Figure
9), then Paste it into the plot session (Figure 10).

FIGURE 11: Observe that the selected variables are now shown
underneath the associated Orbit/Timebase plot groups.

3. CONFIGURE THE FILTERED ORBIT

For clarity, I renamed the bottom Orbit plot group 1X
Orbit/Timebase Plot Group. You can too, but it isnt necessary (Right click on the plot group and select Rename).
When we are done, we will delete this plot group, and
rename the reconfigured plot group Direct & 1X Orbit/
Timebase Plot Group again, this will be optional, but it
is a nice thing to do if you are going to use this plot group
as a template. I do this as a matter of bookkeeping. If I
didnt delete the plot group, at the end of the day, Id have
two plot groups the one that I want, with both direct and
1X data and also a plot group that only has 1X plots.
To establish the plots to be 1X filtered, right-click on the
appropriate plot group and select Configure. In the top
half of the configuration grid (Figure 12), select 1X from
the drop down menu under the Filtering column. Select
this for all channels that you want filtered orbits for.

FIGURE 9: Copying the new plot group.

FIGURE 12: Selecting 1X filtering option from plot General

properties.

At this same time, make sure that the check boxes

under Use Static Samples for Filtered Waveforms
are cleared (Figure 13). If this isnt done, the filtered
and unfiltered samples will be indexed differently and
become unsynchronized, which would be confusing.
FIGURE 10: Pasting the copied plot group into the plot session.
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DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

FIGURE 13: Clear the Use Static Samples check boxes.

Now expand the 1X Orbit/Timebase Plot Group by

right clicking and choosing Expand All (Figure 14).

FIGURE 16: The first Orbit/Timebase plot will be dropped at the

horizontal line insertion point.

After dropping the plot at the insertion point, your

result should be similar to the example in Figure 17:

FIGURE 14: Example of expanded plot groups.

Drag the first Orbit/Timebase Plot from the 1X plot group

(Figure 15) up into the top plot group. Do this by clicking
on the highlighted plot, and dragging it with your mouse
up to just below the first Orbit/Timebase plot in the top
group of the plot session. As you are completing this, your
result will look something like the example in Figure 16.

FIGURE 17: Example of Plot Session Manager Hierarchy after the

plot has been dragged to the insertion point.

Repeat this procedure with the remaining channels,

to drag their associated plots up into the appropriate
plot group. My results are shown in Figure 18.

FIGURE 15: Selecting the first Orbit/Timebase Plot for dragging.

Observe that as you drag the plot up, the pointer

will change from a circle with a slash through it to a
horizontal straight line. When the insertion point it is
where you want it to be in the hierarchy, drop it in.

FIGURE 18: Example of Plot Session Manager Hierarchy after all

required plots have been dragged up into the appropriate plot
group.

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

Just to confirm you have put the plots where you want
them, use the Expand All command on the top Orbit/
Timebase plot group in the hierarchy (Figure 19):

FIGURE 19: Example showing that all four needed plot sessions
(outlined in red) have been dragged into the top plot group in the
Plot Session Hierarchy.

Since this looks good, we can go ahead and delete

the unneeded 1X Orbit/Timebase Plot Group (Right
click on the group and select Delete (Figure 20).

FIGURE 20: Selecting the unneeded 1X Orbit/Timebase Plot

Group for deletion.

This step is optional, but helps to keep things clearly

labeled: Rename the New Orbit/Timebase Plot Group to
Direct and 1X Orbit/Timebase Plot Group (Figure 21).

Note: The reason we dragged these new plots into

the new plots is to enact plot overlays in ADRE. We
started with two distinctly separate plot groups one
is for Direct data, and one is for 1X data. By dragging and dropping the 1X plot into the Direct plot,
we can see both sets of data in the same plot.

FIGURE 21: In this example, we renamed the new plot group (in red
outline box) with a descriptive name.

IVE ALWAYS DESCRIBED THE ORBIT PLOT AS WHAT THE SHAFT WOULD
DRAW IF THERE WERE A PENCIL LEAD AT ITS CENTERLINE, AND YOU
HELD A PIECE OF PAPER UP TO IT. SEEING WHAT THE SHAFT IS DOING
GRAPHICALLY ALLOWS YOU TO INTERPRET WHAT IT IS DOING
MECHANICALLY, AND FROM THERE A DIAGNOSIS MAY BE MADE.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
ADRE* TIPS

4. HOUSEKEEPING, OR MAKING IT LOOK GOOD

In the plot group configuration (bottom part of
configuration window), there are a few things that we
can do to make the plots tidy, and simpler to navigate:
Change the Paging Mode to By Sample (Figure 22).
If you leave it set for paging mode By Channel, your
plots will only show data from one channel you will
scroll through all of the data for that channel, and
then you will scroll through all of the data for the next
channel, and so forth. Typically, I want to see what is
happening on all of the channels at the same instant
in time. This is much more meaningful to me.

FIGURE 25: Example with two plots per page.

If you used a layout with four plots per page mode, they
are displayed in a two-by-two arrangement (Figure 26).

FIGURE 22: Selecting By Sample from the drop-down list.

Change the plot layout to display the plots

appropriately. Either show 2 plots per page
(Figure 23) or 4 plots per page (Figure 24):
FIGURE 26: Example with four plots per page.

Re-ordering the plots in the plot tree will change

the arrangement of the four plots on the page:
FIGURE 23: The 2 x 1 option will show two plots per page.

For instance, by changing the order, you could

make the top plots show unfiltered data, with the
bottom two plots showing 1X filtered data.

FIGURE 24: The 2 x 2 option will show four plots per page.

Click OK on the plot configuration to close it when you

are finished.
5. OPEN THE PLOT
If you used a plot layout of two plots per page, the 1X

For analyzing data that was collected from steady state

(constant speed) conditions, it is recommended that you
set scaling to auto all plots. This way, it is easy to see
which bearing is giving you a problem. If you are observing
a startup or shutdown, setting manual scaling may be
better, as the auto all plots will scale for the extremes
(such as when the machine passes through a resonance).

Filtered plot will be located below the unfiltered (direct)

plot (Figure 25):

Hopefully, this tip will make you more productive and help
you diagnose machinery problems a little more easily.
See you the next time the Keyphasor* comes around!
*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of General Electric Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
APPLICATION NOTE

[This is the first installment in a continuing series of Application Notes on important topics regarding the
effective use of Bently Nevada* products. Watch for additional Application Notes topics in future issuesEditor]

Resources for Managing

Electrical Runout

lectrical Runout is the term used

to describe the unwanted signal
from an eddy current probe due to
variations in material properties.
Many machines are required to meet
specifications limiting the baseline
vibration. Electrical runout can cause
problems with acceptance of new
machinery, or with diagnostics of machinery with
low levels of vibration.

optimally. Once there is confidence in the probe

installation, we are ready to evaluate the causes and
take appropriate corrective actions for electrical
runout problems.

The first step in obtaining an accurate measurement

is ensuring that the eddy current probe is installed

http://www.ge-mcs.com/download/orbitarchives/2001-2005/3q2005_runout.pdf

The Orbit article at the following link was written by

Nate Littrell. It includes useful guidance for probe
installation, as well as for evaluating the causes of
electrical runout, and planning effective corrective
actions:

*Denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric
Company. Copyright 2012 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

Vibration
Data Identifies
Hot Spot on
Motor Rotor
Roengchai Chumai
Technical Leader
Bently Nevada Machinery
Diagnostics Services
roengchai.chumai@ge.com

Executive Summary
This case history describes how vibration analysis
identified a thermally-sensitive rotor in an induction

identified. It was suspected that a hot spot was

causing the rotor to bow, so a repeatability test was
performed to check for consistency of its location.

motor driving a condensate pump at a newly com-

The motor was run uncoupled from its pump to

missioned power plant in Thailand. Induction motors

reduce load and therefore operating temperature of

have characteristic vibration behavior based on the

the rotor. Testing verified that the rotor did indeed

electrical, magnetic and mechanical effects that they

straighten out when it was run solo, which indicated

experience. In order to capture the significant data for

that the thermally-induced bow had gone away, and

analysis, it is important to perform test procedures

with it, the previously-observed high 1X vibration.

and data collection very carefully. In some situations,

Shop inspection showed clear evidence of burnt rotor

problems with machine casings, mounting foundations

insulation resin on the rotor surface, which verified the

and associated structures and even the configuration

location of the hot spot that caused the thermal bow.

of the driven machine can influence motor vibration

behavior. All of these factors should be taken in account.

Background and Sequence of Events

One block of the newly-commissioned combined-cycle

In this particular case, the analysis was concerned

power plant includes three vertical motor-driven

with increasing vibration amplitude that occurred

condensate pumps. The drive motors are of 4-pole

when the pump was running at loaded conditions.

induction design, with synchronous speed of 1500

The phase angle of 1X filtered vibration kept changing

Hz (50 Hz power supply). The drive motors operate at

over the running period and a thermal vector was

constant speed, and condensate flow is controlled

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

BANGKOK SPARKLES LIKE A JEWEL AT NIGHT, SYMBOLIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER TO THAILANDS ECONOMY.

by throttle valves. The multistage centrifugal

The MDS Engineer arrived at the plant site and

water pumps are of typical canned design.

discussed the history of the problem with the customer.

Motor Nameplate Data

Power: 250 hp (186 kW)

He set up portable data acquisition instruments

and temporarily-installed vibration transducers for
individual testing of all three condensate pumps.

Speed: 1485 rpm

Power Supply: 380 vac, 3 phase, 50 Hz

Instrumentation

Current: 347 amp

An orthogonal (perpendicular) pair of radial velocity

Service Factor 1.15

transducers was installed at both the Non-Drive End

Time Rating: Continuous

(NDE) and the Drive End (DE) of each motor while it

Power Factor: 0.855

was being tested. The temporary installation also

During initial plant startup activities, all three

condensate pumps exhibited high vibration at the
motor Non-Drive End (NDE). Since the steam plant
could not be started without all three of these pumps
running, the project construction contractor called
Bently Nevada* Machinery Diagnostic Services
(MDS) to assist with vibration testing and analysis
to determine the root cause and to provide on-site

included an optical Keyphasor* sensor for providing

reference phase angle and supplementary machine
speed measurement (Figure 1). All vibration signals
were sent to an ADRE* Data Acquisition Interface
Unit (DAIU) using coaxial cables. A laptop computer
running ADRE for Windows software was connected
to the DAIU for capturing, digitizing and presenting
vibration data in a variety of plot formats for analysis.

advisory for resolution of the high vibration conditions.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

FIGURE 1: An
orthogonal pair of
velocity sensors
is temporarily
installed at the DE
and NDE of one of
the condensate
pump drive motors.
An optical sensor
(not visible in
this photo) was
also installed for
direct observation
of a one event
per turn feature
on the rotating
shaft which was
provided by a strip
of reflective tape.

FIGURE 2: Trim
balance correction
weight installed at
motor rotor NDE
location. The motor
dust cover has
been removed to
reveal the weight
plane. Observe
that one bolt of
appropriate mass
has been threaded
into the required
location to provide
trim balance.

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

Initial Investigation & Actions

Based on available vibration data, it was discovered
that all three of the pumps (units A, B & C) were
experiencing higher than acceptable vibration due
to unbalance. The MDS Engineer trim balanced the
pumps to acceptable vibration levels based on ISO
10816-3 Standard, by adding appropriate correction
weights at the NDE of each motor rotor (Figure 2).

Additional Pump A Testing

After trim balancing, Pumps B & C behaved normally.
However Pump A exhibited an unusual change in the
vibration amplitude and phase over the observed
running period (Figures 3 and 4). These trend plots show

This kind of behavior often indicates a thermally-sensitive

rotor that bows during operation due to a hot spot caused
by a local fault in the rotor. With such a fault, the amount
of heating and thermal bow typically depends on motor
load, and the associated current flow in the rotor iron.
With the Pump A motor coupled with its pump, plant
personnel performed alignment checks and then started
the pump and ran it at a steady state operating condition.
Vibration data was captured throughout the running
period. Motor soft foot and pump baseplate rocking
effects were checked using phase angle relationships
of the vibration timebase waveforms. These evaluations
verified there was no sign of these possible problems.

the change of vibration amplitude over a time period

of just over 4 hours at constant speed and load.

FIGURE 3: First test run: Four hour trend plot of vibration phase
(upper plot) and amplitude (lower plot) from the 1XV sensor
(oriented to the 0 degree North reference) at the NDE location
of the Pump A drive motor. Sensor names in these vibration plots
correspond to labeling in the photo of Figure 1.

FIGURE 4: First test run: Four hour trend of vibration phase and
amplitude from the 1YV sensor (oriented 90 degrees to the right
of the North reference when viewed from the driver toward the
driven load.

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DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

FIGURE 5: Second test run: Four hour trend of vibration phase and
amplitude from the 1XV sensor. Results are consistent with the first
test run.

FIGURE 6: Second test run: Four hour trend of vibration phase and
amplitude from the 1YV sensor. Results are consistent with the first
test run.

FIGURE 7: First test run shows a 1X vibration vector that changed

significantly in both amplitude and phase lag angle over the
period of the test.

FIGURE 8: Second test run shows almost exactly the same results
as the first run.

FIGURE 9: Vibration data from the 1XV sensor for a 2-hour solo
run. As the rotor cooled, the Direct and 1X vibration levels dropped
significantly.

FIGURE 10: Vibration data from the 1YV sensor for a 2-hour
solo run. As the rotor cooled, the Direct and 1X vibration levels
dropped significantly.

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

THE ENTIRE PROJECT COST WAS

APPROXIMATELY 250K US DOLLARS,
SO THE NEW ONLINE SYSTEM
MORE THAN PAID FOR ITSELF
IMMEDIATELY AFTER INSTALLATION."

FIGURE 11: Polar plots show the 1X vibration vector for the motor
NDE and DE during its solo run. This data shows that rotor was bowed
when hot, as it had high 1X vibration amplitudes with the same phase
angle at both ends of the machine. As the amplitude dropped, the data
points can be seen moving closer to the center (zero amplitude) of the
plot. Finally, the classic phase shift can be seen as the motor is tripped
and coasts down (as indicated by rpm labels).

(not performed in this particular case), the motor current often

shows corresponding fluctuations, that correspond to the pole-pass
frequency of the motor. In fact, this slow modulation of motor vibration
often produces an audible low-frequency beating sound. We will
look more closely at this symptom near the end of this article.

Polar plots of 1X vibration amplitude and phase (Figure 11)

verifies that the rotor was straightening out as it cooled,
causing reductions in amplitude and changes in phase.

Testing Under Load

In order to check for repeatability of the temperature

Recommendations

dependent vibration effects, a second test was run

Based on review of the vibration data, the fol-

the following day, after shutting down the motor and

lowing recommendations were made:

allowing it to cool. Similar results were obtained (Figures

5 and 6). This validation meant that the location of the
suspected rotor hot spot was indeed at a fixed position.

The rotor iron should be inspected for any evidence

of lamination smear region, which would indicate
local heating and generate a hot spot on the rotor.

The vibration data for these two test runs was also
plotted in a polar format. Again, the results of the
two runs were consistent, and the effects of the
thermal vector are quite apparent (Figures 7 & 8).
No-Load Solo Testing

Check for proper function of the rotor cooling air system. It is possible that non-uniform
airflow or a plugged flow path within the motor
can contribute to abnormal rotor heating.
Closely monitor the vibration amplitude of the subject

Immediately after the pump was shut down after the

unit to ensure that it does not increase with time. The

second series of loaded testing, the motor was uncoupled

existing rotor should be replaced for a permanent repair.

and run solo. Since the rotor was still hot and thermally
bowed, the vibration amplitude was relatively high at

Inspection Results

the beginning of the test. However, as shown in Figures

The rotor inspection showed clear evidence of local

9 and 10, vibration amplitude dropped as the rotor

overheating, as indicated by a small discolored spot

cooled and straightened out during the uncoupled run.

where rotor insulating resin had seeped to the surface

Note: The observed cyclic variation in vibration amplitude can be a

classic symptom of broken or cracked rotor bars, or high-resistance
joints between the bars and the rotor end rings. In electrical diagnostics

of the iron laminations and charred (Figure 12).

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

FIGURE 12:
The local high
temperature at the
hot spot showed up
as a heat-damaged
area on the surface
of the rotor.

CONCLUSIONS
A hot spot in the laminated core of the
Pump A induction motor rotor caused
uneven thermal expansion along the
rotor (more expansion on the side of
the rotor with the hot spot, and less
expansion on the undamaged side of
the rotor). This thermal bow resulted in

under unloaded solo conditions to

the plant commissioning period.

check whether the bow would relax as

After rebuilding, it was balanced at

the rotor cooled from hot conditions,

the repair shop and then returned to

and straightened out. This effect was

the generating site for installation.

observed, validating the diagnosis.

Post-Repair Symptoms
Pump A Corrective Actions

The Bently Nevada MDS Engineer

increasing synchronous (1X) vibration

The customer ordered a new rotor

was requested to visit the site again

amplitude under loaded conditions,

to replace the damaged rotor.

when the Pump A motor (now with

with in-phase vibration measure-

However, the lead time for a new

rebuilt rotor installed) was coupled

ments at both ends of the rotor. Since

rotor was approximately 3 months.

to its condensate pump. Vibration

thermal bowing is related to rotor

So in the interim, the existing rotor

testing was performed following

current, the motor was also tested

was rebuilt for temporary use during

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
CASE HISTORIES

BACK-TO-BASICS SIDEBAR
Motor Synchronous Speed
120f = np, where
f is the frequency of the power supply
n is the speed of the machine in rpm (or cpm)
p is the number of poles
n = 120f/p = 120 (50)/4 = 1500 rpm (or cpm)

FIGURE 13: Vibration spectrum measured at motor NDE of the

rebuilt rotor showing predominant frequency at synchronous (1X)
with sideband components at motor pole pass frequency.

the same procedures that were used earlier. This time,

So with a power supply frequency of 50 Hz, a 4-pole

induction motor has a synchronous (no-slip) running
speed of exactly 1500 rpm.
Synchronous Vibration Frequency

no signs of thermal sensitivity were observed.

1500 cpm / (60 Hz/cpm) = 25 Hz.

However, high synchronous vibration was observed

So with no slip, synchronous vibration frequency at

at the motor NDE, with a small amount of amplitude

1500 rpm is 25 Hz.

modulation at pole passing frequency (slip frequency

times number of poles). This indicated that there was

Slip Frequency

significant mechanical unbalance, with a small amount of

Since the motor was actually running at 1494 rpm,

modulation caused by rotor bars that were still cracked

the slip frequency was:

or broken or high resistance joints that still existed

1500 cpm 1494 cpm = 6 cpm.

between rotor bars and shorting rings at the rotor ends.

Converting to Hz
The vibration spectrum in Figure 13 shows a peak at 24.9

6 cpm / (60 cpm/Hz) gives a slip frequency of 0.1 Hz.

Hz center frequency, which corresponds to synchronous

(1X) vibration for the running speed of 1494 rpm.
Sidebands are seen at about 0.4 Hz, which corresponded

P
ole Pass Frequency (slip frequency x number
of poles):

to the pole pass frequency (see sidebar for calculations).

(0.1 Hz)(4 poles) = 0.4 Hz.

Since vibration amplitudes at the sideband frequency

Actual 1X Frequency for Running Speed

components were relatively low compared with

With the motor running at 1494 rpm, actual 1X

synchronous vibration amplitude, it was determined

frequency is found by converting to Hz:

that no immediate electrical work was required on

1494 cpm /(60 Hz/cpm) = 24.9 Hz.

the rebuilt rotor. The unit was trim balanced at solo

run (uncoupled) to reduce synchronous vibration

Summary

amplitude down to acceptable levels, then the motor

The vibration spectrum example in Figure 13 shows

was re-coupled to the pump. The unit was returned to

a 1X peak at 24.9 Hz, with small sideband peaks at

service for normal operation until the new rotor could

0.4 Hz.

be delivered to site for permanent replacement.

*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of General Electric Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

Ap r. 2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

Vibration
Analysis for
Reciprocating
Compressors
(Part 1)

Gaia Rossi
Bently Nevada Field
Application Engineer
gaia.rossi@ge.com

[This is the first installment in a mini-series of Recip Tip articles that is

planned by our experienced Italian Field Application Engineer (FAE),
Gaia Rossi. Editor]

Vibration analysis of reciprocating machines

creates some unique challenges. This article
explains the reasons and gives clarity on
recommended monitoring and analysis
practices and tools. Years of field experience
have demonstrated that techniques which may
be well understood for measuring and analyzing
the vibration of purely rotating machinery can
produce confusing results when applied to
reciprocating machinery.
Vibration associated with rotational speed is the
dominant motion for most industrial rotating
machines. This synchronous (1X) behavior
allows the direct application of traditional
vibration analysis concepts towards addressing
common machinery malfunctions such
as rotor unbalance. The typical frequencies

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

observed with those common rotor-related

malfunctions generally occur between a quarter
of running speed and twice running speed and
correlate excellently with machine mechanical
conditions. Consequently, principles and
diagnostic methodologies for these machines
are broadly accepted and harmonized within the
machinery diagnostic community.
This is not quite true for reciprocating
compressors. Vibration analysis of these
machines creates some unique challenges;
many forcing functions produce a complex
vibration signature that makes any attempt of
using standard analysis techniques used for
rotating equipment ineffective.

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

FIGURE 1: This drawing shows typical vibration

monitoring locations for a reciprocating compressor.
Sensors are installed at the crosshead guides (4
red hexagons) and on the frame (4 blue diamonds).
[Reference 1]

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

Compressor Frame Vibration

Vibration measured at the frame
results principally from the response
of the mechanical system to the
forces and moments that are
occurring in the machine at the
normal running conditions. These
include the following factors:
Gas Load Forces: These forces act
on the piston and stationary components at 1X and at integer multiples
of running speed. They are generally
significant up to about 10X and in the
direction of the piston rod travel. For

FIGURE 2: Time waveform plot of the velocity signal from a frame-mounted vibration
sensor. Observe that many different frequency components are present in the signal.

large slow speed compressors (up to

roughly 500 rpm), gas forces are typically the largest contributor to piston
rod and compressor frame load.
Inertial Load Forces: These forces
are caused by the acceleration
of the reciprocating components
(piston, piston rod, and crosshead).
These components represent
a large amount of mass to be
accelerated back and forth with
each stroke. Inertial loads of
400,000 Newton (~90,000 pounds)
of force or more are not uncommon

FIGURE 3: Frequency domain (spectrum) plot of velocity signal shown in Figure 2. Fast
Fourier Transform (FFT) processing allows us to see the various frequency components
that are included in the complex waveform.

with very large compressors.

Reciprocating & Rotating Masses

Gas Unbalance Forces: These are

As a consequence of these factors,

Unbalance Forces: These forces

caused by pressure in the pulsation

the extent of vibration is inherent

are predominant at 1X and 2X

bottles and pulsation at the cylinder

with the reciprocating compressor

compressor speed, and are caused

nozzle area and on piping. Allowable

design and its response to all the

by asymmetrical crankshaft design

pulsation levels are defined in API-618. applied forces and moments. This

and imperfect manufacturing toler-

Although these pulsating forces are

causes these machines, even when

ances. They are usually much smaller

usually much smaller than the forces

in good condition, to vibrate much

than inertial and gas load forces.

listed above, they can be destructive

more than a comparable rotating

to piping and piping support systems

machine. The examples in Figures

if they happen to correspond to reso-

2 and 3 show that many harmonics

nant frequencies for the structures.

are produced by the complex shape

of the frame velocity waveform.

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

Frame vibration frequencies typically

include components below 10 Hz.
For this reason, a velocity transducer
(with extended low frequency
response) is usually better suited than
an accelerometer for detecting an
increase of rotation-related forces
(due to gas load or inertial loads,
imbalance, foundation looseness,
excessive rod load, etc.). The preferred
location for the frame vibration
transducer is on the side of the frame
oriented in the direction of piston
rod travel, on the centerline of the
crankshaft and at a main bearing
where dynamic load is transmitted

FIGURE 4: Example of stationary vibration sample taken at an electric motor bearing. The
higher frequency components are typical of the characteristic vibration produced by the
interaction of the rolling elements with the bearing races.

(Figure 1). Magnitude for a filtered

frame velocity signal is usually low
(less than 7 mm/s); however, at low
frequencies, even small amplitudes of
measured velocity may correspond
to large amounts of displacement.
On the other hand, measuring only
frame vibration can be insufficient
for effective condition monitoring,
as the increase in frame velocity
from incipient failures developing
at the running gear or cylinder
assembly will be small and typically
covered by the larger signal that

FIGURE 5: Timebase waveform of a crosshead acceleration signal.

is produced by normal machine

movement. Experience has shown

Monitoring Vibration
& Impact

both stationary and non-stationary

transducer and the compressor shut

Vibration transducers monitoring

vertically on a crosshead guide is

down, major secondary damage may

rotating machinery generate station-

characterized by different frequencies

have already occurred because of

ary signals; this means they have

with different amplitudes that occur

the malfunctions. These malfunctions

constant frequency content over each

at specific points in the revolution.

include liquid or debris carryover,

revolution of the rotor (Figure 4).

that by the time the malfunction has

been detected by the frame velocity

loose piston or piston nut, loose

content. In particular, the signal generated by an accelerometer placed

Figure 5 shows a typical waveform

crosshead nut, or loose cylinder liner,

In contrast, vibration measurements

from a crosshead accelerometer.

and typically manifest themselves as

on reciprocating compressors present

The signal shows high amplitude,

impacts transmitted at the crosshead.

Ap r. 2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

short duration impulse peaks fol-

Of all vibration measurements that

accelerometer and mounting surface

lowed by a ring down that occur

can be applied to reciprocating

such as the use of an adhesive,

at certain parts of each crankshaft

compressors, crosshead accelera-

magnetic isolation base, or non-flat

revolution. This signal is not filtered

tion is probably the most effective

mounting surface. The transducer

so the transducer is picking up

protection measurement available,

should be installed directly on the

the widest range of frequencies

if appropriately employed.

machine structural component to

(typically from 10 Hz to 30 kHz).

be measured, avoiding brackets or

While crosshead acceleration has

plates as a support, or mounting on

These acceleration peaks can be

proven itself to be a sound measure-

flanges or covers. Accuracy of an

referred as responses to impulse

ment for detecting mechanical

accelerometer can also be affected

events occurring during compressor

failures, industry has little experience

by ground loops, base strains, and

operation (valve opening and closing,

in applying and analyzing it, resulting

cable noise. These can be minimized

gas flow turbulence, crosshead

in increased risks of false or missed

by following the recommendations

pin shifting at load reversal, etc.).

alarms, and poor diagnostic value

from transducers and monitoring

Such impulses excite the structural

from diagnostic systems. The follow-

systems manufacturers as well as

resonances of the machine compo-

ing paragraphs describe some basic

applying appropriate cable tie-downs.

nents - resulting in high frequency

requirements for a reliable monitoring

free vibration and the characteristic

system and diagnostic software.

Signal Processing & Alarming

Requirements for
Monitoring Systems

One of the concerns in applying

General considerations on the

of false alarms due to spurious peaks

effective employment of crosshead

in the signal. The peak detection

acceleration for monitoring and

circuit in the protection system should

protection are described here:

be designed to manage impulsive

impact/ring-down profile.
As mentioned, the main source of
vibration on the compressor frame
is related to periodic forces. While
the overall frame vibration increase
is certainly a concern, the primary
interest of crosshead vibration
monitoring is detecting peaks
associated with structure response
to impulsive events. Conditions
that increase the excitation of such
resonances are generated by developing faults such as fractured or loose
components or excess clearance.
Loose rod nuts, loose bolts, excessive
crosshead slipper clearance, worn
pins as well as liquid in the process
can be detected at early stages of
development using crosshead impact
monitoring, thus allowing appropriate
countermeasures and avoiding
potential catastrophic consequences.

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

crosshead vibration measurement

for compressor shutdown is the risk

vibration in order to avoid nuisance

Transducer Selection

alarms; this can be accomplished

Amplitude measurement units should

by counting the number of readings

be generally selected based upon the

that exceed an alarm threshold in a

frequencies of interest. For crosshead

set time before triggering an alarm.

vibration monitoring an accelerometer

Additionally, an appropriate time delay

should be selected as it emphasizes

needs to be configured for the alert

the higher frequency components.

and shutdown thresholds. Careful set-

The unit of measurement used should

ting of these thresholds, counts and

be the natural units of the transducer

alarm delays will allow us to minimize

used (signal integration is not a

the possibility of false alarms. The

recommended tool for this purpose).

recip Impact/Impulse channels

in the Bently Nevada* 3500/70M

Transducer Mounting

monitor include these features.

Frequency response is sensitive

to mounting techniques and may

Signal Filtering

be affected by any reduction of

Another essential aspect to care-

the mechanical coupling between

fully consider is signal filtering. As

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

described previously, an accelerom-

signal, and for malfunctions such as

analysis provide little value due to the

eter can detect vibration components

loose foundation or load unbalance,

discontinuous frequencies involved.

up to very high frequencies. While

this energy content relates well with

acceleration analysis in a broad

machine condition, as well as opera-

The most appropriate analytic

frequency range may have diagnostic

tor perception of machine condition.

methodology is therefore based on

signal timing; Bently Nevada 3500

value, the main object of crosshead

impact monitoring is protecting the

However, rms calculation applied to

monitors synchronize the vibration

machine from the consequences

an impulsive frequency-rich signal

signal with crankshaft rotation to

of mechanical failures. A signal

such as crosshead vibration (Figure

associate peaks to a piston posi-

with too high corner frequency for

5) does a poor job in correlating with

tion along the stroke. Individual

the low-pass filter may introduce

other critical conditions such as

monitoring and alarming on crank

the risk of false alarms due to the

mechanical knocks, which have rela-

angle bands allows association

presence of high frequency content

tively little energy content, but prove

of peaks to the problem area.

YEARS OF FIELD EXPERIENCE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT

TECHNIQUES WHICH MAY BE WELL UNDERSTOOD FOR
MEASURING AND ANALYZING THE VIBRATION OF PURELY
ROTATING MACHINERY CAN PRODUCE CONFUSING RESULTS
WHEN APPLIED TO RECIPROCATING MACHINERY.
not related to mechanical malfunc-

vital in assessing machine condition.

For example, a peak occurring when

tions (and consequent impacts

For these types of malfunctions,

the piston is travelling toward the end

transmitted to the crosshead guide

peak amplitude measurement is

of its stroke near Top Dead Center

recommended as it correlates

(TDC) can be correlated to liquid or

well with both high-energy and

debris ingression in the compression

low-energy malfunctions typical of

chamber. When the piston moves

reciprocating compressors. Applying

towards its TDC position, the impact

rms processing to crosshead

with the non-compressible material

vibration signals would provide

will generate an impulse event. The

under-predicting values.

monitoring system will then raise

Amplitude Measurement
Our last important note is about
vibration measurements taken in
either root mean square (rms), zeroto-peak (peak or pk), or peak-to-peak
(pp) amplitude measurement systems.
A few international standards
recommend rms measurement for

an alarm for the corresponding

Crank Angle Domain Analysis

assessing machinery health based

When viewed in the time domain, the

on overall casing vibration and this

non-stationary crosshead vibration

is traditionally adopted by many

signal looks like multiple disconnected

practitioners. Rms values provide an

events (Figure 5), so diagnostic

indication of the energy content of a

methodologies such as spectral

crank angle band (for example,

starting 10 degrees before top
dead center and ending 10 degrees
after). Figure 6 shows case of
liquid ingestion as detected by the
crosshead guide accelerometer.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

Understanding Frequency
Content
Additional advanced analysis tools
are available in System 1* diagnostic
software. As noted before, not all
impulse response events within the
crosshead accelerometer signal
contain the same frequencies.
Mechanical knocks excite resonances
of the reciprocating compressor
components such as crosshead
guides, distance pieces, etc. that
generally lie below 2 kHz. In contrast,
events originating in gas flow noise,
valve opening or valve closing events
express a much higher frequency.
Searching for a mechanical event in

FIGURE 6: Crosshead acceleration in crank angle domain, presenting a high peak at Top
Dead Center (TDC). The horizontal axis represents 360 degrees of crankshaft rotation (one
full revolution), where 0 indicates TDC. The System 1 plot also displays a Throw Animation
(in the upper right corner of this plot) showing the piston movement synchronized with the
plot cursor. In this example the cursor is set at 2.5 degrees, and the animation shows that
the piston is very close to the TDC position

an acceleration signal that contains

the whole transducer frequency
response range is practically impossible due to the high amplitude and
frequency peaks that cover smaller,
yet more critical, peaks related to
mechanical events. Such overlap
prevents early indication of an incipient malfunction. It is for this reason
the signal must be filtered. Figure
7 shows crosshead acceleration in
the crank angle domain using 3 to
30 kHz (left plot) and 3 to 2 kHz (right
plot) band pass filtering. The peaks
present in the narrower pass-band
correspond to mechanical impacts,
which are difficult to distinguish in
the signal with broader filter corners.
System 1 software is integrated with
the 3500/70M monitor to allow dual
signal processing and both storing
and displaying the accelerometer
signal with two different filter settings.

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

FIGURE 7: The 3500/70M module returns two waveform samples to System 1 software
from a single crosshead acceleration signal with two different filtering characteristics.

DEPARTMENTS
RECIP TIPS

Diagnostic Approach
To wrap up this first installment, let us
consider how we can effectively associate a malfunction to a specific vibration pattern and to obtain an early
failure diagnostic. Experience has
shown that associating vibration with
additional measured dynamic parameters such as rod load have proven
to be of great value in pinpointing a
specific component failure. Details of
these other dynamic parameters will
be presented in following Orbit issues.
Due to the complexity of the signal
content and the vibration signatures
that differ from case to case based
on operating conditions and failure
modes, several different automated
diagnostic approaches have been

EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN

THAT ASSOCIATING VIBRATION
WITH ADDITIONAL MEASURED
DYNAMIC PARAMETERS SUCH
AS ROD LOAD HAVE PROVEN
TO BE OF GREAT VALUE IN

developed. This includes rule-based

and model-based approaches
that are driven by data or by first
principles of Physics relationships.
Each approach presents pros and
cons and will be further discussed

PINPOINTING A SPECIFIC
COMPONENT FAILURE.

in following issues as well.

References
1. GE Energy Brochure, Condition
Monitoring Solutions for Reciprocating
Compressors, GEA-14927
*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc.,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of General
Electric Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric
Company. All rights reserved.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORBI T

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

How to Create a Machine

Reference Dataset
Stuart Rochon
Bently Nevada Field
Application Engineer (FAE)
stuart.rochon@ge.com

Dear System 1 Software User,

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O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

Tip Applicability
System 1 Versions
Applies to all versions.
System 1 Features
Applies to System 1 Data Plots
Recommended User Level
Power User
Diagnostic User
Mid Level User
1. Open System 1 Display. If the Plot Session Manager
window is not visible, open it using the View menu at the
top of the screen. Choose the Collection Groups tab at
the lower right corner of the Enterprise View (Figure 1)

FIGURE 2: Selecting Keyphasor channel and opening the

Reference Range Dataset Manager.

3. When the Reference Range Dataset Manager opens

(Figure 3), click Add and enter a name and description
for the new reference dataset (you cannot use spaces
in the name, but underscore characters are OK).
FIGURE 1: System 1 Display, showing the Plot Session Manager
pane in the lower right corner.

2. Choose the Keyphasor* channel that is associated

with the machine you want to save Reference
data on (Figure 2). Right click the Keyphasor
channel and select Configure Reference
Sample Range from the shortcut menu).

FIGURE 3: Click Add to name the new Reference range data set.

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

4. Normally I would select reference data from

6. For this example I selected the Speed and

an earlier cold startup, using the Transient

Direct (unfiltered amplitude) variables.

data source. But since this is a simulated

After making your selections, click OK.

example, I will use Trend data (Figure 4).

FIGURE 4: Reference Range Dataset Configuration dialog with

Trend data selected.

FIGURE 6: Selecting the variables to be included in the reference

dataset.

5. Next, we will choose the time date range close to the

event we want to reference. We can narrow down
the sample range by choosing the beginning and
ending speed of the sample range. To do this, from
the Variable Filter choose User Selected from the

7. Now select Speed from the Show Plot menu, and

click Plot. (Figure 7). The Speed data for the selected
date range will appear in a trend plot (Figure 8).

drop-down list (Figure 5). Next, we can select the

variables from the pop-up window (Figure 6).

FIGURE 7: Selecting Speed data to be shown in the plot.

FIGURE 5: Choosing User Selected from the Variable Filter.

O R B IT Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

9. Now move the cursor to the end of the startup speed

ramp (Figure 10). Write down the date and time to the
minute. We have now identified the exact time range
that we want to include in our reference dataset.

FIGURE 10: Locating the end of the machine startup transient.

FIGURE 8: New trend plot showing the machine speed data for
the startup transient.

8. Click on the plot to show your cursor, so you can

select your start and end points in the dataset.

10. In the Reference Range Dataset Configuration

dialog, select the data source From and Two times
that we identified in steps 9 and 10 (Figure 11).

Move the cursor to the beginning of the startup

transient (Figure 9). This will be at the point where
the machine speed begins to ramp upward.
Write down time and date to the minute.

FIGURE 11: Selecting the From and To times for the identified
data range of interest.

11. Now we can choose which measurement points

(channels) to include in the dataset for the Speed and
FIGURE 9: Plot cursor is positioned at the beginning of the speed
transient corresponding to the machine startup.

Direct variables that we selected in step 6 (Figure 12).

Ap r.2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 OR B I T

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

13. To use the reference data, open the plot group
you want to use the reference data in, or start
a new plot session. In the Plot Configuration
dialog under Overlay, highlight Select Overlay
from the drop-down menu (Figure 15).

FIGURE 12: Selecting the measurement points (channels) that we

want to see for values of Direct vibration amplitude and machine
speed.

12. We can also repeat the same steps to select filtered
variables such as 1X & 2X (Figure 13) and gap voltage
(Figure 14). Once all selections are made, click Apply
or OK. Now your new reference dataset will be saved,
and it will be available for use as a plot overlay.

FIGURE 15: Use the Plot Configuration dialog to select the

reference dataset to be overlaid in the plot group.

14. From the Reference Range Dataset Manager

pop-up window (Figure 16), select the reference
dataset that you just finished creating, and
click OK. The reference data will now be shown
in your plot along with the current data.

FIGURE 13: This example shows the selection of channels of 1X

and 2X filtered data to be included in the reference dataset.

FIGURE 16: Selecting which reference dataset to be shown as

an overlay in plots. In this example, there is only one reference
dataset in the list, since we have only created a single reference
dataset so far. However, in actual practice, it is quite common
to have a long list of specified reference datasets that represent
various machine operating conditions.

FIGURE 14: This example shows the selection of channels of gap

voltage data to be included in the reference dataset.

O R B I T Vo l.32 N o. 2 A pr. 2012

DEPARTMENTS
SYSTEM 1* SOFTWARE TIPS & TRICKS

Viewing Reference Data

Now for the fun part! The historical reference data that
you selected to overlay will appear in the plot as orange
curves, while current values are shown in blue. When
the reference data matches the current value data
perfectly, the blue curves completely cover the orange
curves, so the reference data is not visible at all.

So any time that you see the orange color exposed, it

means that something has changed between the time the
reference data was collected and the current conditions.
With appropriate plot sessions, even an inexperienced
person can immediately spot that a change has occurred,
and call for a deeper look at the machine condition.
*denotes a trademark of Bently Nevada, Inc., a wholly
owned subsidiary of General Electric Company.
Copyright 2012 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 17: This example shows an Orbit Timebase plot with the current values shown as blue curves, and the overlaid historical
reference data in orange. It is obvious that the shape of the orbit and the waveforms have changed over time.

REFERENCE DATA IS HELPFUL TO COMPARE A PREVIOUS

KNOWN OPERATING CONDITION OR STATE TO A CURRENT
CONDITION OR STATE.
Ap r. 2 012 N o. 2 Vo l . 3 2 ORB I T