Vibration Analysis Software Free Download

[Louella Kammann]

Whenvibration increases beyond normal levels, it may be a sign of alignment issues or source of trouble and you need fast and actionable answers. Fluke Vibration Testing and Laser Shaft Alignment Equipment and Systems were designed specifically for maintenance professionals who need to quickly perform vibration analysis and evaluate alignment to understand the root cause of equipment condition.

Vibration analysis is a process that monitors vibration levels and investigates the patterns in vibration signals. It is commonly conducted both on the time waveforms of the vibration signal directly, as well as on the frequency spectrum, which is obtained by applying Fourier Transform on the time waveform.

The time domain analysis, on chronologically recorded vibration waveforms, reveals when and how severe the abnormal vibration events occur, by extracting and studying parameters including but not limited to root-mean-square (RMS), standard deviation, peak amplitude, kurtosis, crest factor, skewness and many others. Time domain analysis is capable of evaluating the overall condition of the targets being monitored.

In real world applications, especially in rotating machinery, it is highly desirable to incorporate the frequency spectrum analysis in addition to time domain analysis. A complex machine with many components will generate a mixture of vibrations, which is a combination of vibrations from each rotating components. Therefore, it is difficult to use only time waveforms to examine the condition of the critical components such as gears, bearings and shafts in a large rotating equipment. Frequency analysis decomposes time waveforms and describes the repetitiveness of vibration patterns, so that the frequency components corresponding to each components can be investigated. Additionally, the well-established Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) technique facilitates fast and efficient frequency analysis, as well as the design of various digital noise filters.

Vibration is a physical phenomenon that presents itself in operational rotating machineries and moving structures, regardless of the condition of their health. Vibration can be induced by various sources, including rotating shafts, meshing gear-teeth, rolling bearing elements, rotating electric field, fluid flows, combustion events, structural resonance and angular rotations. Because of its ubiquity, vibration is highly applicable for investigating the operational conditions and status of rotating machinery and structures.

Vibrations can be represented in different forms, including displacement, velocity and acceleration. Displacement describes the distance that the measuring point has moved; velocity describes how fast the movement is; and acceleration is self-explanatory. The three types are all widely used, specifically acceleration, which offers the widest frequency range and is extensively applied for dynamic fault analysis.

Vibration can be measured through various types of sensors. Based on different types of vibrations, there are sensors designed to measure displacement, velocity and acceleration, with different measuring technologies, such as piezoelectric (PZT) sensors, microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS), proximity probes, laser Doppler vibrometer and many others.

PZT sensors, the most commonly used sensor, generate voltages when deformed. The voltage signals can be digitalised and translated to represent the vibrations. When selecting suitable vibration sensors, the vibration levels/dynamic range and maximum frequency range/bandwidth should be considered, as well as the other operating environment such as temperature, humidity and pH level.

Sensor installation is critical for ensuring that high quality data is recorded. The recommended method for installing sensors is to stud mount the sensor on a flat and clean surface on the machine. This ensures that a broad and smooth frequency spectrum is captured. When stud mount is not applicable, magnet holders, wax or glue can be adopted as substitutions with vibration levels and frequencies considered.

Vibration signals are usually below 20 kHz, except for certain vibration resonances that can reach beyond that. In practice, the sampling rate should be carefully chosen, to make sure that the bandwidth containing frequencies of interest are captured. Additionally, the recording length for one measurement should be at least several periods of the lowest speed of the machines.

Time domain vibration analysis is able to monitor vibration levels. Acceptable operation vibration limits can be pre-defined either through long-term operation and maintenance history or through referring to established standards. If the limit is breached, this could be that the overall health condition of the machine is deteriorating and defects have developed.

Frequency domain vibration analysis excels at detecting abnormal vibrating patterns. For instance, a crack that has developed on a roller bearing outer race will lead to periodic collisions with bearing rollers. In time waveform, this information is usually hidden and masked by the vibration from other sources. By studying the frequency spectrum, the periodicity of the collisions can be discovered and thus detect the presence of bearing faults.

A vibration monitoring system is a complete system that is capable of acquiring vibration signals according to pre-determined parameters such as sampling frequency, vibration level, recording length, recording intervals and frequency bandwidths. The system should be able to process the recorded vibration and translate the information to intuitive indications for the machine operators, maintenance staff or asset managers.

A recently completed collaborative project focusing on the use of vibrational analysis for remote condition monitoring (VA-RCM), and part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the Rail Safety and Standards Board, has successfully developed a system to detect wear and defects in train door machinery before breakdown occurs.

Vibration-induced fatigue is one of the most common causes of failure in process piping systems. The resulting unexpected hydrocarbon release may lead to financial losses and impact both health and safety and the environment.

Vibration Analysis is defined as the technique of measuring vibration to identify anomalies in industrial machinery. Using FFT algorithms, Vibration Analyzers separate vibration signals into amplitude and frequency components to facilitate failure recognition.

Vibration analysis technique is capable of identifying almost all the faults that a machine can have. As a result, occasional analysis needs complementary methods to confirm a diagnosis. The following are the most common faults that vibration analysis identifies:

A vibration Analysis Equipment is an instrument used to measure, store and diagnose the vibration produced by your machines. Vibration analysis equipments use FFT based tools to measure frequencies and identify the causes that originate them. You can find some examples here:

Vibration Experts and developers have made great efforts to create functions that solve the few limitations of vibration analysis, however, there are still some issues that we are unable to see through vibration analysis.

Lubricant condition: This is one of the biggest limitations of vibration analysis. The condition of the lubricant cannot be evaluated by this technique, you can only suspect the lack of it.

Vibration analysis does not require you to disassemble or stop the machine and therefore it is a non-invasive method. In fact, a sensor transforming movement into an electric signal is the principle of a vibration analyzer. subsequently, the analyzer calculates all predefined parameters and then stores this signal.

The most common sensor used in vibration analysis is the accelerometer, however you may also find velocity transducers and displacement probes. In fact, accelerometers provide a voltage output whose amplitude is proportional to the acceleration of the vibration. Subsequently, the analyzer can integrate this signal to obtain the speed and displacement making the accelerometer the most versatile sensor.

Rotating machinery produces vibration during its normal operation as a consequence of friction and centrifugal forces of both the rotating parts and the bearings. As a result, Vibration can be measured, recorded, trended, and in most cases even heard. Thus, we define vibration as a repetitive movement around a point of equilibrium characterized by its variation in amplitude and frequency. Both the amplitude and the frequency are used in countless essential calculations for diagnosis.

The amplitude is the maximum extension of the oscillation and it is measured from the lowest point to the highest point of the waveform. In fact, Amplitude is related to the amount of movement. On the other hand, the RMS value (Root Mean Square) describes the amount of energy contained in this vibration. RMS is the most used parameter to measure the intensity of the vibration.

Frequency measures the rate at which movements in vibration occur per second Hz (or per minute CPM). Imagine a piano, provided that each note corresponds to a frequency, if you press several keys you will hear a composite sound. The frequencies and amplitudes of each note are combined to create a complex signal. Similarly, vibration can be a composition of multiple frequencies which each one of them can obey to a different cause. In the same way, think that the number of components of a vibration signal can be as big as the keys on a piano because every mechanical part has its own vibrational pattern. Therefore, every machine will have its own vibration footprint, and it is the job of a vibration analyst to identify problems inside that footprint.

The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) is a mathematical calculation intended to decompose a signal into all its frequencies. FFT chart provides the possibility to diagnose faults based on frequencies and evaluate the intensity of each one of them based on the amplitude.

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