MEASUREMENT TYPE

Machine Health Monitoring Sensors

Measurement Types in Online Machinery Monitoring
Measurement Type Online machinery monitoring for rotating equipment is typically divided into two categories:
Summary Protection Monitoring and Prediction Monitoring
Protection Type The measurement types for protection monitoring somewhat overlap with those used for prediction,
Summary but there are many differences. The division between whether protection monitoring or prediction
Shaft vibration (relative) monitoring is applied to a rotating asset depends on the criticality of the asset and the maintenance
philosophy of the company that runs the asset. In general, rotating assets can be thought of in terms
Shaft vibration (abs.) of their criticality to keep the process running and productive.
Bearing vibration The asset pyramid shows the typical criticality distribution of
Most likely measurement types used on
Position measurement rotating assets in any plant. Usually only the critical, essential, any bearings and nonbearing part of
and more expensive important assets are considered rotating assets:
Eccentricity for online monitoring. In addition to criticality, the type
1. Acceleration (absolute vibration)
of component measured is another important factor in
Reference pulse 2. Velocity (absolute vibration)
determining measurement type. For example, rotating assets
Differential expansion have two general classes of bearings: 3. Displacement (position)
4. Displacement (vibration)
Valve position 1. Antifriction bearings
5. Rotation (speed and phase)
Speed measurement 2. Fluid film sleeve bearings
6. Rotation (acceleration)
Axial position protection 7. Rotation (direction)
CRITICAL
Online Monitoring 8. Temperature (simple surface or infrared)
Process variables
ESSENTIAL 9. Pressure (static and/or dynamic)
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10. Sound (ultrasonics and acoustic emissions)
IMPORTANT Manual Monitoring
Balance of Plant
The most frequently used for online monitoring are
SECONDARY
measurement types one through seven and sometimes eight
(surface temperature only). In some processes that have fluid flow,
Emerson
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NON-ESSENTIAL Run to Failure dynamic pressure pulsations analysis helps
Knoxville, TN 37932
in understanding the process assets.
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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Measurement Types in Online Machinery Monitoring
Measurement Type
Summary Not all assets require or have all these Protection Measurement Types
measurement types. In the case of
Protection Type critical assets such as large steam
• Shaft Vibration (relative)
Summary
turbines, guidelines such as the • Shaft Vibration (absolute)
Shaft vibration (relative) API 670 specification are considered
the standard for fulfilling the correct • Bearing Vibration (relates to prediction monitoring)
Shaft vibration (abs.) protection for those assets. • Position Measurement
Bearing vibration
• Eccentricity
Position measurement
• Phase (reference pulse, relates to prediction monitoring)
Eccentricity
• Differential Expansion
Reference pulse • Valve Position
Differential expansion • Speed Measurement (acceleration, direction, and more)
Valve position • Axial Position Protection
Speed measurement • Process Variables
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Shaft Vibration (relative)
This measurement type is always done on a fluid film
Measurement Type
Summary sleeve bearing and is supplied using eddy current
sensor technology. For each monitored bearing
Protection Type
Summary there will be either one or two eddy current sensors
mounted radially. If there is just one eddy current
Shaft vibration (relative) sensor per bearing, it will usually be located exact
top center on the bearing (Figure 3 and
Shaft vibration (abs.)
Figure 4 ). If two eddy current sensors are used,
Bearing vibration they are usually mounted 90° apart at the 10:30
and 1:30 clock positions on the bearing
Position measurement
(Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 ). When
Eccentricity using the two sensor dual-channel mode, the orbit
of the shaft can be recorded (Figure 2 ).
Reference pulse
Eddy current sensors require converters to power
Differential expansion them and to convert their output to the correct
scaled voltage data per displacement unit, typically
Valve position
mV/micron or mv/mil. An eddy current sensor with
Speed measurement its cable and converter all together form a chain
and should be calibrated together to ensure the
Axial position protection highest accuracy displacement measurement. The
Process variables eddy current sensor chain output is always
measured in terms of displacement as shown in
Learn more Figure 4 through Figure 7.

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Shaft Vibration (absolute)
This measurement type is always done on
Measurement Type
Summary a fluid film sleeve bearing. With absolute
shaft vibration, the relative shaft vibration
Protection Type
Summary is measured using an eddy current sensor as
detailed in the prior section, and the absolute
Shaft vibration (relative) bearing housing vibration is measured using an
accelerometer or velocity sensor along the same
Shaft vibration (abs.)
axis as the eddy current sensor. Subtracting the
Bearing vibration relative vibration from the correct phase of the
absolute vibration results in the absolute shaft
Position measurement
vibration of the shaft in space. The evaluation of
Eccentricity the measurement is done as So-p (displacement
0 to peak) or Sp-p (displacement peak to peak),
Reference pulse as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 .
Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
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Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Bearing Vibration
Bearing vibration readings are taken on both 1. Accelerometer
Measurement Type (piezoelectric based)
Summary antifriction bearings and fluid film sleeve bearings.
To measure the bearing or machine case overall 2. Velocity sensor (piezoelectric based)
Protection Type
Summary absolute vibration, the following measurement
technologies are usually employed:
3. Velocity sensor (seismic, electrodynamic based)
Shaft vibration (relative) These sensors are all surface mounted on the bearing
Shaft vibration (abs.) or machine case and will report all the vibration (absolute)
that they detect in their perpendicular
Bearing vibration axis to the mounting surface.

Position measurement 4. Displacement (position)

Eccentricity 5. Displacement (vibration)

Reference pulse
Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
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Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Position Measurement
Eddy current sensors are used to measure position and
Measurement Type
Summary expansion on shafts, bearing housings, and machine
cases on rotating machines.
Protection Type
Summary Because of the large range in shaft and case sizes and
Shaft vibration (relative) the large possible range of movement, a range of
different eddy current sensor sizes must be available
Shaft vibration (abs.) to optimize the measurement. Some position
measurements are single channel and some are dual
Bearing vibration
channel. Axial position measurements on shafts are
Position measurement typically taken to ensure the rotating assembly inside
the machine case is not close to rubbing a casing seal.
Eccentricity A seal rub can result in a catastrophic failure of the
Reference pulse machine rotor.

Differential expansion • Single Channel

Valve position • Dual Channel

Speed measurement • Dual Channel Continued

Axial position protection • Single-Cone Measurement

Process variables • Double-Cone Measurement

Learn more • Measuring Range Calculation

Emerson
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Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Eccentricity
Shaft eccentricity is the dynamic movement of the
Measurement Type
Summary outer shaft surface to the geometrical center of the
shaft (also called residual gap). This measurement
Protection Type
Summary requires a tachometer phase reference to initiate the
time series collection and the measurement consists of
Shaft vibration (relative) one complete shaft revolution measured with an eddy
current sensor.
Shaft vibration (abs.)
The signal is measured in a frequency range of
Bearing vibration
0.017 Hz (1.02 rpm) to 70 Hz (4200 rpm) using eddy
Position measurement current sensor data. Sp-p (Shaft Displacement Peak to
Peak, Figure 24 ) and Smin/max (Shaft minimum/
Eccentricity maximum, Figure 25 ) are typical expected
Reference pulse analysis parameters.

Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
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Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Reference pulse
A tachometer. typically an eddy current sensor, is used to Examples of reference pulse sensors
Measurement Type
Summary produce a pulse when a shaft keyway or some other target and converters.
passes it once per shaft revolution. This tachometer timing
Protection Type
Summary pulse can be used to provide a phase reference point for all
the vibration measurements on a machine.
Shaft vibration (relative)
This allows phase comparisons of the multiple vibration
Shaft vibration (abs.) measurements on a machine using two dimension visuals PR 6422
such as each bearings XY orbit data. Since the shaft has a
Bearing vibration
reference mark that the phase is based upon, the angular
Position measurement position of the absolute vibration data can be calculated.

Eccentricity A trigger wheel cannot be used with a tachometer to

generate a phase reference pulse because there is no unique
Reference pulse tooth on the trigger wheel to reference.

Differential expansion CON011

Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
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Emerson
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Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Differential expansion
Differential expansion (relative expansion) is a measure Examples of differential expansion
Measurement Type
Summary of the change in the clearances between machine parts sensors and converters.
caused by thermal expansion or contraction. (e.g., rotor
Protection Type
Summary disks to turbine housing). A variety of methods to measure
this effect are used but the most common method is by
Shaft vibration (relative) using eddy current sensors.
Shaft vibration (abs.) Smaller thermal expansion displacements can be treated
PR 6426
as single or tandem eddy current sensor measurements.
Bearing vibration
Larger expansions have to be handled through Tandem
Position measurement or Double Cone dual eddy current sensor setups.

Eccentricity A pre-calculation of the expected maximum expansion

must be done to determine the best differential
Reference pulse expansion measurement type setup required.

Differential expansion
CON021
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
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Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Valve position
Valves have long travel displacements and the Examples of valve position sensors.
Measurement Type
Summary travel amount is used to determine whether a
valve is open, partially open or closed. LVDT’s have
Protection Type
Summary the long displacement measurement capability to
measure valve position.
Shaft vibration (relative)
PR 9350
Shaft vibration (abs.)
Bearing vibration
Position measurement
Eccentricity
Reference pulse PR6423

Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Speed measurement
Speed measurements are usually Example of speed measurement tachometer.
Measurement Type
Summary collected by an eddy current sensor
reading a pulse wheel or a gearwheel.
Protection Type
Summary The current speed in hertz is calculated
by dividing the amount of pulses
Shaft vibration (relative) per second by the number of gear
teeth on the wheel. By having many
Shaft vibration (abs.) A0430L3
pulses per revolution it’s possible to
Bearing vibration quickly determine if the asset speed is
consistent, accelerating or decelerating.
Position measurement
The use of two speed sensors on the same
Eccentricity trigger wheel allows the direction of
Reference pulse rotation to be detected and monitored.

Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Axial position protection
A fluid film sleeve oil “thrust” bearing is designed to be the Examples of axail position protection
Measurement Type
Summary fixed bearing of a fixed/floating bearing pair. This bearing sensors and converters.
is expected to keep the shaft from wandering in the axial
Protection Type
Summary direction which will result in a catastrophic event when the
clearances in a rotating machine such as a steam turbine
Shaft vibration (relative) disappear and high speed metal to metal contact of the
PR6425
rotor with the housing and seals occur.
Shaft vibration (abs.)
So it is important to know that the thrust restraint fixing
Bearing vibration
mechanism is intact. This measurement is sometimes
Position measurement setup as a 2 out of 3 (2oo3) measurement to ensure
there is no doubt that the thrust restraint is intact and
Eccentricity not moving axially.
Reference pulse
Differential expansion CON041
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

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MEASUREMENT TYPE
Machine Health Monitoring Sensors
Process variables
Because of the growing application of sophisticated and
Measurement Type
Summary networked modern analysis and diagnostic online prediction and
protection systems, it becomes increasingly easy and essential
Protection Type
Summary to capture process parameters and trend them along with the
online prediction and protection analysis parameters to allow
Shaft vibration (relative) the visualization of potential relationships between them.
Shaft vibration (abs.) For a steam turbine the important parameters to
capture and trend are the effective power and the reactive power
Bearing vibration
of the turbine. In addition, temperature and steam pressures
Position measurement should be tracked and trended.

Eccentricity
Reference pulse
Differential expansion
Valve position
Speed measurement
Axial position protection
Process variables
Learn more

Emerson
835 Innovation Drive
Knoxville, TN 37932

www.emerson.com/ams