In-place testing was performed on a 350 horsepower, 460 Vac, 1780 RPM vertical motor (Figure 1) and EMPATH detected conditions associated with bearings, rotor and early winding stress were indicated. The motor was removed for routine overhaul and the defects were investigated.
During a site visit along with Scott Burkhardt of #RDI, we were asked to investigate the cause of a noise from a casting mill. The DC motor operated the mill through two gearboxes then a slow speed shaft. Following #motionamplification on the first day, data was collected with an #EMPATH #electricalsignatureanalyzer from the DC drive. A comparison of operating speeds from the customer…
The EMPATH™ family of Electrical Signature and Motor Current Signature Analysis (ESA/MCSA) systems go well beyond analyzing electric motors, generators and wind turbines. It provides prognostic and time to failure estimation (TTFE) capabilities for AC/DC electric motors, synchronous machines, servo motors, machine tools, generators – including utility scale, and transformers. Not only will it identify…
In August 2020 I wrote an article for TheRamReview on the benefits surrounding Electrical Signature Analysis and it’s capabilities in viewing the entire system at one time (Regarding Reliability of Electric Motors: What Makes Electrical Signature Analysis Different? | THE RAM REVIEW ). In the past the discussion surrounding MCSA and ESA were such that…
Abstract— Two significant issues in wind power asynchronous generators are magnetic wedge loss and coil movement resulting in winding faults. Most of the time the failures occur unexpectedly or require borescope or visual inspections of the generator stators. In this paper we will identify how both conditions can be detected during operation through Electrical Signature…
Tested with the EMPATH® system from the base of the tower on a GE 1.xx ESS, bearing defects were found in the drive end bearing with the automated analysis. In this case study, we will show the voltage and current signatures, but not included are the kilo-Watt and torsional spectra used to determine severity. Following…
With the motor and pump located elsewhere data was collected from a VFD prior to entering motor or pump information. A loose connection was detected and corrected immediately with post-confirmation.
In this article we will not be covering safety aspects. Safety in connections is based upon corporate rules and regulatory requirements which can change while this article is available. Please ensure that you are working in a safe manner whenever dealing with electrical connections. We will cover some concepts around how connections are made in…
