Application of Modeling Techniques for Solving Misalignment Problem for Large Scale Pumping Stations

Sami Abd El-Fattah, Ibrahim R. Teaima, M. A. Hashim

In all types of rotating machinery application, misalignment is the major concern with machinery health monitoring. Usually, misalignment effects are seen at coupling, bearing and at support. Coupling  misalignment  is  responsible  for  as  more as  49%  of  all  costs  related  to  rotating machinery collapse. Precise aligning coupling can prevent a huge number of machinery collapses and reduce much of the unplanned downtime that results in a loss of production. Vibration analysis is the important tool for fault diagnosis in rotating machinery. In this paper, Vibration analysis using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrum is used to identify misalignment condition. From phase and magnitude, the fault type and position are commonly showed. Phase is of good importance and it is a strong tool that allows distinguishing which of many possible pump breakdowns dominate. The analysis of phase relations enables to diagnose the dominant cause of the breakdown before the corrective action is performed. Experimental results prove that FFT is an important solution for fault diagnosis and phase completes the explanation with how the pump vibrates. The FFT result confirmed that the vibration level became within acceptable condition after correcting misalignment deviation in Khayyam pump station. Overall vibration in Khayyam pump station level was decreased by 2.86 times in axial direction, 3.71times in vertical direction and 4.09 times in horizontal direction after applying alignment process. So, good alignment processing leads to increasing the operating life span of rotating machinery.