Condition monitoring of machinery using motor current signature analysis
Motor current signature analysis (MCSA) is a powerful monitoring tool for motor-driven equipment that provides a nonintrusive means for detecting the presence of mechanical and electrical abnormalities in the motor and the driven equipment, including altered conditions in the process ''downstream'' of the motor-driven equipment. It was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a means for determining the effects of aging and service wear systems, but it is applicable to a broad range of machinery. MCSA is based on the recognition that an electric motor (ac or dc) driving a mechanical load acts as an efficient and permanently available transducer by sensing mechanical load variations, large and small, long-term and rapid, and converting them into variations in the induced current generated in the motor windings. These motor current variations are carried by the electrical cables processes as desired. Motor current signatures, obtained in both time and over time to provide early indication of degradation. Successful applications of MCSA technology (patent applied for) include not only motor-operated valves but also pumps of various designs, blowers, and air conditioning systems. Examples are presented briefly, and speculation regarding the applicability of MCSA to a broader range of equipment monitoring and production line testing is also given. 1 ref., 13 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6332403
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-890555-3; ON: DE89008737; TRN: 89-011512
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 7. power plant dynamics, control and testing symposium, Knoxville, TN, USA, 15 May 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
MONITORING
ELECTRIC MOTORS
AGING
DATA ACQUISITION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
PUMPS
SIGNALS
USES
VALVES
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
CURRENTS
DATA
EQUIPMENT
FLOW REGULATORS
INFORMATION
MOTORS
NUMERICAL DATA
420800* - Engineering- Electronic Circuits & Devices- (-1989)
420200 - Engineering- Facilities
Equipment
& Techniques
220200 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Components & Accessories