your machines are talking. are you listening?
When machines are working, they create their own sound or signature (example, hums, bellows, etc). If a machine is functioning normally, that sound is consistent and predictable. However, if mechanical equipment begins to degrade through wear, looseness, or cracks, it will change how it sounds (i.e., its “signature”). Finding the change in an audible signature produced by mechanical equipment before it leads to a machine breakdown is the science of sound analysis.
In order to properly analyze sounds produced by mechanical equipment, you must understand the following three principles:
1. The sound and ultrasound generated from a piece of mechanical equipment in a healthy state is predictable and maintains a steady pattern.
2. The sound produced by the equipment is measured using a variety of sensors (i.e., acoustic, ultrasonic, and vibration); however, each of these sensors delivers an exact representation of the waveforms generated (in tone, frequency, and amplitude) overtime. More specifically, Sensors provide a broad range of predictive data regarding the health of machine parts.
3. The machine will begin to show signs of deterioration long before anyone will be able to detect them. For example, a machine may develop a pitting in one of the bearings; however, it may not provide any signs of the issue until it is too late and the machine fails due to lack of lubrication because it all leaked out through the defect.
Below are a few of the conditions that can be detected with sound:
Damage to bearings and gearing from excessive wear (high frequency stress waves).
- Compressed air, gas or steam leaks (highly audible hissing).
- Structural deterioration as the result of cracks or fatigue (tanks, pipeline, rails, and aerospace).
- Loss of material through thinning from corrosion (ultrasonic thickness check).
- Looseness, cavitation, and arcing.
Importance: Because it doesn’t disrupt anything (needing to be turned off or cut open), it is real-time and, when combined with proper sensors, edge computing and cloud dashboards; this allows for ongoing monitoring rather than annual inspections. That’s a huge difference in detecting failed vs anticipating failure.
If you are an enthusiast of industrial technology, predictive maintenance, or like the notion of machines basically telling their state of health; then, acoustic & ultrasonics, are one of the finest tools available to conduct inspection. More can be found on this at Acoustic Testing Pro.
#predictive maintenance #engineering #industrial technology #ndt #acoustic testing