Classification: General Business Use

VIBRATION
MEASUREMENT
Prepared by: Mohamed Yehia
Instrumentation & Reliability
Maintenance Engineer
Classification: General Business Use

What is “Vibration, what causes it & Why do we

need vibration monitoring?
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium
point; in rotating equipment it is defined as the motion of the equipment or its part to
and from its rest (static) condition.

• Why do we need to monitor the vibration?

It is essential to monitor critical machines in the plants for increasing their efficiency and
reliability. Hence, real time vibration monitoring is the key to reduce probable and frequent
failures of machinery and keep high uptime.

• What causes vibrations?

Unbalance of shaft, bearing problem, cracking of the rings, fluid coupling problem, shaft
misalignment, oil whirl and other dynamic instabilities.
Classification: General Business Use

What is “Online Monitoring” of vibrations?

Time-based maintenance Vibration Monitoring Vibration sensors are used

(TBM) system is and Analysis is the to predict faults in a
called preventive easiest way to keep running machine without
maintenance. machines healthy and dismantling it and give a
One that can extend the life efficient in the long run clear indication of the
of the machines by and increase the severity by showing the
monitoring these vibrations overall efficiency of the amplitude of vibration.
online, without shutdown in a plant. It reduces the
cost-effective way. overall operating cost
as well as the
downtime period.
Classification: General Business Use

What are the types of sensors used for vibration

monitoring?

The three principal vibration sensor types are:

Displacement
• The Displacement transducer is an eddy current device.

Velocity
• The Velocity transducer is often a spring held magnet moving through a coil of wire or
piezo velocity sensor.

Accelerometer
• The Accelerometer is a piezoelectric device somewhat like ultrasonic transducers.
Classification: General Business Use

Types of Sensors used in Vibration Measurement

1. VELOCITY SENSORS

Electromagnetic linear velocity transducers

• Typically used to measure oscillatory velocity. A permanent magnet moving back and forth within
a coil winding induces an (emf) in the winding. This emf is proportional to the velocity of
oscillation of the magnet. This permanent magnet may be attached to the vibrating object to
measure its velocity

Electromagnetic tachometer generators:

• Used to measure the angular velocity of vibrating objects. They provide an output
voltage/frequency that is proportional to the angular velocity. DC tachometers use a permanent
magnet or magneto, while the AC tachometers operate as a variable coupling transformer, with
the coupling coefficient proportional to the rotary speed.
Classification: General Business Use

Types of Sensors used in Vibration Measurement

2. ACCELERATION SENSORS

Capacitive accelerometers:
• Used generally in those that have diaphragm supported seismic mass as a moving electrode and one/two fixed electrodes. The signal generated due to
change in capacitance is post-processed using LC circuits etc., to output a measurable entity.

Piezoelectric accelerometers:
• Acceleration acting on a seismic mass exerts a force on the piezoelectric crystals, which then produce a proportional electric charge. The piezoelectric
crystals are usually preloaded so that either an increase or decrease in acceleration causes a change in the charge produced by them. However, they
are not reliable at very low frequencies.
Potentiometric accelerometers:
• Relatively cheap and used where slowly varying acceleration is to be measured with a fair amount of accuracy. In these, the displacement of a spring
mass system is mechanically linked to a viper arm, which moves along a potentiometric resistive element. Various designs may have either viscous,
magnetic or gas damping.
Reluctive accelerometers:
• They compose accelerometers of the differential transformer type or the inductance bridge type. The AC outputs of these vary in phase as well as
amplitude. They are converted into DC by means of a phase-sensitive demodulator.

Strain Gage accelerators:

• These can be made very small in (size and mass). The displacement of the spring-mass system is converted into a change in resistance, due to strain, in
four arms of a Wheatstone bridge. The signal is then post-processed to read the acceleration.
Servo accelerometers:
• These use the closed loop servo systems of force-balance, torque-balance, or null-balance to provide close accuracy. Acceleration causes a seismic
mass to move. The motion is detected by one of the motion-detection devices, which generate a signal that acts as an error signal in the servo-loop.
The demodulated and amplified signal is then passed through a passive damping network and then applied to the torquing coil located at the axis of
rotation of the mass. The torque is proportional to the coil current, which is in turn proportional to the acceleration.
Classification: General Business Use

Types of Sensors used in Vibration Measurement

3. PROXIMITY SENSORS
Eddy Current Sensor Probe:
• Eddy currents are formed when a moving (or changing) magnetic field intersects a conductor, or vice-
versa. The relative motion causes a circulating flow of electrons, or currents, within the conductor. These
circulating eddies of current create electromagnets with magnetic fields that oppose the effect of the
applied magnetic field. The stronger the applied magnetic field, or greater the electrical conductivity of
the conductor, or greater the relative velocity of motion, the greater the currents developed and the
greater the opposing field Eddy current probes sense this formation of secondary fields to find out the
distance between the probe and the target material. An eddy probe resistance should be between 5-8
ohms.

Capacitance Proximity Sensors:

• Capacitive sensors use the electrical property of “capacitance” to make measurements. Capacitance is a
property that exists between any two conductive surfaces within some reasonable proximity. Changes in
the distance between the surfaces change the capacitance. It is this change of capacitance that capacitive
sensors use to indicate changes in position of a target. High-performance displacement sensors use small
sensing surfaces and as result are positioned close to the targets.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• Sensors used to measure vibration come in three
basic types: displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
Displacement sensors measure changes in distance
between a machine’s rotating element and its
stationary housing (frame). Displacement sensors
come in the form of a probe that threads into a hole
drilled and tapped in the machine’s frame, just above
the surface of a rotating shaft.

• Velocity and acceleration sensors, by contrast,

measure the velocity or acceleration of whatever
element the sensor is attached to, which is usually
some external part of the machine frame.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• A design of displacement sensor manufactured by the Bentley-Nevada Corporation uses electromagnetic
eddy current technology to sense the distance between the probe tip and the rotating machine shaft.
• The sensor itself is an encapsulated coil of wire, energized with high frequency alternating current (AC).
• The magnetic field produced by the coil induces eddy currents in the metal shaft of the machine, as though
the metal piece were a short-circuited secondary coil of a transformer (with the probe’s coil as the transformer
primary winding). The closer the shaft moves toward the sensor tip, the tighter the magnetic coupling
between the shaft and the sensor coil, and the stronger the eddy currents.
• The high-frequency oscillator circuit providing the sensor coil’s excitation signal becomes loaded by the
induced eddy currents. Therefore, the oscillator’s load becomes a direct indication of how close the probe tip
is to the metal shaft. This is not unlike the operation of a metal detector: measuring the proximity of a wire coil
to any metal object by the degree of loading caused by eddy current induction.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• In the Bentley-Nevada design, the oscillator circuit providing sensor
coil excitation is called a proximitor. The proximitor module is powered
by an external DC power source and drives the sensor coil through a
coaxial cable. Proximity to the metal shaft is represented by a DC
voltage output from the proximitor module, with 200 millivolts per mil
(1 mil = 1 /1000 inch) of motion being the standard calibration.

• Since the proximitor output voltage is a direct representation of

distance between the probe’s tip and the shaft’s surface, a “quiet”
signal (no vibration) will be a pure DC voltage.

• A technician adjusts the probe such that this quiescent voltage will lie
between the proximitor output voltage range limits. Any vibration of
the shaft will cause the proximitor output voltage to vary in precise
step. A shaft vibration of 28.67 Hz, for instance, will cause the
proximitor output signal to be a 28.67 Hz waveform superimposed on
the DC “bias” voltage set by the initial probe/shaft gap.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• An oscilloscope connected to this output signal will show a

direct representation of shaft vibration, as measured in the axis
of the probe.
• In fact, any electronic test equipment capable of analyzing the
voltage signal output by the proximitor may be used to analyze
the machine’s vibration: oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers,
peak-indicating voltmeters, RMS-indicating voltmeters, etc.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• It is customary to arrange a set of three displacement probes at
the end of a machine shaft to measure vibration: Two radial
probes and one axial (or thrust) probe. The purpose of this tri-
axial probe configuration is to measure shaft vibration (and/or
shaft displacement) in all three dimensions:
• It is also common to see one phase reference probe installed
on the machine shaft, positioned in such a way that it detects
the periodic passing of a keyway or other irregular feature on
the shaft.
• The “key phasor” signal will consist of one large pulse per
revolution:
• The purpose of a key phasor signal is two-fold: 1- To provide a
reference point in the machine’s rotation to correlate other
vibration signals against and 2- To provide a simple means of
measuring shaft speed.
• The location in time of the pulse represents shaft position,
while the frequency of that pulse signal represents shaft speed.
Classification: General Business Use

How Vibration sensors work?

• For instance, if one of the radial displacement sensors indicates a
high vibration at the same frequency as the shaft rotation (i.e., the
shaft is bowed in one direction, like a banana spinning on its long axis),
the phase shift between the vibration’s sinusoidal peak and the phase
reference pulse will indicate to maintenance machinists where the
machine is out of balance.
• This is not unlike automatic tire-balancing machines designed to
measure imbalance in automobile tire and wheel assemblies: the
machine must have some way of indicating to the human operator
where a balancing weight should be placed, not just how far out of
balance the tire is.
• In the case of machine vibration monitoring equipment, the key
phasor signal and one of the axial displacement signals may be
simultaneously plotted on a dual-trace oscilloscope for the purposes
of determining the position of the imbalance on the machine shaft.
Classification: General Business Use

Gap Voltage of Bentley Nevada Vibration

Probe with (Example)
• Gap voltage (VDC) is a direct representation of distance between the
probe’s tip and the shaft’s surface. This quiescent voltage needs to be
adjusted between the proximitor output voltage range limits. Any vibration
of the shaft will cause the proximitor output voltage to vary in precise step.
• Gap voltage of Bentley Nevada vibration probe is usually set at -10V. Reason for
setting at -10 volt is, as we know, proximitor allows probe to work from -2 volt to -18
volt.
• So, voltage difference of 2 to 10 and 10 to 18 is 8 volts. When setting at -10-volt,
probe can equally measure vibration at both sides, (I mean when shaft is going away
from probe or towards probe).
• Suppose we adjust probe at -9 volt. Can the probe detect vibration?
• Yes, it can detect vibration, but its one side will be margin of 7 volt and other side
margin of 11 volt. At 11-volt margin, probe will detect vibration excellent but at
other side, 7-volt side, it has limitation, when more vibration it may not detect
Classification: General Business Use

What is TK-3 Calibrator?

• TK-3 Calibrator instrument provides a reference mechanical motion for calibrating
and performance testing of machinery protection systems. The two models of the
instrument have identical functions but different power sources; the TK3-2e is
electrically powered and TK3-2g is powered by pressurized air.
• The instrument includes two basic calibration units: A wobulator (which is used in
conjunction with a dial indicator) and a spindle micrometer. The spindle micrometer
is used to check the voltage versus distance characteristics of the probe and
proximitor. It is also used to calibrate thrust position. The wobulator generates a
precise vibration and key-phasor reference. The peak-to-peak vibration is controlled
by manually operated swing arm and checked with dial indicator included in the kit.
The rotating speed of the wobulator is controlled by adjusting the speed control
knob. If a probe has been permanently installed in a machine or is otherwise
inaccessible, a probe with identical electrical characteristics can be substituted for
calibration purposes.
• A complete vibration monitoring system can be checked by applying a known
mechanical input to the probes and observing the meter indication or by measuring
the monitor output.
Classification: General Business Use

TK-3 Calibrator Principle

• The TK-3 Calibration Instrument simulates shaft vibration and position for
calibrating Bentley Nevada monitors and checking the vibration probes. It verifies
the operating condition of the monitor readouts as well as the condition of the
proximity transducer system.
• A properly calibrated system ensures that the transducer inputs and the resulting
monitor readings are accurate. It verifies the operating condition of the monitor
readouts as well as the condition of the proximity transducer system.
• A properly calibrated system means that the monitor readings and transducer
inputs are accurate and both readings will be matched. A spindle micrometer is used
to check the transducer system and position monitor calibration.
• A probe-mounting adapter provided with the TK3-2 holds the probe while the
target is moved toward or away from the probe tip in calibrated increments.
• The output from the Proximitor® Sensor is recorded using a voltmeter. Vibration
monitors are calibrated using the motor-driven wobble plate. A swing-arm holder is
located over the wobble plate to hold the proximity probe in place. The holder and
probe are adjusted to a position where the desired amount of mechanical vibration
is found
Classification: General Business Use

Calibration checks of vibration Probe, extension

cable and vibration monitor with (Example)
Calibration Procedure:
1) Physical check of vibration probe and extension cable for any damages, if there is any, please replace with same one.

2) Check the resistance of vibration probe, it should be 5Ω to 9Ω and continuity of extension cable should be 5Ω to 20 Ω.

3) Use this equation and get reading for calibration of vibration probe.

4) Connect test equipment.

5) Adjust the spindle micrometer on the TK-3 test and calibration kit shown 0.51 mm (20mils) (0.0254mm=1mils)

6) Insert the probe into the TK-3 probe holder adjust the probe in the holder until the digital multi-meter shows -3.00 ±0.10 VDC.

7) Adjust the micrometer to 0.20mm (8mils) indication and the back it out again to the 0.25mm (10mils) indication backless in the micrometer forced
the o/p voltage and record it.

8) Increase the gap in 0.25 (10mils) increment by adjusting the micrometer record the voltage indication at each increment.

9)For each gap increment, subtract the voltage at the high gap from the voltage at the low gap divide the result by in a system incremental scale factor
of 7.87 ±0.79 V/mm (200 mv ±20 mv/mils).

10) Subtract the 0.25 mm (10mils) voltage (-5Vdc) from the 2.28 mm (90mils) (+11Vdc) and divided by 2.03 mm (80mils). The result should be in a
system average scale factor (ASF) of 7.87 ±0.43 V/mm (200 mv ±11 mv/mils).
Classification: General Business Use

Bentley Nevada Vibration Probes Functional

Testing
To check the characteristics and healthiness of vibration probes.
Proximity transducers use Eddy Current principle to measure the
distance between the probe Tip and the surface to be observed.
The proximitor generate a low power radio frequency (RF) signal.
This RF signal is connected to a coil of wire inside the probe tip by
the extension cable. When no conductive material is within the
range of RF signal, which surrounds the probe tip, virtually all the
power released to the surrounding area is returned to the probe.
When a conductive surface approaches the probe tip, the RF
signal sets up small eddy currents on the surface. These eddy
currents create a measurable power loss in the RF signal. When
vibration tip nearer the target the greater the power loss. The
system uses this power loss to generate as output voltage. The
output voltage of the proximitor is linearly proportional to gap
over a wide range.
Required tools are Multi-meter, Micrometer and TK-3.
Classification: General Business Use

Bentley Nevada Vibration Probes Functional

Testing
Procedure: Follow the following steps:
1) Physically check the vibration probe and extension cable for any damages, if it is please
replaced with new one.
2) Check resistance of vibration probe and continuity of extension cable it should be in
between 5 To 9Ω and 5 to 20 Ω (resistance value varies from model to model).
3) Place the vibration probe on TK-3 spindle, adjust to the target plate surface, and make
sure the scale is zero.
4) Connect multi-meter on proximitor common and Vout terminals. Apply input voltage
5) Measure the output voltage (multi-meter reading) and increase the target distance in the
TK-3 calibrator and follow the same steps as per given table and note down the output
voltages at different displacements (gaps).
6) After this make a graph which shows the relation between gap and voltage.

7) If graph is linear in between 10 mils to 80 mils then probe is in good condition

Note: Change in gap is within 80 mils Linear Range that is in between 10 mils and 90
mils
Classification: General Business Use

Questions?

Thank You!
Mohamed Yehia
Instrumentation & Reliability Maintenance Engineer