Alternative Ultrasonic Technology

Copyright 2010 Allied Reliability, Inc.

Ultrasonic Transmission Verification

Presented by:

Rob Miller, CMRP, Lead Analyst

Allied Reliability, Inc.

Ultrasound World VI

May 10 - 14, 2010

Alternative Ultrasonic Technology

”Out of the Box” Uses

What would you do

with more free time?

Making the Most of Your Equipment Investment



About the Speaker

Rob Miller, CMRPLead Analyst

Allied Reliability, Inc.

CERTIFICATIONS

- CMRP

AFFILIATIONS

- SMRP

- AMP

4360 Corporate Rd #110

Charleston, SC 29464

P: (864)-314-8312

[email protected]

www.alliedreliability.com

• Rob started his career in the US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program

– Four (4) years in the Reactor Plant as a Reactor Operator - Electronics Technician, maintaining, operating, and performing repairs on all nuclear reactor plant controls and instrumentation

• Rob has a broad range of experience that includes Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, and Electronics maintenance

• Summary of Experience:

– Nine (9) years as a Certified Vibration Analyst with practical application of UE Airborne, Infrared Thermography, and Motor Surge Testing

– Fifteen (15) years of mechanical experience

– Over 20 years experience in maintenance and reliability

– Worked with independent Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Consultant providing Vibration, Infrared, Ultrasonic testing, precision balancing, precision alignment , MCA, MCE, and electrical testing at manufacturing sites throughout the Southeastern United States

– Provided formal training presentations in public and private forums covering Alignment, Intro to PdM, Intro to Vibration, and other site training on specific equipment/software systems

– Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) through the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) and is also a Vibration ASNT Level II

– Rob lives in Clemson, SC with his wife and two children and enjoys fishing and restoring antique cars in his spare time



Objectives

• This presentation is about using the

standard ultrasonic detector for "outside of

the box" applications

• Most plants have some sort of ultrasonic

detector that is utilized (at most) yearly for a

site wide air leak survey or routine steam

trap inspections

• While these are very cost effective

inspections they are only scratching the

surface of what the detector is capable of



Objectives, cont’d

• Objective in this presentation is to challenge

the attendee to look at Ultrasonics in a whole

new light

• I have always thought of ultrasonic detectors

as a way of "looking" inside a machine

without having blueprints or internal

schematics to guide you




• By not utilizing existing ultrasonic equipment

and "listening" to your asset there is a

wealth of information that is not being

utilized

• Even a novice maintenance associate with

minimal training can “understand” what is

occurring inside a complex component

– Such as a multistage gear reducer




• Many of the problems that can be found

utilizing more expensive predictive non-

destructive technologies can be found with

the underutilized Ultrasonic detector



What You Will Learn

• How this can be applied to your own piece of

equipment

• The thought process used to interpret

findings

• The way findings could be used to “verify”

the data



Theory Behind Testing

• While ultrasonic data has been taken on

various equipment types over the years

discussions of whether the technology is

capable of locating defects is always present

– The benefits of this type of testing is that the

audible energy doesn’t care if something is

process related, too transient/random to be

effectively “captured” with vibration

instrumentation, or too slow to generate enough

heat for an infrared scan to detect

• If it is occurring then the ultrasonic detector will “hear” it



Advantages to Ultrasonic Testing

• Utilizes a technology that is easy to use and

which provides a “go-no go” in the field to

allow for much faster and verifiable results

• In my early days in the Navy I learned using a

brass rod, some used a screwdriver, it all

boils down to “listening to your machine”

• As a wise old mechanic taught me “you have

5 senses use all of them”



Advantages to Ultrasonic Testing, cont’d

• While a mechanical stethoscope can be used

to listen to a machine it is not the “best”

solution

• Results are not saved

• The sheer amount of equipment that most

technicians are responsible for maintaining

make it nearly impossible to ascertain minute

changes

• Ultrasonics allows repeatable, trendable data

to be gathered with minimal training and

expense



• Determine best transmission path for

Accelerometers

– While on a conference call transmission paths

were being discussed

– Ultrasonics was a quick go-no go check that

verified the transmission path

– Required no previous knowledge of internal

configuration

– Subsequent vibration readings verified that the

locations were in fact superior

Utilizing Ultrasonic Detection



Hypothesis

• The original theory was

that the bearing caps

would provide the best

transmission path

• It was also suggested

that the cap bolts would

provide a good path for

the transmission of

energy



Locations Where Readings Were Taken



Data Interpretation

Location

Checked

Housing Bearing Cap Cap Bolts

Gearbox Input 67 dB 73 dB 74 dB

1st Stage 67 dB 74 dB 73 dB

2nd Stage 68 dB 74 dB 74 dB

3rd Stage 66 dB 72 dB 71 dB

Output Shaft 61 dB 70 dB 70 dB



Data Interpretation, cont’d

• The levels were all taken at 34 Khz

• The locations with the highest decibel levels

were marked with paint to allow the points to

be permanently marked



Findings

• Energy Levels at 34 KHz showed an

average of 20% less energy being

transmitted through the gearbox casing

than through the bearing caps and cap

bolts

• The levels showed that the bearing bolts

were equally good transmission paths



Findings, cont’d

• These findings allow the technician in the

field to provide consistent readings without

placing the analyst in the “Line of Fire” while

collecting data

• The resultant data will be consistent and

provides the “best” location for taking

readings



Ultrasonic Source

• An ultrasonic source was successfully used

to verify which tubes were leaking in a coal

boiler

– Hydrostatic testing indicated that

several tubes were leaking

– Isolating and testing each tube

would have taken approximately

3 days

– As ultrasonic energy is directional

the actual leak location was easily

verified and the leaking tubes blocked and a

subsequent hydrostatic test passed with no

problems



Boiler Tube Leaks

• The Ultrasonic “source” provided with

Ultrasonic detectors can be utilized to

determine where a leak might be

located

– There were several leaky tubes in the fire

box of a boiler which were proving difficult

to locate

• The ultrasonic source provided with

our ultrasonic detector was placed in

the fire box and the detector allowed

the technician to positively identify the

location of the leaks



Boiler Tube Leaks, cont’d

• It would have required several days to pressure test each tube and the use of the ultrasonic detector provided a “quick” positive determination of which tubes needed to be capped

• The boiler was able to be restarted several days earlier than it would have been using more conventional methods– This resulted in meeting production

requirements that otherwise would not

have been able to be met

– This directly affects the bottom line…..



Determining Location

• Determining location of intermittent rub in

multiple stage turbine pump

– An intermittent rub in a multiple stage turbine

pump at a textile manufacturing facility was

causing variations in product quality resulting in

customer complaints/returns



Pump Turbine Rub

• Intermittent nature of problem was proving hard to sample with vibration

• Complete rebuild of rotor was too cost prohibitive

• Machining one stage of the pump casing would solve problem and was within budget/time constraints

• The application of ultrasonics proved the location of the rub within two hours time

– This allowed positive verification which stage was the problem and allowed the casingto be machined to allow the unit tocontinue operation



Storage Tank Location

• Location of underground storage tank

buried for 18 years found in 5 minutes

– A septic tank covered over 18 years ago and

“abandoned” needed to be found to allow the unit

to be re-connected

– After digging for approximately 6 hours total

(think hot Georgia summertime), realization that

the clean out plug location was known

– The tone generator was placed in the line and

turned on

– Approximately 3 minutes later the location was

“heard” and less than 4 inches of dirt removed

and the tank was ready for hook-up



Conclusion

• If you are tired of

“wasting” money, use

ultrasonics for more than

just leaks, and the

occasional bearing

check……



THANK YOU

– For More Information about this presentation or

about Allied Reliability, Inc. go to:

• www.alliedreliability.com

• e-mail at [email protected]

Alternative Ultrasonic Technology

Documents