Slow Roll

Twenty years ago with the ink still drying on a newly minted degree, your Editor was an engineer-in-training, dutifully tagging along with my mentors to various job sites. The strategy was a good one: create a well-rounded sales engineer by spending time with all the disciplines in the company, actually performing field jobs for customers.
Cover Story
  • Slow-Speed Vibration Signal Analysis (1.98MB PDF)

    • Is the slow-roll data from proximity probes just useless noise - or rich data that can be used to diagnose everything from shaft bow to reverse rotation? Mel Maalouf examines the reasons why this data is often overlooked and how to start using it like a pro for better machinery diagnostics results.
Case Histories
  • Advanced Gas Turbine Asset and Performance Management at Endesa (832KB PDF)
    As the head of combined cycle technology and maintenance for Spanish utility giant, Endesa Generación, Dr. Tomás Alvarez Tejedor knows a thing or two about gas turbines. In this article, he shares Endesa's monitoring philosophy for these machines coupled with a case history showing how their monitoring systems are actively delivering value.
  • Diagnosing a Compressor Train Rub at Methanex, Chile (567KB PDF)
    At the extreme southern tip of South America lies the world's largest producer of methanol. When a compressor train problem in the complex's newest plant threatened production, Methanex rotating machinery engineer Luis Perez turned to their online condition monitoring system to find root cause, saving more than half a million USD in the process.
  • Synopsis of Savings (83KB PDF)
    Our condition monitoring systems don't cost - they pay! This collection of seven short case histories shows how customers around the globe are getting value from their investment in GE's products and services for protecting and managing machinery.
Applications
  • Predicting Shaft Proximity Probe Track Runout on API Motors and Generators (450KB PDF)
    The quest for lower vibration levels on machinery has also lowered the allowable limits for residual shaft runout, introducing challenges for machinery manufacturers. This article is the joint effort of GE's electric motor division and Chevron, providing a tutorial on the topic and introducing an innovative new method for predicting runout before the machine is fully assembled, saving time, aggravation, and money.
Back to Basics
  • Electrostatic Discharge on a Large Steam Turbine Generator (1.31MB PDF)
    Both rolling element and fluid-film bearing types can be affected by voltage that builds up on the shaft and suddenly discharges when the grounding brushes or other voltage mitigation systems experience problems. GE's Sherief Mekawey and Mark Snyder team up to provide a tutorial and case history on this common problem, offering insight on how to isolate the condition and how to correct it.
New Product Showcase
  • WiTry™ Kit: Wireless Vibration and Temperature Monitoring Made Easy (217KB PDF)
    One of the most eagerly awaited products in the history of condition monitoring is the introduction of wireless technology for continuous, online monitoring. GE's Stefan Bakenhus introduces our new system along with an innovative kit that makes it easy to affordably test drive this technology in your plant and prove to yourself that it lives up to its promises.
Recip Tips
  • Why Use a Multi-Event Wheel? (173KB PDF)
    Unlike turbomachinery, reciprocating compressors experience subtle speed changes during each revolution of their crankshaft due to changing forces acting on the running gear. This means that a conventional once-per-turn Keyphasor® installation cannot provide the required accuracy for the various calculated variables when monitoring a reciprocating compressor and a multi-event-per-turn surface is needed instead. GE field applications engineer and reciprocating compressor condition monitoring expert Brian Howard examines the importance of this measurement and identifies common installation pitfalls.
Announcements
  • Who's Number One in Vibration Monitoring? (35KB PDF)
    January marks CONTROL magazine's 16th annual Readers' Choice Awards and GE's Bently Nevada Asset Condition Monitoring products were again the top pick for the 16th consecutive year.
  • 2008 Training Schedule Available Online (80KB PDF)
    Finding and registering for training on all of our offerings - from machinery diagnostics to performance monitoring to vibration fundamentals – is easier than ever thanks to an enhanced online catalog.
News
  • News In Brief (46KB PDF)
    A brief sampling of recent press releases pertaining to GE's optimization and control business – home of System 1® software and Bently Nevada™ Asset Condition Monitoring products and services.

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