ISO Category I Vibration Analyst – Basic

Acoustic emission (ultrasound):

• What is acoustic emission?
• What can it tell you about rotating machinery?
• How to you detect leaks and electrical faults?
• How can it be used to detect bearing faults?

Thermography

• What is thermography?
• How can it be used to detect faults in mechanical and electrical equipment?
• What is emissivity, and how does it affect the accuracy of the measurements?
• What are the key qualities of thermal imaging cameras?

Oil analysis

• How can it be used to check if the machine has a fault condition,
• How can you test if the lubricant is “fit for purpose”?
• What do viscosity, cleanliness, particle count, and other tests tell you?

Wear particle analysis:

• How are the tests performed?
• How can you learn about the nature of wear?
• How can you determine which components are wearing?
• How does it differ from conventional oil analysis?

Motor testing

• What are the most common types of faults?
• What can motor current analysis tell you?
• What other test types tell you about the condition of the rotor, stator, and insulation?

Vibration analysis

• Quick introduction to vibration analysis
• Spectrum versus overall level readings
• Walk-around versus on-line monitoring versus protection systems

Introduction to vibration measurement

• A quick introduction to the accelerometer and displacement probes
• A quick introduction to the vibration waveform (via live displays)

An introduction to the time waveform

• What is the time waveform?
• How does it change with higher and lower frequency
• What is frequency and period?
• How does it change with amplitude
• What are rms, peak and peak-peak?
• What happens when the vibration includes multiple frequencies and amplitudes?

An introduction to the spectrum

• What is the spectrum, and what does “FFT” mean
• How can a spectrum be used to separate each source of vibration into a graph that highlights the different frequencies of vibration

An introduction to forcing frequencies

• Using units of orders instead of Hz or CPM.
• Calculating forcing frequencies
• Identifying shaft speed
• Blade and vane passing frequencies, bearing frequencies, gear mesh frequencies, and more
• Gear and belt driven machines (multiple shafts with different turning speeds)

Explaining the different vibration units

• What is the difference between acceleration, velocity and displacement?
• When would you use each type of unit?
• How to convert between each type of unit?

A brief introduction to phase

• What is phase (in-phase, out of phase, phase angle)?
• Why is it important in vibration analysis?
• How is it measured with a single-channel analyzer, two-channel analyzer, and strobe?

How do we measure vibration?

• The non-contact eddy current displacement probe
• The velocity probe
• The accelerometer

Where to place the sensor on the machine

Understanding axial, radial, vertical, and horizontal readings

• Do you really need to measure in three axes?
• What does one axis tell you that another will not?

A quick introduction to mounting the accelerometer and surface preparation

• Comparing handheld probes, magnetic mounts, and quick connect mounts
• The 3D animations will highlight the important differences
• What do you do if you cannot access the desired measurement point?

Naming conventions

• Where is position “1” on the machine?
• What does “MNDE” mean?

What are “routes” and how do you create them?

• Downloading, following, and uploading routes
• Why should you record your field observations when you are in the field (and why should you listen to the vibration during data collection)?
• Recognizing bad data (and deciding what you should do if you get bad data)

The spectrum analysis process

• Four steps to success
• The ISO standard

What is resonance – a quick introduction

• How does it affect your machines and your measurements

Diagnosing common fault conditions

• Unbalance
• Misalignment
• Looseness
• Rolling element bearing wear
• Common electric motor faults
• Common pump, fan and compressor faults
• Common belt drive and gearbox faults

• What is breakdown maintenance and when should it be employed?
• What is preventive (calendar based) maintenance, and what are its major flaws?
• What is predictive (condition based) maintenance, and what are its benefits?
• What is proactive (reliability centered)

The ISO standard for setting alarms

• How to use them
• Their limitations

Band alarms

• How they can be used to warn you of changes in vibration level
• How they can aid your analysis process
• Their limitations

Envelope alarms

• How they can be used to warn you of changes in vibration level
• Their limitations

A quick tour of your analyzer

• Fmax and lines of resolution (LOR)
• The importance of selecting the correct Fmax and lines of resolution?

Spectral averaging

• What does averaging do, and why is it important?