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a) Data from the CSI 5100 Machinery Health Oil Analyser is processed using AMS Suite Machinery Health Manager software.
b) By collecting and analysing vibration data, functional failures can be avoided, saving cost and lost production.
c) Rotating machineryat UK Coal, located several kilometres below the surface, can be difficult to remove or repair in the event of a failure.During 2005, UK Coal’s Reliability Based Maintenance (RBM) programme prevented equipmentfailures which would have resulted in production losses of almost €1.5million. Emerson’s Machinery Health technology was a key element of the programme.
AMS Machinery Manager combines predictive maintenance techniques with analysis tools to enable accurate assessment of machinery health. Peter Watson, vibration engineer, UK Coal Mining Ltdsaid, “AMS Machinery Manager documents, trends, and communicates all details of machinery health using vibration analysis, infrared thermography, oil analysis, ultrasonics, and motor diagnostics. The comprehensive results have enabled UK Coal to identify potential failures, and schedule equipment replacement into non-production time.”
UK Coal is Britain's largest producer of coal, supplying around 10 per centof the country's energy needs for electricity generation. The companycurrently has seven deep mines located in central and northern England, and five active surface mine sites. The main business drivers are safety and availability. UK Coal has significantly reduced equipment failures and improved safety and plant availability, while in turn avoiding costs and lost contribution. The tools and techniques they have used are transferable to other industries that rely on rotating machineryand conveyor systems.
Previously vibration monitoring was carriedout by a third party organisation, but the operation was moved in-house when the RBM programme started. UK Coal uses Emerson’s CSI 2120 Machinery Health Analysers for the collection and analysis of vibration data, CSI 5100 Machinery Health Oil Analysers to perform oil analysis, and AMS Suite: Machinery Health Manager software to analyse and reportresults.
Saving money
UK Coal’s engineers are also using theEmerson equipment to perform vibration checks on newly overhauled equipment. For example, a 300 kW gearbox that had been overhauled was found to have a high degree of backlash, and corrections were made. Had the excessive backlash not been detected before the gearbox was installed, premature wear would have been inevitable, reducing the service life of the gearbox. Since the gearbox was to be fitted in an extremelyawkward location, three kilometres underground, the quality of the gearbox rebuild was paramount. A failure in service could have resulted in a lost production contribution of €165,000, and a repair cost of €5,000.
Bearing monitoring provides another example of savings from predictive maintenance. Bearing failures cause eighty percent of underground fires, but often there is little detectable rise in temperature until the bearing has failed—and by then it may be too late.
Using Emerson’s AMS applications, the condition monitoring department at UK Coal’s Rossington Colliery detected a bearing fault on the non drive end of a conveyor drive motor. The motor was changed out and stripped down during non-production time, and severe damage was noticed onboth inner and outer bearing raceways. Had this unit failed during operation, it is estimated that four hours of production would have beenlost, equating to €132,000. There would also have been potential humancost if the bearing had overheated and caused a fire.
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