Computational Systems, Inc.

Emerson Electric (us) Holding Corporation (chile) Limitada

Michael D Medley

Anthony John Hayzen

John W Willis

Deane M Horn

Kevin D Steele

Stewart V Bowers, Iii

Christopher G Hilemon

Raymond Earl Garvey, Iii

Thomas E Nelson

Robert Darrell Skeirik

Richard W Kephart

Joseph A Vrba

Douglas A Mann

Hermann Holtmannspötter

A machine monitoring system uses generically defined collection definitions, acquisition definitions, and measurement definitions to define machine data to be collected by machine monitoring devices and other data sources in a unified and device/source independent manner. Configuration software of the machine monitoring system defines data to be collected for a particular machine in such a manner that multiple different types of monitoring devices or data sources can each interpret the data definitions and provide the same type of data back to the software system. Thus, the data to be collected is defined once by the configuration software, and the data definition is interpreted internally by each monitoring device or data source. This greatly simplifies the monitoring system and provides the advantage that new monitoring devices can be added to the system to collect data without impacting the software configuration of the data required.

Defining acquisition and measurement definitions in a machine monitoring system

The system implements an algorithm that allows an integrator providing a vibration velocity measurement to be disabled automatically in order to do a PeakVue measurement. When the PeakVue measurement is required, the integrator is disabled and the last Overall velocity measurement is maintained. Once the PeakVue measurement is complete, the integrator is re-enabled and the Overall measurements resume.

System for measuring velocity and acceleration peak amplitude on a single measurement channel

A system is described for time synchronizing digitized measurement signals, such as vibration signals. The digitized signals, which are acquired asynchronously by multiple distributed measurement units, indicate the operational condition of a machine or a process. To measure the phase of the digitized signals relative to a pulse tachometer input, the time between the leading edge of the tachometer pulse and the digitized samples is measured. To achieve phase-coherent synchronization across the distributed measurement units, a local synchronization signal is embedded into the data produced by the measurement units. The systems uses the synchronization signal to align the data in post processing, which phase aligns the data and aligns the data in absolute time. The synchronization signal may be encoded with a timestamp to provide additional timing information.

Apparatus and method for signal synchronization

Useful and meaningful machine characteristic information may be derived through analysis of oversampled digital data collected using dynamic signal analyzers, such as vibration analyzers. Such data have generally been discarded in prior art systems. In addition to peak values and decimated values, other oversampled values are used that are associated with characteristics of the machine being monitored and the sensors and circuits that gather the data. This provides more useful information than has previously been derived from oversampled data within a sampling interval.

Selective decimation and analysis of oversampled data

A vibration data acquisition and analysis module is operable to be inserted directly into a distributed control system (DCS) I/O backplane, so that processed vibration parameters may be scanned directly by the DCS I/O controller. Because the process data and the vibration data are both being scanned by the same DCS I/O controller, there is no need to integrate numerical data, binary relay outputs, and analog overall vibration level outputs from a separate vibration monitoring system into the DCS. The system provides for: (1) directly acquiring vibration data by the DCS for machinery protection and predictive machinery health analysis; (2) direct integration of vibration information on DCS alarm screens; (3) acquisition and display of real time vibration data on operator screens; (4) using vibration data to detect abnormal situations associated with equipment failures; and (5) using vibration data directly in closed-loop control applications.

Processing machinery protection and fault prediction data natively in a distributed control system

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Knoxville, TN, United States of America

Michael D Medley