CHAPTER FOUR

DETERMINATION OF STATE OF DAMAGE

The state of damage of a machinery or one of

its elements is the undesired deviation from
the required state fixed in the design
procedures.

- Knowledge of the state of damage in connection with

the determination of the survival probability is
essential for setting the date and kind of
maintenance measures to be taken.
Cont…
- Knowledge of the state of damage provides
a collection of data or information about the
state of machinery, which in turn can be used
for setting meaningful maintenance routines.

- The state of damage of an equipment depends on

- kind and conditions of damage, and
- duration of operation of equipment.
- Determination of the state of damage is part of technical
diagnostics and maintenance technique.

- Technical diagnostics is the determination of the technical

state or state of damage of an equipment, evaluation of the
state and collection of information for deciding the date
and kind of maintenance . This is normally done without
disassembling while the equipment is in operation.

- Conclusions arrived at about the state of damage of an

equipment are probabilistic, and the accuracy of results
obtained depends on the accuracy of the method of
investigation used, sampling techniques and measuring
techniques.
Measuring Values for the State of Damage

- Direct measured quantities

The direct measuring technique determines the difference
between the initial state and the state after wear process.

The measurements taken can be direct linear, volumetric

or mass quantities.

These measured quantities can be absolute or related to

duration of operation.
- Absolute measurement gives the amount wear as an
average worn out thickness.
- Related measurement gives amount of wear per
unit time of operation.
Cont…

Direct measurement gives dimensions of parts.

If the wear is not constant over a surface, the

measurement should be done in different planes
with different orientations.

Direct measurement is usually done after

disassembly. But it can also be made without
disassembling provided there is easy access to
the measured quantities
 - Indirect measuring quantities
During the operation of a machine or parts of it,
certain signals are produced which are related to
the state of operation of the machine.

These signals, which are known as the diagnostic

parameters, if properly analyzed provide some
information regarding the state of the machine.

It should be noted that influence from the

environment introduces errors in the measured
results
 Condition monitoring techniques

Depending on how the monitoring is done, the

techniques can be classified as:
a. On-load monitoring techniques:
mostly carried out without interruption of
operation
- visual, aural, tactile inspection of
accessible components
- temperature monitoring
- lubricant monitoring
- leak detection
- vibration/sound monitoring
- corrosion monitoring
 b. Off-load monitoring Techniques:
Off-load monitoring techniques require
shutdown of the unit. These include:
- visual, aural and tactile inspection of normally
inaccessible or moving parts;
- crack detection;
- leak detection;
- vibration testing ;
- corrosion monitoring.
 Condition Monitoring Techniques
- Most failures give some warning before they
occur. This warning is called potential failure.

- Potential failure is defined as an identifiable

physical condition which indicates that a
functional failure is either about to occur or
it is in the process of occurring.
- A functional failure is defined as the inability
of an equipment in meeting a specified
performance standard.

- Techniques of detecting potential failures

are known as on-condition maintenance tasks.
This is so because equipment is left in service on
the condition that they meet specified
performance standards
Potential Failures and On-condition Maintenance:

- If evidence can be found that some component/equipment

is in the final stage of failure, it may be possible to take
action to prevent complete failure and/or its consequences.

- The P-F curve is employed to show what happens in the

final stages of failures. The P-F curve shows:

- where failure in the equipment starts to occurs;

- where equipment condition deteriorates to the
point at which the failure can be detected; and finally,
Cont…

- where the equipment has failed indicating functional

failure.
- P point at which it is possible to detect whether f
failure or is about to occur is known as potential failure.
- F point where failure has taken place functional failure

- Between points P and F it may be possible to take action to

prevent functional failure or to avoid consequences of
functional failure.

- Tasks designed to detect potential failures are known as on-

condition tasks.
Cont…
- On-condition tasks entail checking for potential
failures so that action can be taken to prevent
functional failure or to avoid the consequences of
the functional failure.

- This is known as predictive maintenance or

condition-based maintenance.

- On-condition tasks are carried out at intervals less

than the P-F interval, where the P-F interval is the
interval between the occurrence of a potential
failure and its deterioration into functional failure.
- The P-F interval is the interval between the
occurrence of a potential failure and its
deterioration into functional failure
Cont…
- The P-F interval is the warning period, or the lead
time to failure, or the failure development period.

- The on-condition task is done at intervals which

are less than the P-F interval, usually at a
frequency equal to half the P-F interval. This
ensures that the inspection will detect the
potential failure before functional failure takes
place.

- In applying the P-F curve to condition monitoring,

the sooner a potential failure can be detected, the
longer the P-F interval would be.
- Longer P-F interval would entail that the frequency
interval for inspection would be done less often.
Hence there would be more time to take
appropriate actions to avoid the consequence of
failure

Categories of Condition Monitoring

Techniques

Condition monitoring techniques are designed to

detect specific symptoms which are related to the
state of damage of the equipment.
1. Dynamic Monitoring
Dynamic monitoring detects potential failures which cause
emission of abnormal energy in the form of waves such as
vibration and noise.

Techniques employed
- broad band vibration analysis
(changes in vibration characteristics are monitored)
- constant bandwidth analysis
(changes in vibration characteristics are monitored
by using accelerometers)
- real time analysis
(measurement of vibrational signals; shock analysis)
- ultrasonic analysis
(changes in sound pattern are monitored)
 2. Particle Monitoring

These include wear particles and corrosion

particles. Techniques employed in particle
monitoring
- Ferrography
(Wear and corrosion particles are monitored by
taking a representative sample of oil)
- Real time ferromagnetic sensors
- Graded filtration
- Sedimentation
 3. Chemical Monitoring

Chemical monitoring detects potential failures

which cause traceable quantities of chemical
elements to be released in to the environment.

This technique is used to detect elements in the

lubricating oil which indicate occurrence of
potential failure elsewhere in the system.
Cont….

They are employed to detect wear, corrosion,

leakage.

Some of the techniques are :

- Atomic emission spectroscopy
- X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
- Infrared spectroscopy
- Electro-chemical corrosion monitoring
- Exhaust emission analyzers
- Colour indicator
4. Physical Effects Monitoring
Physical effects monitoring includes changes in the
physical appearance or structure of equipment which can
be detected directly.
The monitoring techniques involved detect potential
failures in the form of cracks, wear, corrosion, etc. Some
of the techniques employed are:
- Liquid dye penetrates
- Magnetic particle inspection
- Ultrasonic techniques
- X-ray radiography
- Light probes
- Deep-probe endoscope
- Oil odor
- Strain gauge
- Viscosity monitoring
 5. Temperature Monitoring

These techniques look for potential failures which

cause rise in temperature of an equipment itself.

Monitoring techniques included in here, among

others, are:

- Infrared scanning
- Temperature indicating painting
 6. Electrical Effects Monitoring

These techniques look for changes in resistance,

conductivity, etc.

The techniques includes the following.

- Electrical resistance monitoring
- Potential monitoring
- Power factor testing
- Breaker timing testing
 General Purpose monitoring techniques

Thermal, lubricant and vibration monitoring

techniques are considered to be general purpose
monitoring techniques.

In each of these three techniques, the parameter

being monitored contains information that has
been transmitted through the machine.
 1. Lubricant monitoring
- The oil which circulates through a machine
carries with it evidence of the condition of parts
encountered.
- Examination of the oil and any particles it has
carried with it allows monitoring of the machine
on-load or at shut-down.

- Lubricant examination covers

- debris deposited,
- debris in suspension, and
- condition of oil.
 a. Examination of debris collected
Debris deposited are the larger particles carried
along by the lubricant which can be collected by
filters or magnetic collectors.

- Examination of the debris under the

microscope to establish size and shape provides a
good information regarding the state of damage of
the machine.

Debris in suspension are the smaller particles

collected by the lubricant which remain in
suspension.
- Examination of the debris in suspension
gives the earliest warning of component damage.
 cont…
- A change in the rate of debris collection indicates
the change in the condition of the machine as
related to wearing out.
- Shape of debris collected carries information as to
the wear mechanism taking place.
- Normal shape of wear particles tends to be flat;
- cutting or abrasive wear results in
spiral shaped debris;
- surface fatigue failures produce larger angular
particles.
 b. Condition of oil used
-Condition of used oil itself can be examined for indication
of other malfunctions .
- foaming of oil: cause is excessive churning or
passage under pressure through restrict.
- darkened colour of oil: caused by oxidation of
oil, excess temperature, combustion or other
chemical products reacting with the oil used.

-Malfunctions that can be detected by lub monitoring

- damages of transmission components like gears,
shafts, bearings, etc.
- blockage of ducts, pipes, etc.
 2. Thermal monitoring
Monitoring the temperature of a component in a
machine is undertaken for one of three purposes:
i. To enable temperature control of a process
ii. To detect increase in heat generation due to
some malfunction such as damage of
bearings

iii. To detect changes in the heat transmitted

through and out of the body of the machine
caused by a change in some component
such as failed coolant circulation or ash
build-up in boilers, etc.
Temperature monitoring can be carried out
- at a point within the body of the plant (eg.
measurement of water temperature in a
boiler),
- or at the surface of a component
(eg. bearing housing).
Temperature monitoring devices are diverse
and can be classified as:
- contact sensors, and
- non-contact sensors (pyrometers)
 Malfunctions monitored thermally

Possible areas where thermal monitoring can be

applied.

- Bearing damages which result in heat generation

and heating of the bearing unit and other units
that come in contact with the bearing unit.

- Failure of coolant or lubrication can be detected

by a temperature rise of appropriate bodies; such
failures could result from pump failure, drive fault,
blockage in piping, valves or filter, or damaged
heat exchanger.
Cont…
- Incorrect heat generation like in internal
combustion engines.

- Build-up of unwanted materials such as sediment

is pipes, ash in boilers or ducts, etc.

- Damage of insulating materials.

- Faults of electric components.
 3. Vibration/noise monitoring

Changes in vibration characteristics are indicative of

trouble.
- The causes of vibration are
- unbalanced rotating and reciprocating parts,
- looseness in the fit between components,
- deflection of load carrying members,
- misalignment,
- damages in transmission components, etc.

The equipment employed for vibration monitoring

are vibrometers and accelerometers of wide
variety.
cont…

Possible faults that can be detected by vibration

monitoring include:

- wear or failure of bearings;

- presence of unbalance in moving parts;
- changes in clearances;
- cracks in shafts and other moving
components subjected to cyclic loads.