Example of

Motor Unbalance
Analysis of a direct drive A
FD Fan Oil Pump
Motor
Motor: 3529 rpm (58.8 Hz.)
Pump: 3529 rpm
B
above oil tank

Potential Vibration Frequencies: below oil tank

Motor/pump speed and harmonics

Motor bearing defects Pump
Electrical frequencies
Pump gear mesh & harmonics
 The time waveform and FFT spectral data shows one discrete
frequency corresponding to shaft speed (3529 rpm)
The largest vibration was
on the motor outboard
radial direction. No signs
of pump gear mesh
vibrations.

The motor had a cooling

fan under the end bell
housing. The fan was
caked with dirt which
caused the unbalance.

Spectral characteristics
of Unbalance:
Large 1x, steady-state
vibration. Steady phase.
 Unbalance Forces
Unbalance produces a centrifugal force which is
transferred to the rotor bearings at the rate of one
cycle per revolution.
F

rpm 2
F = 1.77 x mr
1000
where:
F = centrifugal force (lb)
rpm = speed (rpm) Fan
m = weight of heavy spot (oz) Pedestal
r = radius of heavy spot (in)
Example of
Looseness
 Analysis of looseness on
an electric motor

Motor: 1779 rpm

(29.6 Hz.)

B Motor A

Spectral Characteristics:
Many Harmonics of motor
speed & higher 4x
component (loose bearing).
 Example of
Sheave Problem
 Vertical
Analysis of a belted Fan
System with new sheaves Axial
Fan sheave 20”
Horizontal
Motor: 1770 rpm (29.5 Hz.)
Fan: 700 rpm (13.3 Hz.)
Belt Speed: 450 rpm (7.5 Hz.)

Potential Vibration Frequencies:

Belt speed & harmonics
Motor speed and harmonics
Fan
Motor bearing defects
Pedestal
Electrical frequencies
Fan speed and harmonics Motor
Fan bearing defects sheave 7.25”
Resonance
Blade pass
The highest vibrations were found on the axial positions of the
motor. The defect was not clearly understood from this data.

Too little resolution!

 Another, higher resolution measurement was made.

The higher resolution

spectrum indicated
harmonics of fan speed
present at motor
positions. There was also
a large vibration at
motor speed.

The radial directions on

the motor were lower in
amplitude than the axial
directions.

Vibrations on the fan

bearings were
significantly lower than
the motor.
Worn or defective sheaves were suspected. It looked like an
out of round fan sheave was tugging at the motor which was
mounted on a very weak base attached to the fan pedestal.

When the machine was shut down, physical measurements

were made on the fan and motor sheaves to determine the
radial and face runout.

Radial Runout Face Runout

Motor Sheave .008” .003”

Fan Sheave .015” .011”

Three high spots were found on the 20” diameter fan sheave.
 Another measurement was made after replacing the fan and
motor sheaves.
Replacing the fan and
motor sheave decreased
the motor vibrations.

The new fan sheave had

less than .006” of radial
runout.
 Caution!
Not all new sheaves are balanced to low vibration levels and
many have undesirable physical tolerances for radial and face
runout.

For example: the MPTA standards for sheave tolerances calls

for acceptable radial runout for sheaves greater than 10” in
diameter to be .010” plus .0005” per inch of diameter. The
acceptable face runout is .001” per inch of pitch diameter plus
.0005” for sheaves over 20” in diameter.

These standards are far to liberal for the manufacturing

industry when reliability and component life are the goals.
Example of
Misalignment
Analysis of a direct coupled
Motor & Pump

Motor: 1765 rpm A Motor B C Pump D

Pump: 1765 rpm
Coupling: Love Joy

Potential Vibration Frequencies: Vertical

Motor speed and harmonics

Axial
Motor bearing defects
Electrical frequencies Horizontal
Pump bearing defects
Pumping blade pass frequency
 The spectrum data shows vibrations at one, two and three
times shaft speed. The 3x component is the largest vibration.
A 3x vibration
component means that
for every revolution of
the shaft there are three
vibration cycles . The
time waveform clearly
shows this.

Vibration at 1x and 2x is
lower than 3x. Other
harmonic content is
present at very low
levels.
 The location and direction of the vibration help identify the
problem.

The red arrows show the

vibration magnitude at
A Motor B C Pump D
each position and
direction.

Vertical
CLUES:
Axial
The largest vibrations are nearer to the coupling in the
radial directions.
Horizontal
The spectral characteristics of misalignment usually
include vibrations at 1x and 2x and sometimes 3x.
Knowing that the coupling type is LOVE JOY helps explain
why the 3x vibration is much higher than 1x and 2x.
 The problem looks like it could be misalignment between the
motor and pump shafts. Another test called Phase Analysis
can confirm that misalignment is the cause.

Phase is the position of a part (at any instant)

with respect to a fixed point.

1 cycle
1.5
1
M2 M2
Amplitude

.
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
M1 M1

Two spring mass systems 180 degrees out of phase

Measure the phase angle at each position and direction.

vertical phase readings

10o 15o 190o 188o axial C

axial A

100o 100o

axial B A Motor B C Pump D axial D

100o 100o

100o 105o 270o 279o Vertical

horizontal phase readings Axial

Horizontal
 Compare the results to determine if misalignment exists and
what type of misalignment it is. Look for a phase shift between
positions.
Types of Misalignment
Drive Shaft
Aligned X Driven Shaft
X X X

Axial
(face)
X X X
X
Offset
X X X
(radial) X

Combination X X X
X
 The radial direction phase angles confirm an offset
misalignment between the motor and pump shafts.

20o 18o 192o 182o

Offset
X X X
(radial) X
Example of a
Fan Bearing
Inner Race
Defect
 Vertical

Analysis of a Motor & Fan Axial

C D
Motor: 29.17 Hertz Horizontal
Fan: 15.0 Hertz Fan
Belts: V-belts, 8 Hertz

Potential Vibration Frequencies:

Belt speed & harmonics
Motor speed and harmonics
Motor bearing defects
B Motor A
Electrical frequencies
Fan speed and harmonics
Fan bearing defects
Resonance
The time waveform data shows spikes which may be due to
impacting.
D-04 -- CSD Air Supply Fan #4
04-481-4 -CV Inboard Fan Vertical
0.4
The spacing, in time, Waveform Display
14-Apr-92 14:08
between each peak is
PK = .1538
.009 seconds. 0.2
Load = 100
RPM = 900
RPS = 15.00
Frequency = 1 / Period 0.0

= 1 / .009 sec.
Velocity IN/SEC Pk.

-0.2

= 111 Hertz
-0.4

.009 sec.
-0.6

-0.8
Time in Seconds

0 40 80 120 160 200

High Vibration and an unusual looking pattern was detected
at
position “C-axial”.
high overall
level
C D Discrete
Frequencies
Fan
Pattern

More
Resolution?
The same measurement was repeated. This time, the
resolution wan increased to 3200 lines.

BW = 2000 Hz.
Better definition of pattern.
3200 lines
= .625 Hz./Line
Identify discrete frequencies:

C D First discrete peak

= 15 Hz= fan speed
Fan
Identify discrete frequencies:

Next peak
= 29.17 Hz= motor speed
B Motor A
 Identify discrete frequencies:

Possible Causes: Undefined peak

Bearings = 110.4 Hz.= ?
Belts
Resonance
External Vibs.
 Identify synchronous components:

Synchronous vibrations
are vibrations that are Harmonics of fan speed
multiples of shaft speed. do not line up with other
vibration frequencies

No sub-synchronous
vibrations are present.
Identify synchronous components:

Harmonics of motor speed

do not line up with other
vibration frequencies
Identify patterns:

Spacing between each

peak is 110.4 Hertz
which matches the
discrete frequency
It looks like there is more
The center of the information around each
cluster is at 1100.5 Hz. peak. EXPAND the display.
and is probably a
natural frequency of
some component.

Equal spacing of peaks

around a center
frequency is called
sidebands or sum &
difference frequencies.
 Identify patterns: Sum and difference frequencies are present
around each peak.

Still can’t see the other

information clearly.
EXPAND again.
EXPANDING the display
does not increase the
measurement resolution,
it simply opens up the
data like an accordion.
Identify patterns:

smaller
sidebands
are 6.48 Hz.
Summary of known information :

• Problem position is the inboard fan bearing - vertical

• The vibrations at motor frequency and fan frequency are
not a concern.
• An unknown discrete frequency exists at 110.4 Hertz.
• There is a pattern of sum and difference frequencies around
1100 Hertz. The spacing between each peak is 110.4 Hertz.
• A tighter pattern of sidebands exists at 6.48 Hz.
• It’s possible that the unknown discrete frequency and the
pattern are due to a bearing defect at that position.
• The fan bearing manufacturer and bearing number were
determined from the spare parts catalog. The bearing is a
#207. The manufacturer is thought to be SKF.
 Pitch Diameter

Calculation of expected bearing defect frequencies:

balls or
Bearing Calculations: rollers

shaft
Fundamental Train (FTF) = (Hz/2) [1- (B/P) Cos CA] bore

Ball Spin Frequency (BSF) = (P/2B) Hz [1- (B/P)2 Cos2 CA] Cage

Inner race

Ball Pass Frequency Outer Race (BPFO) = (N/2) Hz [1- (B/P) Cos CA] Outer race

Ball Pass Frequency Inner Race (BPFI) = (N/2) Hz [1+ (B/P) Cos CA]

where: CA = Contact Angle

Hz = RPM / 60
N = number of rolling elements
P = pitch diameter, inches
B = ball or roller diameter, inches
Calculation of expected bearing defect frequencies:

Bearing Calculations for SKF 207 bearing:

CA = Contact Angle = 3 degrees

Hz = RPM / 60 = 15.0
N = number of rolling elements = 13
shaft
bore

P = pitch diameter, inches = 2.10

B = ball or roller diameter, inches = .437”

Fundamental Train (FTF) = 6.23 Hz.

Ball Spin Frequency (BSF) = 35.10 Hz.
Ball Pass Frequency Outer Race (BPFO) = 80.93 Hz
Ball Pass Frequency Inner Race (BPFI) = 114.07 Hz.
In the absence of knowing the correct bearing manufacturer
and number, the 60/40 rule can be used to rough calculate
the expected bearing defect frequencies.

60/40 rule:

1. The outer race of a bearing will have a defect frequency

that is approximately equal to 40% of shaft speed x the
estimated number of rotating balls or rollers.

2. The inner race of a bearing will have a defect frequency

that is approximately equal to 60% of shaft speed x the
estimated number of rotating balls or rollers.
 The bearing could not be changed for several months due to
production requirements. Notice the change in the patters
over time as the parts wear and clearances increase.

The pattern is less

distinctive, more cluttered
and the baseline is
slightly elevated which
indicates component wear.
Another reading was made after the bearing was changed.

After bearing change

Before bearing change

Example of an
Outer Race
Bearing
Defect
 Vertical

Analysis of a Flyash Blower Axial

C D
Motor: 29.88 Hertz (1793 rpm) Horizontal
Fan: 15.0 Hertz???? Fan
Belts: V-belts, 8 Hertz?????
?????
Potential Vibration Frequencies:
Belt speed & harmonics
Motor speed and harmonics
Motor bearing defects
B Motor A
Electrical frequencies
Fan speed and harmonics
Fan bearing defects
Resonance
The spectrum of the motor bearing in the horizontal direction
shows little vibration at motor or blower frequency. There is a
high overall vibration level.

High frequency
vibrations at harmonics
of 91 Hertz are present.

273
91 Hertz is non-

Motor Speed 29.88 Hz.

synchronous with shaft Unknown frequencies
rotational speed. with harmonics of 91 Hertz.

The bearings in the

motor were determined
182

to be FAG 6313.
364
91
Calculation of expected bearing defect frequencies: Pitch Diameter

balls or
rollers

Bearing Calculations:
shaft
bore
Fundamental Train (FTF) = (Hz/2) [1- (B/P) Cos CA]
Cage
Ball Spin Frequency (BSF) = (P/2B) Hz [1- (B/P) Cos CA]
2 2
Inner race

Outer race
Ball Pass Frequency Outer Race (BPFO) = (N/2) Hz [1- (B/P) Cos CA]

Ball Pass Frequency Inner Race (BPFI) = (N/2) Hz [1+ (B/P) Cos CA]

where: CA = Contact Angle

Hz = RPM / 60
N = number of rolling elements
P = pitch diameter, inches
B = ball or roller diameter, inches
Calculation of expected bearing defect frequencies:

Bearing Calculations for FAG 6313 bearing:

CA = Contact Angle = 0 degrees

Hz = RPM / 60 = 29.88
N = number of rolling elements = 8
shaft
bore

P = pitch diameter, inches = 4.04”

B = ball or roller diameter, inches = .937”

Fundamental Train (FTF) = 11.48 Hz.

Ball Spin Frequency (BSF) = 60.96 Hz.
Ball Pass Frequency Outer Race (BPFO) = 91.81 Hz
Ball Pass Frequency Inner Race (BPFI) = 147.26 Hz.
In the absence of knowing the correct bearing manufacturer
and number, the 60/40 rule can be used to rough calculate
the expected bearing defect frequencies.

60/40 rule:

1. The outer race of a bearing will have a defect frequency

that is approximately equal to 40% of shaft speed x the
estimated number of rotating balls or rollers.

2. The inner race of a bearing will have a defect frequency

that is approximately equal to 60% of shaft speed x the
estimated number of rotating balls or rollers.
Picture of an outer race defect
Example of a
Cage Defect
Fafnir 1108 KR - Cage Defect
• Reeves Drive
• Variable speed / belt drive
• Output to Hearth gearbox
• Unit was just rebuilt, because it was “time”
• Purchasing Dept. helped with rebuild
March Vs. April measurements
Raised “noise floor”
Any impacting?
Notice anything missing?