Two Current-Based Methods for the Detection of Bearing and Impeller Faults in Variable Speed Pumps

Vincent Becker, Thilo Schwamm, Sven Urschel and Jose Alfonso Antonino-Daviu
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Vincent Becker: University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Schoenstraße 11, 67659 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Thilo Schwamm: University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Schoenstraße 11, 67659 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Sven Urschel: University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Schoenstraße 11, 67659 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Jose Alfonso Antonino-Daviu: Technological Institute of Energy, Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: The growing number of variable speed drives (VSDs) in industry has an impact on the future development of condition monitoring methods. In research, more and more attention is being paid to condition monitoring based on motor current evaluation. However, there are currently only a few contributions to current-based pump diagnosis. In this paper, two current-based methods for the detection of bearing defects, impeller clogging, and cracked impellers are presented. The first approach, load point-dependent fault indicator analysis (LoPoFIA), is an approach that was derived from motor current signature analysis (MCSA). Compared to MCSA, the novelty of LoPoFIA is that only amplitudes at typical fault frequencies in the current spectrum are considered as a function of the hydraulic load point. The second approach is advanced transient current signature analysis (ATCSA), which represents a time-frequency analysis of a current signal during start-up. According to the literature, ATCSA is mainly used for motor diagnosis. As a test item, a VSD-driven circulation pump was measured in a pump test bench. Compared to MCSA, both LoPoFIA and ATCSA showed improvements in terms of minimizing false alarms. However, LoPoFIA simplifies the separation of bearing defects and impeller defects, as impeller defects especially influence higher flow ranges. Compared to LoPoFIA, ATCSA represents a more efficient method in terms of minimizing measurement effort. In summary, both LoPoFIA and ATCSA provide important insights into the behavior of faulty pumps and can be advantageous compared to MCSA in terms of false alarms and fault separation.

Keywords: advanced transient current signature analysis; bearing faults; circulation pump; cracked impeller; impeller clogging; load point-dependent fault indicator analysis; motor current signature analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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