Condition monitoring in power production
The approach to maintenance in the power industry has changed in recent years. Many energy suppliers are now focusing on equipment reliability to strengthen their competitive position and secure a higher return on investments. In a time of shrinking budgets and growing demands, moving beyond conventional maintenance practices becomes a means to an end.
Reliability and safety in power production with condition monitoring
SPM Instrument has been a supplier of innovative solutions for condition monitoring to the power industry for many years. Each sector of the industry has its specific concerns. Safety, reliability, and availability issues influence the growth of the individual power plant as well as the choice of power generation technology and equipment hardware. Common to all is the importance of maintaining availability in production. Interruptions of the power supply cause high costs to the end-user and often a liability to penalties on the part of the distributor. Also, exchanging spare parts can be very costly.
For various reasons, parts of the northern hemisphere are the most power-consuming in the world, and many highly power-consuming industries are located here. A harsh climate in the northernmost parts also demands effective heating systems in buildings during the cold season of the year.
In response to demands for clean and renewable power, wind farms are emerging around the world, and wind power is now the fastest-growing sector in power generation. Our patented methods have proven particularly valuable for the difficult measuring conditions in wind power. The nuclear power industry, of course, has very strict process guidelines. SPM offers measuring equipment suited to plants where safety and environmental integrity must be ensured. In power plants, the typical applications are turbines, gearboxes, and generators.
Maximize wind turbine reliability and lifespan
Condition monitoring maximizes plant profitability by preventing production losses and secondary damage from failures in critical components like generator bearings, gearboxes, and main bearings.
The condition monitoring solution offers early warnings of component deterioration, enabling planned maintenance with minimal downtime. It monitors shock pulses and vibrations at preset intervals, measuring signal amplitudes, providing shock and vibration spectra, and, most importantly, individual values on specific fault symptoms showing the state of, for example, a bearing inner ring or a gearwheel.
SPM offers reliable condition information tailored to the technical and economic needs of each plant.
- Generator: Recommended measuring techniques for shock pulses and vibrations are SPM HD® and EVAM, which allows for reliable and ample pre-warning time. Reduced bearing condition is the most common cause of failure, often accompanied by misalignment.
- Gearbox: Recommended measuring techniques include SPM HD® and EVAM for coupling and gear-related problems on the high-speed side, as well as shock pulse measurements for bearing condition on the slow-rotating side. Gearboxes are complex units that require different measuring techniques to cover all faults, with RPM calculated from the rotor speed.
- Main bearings: Recommended are SPM HD®, spectrum, and time signal analysis, which are the proper methods for slow-rotating bearings. It is crucial to measure RPM for these slow-rotating parts.
Condition monitoring solutions for the power industry
Considering the tough environmental demands of the power industry in general and the varying operating conditions in windmills in particular, SPM offers every piece of hardware and software equipment needed for an efficient condition monitoring solution, from the point of data collection all the way through to evaluated measurement data. On slowly rotating machinery, the SPM HD® measuring technique can be used with benefit. SPM HD uses RPM-based sampling frequency and algorithmic correlation techniques to ensure the highest possible signal quality and razor-sharp spectrums for analysis.
Portable instruments
Our range of handheld instrumentation includes equipment for shock pulse measurement, vibration severity measurement, and vibration spectrum analysis.
Intellinova Parallel EN
Intellinova Parallel EN is a powerhouse of functionality and performance, ideal for condition monitoring of industrial equipment with high availability demands.
Condition monitoring in explosive environments
Our high-performance portable and online equipment are also available for potentially explosive environments.
HD Technologies
High-definition condition monitoring technologies provide exceptional pre-warning times, maximizing the planning horizon for maintenance and repairs. In turn, this enables fully utilizing asset life, cutting repair costs, and minimizing the consequences of unplanned downtime.