EMERSON AMS 2140 Practical Guide for On site Dynamic Balance and Vibration Analysis

PeakVue ™  It is Emerson's patented technology, specifically designed to detect early defects in bearings and gears. It captures stress waves generated by impact through high-speed sampling and filtering, which are often masked in traditional vibration analysis.

Perform PeakVue analysis: Select PeakVue Analysis Comparing/Gear Expert Analysis from the Analyze main menu. The expert will automatically configure parameters such as high pass filters. For low-speed devices (below 600 RPM), the filtering frequency will be adaptively adjusted to 500 Hz.

Interpretation of data: In the generated spectrum, the frequency of bearing defects (such as BPFO, BPFI) and their harmonics will be clearly visible. Unlike regular spectrum, PeakVue data has good trendability, and G's Peak to Peak waveform values are important indicators for determining the severity of faults. If the device includes gears, the meshing frequency and sidebands of the gears will also be reflected in the frequency spectrum.

2. Handling variable speed equipment: order tracking and synchronous averaging

For equipment such as fans and pumps that experience speed fluctuations during start-up or load changes, traditional spectrum analysis can result in a "tailing" phenomenon. At this point, order tracking and synchronous averaging are two effective tools.

Order tracking: This mode relies on a Tachometer providing a reference signal of one pulse per revolution. In Manual Analyze, set the Average Type to Order Tracking. The analyzer will dynamically adjust the sampling rate based on the speed pulse, convert the vibration data into orders of speed, and eliminate the influence of speed fluctuations.

Synchronization time averaging: Synchronization time averaging is very useful when extracting the vibration of a specific shaft (such as the input shaft in a gearbox) from complex vibration signals. In Manual Analyze, set the average type to Synchronous Time. This technology synchronizes the sampling with the speed pulse of the reference axis and averages multiple cycles, effectively filtering out asynchronous vibrations from other axes or devices, thereby clearly displaying harmonic components such as 1X and 2X of a specific axis.

Key settings to ensure measurement accuracy

Data quality is the foundation of diagnosis. The following settings directly affect the validity of the measurement results.

Integration Mode: In Route or Analyze, Set Integrated Mode determines whether the data is "time-domain integration" or "frequency-domain integration". For low-frequency measurements (such as low-speed devices), time-domain integration can provide higher accuracy and avoid the "ski slope" effect (i.e. low-frequency noise accumulation).

Percent Overlap: In spectrum acquisition, a high overlap rate (such as 67%) can shorten acquisition time and improve data smoothness. For applications that require high resolution or capturing transient events, this parameter should be adjusted.

Sensor setup: Proper sensor setup is crucial. If the sensitivity setting of the sensor is incorrect (such as setting 100 mV/g to 10 mV/g), all amplitude data will be incorrect. In addition, for ICP type accelerometers, it is essential to ensure that the Sensor Power is set to ON.

Improving efficiency: Four channel and multi input measurement

AMS 2140 supports up to four channels for simultaneous data collection, which can greatly improve data collection efficiency.

Using the 2140 four channel input adapter: When conducting multi-channel measurements such as biplane balancing or ODS testing, the four channel adapter can be used to connect four sensors simultaneously without the need for tedious wiring switching. In the Sensor Setup of the Balance program, set Mux Enabled to On to enable it.

Using a three-axis accelerometer: For Route data acquisition, using a three-axis accelerometer (such as Emerson A0643TX) can collect data in three directions at once: horizontal, vertical, and axial. Select Emerson Triax in the Input Setup of Analyze or Route, and the analyzer will automatically map inputs A, B, and C to the Z, X, and Y axes.

Skills and suggestions in practical combat

Based on the manual content and on-site experience, the following suggestions can help achieve better results:

Sensor installation: Always use a magnetic seat or bolt to securely install the sensor on the machine. Handheld sensors can cause data fluctuations and phase errors.

Temperature effect: For equipment with significant thermal expansion effect, using the Thermal Growth compensation function in Advanced Laser Alignment to input the target cold state value during precision laser alignment can significantly improve the alignment accuracy of the equipment after reaching the working temperature.

Data validation: After completing a measurement, develop the habit of viewing Review Data. At the same time, the Watch Dog Checks feature can automatically evaluate the quality of benchmark data (such as whether 1X RPM energy accounts for more than 50% of the total energy) and provide warnings, making it a powerful tool for identifying potential issues such as resonance and misalignment.