DETECTION OF MALFUNCTIONING OIL RINGS IN 2000 HORSEPOWER MOTORS

摘要

Oil rings, worn to the level of being ineffective, have been detected in operating 2000-hp motors in the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, thereby permitting remedial action before bearing damage from inadequate lubrication resulted. Based on data from a sample of 16 operating process motors with significant audio signals, an 88 percent accuracy has been obtained in identifying motors with badly worn oil rings. A unitized accelerometer-amplifier and spectrum analyzer operating in the 2-4 KHz range is the basic instrumentation used for separation of ring signals from background noise. This detection equipment permits the testing of multiple (8-12) operating motors in the normal process configuration with a single set-up of electronic components, such as the power supply, oscilloscope, and amplifiers, and requires only approximately 30 seconds to test each set of oil rings.