Strain Based Systems and Methods for Performance Measurement and/or Malfunction Detection of Rotating Machinery

A strain gage based rotating machine measurement system comprising:

• a first strain gage attached to a journal bearing housing wherein:
• the first strain gage receives an electrical excitation;
• and
• the first strain gage generates a first electrically measurable output in response to a change of a first force in at least a part of the journal bearing housing;
• and
• a Wheatstone bridge circuit that produces a first time varying analog electrical signal in response to the first electrically measurable output of the first strain gage;
• an analog to digital converter that generates a first time varying digital electrical signal in response to the first time varying analog electrical signal;
• and
• an analyzer configured for determining a mechanical condition of the rotating machine in response to the first time-varying digital signal.

A method for measuring a rotating machine, the method comprising the steps of:

• mounting a strain transducer on a journal bearing housing;
• using the strain transducer and a Wheatstone bridge circuit to measure time-varying changes of a force in at least part of the journal bearing housing;
• digitizing the time varying force measurement to produce a time varying digital signal;
• and
• analyzing the time-varying digital signal to determine a malfunction of the rotating machine.