Measuring Backlash of a Pump Gear Train

An apparatus comprising:

• a system for monitoring operational health of a pump unit operable to pump a fluid, wherein the pump unit comprises a fluid pump, a gear train, and a prime mover operable to actuate the fluid pump via the gear train, wherein the gear train is operatively connected between an output shaft of the prime mover and a crankshaft of the fluid pump, and wherein the system comprises:
• a rotational position sensor operable to facilitate rotational position measurements indicative of a rotational position of the output shaft;
• a locking device operable to mechanically engage the crankshaft such that the crankshaft cannot rotate;
• and
• a processing device comprising a processor and memory storing computer program code, wherein the processing device is communicatively connected with the prime mover and the rotational position sensor, and wherein, after the locking device mechanically engages the crankshaft such that the crankshaft cannot rotate, the processing device is operable to measure backlash of the gear train by:
• causing the prime mover to rotate the output shaft in a first direction until the output shaft reaches a first rotational position at which the output shaft cannot further rotate;
• causing the prime mover to rotate the output shaft in a second direction until the output shaft reaches a second rotational position at which the output shaft cannot further rotate;
• recording the rotational position measurements while the prime mover rotates the output shaft in the second direction from the first rotational position to the second rotational position;
• and
• determining backlash of the gear train by determining rotational distance between the first rotational position of the output shaft and the second rotational position of the output shaft based on the recorded rotational position measurements.