Method and apparatus for monitoring rotating machinery

A method of monitoring operating conditions of a rotating device comprising the steps of:

• sensing vibration of said device to obtain a vibration signal in a time domain;
• determining an overall condition of said device;
• determining a condition of a component in the device without a vibrational influence of surrounding components of the device;
• and
• determining a condition of a component of the device based on an unpredicted vibrational frequency;
• wherein said sensing step comprises the step of performing a Fourier transform on the vibration signal in the time domain to produce a vibration signal in a frequency domain, with said method further comprising the step of calculating a spectral component at zero frequency.

A method of monitoring operating conditions of a rotating device comprising the steps of:

• sensing vibration of said device to obtain a vibration signal in a time domain;
• determining an overall condition of said device;
• determining a condition of a component in the device without a vibrational influence of surrounding components of the device;
• determining a condition of a component of the device based on an unpredicted vibrational frequency;
• determining an overall energy of the vibration signal in the time domain;
• and,
• comparing said overall energy to a threshold.

A method of monitoring operating conditions of a rotating device comprising the steps of:

• sensing vibration of said device to obtain a vibration signal in a time domain;
• determining an overall condition of said device;
• and
• determining a condition of a component in the device without a vibrational influence of surrounding components of the device;
• wherein said vibration signal in the time domain comprises a debiased vibration signal and a debiased-rectified vibration signal.

A method of controlling occurrences of false alarms while maximizing detection of true alarms in a device monitoring system comprising the steps of:

• sensing an operation condition of the device;
• comparing said sensed operating condition to first thresholds;
• assigning a value indicative of one of the first threshold values crossed;
• accumulating a plurality of said values indicative of one of the first threshold values crossed;
• calculating an average of said accumulated values;
• and,
• determining an alarm based on said average.

A method of operating a device close to an operating capacity comprising the steps of:

• sensing a vibrational signal of the device;
• comparing said vibrational signal to a threshold, said threshold being set when the device is in a working environment;
• determining a margin between said vibrational signal and said threshold;
• changing operation of the device based on said margin;
• providing a value indicative of increased operating capacity available based on said margin;
• and
• indicating said value to an operator.

A method of operating a device close to a predetermined operating capacity comprising the steps of:

• sensing a vibrational signal of the device;
• comparing said vibrational signal to a threshold, said threshold being set when the device is in a working environment;
• and
• indicating, based on said comparison, a change in a vibrational signal such that said device may operate close to the predetermined operating capacity.

A method of operating a device close to a predetermined operating limit, said method comprising the steps of:

• sensing a vibrational signal of the device;
• comparing said vibrational signal to a threshold;
• indicating, based on said comparison, a desired change in an operating parameter, said operating parameter comprising at least one of oil level within the device, temperature of the device, stiffness of an element of the device, or vibration of an element of the device;
• and
• performing said change.