Orbit AnalysisRotor movements examination and assessment

Orbit Analysis Application Overview

Measuring vibration data on a rotating machine is a strong diagnostic tool enabling the detection and prevention of many types of potential faults and machinery downtime.

Orbit analysis is an ideal analysis tool for rotor movement examination and assessment of any movement restrictions causing vibration. It prevents potential, unwanted damages to rotating machinery that would result in premature wear of components and could cause critical failures. It also helps to determine lubrication state, and bearing states and can optimize machine operation.

Dewesoft orbit analysis works independently of a machine type. It can be a power plant or a high revving compressor. Steady, continuous operation with as few malfunctions and vibrations as possible is essential for maximizing productivity and ensuring the reliable operation of a machine. To achieve this, measurement and analysis of rotational vibration data are crucial.

Proven and Accurate Measurement Results

Our orbit analysis measurement results have been proven several times by our customers. The measurement and analysis results have been compared to the industry-leading solutions such as Bently Nevada 3500 and Bently Nevada Adre systems, as well as the OROS Orbitgate system. 

The comparison results have proven that our measurements are at least as accurate as the industry benchmark systems.

DAQ Hardware
Typical Orbit Analysis System Configuration

Dewesoft Orbit Analysis system is very flexible and can be configured for single or multiple bearings measurements at the same time. Input channel count can be expanded at any time. DAQ system can also be configured to allow different sensor connections at the same time - thermocouples, RTDs, IEPE/ICP® accelerometers, strain gauges, and more.

The typical Orbit analysis measurement system will consist typically of the following elements:

• SIRIUSi isolated data acquisition system with 8xLV signal amplifiers or 6xLV-2xLV+ (additional two counter) amplifiers.

• 2-8x Eddy-current probes

• DewesoftX Orbit Analysis option

Optional:

• FFT Analyzer option

• Orbit tracking analysis option​​​​​​​

• OPC UA Client/Server option

• Historian time-series database

• MODBUS protocol option

Measurement and Visualisation

Orbit Analysis module comes will a full preset of display widgets for real-time data visualization. The image shows a predefined orbit analysis screen. The following specific display widgets are available for orbit analysis:

• Raw/Direct orbit (with clearance circle)

• Averaged orbit (with clearance circle)

• Nx/Filtered orbit

• Reference orbit

• Shaft centerline

• Full motion graph

• Polar plot

• Bode plot

• FFT Waterfall

• Runout compensation

A set of designated widgets are needed for precise analysis and representation of results. Widgets can be customized in real-time to show standard parameter combinations used in orbit analysis. Standard visual displays such as recorders, digital/analog meters, etc. are also included with the software by default.

Additional inputs like temperature, CAN bus, deformations, vibration, etc. can easily be added and shown on the same screens.

Raw Orbit With Clearance Circle

Raw orbit is seen in the orange color on the graph with a clearance circle in turquoise color.

X and Y mark the position of proximity probes, whereas T marks the tacho’s position.

The rotation direction is also shown on the graph with an arrow.

Shaft Centerline

Shows shaft centerline movement in white vs. RPM inside the clearance circle.

Full Motion Graph

The full-motion graph displays the Shaft centerline, Clearance circle, and Raw orbit on the same display widget.

Average Orbit With Clearance Circle

The average orbit is seen in turquoise on the graph with a clearance circle in blue.

X and Y mark the position of proximity probes, whereas T marks the tacho’s position.

The rotation direction is also shown on the graph with an arrow.

Nx/Filtered Orbit

The above display widget shows examples of filtered orbits in white, turquoise, and orange. The particular orbits shown are:

• X (White)

• 2X (Orange) and

• 3X (Turquoise).

Polar Plot

A single display in the polar plane displaying phase and amplitude(displacement) at certain RPMs.

Bode Plot

Display widget for the complex channel with different available data to display phase and amplitude.

FFT Waterfall

Both orders vs. RPM and FFT vs. time waterfalls are supported. The image shows an example display of order waterfall vs. RPM with an added digital display for speed.

Proximity Probes Compatibility

Dewesoft orbit analyzer is compatible with most of the proximity probes on the market. In most cases you can use your existing installed proximity probes.

We suggest using Micro-Epsilon probes. Most of these probes can be connected directly to our data acquisition LV signal conditioning module without the need for a separate power supply. Probes cam bi powered directly from our signal amplifiers.

Can we integrate Bently Nevada proximity probes?

Yes. Depending on the customer’s system we can either connect to conditioned signal (3500) or directly to the proximitor using the power supply on the LV module.

Machine Condition Monitoring

Orbit analysis is a standard component for machine condition monitoring and can be combined with other capabilities of the Dewesoft Machine Condition Monitoring solution.

What parameters can we measure and observe?

• Temperature monitoring

• Vibration monitoring

• Strain monitoring

• Pressure monitoring

• Rotational speed monitoring

• Force monitoring

What faults can we detect?

• Bearing faults

• Overheating

• Shaft un-balance

• Detached mounting

• Gear-tooth failure

• Load misalignment

• Stator excentricity

• Other machine catastrophic failures

Great Investment
Future-Proof Application

Dewesoft orbit analysis is a great investment in your future. Our solutions are constantly being improved, and new features are being added all the time. All updates to the modal testing software suite are free of charge.

Our industry-leading 7-year warranty on Dewesoft data acquisition systems means worry-free measurements for you. We are committed to ensuring that your investment in our measurement equipment was a good one - even when the unexpected occurs. 

Together with world-class data acquisition technology, Dewesoft provides the best Modal testing and modal analysis solution your money can buy.