Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Upon completing this topic, you will be able to perform the tasks indicated above.

Orbit and shaft centerline (SCL) plots will be the typical formats used to assist in the
determination of acceptable rotor behavior regarding the concepts above. Of course,
other plots may be used as well.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

You should be able to identify the categories of preloads.

• A preload is a unidirectional, steady state (static) force acting on the rotor system.
• A radial preload is a preload that acts in a direction perpendicular to and through the
center axis.
• An axial preload acts in the direction that is parallel with the axis of rotation of the rotor.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Radial preloads include the following:

• Gravity is the most common preload (radial preload caused by gravity on a horizontal
rotor).
• Fluid forces can act as preloads (turbine rotor lift during partial steam admission, side
load caused by a single volute pump, etc.).
• Bearings can cause preloads (bearing geometry, curvature of pad in a tilting pad
bearing, interference fit in rolling element bearing, etc.).
• Internal misalignment will cause a preload (offset or cocked bearing or seal).
• External misalignment (improperly done cold offset).

It should be noted that a common cause of preload is pipe strain.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Axial preloads include the following:

• Gravity (axial preload caused by gravity on a vertical rotor).
• Process thrust loads are a source of axial preloads.
• Differential (thermal) expansion can be the source of an axial preload (extreme
differential expansion can also lead to axial rubs).

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

In general, for any given preload condition, some of the signal characteristics listed above
may be present. It is also possible that none of these signal characteristics will be
measurable. The presence of these signal characteristics depends on machinery type,
severity of preload, process conditions, etc.

Each of these items will now be discussed in greater detail on the following pages.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

A. Stabilizing/Destabilizing: Preloads that are related to the dynamic conditions of the

machine or the environment can contribute to stabilization or destabilization. Pump
side loads, misalignment due to thermal growth, aerodynamic loads, etc., may shift in
direction and magnitude. Even gravity influences can change if the machine
orientation changes.

B. Stabilizing: Preloads that result in a high eccentricity ratio increase direct stiffness
and lower the fluid circumferential average velocity ratio (λ). These preloads act to
stabilize a machine. Most often they are part of the machine or machine train
geometry. Some of the most common stabilizing preloads are misalignment (both
internal and between machines) and cocked bearings. These preloads maintain the
same direction and often the same magnitude.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Changes in position
Preloads will have a tendency to change the average position of the shaft within the
clearance. The direction of movement must be taken in context of the changing effect
resulting from a change in minimum gate clearance and force exerted by the tangential
wedge. This will be discussed more in later topics.

Changes in vibration amplitude and frequency

Increasing preload will force the shaft into a more elliptical orbital shape. The initial
response is a change in the 1X vibration component. When the preload has increased
sufficiently to distort the orbit, then 1X, 2X, etc., and, possibly, reverse precession
vibration components, will appear.

Each of the listed signal characteristics is possible. In general, for any given preload
condition, some of these signal characteristics may be present. It is also possible that
none of the listed signal characteristics will be measurable. The presence of the signal
characteristics depends on machinery type, severity of preload, process conditions, etc.
Abnormal orbital motion or frequency harmonics may be due to a preload. High radial
preloads tend to cause the shaft to operate in the non-linear portion of the stiffness curve.
Non-linearities always cause harmonics in vibration.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

This is a series of orbits with increasing size of preload. It should be pointed out that initial
response to the preload is an average position change, then a change in shape of the
orbit due to stiffness change. The development of the 2X component can be observed as
the preload increases.

As can be seen from the graphic, the orbit may become squashed from a radial preload. A
normal orbit is usually elliptical. A heavily preloaded rotor may result in a banana-shaped
or highly squashed orbit. It is easy to see in the figure that there is some 2X vibration in
the plane of the applied preload.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

If the average shaft centerline position under steady state conditions changes, then forces
acting on the machine have changed (increased, decreased, changed direction, new
forces appeared, etc.). See the next page for an example of abnormal SCL.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

An orbit plotted with the shaft centerline position that has the journal bearing clearance
drawn can be a force multiplier in understanding an abnormal orbit shape combined with
an abnormal shaft position. Obviously, in this plot, this is an example of how forces acting
on the machine have changed—and not for the benefit of the machine.

Change in shaft position will often be the result of a preload. A significant change in
normal operating shaft position is an excellent indication that the steady side load forces
have changed.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Changes in bearing temperature

Because thermocouples are normally mounted in the lower portion of bearings, the
direction of average shaft position change could result in an increase or decrease of
temperature.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Bearing and/or seal wear / fatigue

If an extreme preload toward a seal or bearing exists for long periods, it is natural to see
some wear.

Shaft cracks due to stress reversals and fatigue

When 2X is a result of a preload, the shaft undergoes high rates of stress reversal, which
can eventually result in stress being relieved at a stress riser and a crack developing.
Abnormal shaft vs. casing motion may occur from a severe preload. When the preload is
severe and the shaft vibration is restricted, the casing vibration may be higher than the
relative shaft vibration. This occurs because the vibration is directly transferred to the
casing through the bearing.

Items underlined on the slide are results of a preload that can be very damaging to the
machine.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Proximity probe gap voltage measurements are a way to make position measurements of
a rotating shaft. None of the other vibration transducers available can provide shaft
position. Shaft position is obtained by measuring the proximity transducer’s DC output.

Other measurements that can be calculated from the shaft position (and to be discussed
later) include shaft attitude angle and eccentricity.

Trending of the gap voltage and shaft position values can provide additional clues on the
health of the machinery system.

Sometimes people try to use gap voltages as alignment indications of the shaft between
bearings. There are some considerations that need to be taken into account, though, that
reflect how truly difficult it is to use gap voltage measurements for this purpose. This will
be discussed later in this topic.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

In this example, the Y, or vertical probe, is installed at top dead center of the bearing, or 0
degrees. The X, or horizontal probe, is installed at 90 degrees right (90° R). This is
determined as viewing the machine from the driver to the driven component. The scale
factor of each proximity probe is 200mV/mil (7.870 mV/µm). The at-rest position (bottom
of the bearing) has the probe gapped at 10 Vdc for both the Y and the X probes.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Given the change in voltage, how much movement has been experienced relative to the Y
and X transducers?

__________________________________________

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Since we know the scale factor of each transducer, it should be routine to be able to
convert the voltage change to a position.

For the Y transducer, the voltage changed 0.4 volts toward the transducer:
0.4 V = 400 mV  400mV/(200mV/mil) = 2 mil toward the Y probe.

For the X transducer, the voltage changed 0.2 volts away from the transducer:
0.2 V = 200 mV  200mV/(200mV/mil) = 1 mil away from the X probe.

In this example, then, the shaft moved up 2 mil and to the left 1 mil.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Shaft centerline position can be derived from position measurements. If the gap voltage is
trended from the X and Y transducers, a two-dimensional picture of the shaft’s average
movement can be derived. Note that the proximity probe provides shaft relative motion.
Therefore, when looking at average shaft centerline plots, the starting point must be
assumed. In the absence of other information, the shaft is usually assumed to be in the
bottom of the bearing (horizontal machine) when the machine is stopped, and moves to
its operating position during ramp up. If the data shows something different than
expected, the assumed starting point should be re-evaluated, or a possible malfunction
should be diagnosed.

What type of change could have caused the severe change in position in the 4000-5000
rpm range? It was very likely process related and tied to some opening or closing of
valves.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Shaft trend plots can be derived from position measurements. Bearing wear can be
observed by trending shaft position (gap voltage) over time. If the shaft position moves
more than the amount of bearing clearance, there is a possibility that some Babbitt
material may have been removed.

On the slide above is a plot of very old data from a real (refrigeration compressor)
machine. The plant personnel suspected that Babbitt material was being destroyed by
electrostatic discharge. They installed a temporary displacement probe at 0 degrees and
hand-plotted the dc gap voltage, which was measured with an inexpensive multimeter.
This gave them several weeks’ advance warning as to when the problem would become
severe (Babbitt material entirely gone and shaft riding on steel bearing backing). They
used the time to plan for the shutdown, bearing replacement, and installation of rotor
grounding brushes.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

This is a very recent electrostatic discharge (ESD) condition that existed in a machine.
The diametral clearance of the bearing is about 10 mils. 1X vibration amplitudes were
trending upward and it was thought that a bow was forming in the rotor due to process
conditions. The orbits had been viewed and the spikes on the orbits were thought to be
just normal runout from scratches.

When other attempts failed to correct the problem, the SCL plot was consulted and the
problem then became apparent. While the machine was operating, a shaft grounding
brush was installed and the ESD stopped. This stabilized the changing condition of the 1X
amplitude and shaft centerline until an appropriate time was selected for shutdown and
repair work.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Rotor position angle is measured from a reference line of “down” in a horizontal machine
from the bearing centerline and then to a line from the bearing centerline through the shaft
centerline. Typically, in a cylindrical fluid film bearing, this angle will be 30-40 degrees in
the direction of shaft rotation due to the oil wedge being formed. Rotor position angle is
used to indicate the presence of abnormal preloads; it is not an indicator of stability.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Shaft attitude angle can be derived from position measurements. It is the included angle
measured from the applied load to the line that connects the bearing and shaft
centerlines. The applied load is the vector sum of all preloads acting on the rotor. Attitude
angle is difficult to measure, but this relationship between load and response position can
be used to confirm preload changes based on our determined rotor position angle when a
machine is operating normally.

Do not confuse attitude angle with rotor position angle.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Eccentricity ratio can be calculated from position measurements. The average eccentricity
ratio is a dimensionless quantity representing the average position of the shaft within the
bearing/seal. It is obtained by dividing the distance between the shaft and bearing/seal
centerlines by the radial clearance. Values for the average eccentricity ratio range from 0
(the shaft is centered in the bearing) to 1 (the shaft is touching the bearing). Decreasing
average eccentricity ratio values can lead to an instability problem.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Dynamic eccentricity ratio is a comparison of the shaft’s orbit to the bearing centerline.
The dynamic eccentricity ratio is a dimensionless quantity representing the instantaneous
position of the shaft within the bearing or seal. It is obtained by dividing the instantaneous
distance between the shaft and bearing/seal centerlines by the radial clearance, and can
also vary between 0 and 1. Again, a value of 0 indicates that the shaft is located in the
center of the bearing or seal, and a value of 1 indicates that the shaft is in contact with the
bearing or seal.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Shaft position measurements can be used to determine alignment along the shaft. If you
know where the shaft should be under normal operating conditions, any position
abnormalities should be questioned. The unknown, though, is the relative position of the
bearing in the machine case to the other bearing in the same case or across the coupling.
This unknown will cause some confusion in using the shaft centerline plot for a
quantitative measure of the misalignment condition.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Many of the same benefits that we get from radial position measurements we also obtain
from axial position measurements. For example: thrust bearing wear, axial shaft position,
axial position trend plots, casing growth, casing warp, and valve position.

Thrust position is an important enough measurement to be used to trip the machine in

some applications.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Earlier it was stated that a cause of preload could be external misalignment. Shown
above is a list of possible sources of this external misalignment. Of these, pipe strain is a
major problem because piping systems are, in general, poorly maintained.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

This, then, is a list of typical causes of internal misalignment, which will cause preload
forces in a machine.

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 Preloads and Radial Position Measurements

Proper understanding of preloads and rotor positions can greatly assist in the diagnostics
of machinery problems. A fundamental condition monitoring strategy should encompass a
basic understanding of these concepts.

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