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Home VibrationCharacteristics PhaseCharacteristics

PHASE CHARACTERISTICS
Phaseprovidesthedirectionofmovementatagivenmomentinthevibrationcycle,whichhelps
determinehowdifferentlocationsonthemachine,usuallybearings,aremovingrelativetoone
another.

Direction

Imagineasnapshotofamachineoperatingandimaginebeingabletoseearrowsdrawnat
eachbearingindicatingwhatdirectionthatbearingismovinginatthatprecisemoment.From
thisyoucandetermineifthebearingsaremovinginthesamedirectionatthesametime(in
unisonor'inphase')ornot.

Phasehelpsdeterminehowdifferentlocationsonthemachine(differentbearings,usually)aremovingrelativetooneanother.

RulesforMeasuringPhase
Rule#1:Phaseisarelativemeasurement.

Readingsatdifferentlocationsonabearingareanalysedrelativetooneanother

Readingsatthesameangle(direction)onadjacentbearingsareanalysedrelativetooneanother

Readingsatdifferenttimesatthesameexactlocationareanalysedrelativetooneanother

Thesecomparisonsgiveusinformationonhowthecomponentsareactingmovingrelativetooneanother

Rule#2:PhaseiscollectedatONEfrequencyatatime.

Theanalysermustbetoldwhatfrequency.Thisisdonebytuningtheanalyserwitheitherastrobelightoratachpulsefromthe
shaft

Rule#3:Theanalysermustbeabletodetectavibrationsignalatthatfrequency.

Sincetheangleiscalculatedbasedonthearrivalofasinusoidalpeakfromthevibratingcomponent,theremustbeanamplitude
peaktogetaphaseangle.

Clockfacereadings3:007:3012:00etc.aresufficientforgeneralphaseanalysis.Moreprecisephaseuses(i.e.balancing)
requiresspecificangularreferences(0360).

WhatToolsAreUsedforMeasuringPhase
A'PhaseTriggering'StrobeLight.Thistypeofstrobelightdiffersintwowaysfromaconventional,handheldstrobelight.Iteither
feedsfrequencyinformation(itsflashrate)intotheanalyserorhasitsflashratesetbytheanalyser.Itcanalsobetriggeredbya
vibrationsignalfromtheanalyser.AlternativelyaPhotoelectricEyeorrelatedmechanismmightprovidea1xrpmpulsefromthe
shaft.

HowisPhaseMeasuredwithaStrobeLight?

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Thisinvolvesseveralstepseachonedesignedtosatisfyoneoftherulesformeasuringphase.We
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Wehaveamachinewitha'problem'higherthandesiredamplitudeataparticularfrequency
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Thefrequencyofconcern(forsimplicitysake)is1xrpm

Thestrobebeingusedisa'phasetriggering'strobelight(capableofmeasuringphase)

Step#1MountTransducer

Thefirststepincollectingaphasereadingistoplacethetransduceronthebearinginthe
directiondesired

Thetransducerprovidestheanalyzerwiththevibrationsignalnecessary(asperRule#3)

Step#2LocateaReferenceMarks

Commonlyakeyorkeyway,thismarkiswhatwewillbeusingasour'clockface'referencewhenitshowsupunderthestrobe
flash(asperRule#4)

Step#3Tunethestrobeto1xrpm(thepertinentfrequency)

Tuningthestrobelightproperlywillfreezetheshaftwith1markasshownhere.Becarefulyouhaven'ttuneditto1/2rpmsince
thatwillalsoshow1mark

Bytuningthestrobelight,youhavetoldtheanalyseratwhichfrequencywewillbemeasuringphase(asperRule#2).

Withastrobelight(asopposedtoaphotoeye).Thisallowstheanalysertofocusonaspecificvibrationsignalarelativelyclean
sinusoid(sinceallotherfrequenciesarebeingfilteredout)thatisoccurringatorverycloseto(+/0.75%)thetunedfrequency

Youcancomparethistowhataradiodoesittunestoonefrequencyandfiltersallothersout

ThePhaseReadingisSetUpWhatIsItMeasuring?
Sofar,nothing.Thestrobelightisbeingtriggeredbyaninternaltriggeroneithertheanalyserorthelightitselfitisactingexactly
likeatypical,handheldstrobelight.Thereisonefinalstepwhichmustbeperformed:

Aswitch(orkeystroke)oneithertheanalyserorthestrobecanbeactivatedwhichchangeshowthestrobeisbeingtriggered

Oncethisswitchactivated,thestrobestopstousingitsinternaltriggertoflashandstartstousethevibrationsinusoidbeing
detected.Therefore:

Thestrobelightthereforeflashesatexactlythefrequencyofthevibrationbeingdetected

Ifthevibrationisbeingmechanicallygeneratedbytheshaft(rotor),thestrobewillflashatanexactharmonicofrunningspeed(1x
rpminourexamplebutitcouldbe2x,3xoranyhigherharmonic)andtheshaft(mark)willfreezeunderthestrobeflash

Ifthevibrationisbeinggeneratedbysomeothersourceanyothersource(bearings,electrical,othermachinesnearby,etc.),it
willnotflashatanexactharmonicofrunningspeedandtheshaftwill(mark)willnotfreezeunderthestrobeflash

Let'slookatagraphicexampleofhowthisprocessworksandwhyitisimportant.

Radial Phase Analysis Around A Single Bearing:

PhaseAngle1Whatishappeningintheanimationhere?

Thetransducerismountedverticallysothemovement(vibration)beingmeasuredisverticalonly

Thereddotrepresentsthe"atrest"positionoftheshaft

Theblackdotrepresentsthecentrepointoftheshaft

Thereisa'heavy'spotontheshaftthatiscausingtheshaftcentrepoint(theblackdot)torotatearoundthe'atrest'centrepoint
(thereddot)

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Theangularpositionoftheheavyspotcanbedeterminedbydrawingalinefromthered
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dotdirectlythroughtheblackdot.Thisis,ofcourse,notapparentinreallifeonareal
machine

Thereisa'mark'thatbecomesvisibleonceperrevolution(theyellowdot).Thisisour
referencemark.Themarkis45behindtheheavyspot

Inreallife,wewouldnotknowwherethemarkislocatedrelativetotheheavyspot.
However,thosepositionswillnotchangerelativetooneanotheraswemovethetransducer.Theywillremain45apart

Withthetransducermountedvertically,thepeaksignalarriveswhentheblackdotisatthe12:00position(0)

Thestrobelightissetuptoflashwhenanamplitudepeakarrivessoitwillflashatthatmoment

Whenthestrobeflashes,thekeyshowsupat10:30(315)

Wenowhave1pieceofphasedataonthisbearingatafrequencyof1xrpm:

Withthetransducervertical,ourphaseangleis10:30

Phase Angle 1 -What has been changed in this animation ?

Thetransducerismountedhorizontallysothemovementbeingmeasuredishorizontalonly.
Anotherwaytosaythiswouldbethatthetransducerhasbeenmoved90

What is Now Happening ?

Thepeaksignalwillstillbedetectedwhenthebearingisdisplacedthemaximumamount
towardsthetransducerastheblackdotpassesthe3:00position(90)

Thestrobelightissetuptoflashwhenanamplitudepeakarrivessoitwillflashatthat
moment

Themarkremains45behindtheheavyspotsowhenthestrobeflashes,themarkwillshowupatabout1:30

Wenowhave2piecesofphasedataonthisbearingatafrequencyof1xrpm

Withthetransducervertical,ourphaseangleis10:30.

Withthetransducerhorizontal,ourphaseangleis1:30.

What Do These Phase Angles Mean?

Wehavecheckedtheradialvibrationat2angularlocationsaroundasinglebearing.Wefoundtwoimportantpiecesofinformation.
Thefirstis:

Whentriggeringthestrobelightfromthevibrationsignal,theshaftappearedfrozen

What does this Mean?

ThevibrationIScomingfromthisshaft.ThisisnowestablishedasFACTsomethingonlyaphasereadingcando(aswewillsee
laterinthe'Plots'section)

What is the second piece of Information?

Whenmovingthetransducertoanewangularlocation(horizontalvs.vertical,or90),thephaseshiftedthesameamount(90)

What does this Mean?

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Let'sexaminethesefactsmorecloselyandseehowtheywerearrivedatfromthephasemeasurementswerecorded.

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Facts Established by Phase:

Fact#1:ThevibrationIS(orISNOT)comingfromtheshaft.
First,youmustrememberthatthestrobelightisactuallybeingtriggeredbythevibrationsignal.Everytimetheanalyserdetectsa
peaksignalfromthetransducer,itinstructsthestrobelighttoflash.Thestrobeflashwill,therefore,flashatexactlythesamerate
asthevibrationisoccurring

Second,mechanicalvibrationi.e.vibrationbeinggeneratedbytherotationoftherotoroccursonlyatexactmultiples
(harmonics)oftherotationalspeed(rpm).Thesevibrationsareknownassynchronousvibrations

Third,sourcesofvibrationotherthantherotorbelts,bearings,electricalvibrations,resonances(inunusualcircumstances)and
vibrationstransmittedfromotherlocations(i.e.nearbymachinesorcomponents)willnotgeneratevibrationatexactmultiplesof
therotationalspeed.Thisistrueregardlessofhowclosetheyaretobeingsynchronous.Eveniftheadjacentmachineisrunning
at0.1rpmdifferentspeed,itisstilladifferentspeeditisstillnonsynchronous

Sincethestrobeisflashingatexactlythevibrationfrequencybeinggenerated,whetherornotthemark(shaft)appearsfrozen
underthestrobelightrevealswhetherthevibrationissynchronousornonsynchronous.Anothertermforthisis:Frequency
Confirmation

Frequency Conrmation

Frequencyconfirmationsimplymeansyouareconfirmingthesourceofthevibrationistherotorthatappearsfrozenunderthestrobe
flashanditistheONEuseforasinglephasereading.

Frequencyconfirmationisasimpletestthatrequiresonlyafewsecondstoperformbutcanbecruciallyimportantduringfieldtesting.

Fact#2:Theshaftismovinginanellipticalorbitapproachingcircular.
Beforeexplainingthis,youmustunderstandwhatismeantbythe'shaftorbit'.Considerthefollowing:

Figure1

Ashaftisgeneratingvibrationatonly1xrpm

Theamplitudehorizontallyis'X'ipsormm/sec

Theamplitudeverticallyisexactlythesame'X'ipsormm/sec

Infact,nomatterwhatdirectionthetransducerisoriented(pointed),theamplitudeat1xrpmis'X'
ipsormm/sec

Byplottingtherecordedamplitudevaluesintheappropriatedirection(Fig.1),youcanplotthe
'orbit',orshape,oftheshaftcentrepoint

Inthisparticularexample,theorbitisacircle.Inthe'real'world,thiswouldbevirtuallyimpossible

Figure2

Anothershaftisgeneratingvibrationatonly1xrpm

Theamplitudehorizontallyis'X'ipsormm/sec

Theamplitudeverticallyis80%ofthehorizontalamplitude0.8(X)ipsormm/sec

Byplottingtherecordedamplitudevaluesintheappropriatedirection(Fig.2),youcanagainplot
the'orbit',orshape,oftheshaftcentrepoint

Inthisexample,anellipticalorbitisplotted.Theserelativeamplitudeswouldnotbeconsidered
unusual
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Theamplitudehorizontallyis'X'ipsormm/sec

Theamplitudeverticallyis50%ofthehorizontalamplitude0.5(X)ipsormm/sec

Byplottingtherecordedamplitudevaluesintheappropriatedirection(Fig.3),youcanagainplot
the'orbit',orshape,oftheshaftcentrepoint

Inthisexample,anellipticalorbitisplotted.Theserelativeamplitudeswouldnotbeconsidered
unusual

Whentheamplitudesarerelativelyequal,youcanseehowthe'orbit'approachesacircle.Butlet'slookattheotherextreme.Whatif
thehorizontalamplitudewere'X'andtheverticalamplitudewere...zero(0.00ipsormm/sec).The'orbit'wouldbeastraightline
completelylinear.

Sowehaveexaminedtheextremesthatarepossible:

Circularorbits(wheretheamplitudesareexactlythesameregardlessoftransducerdirection)

Linearorbits(wheretheamplitudeiszeroinonedirection)

Theseextremesareequallyunlikely.Everythinginbetweenisanellipse.Wecanthereforerealisticallyusetheruleofthumbthatall
orbitsareelliptical.

However,itcanbehelpfulindeterminingthenatureoftheproblemtoknowwhethertheorbitisapproachingcircularorlinear(which,
itshouldbenoted,canalsobedeterminedtoalargedegreebyexaminingamplitudevalues).Let'sreturntoFact#2.

Thisfactwasestablishedbythefactthatwhenwemovedthetransducer90,themarkmoved90

Toillustrate,let'sexaminewhata'flatter'(morelinear)orbitmightrevealduringaphaseanalysis:

Theanimationbelowissimilartothepreviouswithoutthe'strobeflashes'.Thereddotrepresentsthe'atrest'shaftcentrepoint
andtheblackdotistheactualshaftcentrepointduringoperation

Theamplitudedifferenceisonthescaleof10:1withhorizontalbeinghigher

Theredarrowactuallyrepresentsthephaseangle.Itfollowsthedirectionofdisplacementandisalwayspointingfromthereddot
directlytowardstheblackdot.Inthepreviousanimation(wherewehadacircularorbit),wedidn'tshowanarrowfromthereddot
totheblackdotweshowedaonceperrevolution'flash'thatoccurredbasedonwherethetransducerwasbuttheflashoccurred
onlywhenthereddot,blackdotandtransducerwereinthatorderinastraightline

Youcanseethatthearrowremainsrelativelysteadyforrelativelylongperiodsoftime(asitpasses3:00and9:00)duringthe
revolution

Underthiscondition,youcouldplaceatransduceranywherebetweenabout1:00and5:00andobservebasicallythesamephase
anglethearrowmovesverylittleastheblackdotpassesthatarea

Likewise,youcouldplaceatransduceranywherebetweenabout7:00and11:00andobservebasicallythesamephaseanglebut
itwouldbe180differentthanifthetransducerwerebetween1:00and5:00

Ifthetransducerwerelocatedbetween5:00and7:00(180)orbetween11:00and1:00(0),youwouldgetanunsteady,shaky
phasereading

What Is The Signicance Of The Orbit Shape ?

Amorecircularellipse(i.e.whenyoumovethetransduceracertainangularamount,themarkshiftsan
equalamount)usuallyindicates:

Moreofan'unbalance'typevibrationforce(centrifugalforcethatisfairlyequalallthewayaround)

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Flatter,more'linear'motionindicatesproblemsthataffectaspecificdirectionsuchaslooseness,resonance,and(onbeltorchain
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drives)bentshaftsoreccentricity.

TheseareRulesofThumbandanumberofvariablessuchasstructuralstrength(whichcaninfluenceamplitudevaluesinone
directionversusanother)muchbeconsidered.Phaseanalysis,however,canprovidesomeimportantinformationrelatedtohowthe
componentsaremoving.

Radial Phase Analysis Across Two Adjacent Bearings

BearingsinPhase
Uptonow,wehaveonlyanalysedradialphasereadingstakenonasinglebearingatdifferent
angularlocations.Whataboutcomparingadjacentbearings?

Whencomparingphaseanglesbetweenbearings,youcomparephaseangleswiththe
transducermountedinthesameangularlocation(verticaltovertical,horizontalto
horizontal,etc.)

Analysiswillrevealhowthebearingsaremovingrelativetooneanotheratthefrequency
beingmeasured

Intheanimationhere,theyellowballsrepresentheavyspotsontherotor.Sincetheyarelocatedatsimilarangularlocations,the
forcesgeneratedwillcausethebearingstomovetogether,or"inphase"

Ifatransducerweremountedoneitherofthebearingsvertically,thestrobewouldflashastheheavyspotpassesthe12:00
position(peaksignalarrivesatthatmoment)

Ourmark(theredkeyontheshaft)isinthesamepositionregardlessofwhichbearingthetransducerismountedon

BearingsoutofPhase

Intheanimationshownhere,theheavyspotsareoppositeoneanother

Theheavyspotonthelefthubaffectstheleftbearingmorethantheright

Theheavyspotontherighthubaffectstherightbearingmorethantheleft

Ifthetransducerweremountedverticallyontherightbearing,thestrobewouldflashasthe
heavyspotontherightpassedthe12:00position.Thatoccurswhenthekeyisjustpast
12:00

Ifthetransducerweremountedverticallyontheleftbearing,thestrobewouldflashastheheavyspotontheleftpassedthe12:00
position.Thatoccurswhenthekeyisjustpast6:00

Thebearings,therefore,are180'outofphase'

Whatisthesignificanceofthis?

Thesignificanceisinbalancingtherotor.Unlikethepreviousexample,a2planebalancesuchasthisrequires2separate
corrections(solutions)onefortheleftsideheavyspotandonefortherightsideheavyspotwhilethe1plane(theprevious
example)requiresonly1correction

Axial Phase Analysis Around A Single Bearing

Phaseanalysiscanalsorevealsomeimportantinformationwhenperformedintheaxialdirection.Let'sexaminewhatishappening
intheanimationhere:

Thereare6transducersmountedaxiallythemovementbeingmeasuredisaxialonly

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Wearemeasuringphaseinthesamemannerasforradialphasenamelytriggeringthestrobelightata
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Withthetransducersmountedinthismanner,thepeaksignalwillarrivewhenthebearingisdisplacedits
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maximumtotheright

Eachofthe6transducersaredisplacedthemaximumamounttotherightatthesamemoment

Therefore,regardlessofwhichtransduceryouareanalysingfrom,thephaseangle(locationofthemark)willbethesame

Justasourradialphaseanalysisprovidesimportantinformationonthe'shape'ofthemovementradially,anaxialphaseanalysis
providesimportantinformationonthe'shape'ofthemovementaxially.Intheaboveanimation,wehavefoundthereisnophaseshift
aswemovethetransduceraroundthefaceofthebearing.Buthowelsecoulditbemoving?

Thebearingismovingaxiallyina'planar'motion(nottwistingontheshaft).

Whatisthesignificanceofthis?
Misalignmenttypicallycausesthistypeofmovement

Thebearingcouldbemovingasshownherea'twisting'actionontheshaftorinthehousing.Let's
examinethisanimation:

Thetransducersaremountedinidenticalpositionstothelastanimation

Thepeaksignalwillarriveateachindividualtransducerlocationwhenthebearingisdisplacedits
maximumtotherightatthatlocation

Thatpeakarrivesatadifferentmomentforeachtransducer

Sincethetransducersare60apart,thephaseanglemeasuredateachwillbe60differentthaneitheroftheadjacent
transducers

Howcanthisinformationhelptheanalysis?
Themostlikelysourceof'planar'axialmotion(asinthepreviousanimation)is:

Misalignment

Themostlikelysourcesof'twisting'axialmotion(asshownabove)are:

Abearingcockedontheshaft

Abentshaftthroughthebearing

Housingdistortion(i.e.softfoot)causingtwistingmotion

CompletinganAxialPhaseAnalysis
An'axialphaseanalysis'isaprocedurethatisconductedonebearingatatime.Onasmoothrunningmachine,allaxialphase
readings(onanybearingatanyangularlocation)willbesimilar.Onamachinewithhighaxialvibration,thefollowingprocedure
shouldbeusedifpossible:

Eachbearingshouldbecheckedforplanarvs.twistingmotion.Anytwistingmotionsdetectedshouldbecorrected

Thebearingsshouldbecomparedtooneanother.Anysignificant(>60)phaseshiftshouldraiseaflagthatsomethingisnotright

Mostcommonly,aphaseshift>60willbedetectedwhencomparingthebearingsclosesttothecouplingandwilltypicallyindicate
misalignment

Whenaphaseshiftisdetectedbetweenbearingsonthesamecomponent(i.e.motor),housingdistortionsuchassoftfootshould
bechecked

However,transducerorientationmustbeaccountedfor:

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The'+'and''directionsaredefinedbythetransducer.Either'+'istowardsthe | DataPlots | SpectrumInterpretation

transducerorawayfromit

Thestrobewillbetriggeredbya'+'signal

Ifyouchangetheorientation,youchangethedefinitionof'+'

Theanimationhereshowsbothtransducersoriented(pointed)inthesamedirection:

The'+'directionisdefinedas'towards'thetransducer

Thestrobewilltriggerona'+'peaksoeachtransducerwillcausethestrobetoflashwhentheyreachtheirmaximum
displacementtotheleft(towardsthetransducer)

Thestrobeflasheswhenthereferencemarkisjustpast6:00

Thetransducershavethesameorientationandgeneratethesamephaseanglessotheyareinphase.

Itiscommontocollectphasereadingsacrossacoupling.Inthatcase,youwillalmostalwayshavethetransducerorientationshown
belowthetransducersareorientedinoppositedirections.

Thetransducermountedontheleftbearingwillcausethestrobetotriggerwhenthe
bearingisatmaximumdisplacementtotheright(towardsthattransducer).Atthat
moment,thereferencemarkisapproachingthe12:00position

Thetransducermountedontherightbearingwillcausethestrobetotriggerwhen
thebearingisatmaximumdisplacementtotheleft(towardsthattransducer).Atthat
moment,thereferencemarkisapproachingthe6:00position(justoutofsight)

Sincetheyhavephaseangles180different,thebearingsmayappearoutofphasebutarethey?

Thebearingsaremovingintheidenticalfashionasthepreviouspageandweestablishedtheyare'inphase'

Thedifferenceisthetransducerorientation.Itmustbeaccountedforinthefinalreadings

Sincethetransducerorientationis180different,a180adjustmentmustbemadetooneofthemeasuredphaseangles.That
adjustmentmakesthephaseanglesequalthebearingsare'inphase'

Thepeaksignalisarrivingateachtransducersimultaneously

Regardlessofwhichtransducerorientationisbeingused,thestrobeisbeing
triggeredwiththemarkapproaching12:00.Butarethey'inphase'?

Ofcoursenotnotifyoumaketherequired180adjustmenttooneoftheanglesto
accountfortransducerorientation.

Thebearingsare180'outofphase'

The Most Common Use of Phase: Diagnosing Misalignment

Phaseisacommonandreliablewaytodiagnosemisalignment

Theprocedureinvolvesconductinganaxialphaseanalysisaroundbearingfacesas
wellasfrombearingtobearing

Thepointatwhichyoufindaphaseshiftof>30istypicallythesourceofaproblem
(possiblynottheonlyproblem)

Noteinhighaxialvibrationintheanimationshownhere.Thesecomponentsare
'angularlymisaligned'

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Howwouldthetransducersbeorientedinthiscase?Almostcertainly180opposite(onepointingleftandonepointingright).You
willhavetomakeanadjustmentfortransducerorientation
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How Amplitude Units Affect Phase Angles

Onceyoustartaphaseanalysis,youshouldneverchangetheamplitude
unitsyouareusing.Althoughwehavebeencreatingexamplesusing
displacementunits,velocityunitsarethemostversatileandcommonly
used.Let'sreviewhowphaseanglesaredetermined:

Thestrobeflashistriggeredbythearrivalofthepeakamplitudesignal
fromthetransducer

Thelocationofthereferencemarkisdeterminedbythemomentofthe
strobeflash

Thetimingofthearrivalofthepeakamplitudesignaldeterminesthe
locationofthemark

Thekeytowhyamplitudeunitsaffectphaseanglesisthat:

Themomentthepeaksignalarrivesisdeterminedbywhichamplitude
unitisbeingused

Usingdisplacementunits,thepeakwillarrivewhenthetransducerisdisplacedthemaximumamountinthe'+'direction.Themarkis
at10:30.

Nowlet'slookatvelocityunitsthemostcommonlyused.Whenwillthe
peakarrive?Rememberwhatwearemeasuringthespeedofthe
bearinginonedirection.

Usingvelocityamplitudes,thepeakoccurswhenthebearingismoving
towardsthetransduceratthefastestspeed.Atthatmoment,themarkis
at7:30.Thatis90differentthanwhatwemeasuredwithdisplacement
units.

Finally,let'slookataccelerationunits.Whenwillthepeakarriveinthatcase?

Usingaccelerationunits,thepeakwillarrivewhenthetransducerisreacting(pushingback)inresponsetobeingdisplaced.Since
thereaction(pushingback)mustbeinthe'+'direction(up),thedisplacementwouldbeatamaximuminthe''direction.Comparing
theseimages(fromthe'Amplitude'Section)willhelpyouunderstandwhythepeaksarriveatdifferentmomentsfordifferent
amplitudeunits.

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Velocityis1/4cycle(90)aheadofdisplacementand1/4cyclebehindacceleration

Accelerationis1/2cycle(180)awayfromdisplacement

Whenisthisinformationimportant?

Whendoingaphaseanalysisdon'tchangetheamplitudeunitwithwhichyouareworking

Whenbalancingsincebalancingdependsonphasetodeterminewherethecorrectionsshouldbemade

How is Phase Collected with a Photo-eye?

Theprocedureforcollectingphasewithaphotoeyeissomewhatdifferentthanwithastrobelight.
Let'smeasurephaseat1xrpmasshownhere.

Step#1MountPhotoeye&Trigger
Thefirststepinmeasuringphaseistoproperlysetupthephotoeye.Itmustbemountedrigidlynext
totheshaftsoitcandetectatriggermarkrotatingontheshaft.Themarkisoftenapieceofreflective
tape.Withsomemoderndetectors(like'Lasertachs'),patternrecognitionisusedandreflectivetape
isoftennotneeded.Thetriggergivestheanalysera1xrpmpulse(givesitthefrequency).

Step#2MountTransducer
Mountthetransduceratthelocationanddirectiondesired.

Step#3InstructAnalysertocollectaphasemeasurement
Akeystrokewilltelltheboxtocollectaphasereading.

Howdoesthephotoeyecalculatethephaseangle?

The1xrpmtriggerprovidestheboxwiththeperiodofthefrequencybeingmeasuredtheperiodof1cycleat1xrpm

Theboxtakesthatperiod(measuredinseconds)anddividesitby360

Onceallthemathiscompleted,theboxisready.Wheninstructedtocollectaphaseangle,itwaitsforthetriggermarktopassso
itcanbeginacountupto360

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Afterbeginningit'scount,itawaitsthearrivalofapeaksignalfromthetransducer.Themomentithasthat,itstopsthecount.That
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Whatis"TimeSynchronousAveraging"?
Itisaprocedurethatdifferentiatesbetweensynchronousandnonsynchronousfrequencies.Whenappliedproperly,itisapowerful
tool.

Theanalyserandphotoeyearesetupasoutlinedonthepreviouspage

Theanalyserisinstructedtocollectaspectrum.Thespecificsonhowtoperformthisaredifferentforeachboxandexact
instructionwillbelefttothevariousmanufacturers

TheanalyserwillcollectaspectrumthatcontainsONLYsynchronousvibration.Thatis,onlyvibrationfrequenciesthatareexact
harmonicsofthetriggerrate(usually1xrpm)

Anynonsynchronousfrequenciesnomatterhowclosetheyaretobeingsynchronousarefilteredoutanddisappearfromthe
spectrum.Thisallowsforcomparisonwithanormallycollectedspectrumandsubsequentanalysisofwhetheraparticular
frequencyiscomingfromtherotororsomeother(nonsynchronous)source

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