Triaxial vs.

Single Axis Sensors

The Benefits of Using Triaxial Array Accelerometers Thequestionhasarisenwhetherthetransversechannelofa triaxialaccelerometerprovidesequivalentmeasurementstoa singleaxisaccelerometerorientedinthesamedirection. Itshouldberecognizedthatdifferentlocationsonabearing housingwillprovidedifferentstructuraltransmissionpathsfor vibrationgeneratedfromthebearingitself.Eachdifferent transmissionpathmightindeedhavedifferentfrequency responsecharacteristics,aswell.Considerthediagrambelow. Thehorizontalmeasurementatthetriaxialsensordependson theinputforceatthebearing(F),andthefrequencyresponse ofthestructuraltransmissionpathbetweenthebearingand thelocation(1)ofthetriaxialsensor.Themeasurementatthe singleaxissensordependsonthesameinputforce(F)but transmittedthroughadifferentstructuralpathtothelocation (2)ofthesingleaxissensor. Forsufficientlylowfrequenciescomparablewithtypicalmachineryrotationrates,orsufficientlytight,solid bearinghousings,thefrequencyresponseofthetwopathswillbeextremelyclose.Whenconsideringhigh frequencyvibration(greaterthan,say,1kHz,forexample,butdependingonthemass,stiffness,and geometryofthemachinecasing)theresponsemightbedifferent,andthetwolocationsmightmeasure differentamplitudes. Suchhighfrequencyvibrationproducedbysuchfaultsasdeterioratingrollingelementbearingsorhigh speedgearmeshesistransmittedacousticallythroughthestructureinstresswaves,asopposedtooverall translation(inphase)oftheentiremachine.Consequentially,subsequentinterpretationofthese componentsintermsofthedirectionalityoftheunderlyingforcescanbeextremelycomplicated.Such vibrationtendstobeomnidirectionalasthestresswavesarescatteredatstructuralinterfaces. Formeasurementofmachineryvibrationfor purposesofdiagnostictrending,thedifferencein frequencyresponseisusuallynotrelevant.Both measurementsarerepeatable,soanyincreasing trendwillstillbedetected. Ifthebearinghousingdimensionsarelargerelative totheoverallsizeofthemachine,thenthe rotationalcomponentsofmotionmightalsohave

aneffectonthedifferencebetweenthetwomeasurements.Forexample,ifthemachineisrockingonits foundation,thenthehorizontalcomponentofmotionisactuallyhigheratthetriaxiallocation(1)thanthe singleaxislocation(2),althoughbothmeasurementsprovidearepeatableindicationoftheforcegenerated atthebearing. Althoughbothlocationsprovidehorizontalmeasurementsfromthesamebearinghousing,thetriaxialsensor isreallymeasuringmotiontangentialtotheaxisofrotation,whilethesingleaxismeasuresradialmotion.In thecaseofasoftfootorrotationofthebearinghousing,themotionwouldnotbedetectedbythehorizontal measurementatlocation(2),butwouldbepronouncedhorizontallyatthetriaxlocation(1).Many mechanicalforcesgeneratedintypicalmachineryresultinsuchtangentialmotionsofthecasing.Thetriax representsabettertooltomeasuretangentialvibrationthanthesingleaxissensor. Inapredictivemaintenanceprogramwheremanymachinesaremonitoredonaregularbasis,triaxialdata collectionoffersasignificantcostandlaborsavingbenefit,especiallywhendatacanbecollected simultaneouslyfromallthreechannels.Onlyonesensorattachmentandmeasurementcycleisnecessaryat eachbearingmonitored.Onlyonesurfacepreparationateachbearingisnecessary.Collectingthreeaxis datafromeachlocationwithnoadditionallaborgivesanalystsamuchmorecompletesetofdatafromwhich todiagnosemachineryfaultsthanifasmallersetofselectedsingleaxismeasurementsweremade(see TriaxialVibrationSpectralData,AnImportantIngredientforProperDiagnosis,byBillWatts). Insummary,whilehighfrequencyresponsemightbedifferentbetweenashearmeasurementmadeusinga triaxialaccelerometerandaradialmeasurementinthesamedirectionmadeusingsingleaxisaccelerometer, thebenefitstousingatriaxincludecostsavings,convenience,andimprovedtangentialsensitivity.
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