DETECTION OF CAVITATION PHENOMENON IN A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP USING AUDIBLE SOUND

One of the sources of instability in a centrifugal pump is cavitation phenomenon. Cavitation within a centrifugal pump can cause more undesirable effects, such as deterioration of the hydraulic performance (drop in head-capacity and efficiency curves), damage of the pump by pitting and erosion and structure vibration and resulting noise. Cavitation can appear within the entire range of operating conditions; therefore it must, by all means, be prevented. To prevent the onset of the cavitation, we have to know the beginning of cavitation phenomenon in the pump. To detect the beginning of the cavitation process, the emitted noise can also be used, among other possibilities. Experiments have shown that there is a discrete frequency tone within the audible noise spectra, at 147 Hz or BPF/2, which is strongly dependent on the cavitation process and its development. Therefore, the discrete frequency tone at 147 Hz was separated from the noise spectra of cavitating pumps and then used to detect the incipient of cavitation and its development. It was also used to determine the net positive suction head required or the critical value, as well as to prevent cavitation in the pump by means of initiating an alarm, shutdown or control signal via an electrical control system.     

A novel approach for realization of primary vibration calibration standard by homodyne laser interferometer in frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 20 kHz

The paper discusses the primary vibration calibration standard of NPL, India capable of calibrating the reference accelerometers in frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 20 kHz as per ISO 16063-11. The excitation subsystem produces constant vibration at a specified amplitude and frequency, while the measurement system uses NI interface for measuring the quadrature output. The acceleration level and voltage level at the calibration frequency f is determined by applying a Discrete Fourier Transform to the voltage and displacement signals, and then examining the spectral component at frequency f. A PC-based data acquisition system acquires the accelerometer voltage signal and analog quadrature interferometer photodetector signal pair as well as a digital quadrature pair whereby the software processes the demodulated photodetector signals to reconstruct the armature displacement. The validation of the calibration results for standard reference accelerometers with manufacturer results and uncertainty in calibration in entire frequency range 0.1 Hz to 20 kHz is reported in the present work.     

Use of audible sound for safe operation of kinetic pumps

Safe operation of kinetic pumps, as liquid movers, can be threatened by cavitation phenomenon, among others. Cavitation is the Achilles heel of kinetic pumps. It can deteriorate hydraulic performance, damage the pump by pitting and material erosion, and structure vibration and resulting noise. Cavitation can appear within the entire range of operating conditions; therefore it must, by all means, be prevented. To prevent cavitation in a pump, we have to know the beginning and development of cavitation in the pump. For this purpose, the emitted noise in the audible range can be used, among other possibilities. Experiments have shown that there is a discrete frequency tone within the audible noise spectra, which is in strong correlation with the development of the cavitation process in the pump, and so with the net positive suction head (NPSH) critical value, which corresponds to the 3% drop in the total delivery head. The discrete frequency tone can thus be used to detect the incipient of cavitation and its development as well as to prevent the onset of the cavitation process in the pump and also in situ operation. Two different measurement methods were used to clarify the noise-generating mechanism, which is responsible for the discrete frequency component: by using a microphone and an accelerometer. Experiments have shown that the characteristic discrete frequency tone, which is in close correlation with the cavitation process, is a result of structural vibrations (modes) or resonances caused by implosion of bubbles and bombardment of the inner surfaces of the pump.     

Vibration effect on hardness measurement

In this paper, the effect of ground vibration on hardness measurement, Rockwell scale C hardness, Vickers scale HV1 hardness and Leeb hardness is studied. The hardness machines were placed on the vibration table. The vibration signal is single frequency sinusoidal wave, which frequency and amplitude of vibration can be controlled. The hardness value at free from vibration state is used as a reference to calculate the error of each hardness measurement at certain frequency and amplitude. Two Rockwell hardness testing machines are used to measure hardness blocks: 20, 40, and 60 HRC. Both machines give the same tendency. Significant negative errors occur around frequency 5–15 Hz. Moreover, ground vibration has more impact on the soft range of hardness than hard range. The result from this paper can be used as guideline for laboratory to control environmental vibration amplitude to be less than 0.01 m/s² for frequency (10 ± 5) Hz and 0.05 m/s² for other in Rockwell scale C hardness measurement. Effect of vibration on Vickers and Leeb hardness measurement is preliminarily studied. Results on 200 HV1 and 900 HV1 measurement show that vibration creates peak of error at frequency 20 Hz of amplitude more than 0.01 m/s² and the effect can be observable at all frequency for amplitude of 0.04 m/s². Different from Rockwell and Vickers, Leeb hardness measurement is not influenced by vibration in this experiment.     

Thrust bearing groove race defect measurement by wavelet decomposition of pre-processed vibration signal

Nature of vibration signal from a ball bearing system reveals location of fault and its severity. A proper signal processing technique is required to extract relevant information from a vibration signal. In this work measurement of groove race defect width in thrust bearing is presented by processing vibration signal using wavelet based technique. In the first step, pre-processing of vibration signal is done by multiplying the signal amplitude with its own absolute values. It helps to overcome the problem of detection of weak burst in normal vibration signal retaining sign of the original signal. In the second step, Symlet5 wavelet based decomposition is applied to the pre-processed signal to measure the size of seeded defect in outer groove race of thrust bearing. The decomposition based on Symlet wavelet is preferred because it reduces the ambiguity in detecting the entry point and exit point of the defect as it is having linear phase in nature. Measurement has been done for the groove defect width over the range of 0.4399–1.4854 mm. Measurement of defect has been also verified using image examination. Maximum deviation in result has been found in the cases which have minimum axial load (48 N) for every size of defect. With increase in axial load to 73 N and further to 98 N the bearing system gets properly stressed, which increases the accuracy of measurement. With further increase in axial load to 126 N and above, it has been observed that the burst disappears due to prevailing over-stressed condition of the loading disk and additional stiffness and damping of the flexible shaft at increased load.     

Noise floor and dynamic range analysis of a microwave attenuation measurement receiver from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz

The noise floor and dynamic range of a proposed voltage-ratio based microwave attenuation measurement receiver are analysed. The thermal noise and phase noise effect on attenuation measurement is studied. For frequencies higher than 1 GHz, the receiver employs a lock-in amplifier with a coherent frequency reference to minimize the phase noise effect and achieve very wide dynamic range of attenuation measurement. The equivalent noise floor at the receiver mixer output port is found to be around −172 dBm. The dynamic range of the receiver is 181-175 dB from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Measurement results of a 0-170 dB synthesized step attenuator at 26 GHz is given to verify the performance of the proposed receiver.     

不同叶片冲角离心泵内流诱导振动噪声研究

基于离心泵流动诱导振动噪声的试验测试系统,测量了不同叶片进口冲角模型泵在全流量范围内的振动和噪声信号并对其进行了处理和分析。研究结果表明:叶片进口冲角存在一个最优值,使离心泵的性能最佳;模型泵内部流动诱导的振动对泵体的影响最大,随着叶片进口冲角的增加,在各流量下模型泵噪声信号的轴频和叶频能量峰值均没有明显变化规律,但当叶片进口冲角为9°时,在1750～2250Hz频段内的噪声信号消失。     

Modified uncertainty estimation of antenna factor measurement by standard site method

The standard site method was used to measure antenna factor. Based on calculation of antenna factor uncertainty, ways of more precise estimation of uncertainty, leading to uncertainty reduction, are presented. Using uncertainty standards together with known approaches to radiated emission measurement uncertainty calculation, a model of antenna factor measurement and an equation for calculation of its uncertainty were derived. Possible steps to reduce resultant measurement uncertainty are described, including an analysis of correlation, and acknowledgment of frequency dependence. The uncertainty was calculated in 25 frequency points in the range from 30 MHz to 1000 MHz. Furthermore, various calculations of uncertainty are executed to examine the suggested effects on the uncertainty value.     

Design and performance of an advanced metrology building for MIKES

Fundamental metrology is closely linked to the development of science and needs good facilities to achieve low measurement uncertainty in demanding experiments. The laboratories must have good temperature stability, low vibration level, good electromagnetic shielding, clean room air, and humidity control. This paper outlines specification and design principles of a compact laboratory building that brings most of the activities of MIKES under one roof, thus attaining the performance of the most demanding laboratories. The most demanding specifications of temperature and vibration were set for the length and mass laboratories. The tightest room temperature specification was (20 ± 0.05) °C. The vibration level was specified at the tightest level to 1 μm/s at frequencies of 0.1-5 Hz. Electromagnetic shielding was specified at best to 100 dB for plane waves up to 20 GHz. Relative humidity was specified (48 ± 2)% at 20 °C. The specifications were clearly achieved and state of the art metrology laboratories implemented.     

Uncertainty analysis of high frequency image-based vibration measurements

Image-based vibration measurement techniques allow to remotely measuring the displacement of multiple targets in the field of view, without the need to mount anything on the measurand. In this paper the uncertainty budget of vision systems has been performed in order to both optimize the measurement procedure and identify the potential application fields. Two different types of camera are used in this work, both of them equipped with a 1280 × 1024 px sensor but with two different maximum frame rates at full resolution: 25fps and 2000fps respectively. The uncertainty analysis proposed here is based on a careful identification of the uncertainty sources and on experimental tests on an electro-magnetic shaker, where the displacement measured with the cameras are calibrated by means of the reference measurements provided by state-of-the-art traditional techniques.     

A system for gas sensing employing correlation spectroscopy and wavelength modulation techniques with a multimode diode laser

A tunable multi-mode diode laser system based on correlation spectroscopy and wavelength modulation spectroscopy (TMDL–COSPEC–WMS) is designed and demonstrated for the concentration measurements of oxygen using A-band absorption lines of oxygen around 760 nm. The O₂ concentrations are conversed from the relation between the normalized WMS-2f signal peak heights of the measurement and reference signals which selected based on high signal to noise ratio and correlation coefficient. The correlation and the fitted slope between the measured and actual O₂ concentration are 0.9987 and of 1.025 ± 0.012 respectively over the tested range, which indicate the high linearity and accuracy of the system. A sensitivity of 350 ppm m is approved using 30 successive measurements with each measurement time taking ∼20 s during 30 min. A continuous measurement for oxygen in ambient air during approximately 200 min confirms the stability and the capability of the system.     

DETECTION OF CAVITATION IN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP BY VIBRATION METHODS

For the purpose of detecting the cavitation of centrifugal pump onsite and real time, the vibration signals on varied operation conditions of both cavitation and non-cavitation obtained through acceleration sensors were analyzed. When cavitation occurs, the cavities near the leading edge of the blade will appear periodic oscillating, which will induce quasi-synchronous vibration. The frequency of the quasi-synchronous vibration symmetrically appears on the two sides of the blade passing frequency, by which the cavitation incipiency can be detected. During the developing process of the cavitation, as the severe complexity of the unsteady flow, it is very difficult to detect the development of cavitation by classical analysis methods. Fractal method of Higuchi is successfully used for detecting the incipiency, fully development of cavitation and the development between them.     

Automatic bridge for comparison of inductance standards

A high-precision multi-range unbalanced transformer bridge KWL5 designed for calibration of standard inductors of the same nominal value is described. The basic theory of the bridge is presented. Design, application and characterisation of the instrument which enables the direct measurement of differences of both impedance components (real and imaginary) is presented. The instrument was designed to compare inductors of values from 100 μH to 10 H in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 kHz with the smallest uncertainty possible. Repeatability of the results obtained by the use of the KWL5 bridge is better than 10 ppm. Coherence equal to or better than 5 ppm for frequency range up to 10 kHz was obtained.     

Pneumatic non-contact topography characterization of finish-ground surfaces using multivariate projection methods

This paper reports on the application of multivariate analysis methods for the non-contact topography assessment of finish-ground surfaces of roughness in the range of 0.1-0.8 μm Ra. The roughness information is extracted from the frequency spectrum of the back pressure signal acquired using a pneumatic gauge as the surface traverses past the nozzle. Principal components analysis is demonstrated to be effective in the unsupervised classification of lapped and ground surfaces of an identical nominal roughness of 0.1 μm Ra, even under conditions that the corresponding frequency spectra are contaminated with noise and affected by vibration. Projection to latent structures analyses are further shown to be capable of discriminating cylindrical ground surfaces based on along-the-lay measurements from a rotating component, and formulating multivariate regression models appropriate for process monitoring.     

Uncertainty analysis for a phase-detector based phase noise measurement system

Phase noise is an important parameter to characterise the frequency stability of oscillators and synthesised signal generators. Accurate measurement of phase noise is required for various applications in radar, communication and navigation systems. A single-channel phase-detector based phase noise measurement system is described. The system’s measurement errors and uncertainties have been analysed in details. The expanded uncertainty is about 2.7 dB for calibrating phase noise of a signal generator at 0.001–1.6 GHz for frequency offsets from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. The uncertainty budget for measuring a signal generator’s phase noise at 640 MHz is also presented.     

Inhomogeneity correction in calibration of electrical conductivity standards

The method for inhomogeneity investigation of measurement standards for electrical conductivity has been studied in the conductivity range from 2 MS/m to 14 MS/m. For this purpose a planar spiral coil has been developed and characterized. The impedance values of the coil are measured in the air and with a conducting plate above the coil at discrete frequencies from 2 kHz to 70 kHz. By selecting the corresponding operating frequency, relative changes in the conductivity value throughout the sample thicknesses have been measured. It was revealed that inhomogeneity of measurement standards has an effect on further measurements with calibrated conductivity meters. The relative conductivity changes of 0.1% due to inhomogeneity can be detected with the measurement uncertainty (k = 2) of less than 0.3% of the measured value.     

Experimental investigation on the flow-induced noise under variable conditions for centrifugal pumps

With extensively using of centrifugal pumps,noise generation in these pumps is increasingly receiving research attention in recent years.The noise sources in centrifugal pumps are mainly composed of mechanical noise and flow-induced noise.And the study of flow-induced noise has become a hotspot and important domain in the field.The flow-induced noise closely related to the inner pressure pulses and vibration of volute in pumps,therefore,it is necessary to research the interaction and mechanism among them.To investigate the relationships,a test system is designed which includes a test loop and a measurement system.The hydrophones and pressure sensors are installed on the outlet of the pump and vibration acceleration sensors are disposed on the pump body.Via these instruments,the signals of noise,pressure pulses and vibration are collected and analyzed.The results show that the level of flow-induced noise becomes smaller as the flow increment during low flow rate operations,and it is steadily close to the design point,then it increases with the growing of flow rate in high flow rate conditions.Furthermore,there are some similar peak points in the power spectrum charts of noise,pressure pulses and vibration.The broadband noise at low flow rate is mostly focused on the region of 0-40 times shaft frequency,which is mostly made by rotating stall and vortex;while the noise at high flow rate conditions is focused on the region of 60-100 times shaft frequency,which may be mostly made by cavitations.The proposed research is of practical and academic significance to the study of noise reduction for centrifugal pumps.     

井下噪声的频谱分析

噪声是一种普遍存在于各种环境的有害因素。针对矿井下恶劣的环境,用噪声振动分析测试仪对井下的压风机、局扇和风锤的噪声信号进行数据采集及分析,得到压风机、局扇和风锤的最大噪声级强度分别为101.3、104.4和120 dB,并明确了噪声源的分布规律。用DSO-2902数字存储示波器分析得出了噪声的频谱成分和频谱结构:移动压风机的频率为20 Hz~3 kHz,局扇的频率为20 Hz~4.5 kHz,风锤的频率范围为20 Hz~10 kHz。     

Nanometer profile measurement of large aspheric optical surface by scanning deflectometry with rotatable devices: Uncertainty propagation analysis and experiments

High-accuracy mirrors and lenses with large dimensions are widely used in huge telescopes and other industrial fields. Interferometers are widely used to measure near flat surfaces and spherical optical surfaces because of their high accuracy and high efficiency. Scanning deflectometry is also used for measuring optical near flat surfaces with sub-nanometer uncertainty. However, for measuring an aspheric surface with a large departure from a perfect spherical surface, both of these methods are difficult to use. The key problem for scanning deflectometry is that high-accuracy autocollimators usually have a limited measuring range less than 1000″, so it cannot be used for measuring surfaces having a large slope. We have proposed a new method for measuring large aspheric surfaces with large slopes based on a scanning deflectometry method in which rotatable devices are used to enlarge the measuring range of the autocollimator. We also proposed a method to connect the angle data which is cut by the rotation of the rotatable devices. An analysis of uncertainty propagation in our proposed method was done. The result showed that when measuring a large aspheric surface with a diameter over 300 mm and a slope of 10 arc-deg, the uncertainty was less than 10 nm. For the verification of our proposed method, experimental devices were set up. A spherical optical mirror with a diameter of 35 mm and curvature radius of 5000 mm was measured. The measuring range of the autocollimator was successfully enlarged by our proposed method. Experimental results showed that the average standard deviation of 10 times measurement was about 20 nm.     

An experimental study on the cavitation vibration characteristics of a centrifugal pump at normal flow rate

Cavitation is a challenging flow abnormality that leads to undesirable effects on the energy performance of the centrifugal pump and the reliable operation of the pump system. The onset and mechanism of a phenomenon that results in unsteady cavitation must be realised to ensure a reliable operation of pumps under the cavitation state. This study focuses on cavitation instability at normal flow rate, at which point the unsteady cavitation occurs as the available net positive suction head (NPSHa) falls below 5.61 m for the researched pump. An ameliorative algorithm–united algorithm for cavitation vibration analysis is proposed on the basis of short time Fourier transform (STFT) and Wigner–Ville distribution (WVD). The STFT–WVD method is then tested using vibration data measured from the centrifugal pump. The relationship between vibration and suction performance indicates that the inception and development of cavitation can be effectively detected by the distribution and intensity of the united algorithm at the testing points. Intermediate frequency components at approximately 6 kHz fluctuate initially with the development of cavitation. A time–frequency characteristic is found to be conducive to monitoring the cavitation performance of centrifugal pumps.