利用 ESA 和 MCA™ 技术降低成本

Managing rotating equipment

Globally, over 300 million motors are used in infrastructure, large buildings, and industry. These motors account for approximately two-thirds of industrial electricity consumption. Almost every area of ​​a factory requires electricity to power equipment that produces products or to provide the services that factory equipment needs. Understanding the condition of input power sources, motors, and drives is crucial for maintaining uptime and saving costs for all equipment. Many testing instruments only provide measurements or alarms, not answers about the condition of the motor. MCA™ and ESA technologies help answer questions about the health of motors and drives, providing fast, reliable answers and reducing the burden of interpretation and expertise required to analyze and interpret other testing methods.

What are MCA™ and ESA technologies?

MCA™ (Motor Circuit Analysis) is a low-voltage, power-off testing method used to assess the health of motors and associated cables. This method can be initiated from the Motor Control Center (MCC) or directly on the motor. The advantage of testing from the control center is that the entire electrical system of the motor can be evaluated, including the connections and cables between the test point and the motor. MCA™ is a field-proven motor testing method that quickly and accurately identifies faults that were previously difficult or impossible to detect using cumbersome, old-fashioned (go-to-go) techniques. The condition of the ground insulation system cannot determine the condition of the winding insulation system or various rotor faults. MCA™ assesses the health of the motor while it is powered off. MCA can be used to determine the condition of the ground insulation, winding insulation, and to identify faults in the squirrel-cage rotor of induction motors and cables leading to the control unit.

Electrical Characteristic Analysis (ESA) uses voltage and current to assess the entire motor system when the motor is energized. Input power quality can detect faults in the power grid, control center or distribution center, operation, and environment. The European Space Agency (ESA) can identify faults quickly, ahead of most other technologies. ESA captures the time waveforms of motor voltage and current and performs Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on these waveforms to identify mechanical faults that apply periodic loads to the motor, such as imbalance, misalignment, looseness, bearing defects, gear failures, and blade or blade force issues, or process faults such as cavitation, or hydraulic pressure in fluid or air systems, easily pinpointing the problem. ESA can also detect faults in the motor, such as static and dynamic eccentricity, or any faults in a squirrel-cage rotor. The ESA assesses the health of the motor system during operation. ESA recommends monitoring schedules ranging from monthly to annually, depending on the criticality of the motor and its operating environment.

MCA™ and ESA technologies complement other testing techniques. Vibration, infrared, and ultrasound can all alert you to potential problems. Using MCA™ technology helps you pinpoint the root cause of the problem.

– AC/DC motors, regardless of size, power, or voltage.

– AC/DC traction motor – Generator/Converter

– Machine tool motor

– Servo motor

– Control transformer

– Transmission and distribution transformers

– Machine tool motor

– Gearbox

– Pumps, fans and belt systems

 

The advantages of MCA™ – Motor circuit analysis technology can be used for incoming and outgoing inspection of new and repaired motors (motor tags) to safely and quickly perform condition monitoring, preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance (asset life trend), and troubleshooting. MCA can quickly detect cable aging, contact dents/corrosion, loose connections, winding faults, grounding faults, winding contamination, and rotor faults. Another advantage of MCA™ is TVS™ (Voltage Values), which allows for cradle-to-grave tracking of motor assets. TVS™ monitors changes in the motor baseline, alerting you to potential motor faults and related developmental issues.

In less than 15 minutes, the local university’s ice rink used MCA™ technology to test the wiring and motors. The university saved over $15,000 before the planned removal and rewinding of the motors due to operational issues. The motors were intact, but the cable between the motors and the MCA needed to be replaced.

The advantages of ESA – Electrical Characteristic Analysis (ECA) technology can quickly detect mechanical problems such as stator and rotor issues (eccentricity, casting voids, cracks, or fractures), balancing (bent or cracked shafts and bearings), and alignment (belts, fans, and pumps). ESA includes power quality features, which can be used for power data logging, harmonic analysis, voltage and current graphs, waveform viewing, sag and swell waveform capture, transient capture, and event capture during motor operation. Other features include motor efficiency, commissioning, fault diagnosis, and predictive trend analysis.

ESA technology was being used. The rotor end ring was damaged. The diagnosis was determined after several bearing changes, unusual motion behavior, and stumbling blocks. Vibration equipment showed that the amplitude increased and decreased over time during multiple bearing replacements and maintenance intervals. Subsequently, the motor was retested using ESA equipment. The problem was not with the bearings, but with the condition of the rotor.

When a motor experiences a catastrophic failure, costs increase, leading to more replacement parts, lost production, and wasted troubleshooting time. While maintaining a motor in operation until it fails is less expensive, the cost increases significantly once a motor fails compared to moderate maintenance and routine testing. ESA and MCA™ technologies can identify not only bad motors but also good ones. Both technologies are non-destructive testing methods that do not apply additional voltage stress to the motor, which can cause insulation aging and ultimately end the life of the asset in operation.

ALL-TEST Pro offers instrumentation for both MCA™ and ESA technologies, featuring long battery life, handheld portability, and ease of facility maintenance and management. Both methods can test motors in hard-to-reach areas, such as submersible motors (submersible pumps), and overhead motors, such as those used in cranes and fans. Other advantages include path-based testing, software and reporting, and secure connection points and remote Bluetooth® power-on testing, eliminating the need for protective gear.