STARTUP AND COASTDOWN MONITORING

Critical turbomachinery is often equipped with permanently installed vibration sensors including proximity probes. The health and condition of the equipment can be evaluated by recording and evaluating vibration response data during changes in machine speed. This is often done during the startup or shutdown of a plant.

Applicable Equipment for Startup and Coastdown Monitoring

This service applies to any rotating machinery, but is particularly relevant to API type turbines, compressors, motors and pumps. This type of test data is often required to assist in diagnosing high amplitudes of vibration on large machinery.

Benefits of Startup and Coastdown Monitoring

The primary benefit or use is to determine the actual causes for higher than desired vibration. In addition, it can be a tremendously helpful tool to evaluate the health of a machine train after overhaul. Careful review of the data can often identify possible assembly/repair deficiencies that can result in high repair costs and/or premature failure. Monitoring during a plant shutdown is also very helpful in evaluating the need for inspection and repairs during a plant outage when the machinery is not scheduled for repairs.

How Kelm Performs a Startup and Coastdown Monitoring

We use a variety of field test sensors and test equipment including accelerometers, proximity probes, tachometers and other sensors along with multichannel data acquisition equipment and analysis software.

Contact Kelm for a Startup and Coastdown Monitoring

Kelm Engineering’s employees are ISO certified vibration analysts and consultants with Category 3 and 4 certifications through the Vibration Institute. We have over 30 years of combined experience in the vibration analysis, field balancing, transient monitoring (startup up of turbomachinery), modal analysis (operating deflection shapes), and torsional vibration field measurements. In addition, we provide a wide range of mechanical engineering services including piping and structural dynamics, finite element analysis, flow induced vibration, as well as noise and pressure pulsation analysis.