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Keys to Successful Field Balancing Written by Greg Lee, Ludeca, Inc.

Pumps & Systems, June 2008 ibration is one of t!e "ost da"aging forces in t!e industrial en#iron"ent. ibration not only reduces t!e life of e$ui%"ent, but can also ad#ersely affect t!e $uality of t!e %roduct or t!e reliability of t!e %roduction %rocess. In addition to $uality and %erfor"ance issues, #ibration costs "oney. &ou !a#e to %ay for t!e energy it ta'es to s!a'e your e$ui%"ent. Forces generated by unbalance are a"ong t!e "ost co""on sources of #ibration encountered in "ac!inery(ric! en#iron"ents. Balancing is one of t!e "ost co""on correcti#e acti#ities needed to resol#e #ibration issues.
Seven Pre-Balance Checks to Assure a Smooth Balance Job
1. Look before you Leap-Visual nspection

) #isual ins%ection of t!e fan is e*tre"ely i"%ortant. Loo' for signs of blade rubbing or crac's in !ubs. +orrecting t!ese issues %rior to balancing is not only necessary for t!e "ac!inery, but can also sa#e your life. ,any years ago, a "aintenance cre- at t!e Geysers Geot!er"al area in .ort!ern +alifornia -as in#estigating a fi#e(bladed cooling to-er cell -!ic! e*!ibited a !ig! #ibration at t!e fan /0,. 1!e fan -as running, so t!ey did not #isually ins%ect t!e fan 2alt!oug! t!ey could !a#e used a ti"ing strobe lig!t.3 1!e s%ectru" readings s!o-ed not only a large #ibration at /0, but also a #ibration at fi#e ti"es /0, and a #ery !ig! 20 ti"es /0, #ibration. .ot sure -!at -as causing t!e #ery !ig! reading, t!ey decided to s!ut do-n and ins%ect t!e fan. 1!ey found crac's on t!e fan !ub ste""ing fro" a*ial blade loading. 1!ere -ere four structural co"%onents directly in t!e airflo- of t!e fan t!at su%%orted t!e gearbo*. 1!e co"%ression of air bet-een t!e four gearbo* su%%orts and t!e fi#e fan blades caused t!e 20 ti"es running s%eed #ibration. Just a fe- "ont!s before, anot!er cooling to-er cell !ad catastro%!ically failed due to a fan !ub failure.
!. "o a Vibration Analysis Prior to Balancin#

1!is "ay sound ob#ious, but it is i"%ortant to ensure t!e #ibration4s source is really i"balance. If a fan !as an eccentric %ulley or is "isaligned, balancing -ill not -or'. ) fe- years ago, a tec!nician fro" a Seattle balancing s!o% ca%tured a $uic' s%ectru" before a balance 5ob and told t!e custo"er t!at t!e fan -as in balance and t!e real %roble" -as t!at it -as "isaligned. 1!e custo"er insisted t!e fan -as out of balance as t!ey !ad 5ust installed t!e fan and "otor. 1!e tec!nician t!en set a laser align"ent syste" and %roceeded to s!o- t!e custo"er t!at t!e "isalign"ent did indeed e*ist. )fter align"ent, t!e fan ran s"oot!ly and re$uired no balance correction.
Causes of mbalance $anufacturin# "efects 6ifference in fit bet-een t!e balancing and #entilator s!afts mbalance from %peration Fouling on rotor dis' Local corrosion

+entrifugal force defor"ation Blade sag Blade crac's I"%ro%er %aint-or' or coating Strain fro" rotor dis' -eld nstallation &rrors Faulty a*ial blade "ounting Loose or tilted !ub(to(s!aft fit Bent s!aft seat I"balance on belt %ulleys
'. Start-(p)Coast-"o*n-Check the "ynamic %peratin# Con+ition

6ro%let erosion 7eat defor"ation Wear fro" solids Stray i"balances Solid and fluid inclusions in !ub s!ell mbalance from repairs ,issing balancing "asses I"balance on cou%ling I"%ro%er %aint-or' or coating 6etac!ed coating

It is i"%ortant to understand t!e dyna"ic o%erating condition of t!e rotor. If %ossible, %erfor" a coast(do-n or start(u% and e*a"ine t!e resulting bode %lot, .y$uist %lot or cascade s%ectru" to !el% identify %otential %roble" areas li'e running in s!aft resonance.

Casca+e Plot

Bo+e Plot

In one "ine in .e#ada, a fan co"%any4s field tec!nician tried for a full -ee' to balance a fan but -as not successful. In fairness, !e -as ne- to balancing and !ad no #ibration e*%erience. )s %art of our initial balancing "easure"ents, -e %erfor"ed bot! a start(u% and coast(do-n Bode 0lot. .ot only -as t!e fan grossly out of balance, but running /0, -as also e*citing t!e fan4s su%%ort structure into an e*tre"ely !ig! state of resonance. 1!is situation "ade it e*tre"ely difficult to balance using t!e nor"al field balancing %rocedures. We "anaged to ad5ust t!e stiffness of t!e structure, -!ic! s!ifted t!e resonance enoug! to not interfere -it! t!e balance.
,. Clean Before Balance

Fan blades are es%ecially susce%tible to dust and crud buildu% t!at can cause an i"balance. +o"%osite cooling to-er blades !a#e drain !oles t!at beco"e %lugged. ) good cleaning before beginning to balance is i"%erati#e and can often sa#e you fro" balancing. 8ne co"%any t!at !ad a continual %roble" -it! buildu% on a fan blade installed a s%ray -as! no99le and ga#e t!e fan a $uic' cleaning -ee'ly to sol#e t!e balance %roble".
-. .emove that /ei#ht

/e%eatedly balancing a fan t!roug! t!e years can lead to an accu"ulation of -eig!ts. )ny te"%orary cla"%( or cli%(ty%e -eig!ts s!ould be considered for re"o#al %rior to t!e balance 5ob. +onsider %er"anent correction -eig!ts if t!ey can be easily re"o#ed. 8ld -eig!ts can loosen and fly off at t!e "ost ino%%ortune ti"es. It is counter%roducti#e to %lace ne- correction -eig!ts directly o%%osite old balancing -eig!ts.
0. Check for Loose Parts

Fans go t!roug! "any cycles of stress t!at loosen %arts. Loose %arts associated -it! a fan are e*tre"ely co""on. 6ue to t!e in!erent o%erating conditions and re%eated stress found in fan a%%lications, co"%onents suc! as collars, %ulley s!ea#es, fan !ubs and base bolts are often loosened. ) %ro%er ins%ection often re$uires "ore t!an 5ust si"%le #isual obser#ation. ibration s%ectru"s and slo- "otion studies -it! a strobe lig!t are in#aluable tools for obser#ing s"all a"ounts of looseness.
1. Check your %rientation

Balancing a t-o(%lane o#er!ung rotor can be e*tre"ely confusing if one does not understand -!ic! bearing relates to -!ic! balancing %lane. Getting confused in t!e "iddle of t!e balance 5ob is bot! ti"e consu"ing and e"barrassing, so study t!e balancing "anual in ad#ance to balance correctly t!e first ti"e. If t!e o#er!ung rotor is narro-, do a single %lane balance 5ob first. In "ost cases, a single %lane balance -ill bring a narro- o#er!ung rotor into tolerance. Balancing is often identified as t!e origin of a #ibration -it!out any t!oug!t to ot!er conditions t!at can cause #ibration. W!ile t!e first reaction is often :t!at fan is out of balance again,: "any ot!er conditions can cause #ibration. /unning t!roug! a %re( balance c!ec'list not only ensures a balance %roble" e*ists, but can also identify dangerous o%erating conditions. /unning t!roug! a %re(balance c!ec' list ta'es a little ti"e u%front, but ulti"ately %ays big di#idends. Greg Lee is a senior vibration application engineer for Ludeca, Inc. He can be reached at 3 !"!#$"%#3!, http&''(((.ludeca.com'.

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