Chap 2

Maintainability and condition monitoring

Condition Monitoring
Condition monitoring is the process that assesses the health of

an equipment/system at regular intervals or continuously and exposes incipient faults, if any. Basically, it consists of extraction of information about particular parameters from machines and analysis of data to predict the health of machines without affecting their operation. Condition monitoring leads to undertaking corrective measures only when they are needed rather than at the scheduled or routine intervals. Thus it can eliminate downtime for unnecessary inspections.

Condition Monitoring
Routine condition monitoring may be carried out by using

diagnostic instruments on a routine or continuous basis. The performance and the condition of machinery are monitored to compare against acceptance standards. The acceptance standards are established during the commissioning tests. In such tests, parameters are measured against known loads or predetermined conditions. The statistical analysis of the detailed information breakdown has revealed that one-third of the total available time is lost due to breakdowns.

Condition monitoring
Condition monitoring is considered as the most reliable,

cost effective and efficient technique for maintaining the majority of critical equipment such as engines, turbines, compressors, etc. used in most of the industries today.

the two types of condition monitoring, namely

Periodic & 2. Continuous,
1.
the Periodic is normally opted for non-critical machines.

For the cost-intensive critical systems or machines,

continuous condition monitoring has proved to be highly cost effective

The advantages to be expected from a condition monitoring programme include:

Cost reduction in preventive maintenance 2. Reduction in the number of equipment failures 3. Avoidance of consequential damages 4. Confidence of the operating personnel and safety
1.

Condition monitoring
Condition monitoring also contributes to maintenance

planning, maintenance cost reduction, health and safety programmes and helps in energy conservation too, by providing early warning of waste and inefficiency arising from faulty operation. The work of maintenance planning is facilitated by advance appraisal of defects through condition monitoring. Such pre-planning also helps to extend support to several aspects of maintenance work such as, spare parts, technical information, and manpower requirements.

LEVELS OF CONDITION MONITORING

Condition monitoring can be carried out at different levels.

there are four distinctive levels.

Level 1 Visual inspections 2. Level 2 Sensor-assisted inspections 3. Level 3 Indicator analysislubricant analysis and wear debris analysis 4. Level 4 Monitoring systems integrated with the equipment to provide warnings of impending dangers.
1.

CONDITION-MONITORING TECHNIQUES
The success of condition-based maintenance depends on

the efficiency of identifying the deteriorating or failure trend in the machine components. Failures of different types induce different types of effects on the system. These effects may be classified as 1. dynamic effect, 2. particle contaminant effect, 3. chemical effect, 4. physical effect, 5. temperature effect, and 6. corrosion effect.

Frequency of Condition Monitoring

The frequency of examining the condition of a machine or

its components depends on a number of factors such as: 1. Criticality 2. Availability of a stand-by unit 3. Standardisation of items 4. Operating conditions 5. Failure statistics (MTBF, MTTR) 6. Cost of monitoring 7. Cost of failure 8. Cost of maintenance