Abstract: A process for thinning scalar machine vibration data can reduce the amount of data storage required to store the data by several orders of magnitude, without losing any important machine diagnostic vibration information. The process assumes that because each scalar vibration measurement value has its own range of values, there is a unique delta change in value that does not significantly impact machine diagnostic information provided by the data. Some embodiments provide a method to automatically evaluate the delta change in value. The process can be used to thin data that have already been stored in a database, and also to thin the data in real-time during data collection. Data storage structures for storing the thinned scalar values and processes for displaying a trend plot to indicate where the scalar data have been thinned are also described.

Abstract: A sensor signal conditioning circuit of a machinery health monitoring module is disposed between a machine sensor and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The circuit includes a sensor interface connector, first and second operational amplifiers, a Nyquist filter, and first and second gain flattening feedback networks. The interface connector can connect to multiple types of sensors for monitoring various machine characteristics. The output of the first operational amplifier is coupled to the positive input of the ADC, and the output of the second operational amplifier is coupled to the negative input of the ADC. The first operational amplifier provides a high impedance differential interface to the analog sensor signal and a low impedance interface to the positive input of the ADC. The second operational amplifier provides an inverted copy of a signal at the positive input of the ADC and a low impedance interface to the negative input of the ADC.

Abstract: A method for producing a thinned representation of vibration waveform data. The waveform vibration data is received and divided into sequential blocks. For each sequential block, each serially designated in turn as a current block, the following steps are performed. When the current block is also a first block, the current block is passed as a reference block. A representative value for the current block is computed and compared to the representative value for the reference block to determine a difference. The representative value for the current block is compared to a minimum representative value. The current block is transformed into a spectrum and compared to the spectrum for the reference block to determine a correlation value.

Abstract: A vibration measurement and analysis system identifies faulty bearings in a machine based on spectral vibration data. The system includes vibration sensors attached to the machine that generate vibration signals. A vibration data collector generates vibration spectral data based on the vibration signals. The vibration spectral data comprises vibration amplitude versus frequency data that includes peak amplitudes at corresponding peak frequencies. At least some of the peak amplitudes are associated with vibration generated by the faulty bearings.

Abstract: A method for improving the operation of a computer by transferring data from an SQL database in a storage unit to a memory by copying the data from the SQL database to a binary file in the storage unit, where the binary file having a data structure and a data type. A data file having the data structure and the data type is configured within the memory, and the binary file in the storage unit is copied to the data file in the memory with a single read/write operation.

Abstract: A vibration data collection system performs an integration or differentiation process on incoming digitized vibration data in real time. The system uses a digital Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter running at the input data rate to provide the integration or differentiation function. With this approach, the system reduces hardware complexity and data storage requirements. Also, the system provides the ability to directly integrate or differentiate stored time waveforms without resorting to FFT processing methods.

Abstract: Vibration data indicative of the health of a machine is collected using a vibration sensor connected to a portable vibration data collector. After the vibration sensor has been attached to a measurement point on the machine, vibration data is collected over a measurement time period having a begin time and an end time, and the vibration data is stored in memory of the portable vibration data collector. First and second average amplitudes of the vibration data collected during first and second time windows in the measurement time period are determined. The slope of the vibration data is calculated based on the ratio of the amplitude difference between the first and second average amplitudes and the time difference between the first and second time windows. The vibration data is either retained in the memory or discarded based on the comparison of the slope to a threshold level.

Abstract: A sensor signal conditioning circuit of a machinery health monitoring module is disposed between a machine sensor and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The circuit includes a sensor interface connector, first and second operational amplifiers, a Nyquist filter, and first and second gain flattening feedback networks. The interface connector can connect to multiple types of sensors for monitoring various machine characteristics. The output of the first operational amplifier is coupled to the positive input of the ADC, and the output of the second operational amplifier is coupled to the negative input of the ADC. The first operational amplifier provides a high impedance differential interface to the analog sensor signal and a low impedance interface to the positive input of the ADC. The second operational amplifier provides an inverted copy of a signal at the positive input of the ADC and a low impedance interface to the negative input of the ADC.

Abstract: A vibration data collection device monitors vibration of a machine, generates original machine vibration waveform data based on the monitored vibration, and removes portions of the original machine vibration waveform data that do not indicate an occurrence of a vibration event related to a potential fault in the machine. The vibration data collection device then stores thinned waveform data that includes blocks of the original machine vibration waveform data and excludes the portions that have been removed. A data analysis computer generates a thinned waveform plot based on the thinned waveform data. In some embodiments, the thinned waveform plot includes the blocks of original machine vibration waveform data separated in time by gaps representing the portions that have been removed.

Abstract: A method for continuous playback of machine vibration data that is stored in a plurality of data files, by selecting for analysis desired ones of the plurality of data files, retrieving a first one of the desired data files, and designating the first of the desired data files as a current data file. A sequence of derived measurements is calculated, based on a subsampling of the current data file, and visualizations of the current data file and the sequence of derived measurements are presented. A subsequent one of the desired data files is retrieved, and the subsequent one of the desired data files is designated as the current data file. These steps are iteratively repeated until all of the desired data files have been processed. Selected portions of the derived measurements are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

Abstract: A system, a hand-held vibration monitor and a method for setting vibrational alarms for machinery. The system includes a vibrational alarm device having a plurality of vibration data inputs from a machinery group, a memory for storing historical vibration data from the machinery group, an accumulator for generating average vibrational data for the machinery group, a processor for selecting a vibration alarm limit based on a cumulative distribution curve of the average vibrational data, and a warning alarm to alert a user that the machinery has reached the vibrational alarm limit when vibration data from a machine in the machinery group reaches the vibrational alarm limit.

Abstract: Vibration data indicative of the health of a machine is collected using a vibration sensor connected to a portable vibration data collector. After the vibration sensor has been attached to a measurement point on the machine, vibration data is collected over a measurement time period having a begin time and an end time, and the vibration data is stored in memory of the portable vibration data collector. First and second average amplitudes of the vibration data collected during first and second time windows in the measurement time period are determined. The slope of the vibration data is calculated based on the ratio of the amplitude difference between the first and second average amplitudes and the time difference between the first and second time windows. The vibration data is either retained in the memory or discarded based on the comparison of the slope to a threshold level.

Abstract: A sensor power controlling circuit of a machinery health monitoring module includes (1) a positive voltage input for receiving a positive voltage from a galvanically isolated voltage source within the machinery health monitoring module, (2) a sensor power connecter for providing power to a machine sensor, (3) a push-pull comparator having a positive input, a negative input, and an output, (4) a first resistor, (5) a PNP transistor, and (6) a first capacitor. A sensor signal conditioning circuit of the machinery health monitoring module is disposed between a machine sensor and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The sensor signal conditioning circuit includes a sensor interface connector, a first and second operational amplifier, a passive Nyquist filter, and first and second gain flattening feedback networks.

Abstract: An application software platform is provided for use in a process plant or other environment to enable various different applications to run, to obtain access to, and to use data from various different assets in the plant or other asset environment in a consistent and easily understood manner. The software platform includes a class-based object structure or model that is set up and used to organize and to efficiently provide access to data about, generated by, or obtained from the assets in the plant. This class-based object structure may be used to provide efficient and organized communications between the various monitoring or other applications and the plant assets or sources of data. The class-based object structure is extensible and includes or defines various hierarchies of class objects that, in turn, define various levels of the assets or other physical or logic entities being monitored (i.e.

Abstract: An extensible computing system integrates asset health data and user control of devices made by different manufacturers, using a common computer platform application structure and a common platform services structure. A services bus communicates device signals in a standardized format from the common platform services structure to a proprietary extension services structure, which converts the device communication signals from the standardized format to a proprietary communication format. A data highway bus communicates asset health and reliability data in a standardized data format from the proprietary extension services structure to the common extension services structure. The proprietary services structure converts asset health data from a proprietary data format as received from the proprietary device into the standardized data format.

Abstract: A “store on alert” vibration data acquisition mechanism uses scalar data produced by a vibration monitoring device as a predicate to capturing and storing analytical vibration data in the vibration monitoring device. The scalar data may consist of scalar process variables generated in the vibration monitoring device that are acquired at a fixed interval, such as PeakVue and Overall Vibration. At each interval, these scalar data values are compared to machine performance threshold levels, such as ADVISE, MAINT and FAIL, to determine whether analytical vibration data is to be stored separately inside the vibration monitoring device. Since the analytical vibration data is captured based on a predicate inside the vibration monitoring device (i.e., comparison of the scalar value to the thresholds), the analytical vibration data includes more relevant diagnostic information about a specific machine performance event.

Abstract: Vibration data indicative of the health of a machine is collected using a vibration sensor connected to a vibration data collector. After the vibration sensor has been attached to a measurement point on the machine, vibration data is collected that includes a bin of data having a begin time and an end time, and the vibration data is stored in memory of the vibration data collector. First and second average amplitudes of the bin of vibration data collected during first and second time windows in the measurement time period are determined. The slope of the vibration data is calculated based on the ratio of the amplitude difference between the first and second average amplitudes and the time difference between the first and second time windows. The vibration data is either retained in the memory or discarded based on the comparison of the slope to a threshold level.

Abstract: A vibration data collection system performs an integration or differentiation process on incoming digitized vibration data in real time. The system uses a digital Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter running at the input data rate to provide the integration or differentiation function. With this approach, the system reduces hardware complexity and data storage requirements. Also, the system provides the ability to directly integrate or differentiate stored time waveforms without resorting to FFT processing methods.

Abstract: A span of responsibility access control system for use in plant process management and similar applications. The system leverages span-of-responsibility enabled user accounts and corresponding resource properties to assign, verify, and control access to assets and other resources in the plant process management system on a per user basis. Aspects of the system include configuration of properties for each monitored or controlled asset and association of a span of responsibility based on asset properties, such as asset type and location, with a user account. An access control module compares asset properties to the span of responsibility associated with the user account to determine whether the user is entitled to access any given asset, independent of determining permissions to act on such asset.

Abstract: A statistical method is used to separate periodic from non-periodic vibration peaks in autocorrelation spectra. Generally, an autocorrelation spectrum is not normally distributed because the amplitudes of periodic peaks are significantly large and random relative to the generally Gaussian noise. In a normally distributed signal, the statistical parameter kurtosis has a value of 3. The method sequentially removes each largest amplitude peak from the peaks in the spectrum until the kurtosis is 3 or less. The removed peaks, which are all considered to be periodic, are placed into a set. The total energy of the peaks in the set is considered to be the total periodic energy of the spectrum. As the process of building the peak set proceeds, if its total energy becomes greater than or equal to a predefined energy threshold before its kurtosis reaches 3 or less, the process stops and the periodic peak set is defined.