AUTOMATIC SENSOR ORIENTATION DETECTION

Description

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

Rotating machinery such as centrifugal pumps, fans, rotors, and similar ones include bearings to provide stability, mechanical efficiency, and structural configuration. Bearing assemblies in centrifugal pumps and other rotational machines may be configured to include sealed lubrication to protect moving components. Yet, as any machine with moving components, bearing assemblies are subject to failure over their lifetime. Failure of the bearing assembly may result in termination of operation for the rotating machine or worse, catastrophic failure of the machine.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure generally describes automatic sensor orientation detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps.

According to some examples, a monitoring system for a rotating machine to diagnose operational anomalies may include a monitoring sensor mounted on a housing of the rotating machine; one or more orientation sensors associated with the monitoring sensor; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the monitoring sensor and the one or more orientation sensors. The computing device may include a communication sub-system to facilitate communication with the monitoring sensor and the one or more orientation sensors; a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor coupled to the communication sub-system and the memory. The processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, may receive orientation information from the one or more orientation sensors; determine an actual orientation of the monitoring sensor based on the orientation information; and adjust a diagnostic operation based on the actual orientation of the monitoring sensor.

According to other examples, the processor may be further configured to identify a corrective action based on the diagnostic operation, and adjust the corrective action based on the actual orientation of the monitoring sensor. The rotating machine may be an overhung pump, a single-stage pump, a multi-stage pump, an axially-split-between-bearings pump, a radially-split-barrel-multi-stage pump, a vertical casing pump, a double casing pump, a rotor, or a fan. The monitoring sensor may include a vibration sensor or a speed detection sensor.

According to further examples, the one or more orientation sensors may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), an accelerometer, an inertial sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, or a combination thereof. The orientation information may include one or more of a DC offset bias, a pitch, a roll, a yaw, an angular rate, an inclination, or a magnetic orientation. The processor may be configured to determine the actual orientation of the monitoring sensor in 90-degree increments. The orientation information may be captured by the one or more orientation sensors periodically, on-demand, or continuously. The one or more monitoring sensors may be integrated with the monitoring sensor or attached to a surface of the monitoring sensor.

According to some examples, a monitoring system for a pump assembly to diagnose operational anomalies may include one or more vibration sensors mounted on a housing of the pump assembly; one or more orientation sensors integrated with or attached to the one or more vibration sensors; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the one or more vibration sensors and the one or more orientation sensors. The computing device may include a communication sub-system to facilitate communication with the one or more vibration sensors and the one or more orientation sensors; a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor coupled to the communication sub-system and the memory. The processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, may be configured to receive orientation information from the one or more orientation sensors; determine an actual orientation of each of the one or more vibration sensors based on the orientation information; adjust a diagnostic operation based on the actual orientation of the one or more vibration sensors; identify a corrective action based on the diagnostic operation; and adjust the corrective action based on the actual orientation of the one or more vibration sensors.

According to other examples, the one or more orientation sensors may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), an accelerometer, an inertial sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, or a combination thereof. The orientation information may include one or more of a DC offset bias, a pitch, a roll, a yaw, an angular rate, an inclination, or a magnetic orientation. The orientation information may be captured by the one or more orientation sensors periodically, on-demand, or continuously. The housing of the pump assembly may be cylindrical or spherical. The processor may be further configured to receive a plurality of time domain vibration data sets captured at different time points and along multiple orthogonal axes; and convert the plurality of vibration data sets to frequency domain.

According to further examples, a method to diagnose operational anomalies in a pump assembly may include receiving vibration data from a vibration sensor mounted on a housing of the pump assembly; receiving orientation information from one or more orientation sensors integrated with or attached to the vibration sensor; determining an actual orientation of the vibration sensor based on the orientation information; adjusting a diagnostic operation based on the actual orientation of the vibration sensor; identifying a corrective action based on the diagnostic operation; and adjusting the corrective action based on the actual orientation of the vibration sensor.

According to yet other examples, the one or more orientation sensors may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), an accelerometer, an inertial sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, or a combination thereof. The orientation information may include one or more of a DC offset bias, a pitch, a roll, a yaw, an angular rate, an inclination, or a magnetic orientation. The method may also include capturing the orientation information at the one or more orientation sensors periodically, on-demand, or continuously. The method may further include receiving a plurality of time domain vibration data sets captured at different time points and along three orthogonal axes; and converting the plurality of vibration data sets to frequency domain.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example rotating machine, a single-stage, radially-split pump with an integrated monitoring system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating major components of an integrated monitoring system for a centrifugal pump;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual illustration of various example components and interactions between the components of a monitoring system for rotating machinery;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show automatic sensor orientation detection in different sensor configurations;

FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates configuration operations for automatic sensor orientation detection in a monitoring system for rotating machinery; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of an example monitoring system for automatic sensor orientation detection,

• • arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. The aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

This disclosure is generally drawn, inter alia, to methods, apparatus, systems and/or devices related to automatic sensor orientation detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps.

Briefly stated, technologies are generally described for automatic sensor orientation detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps. To detect operational abnormalities or faults sensors such as vibration sensors may be placed on rotating equipment and their outputs used for diagnostic and corrective action purposes. In some cases, such as vibration sensors, an orientation (and/or location) of the sensor may change over time, be a number of different acceptable orientations, or the sensor may be placed in the wrong orientation to begin with. According to some examples, one or more sensors or an inertial measurement unit (IMU) integrated with the vibration sensor or attached to it may provide orientation parameters, which may be used to determine an actual orientation of the vibration sensor and adjust diagnostic detection based on the actual orientation of the vibration sensor.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example rotating machine, a single-stage, radially-split pump with an integrated vibration monitoring system in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an example single-stage pump 100 may include a port 102 (intake or output), a casing 104, a first bearing housing 106, a shaft 108, an impeller 112, and second bearing housing 116. The example pump 100 may also include one or more vibration sensors 124, 126, 128, as well as, other sensors such as temperature sensor 122, and monitoring modules 120A and/or 120B.

In an operation, fluids may enter axially through an intake port 102, and be pushed tangentially and radially outward until leaving through circumferential parts of the impeller 112 into the diffuser part of the casing 104. The fluids may gain both velocity and pressure while passing through the impeller 112. In some cases, the first bearing housing 106 may contain radial bearings and the second bearing housing 116 may include axial (thrust) bearings. In operation, the impeller 112 (and the shaft 108) is subject to different forces. While an ideal impeller would only receive rotational force from the shaft 108, axial thrust caused by unequal distribution of pressure between the front and back shrouds of an impeller (difference between the discharge pressure and suction pressure) may result in the impeller being pushed transversally to the shaft axis. The axial thrust load may result in vibration and loss of power transmission, as well as reduce expected life of pump bearings (and/or shaft). The bearings in the first bearing housing 106 and the second bearing housing 116 may, thus, be subject to detrimental forces such as thrust, vibration. Furthermore, oil or similar lubricants used inside the bearing housings may leak out or be contaminated (e.g., by shavings from the bearings). Reduction of oil volume, moisture build-up, or contamination may reduce an effectiveness of the lubricant and further worsen vibration.

In some examples, various sensors (e.g., temperature sensor 122) may be placed in or on the bearing housing to monitor pump health (e.g., measure oil and/or frame temperature). Vibration in the pump assembly (including the bearing housing) may indicate potential problems such as unbalance, bearing defects, gear defects, blade/impeller faults, structural resonance problems, rubbing, loss of lubrication, oil whirl, cavitation/recirculation problems, machine distress and/or seal distress. Thus, an increase in vibration levels may be indicative of pending failure. Based on an analysis of detected vibration levels, alerts may be issued, or corrective actions may be taken before a catastrophic failure.

In some examples, one or more vibration sensors 124, 126, 128 may be placed at suitable locations on the pump assembly to detect vibration of various parts such as bearing housing, shaft, impeller, pump housing, etc. A monitoring module (120A or 120B) may be placed onto the bearing housing or be remotely located. The monitoring module may receive sensor information from the various sensors including the vibration sensors and perform analysis and take actions based on the analysis, or the monitoring module may provide raw and/or processed sensor data to a remote computing device for analysis and actions based on analysis results. For example, detected time domain vibration data may be processed through FFT into frequency domain either at the sensors or at the monitoring module(s). Alerts may then be set based on the FFT data.

Other sensors that may be employed to detect operational aspects of the bearings may include an oil level sensor to detect oil level in the bearing housing, a humidity sensor to detect presence of water in the oil, a contamination sensor to detect contaminants in the oil, and/or a magnetic sensor to detect speed of the shaft.

While examples are discussed using specific pumps, sensors, and communication media herein, embodiments are not limited to the example configurations. A system to monitor operational aspects of a rotating machine with automatic sensor orientation detection may be implemented in various pump types such as overhung pumps, single-or multi-stage pumps, axially split between bearing pumps, radially split barrel multi-stage pumps, vertical, double casing pumps, and similar ones. The components of the system may communicate through various wired or wireless communication media employing suitable communication protocols. Embodiments may also be implemented in other forms of rotating machines that utilize a shaft such as rotors, fans, etc.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating major components of an integrated monitoring system for a centrifugal pump, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

System 200 in FIG. 2 includes a centrifugal pump 202, one or more bearing housings 204, sensors 206, monitoring device 208, and remote device 210. The sensors 206 may communicate with the monitoring module 208 via wired or wireless communication media. A configuration device 216 may be used to configure the sensors 206 and/or the monitoring device 208. The monitoring device 208 may communicate with the remote device(s) 210 and provide time domain data or frequency domain data from the sensors 206. In some examples, additional data such as historic failure or performance data may be provided from database(s) 212 to the monitoring device 208 and/or the remote device(s) 210.

Centrifugal pump 202 may be of any type described herein, but also represents other rotating machines. Bearing housing 204 is mechanically coupled to the pump 202. In some examples, multiple bearing housings may be integrated with the pump 202. Sensors 206 may be placed in or on the pump assembly including the bearing housing(s) 204 and may be used to detect vibration of various portions of the pump assembly. Sensor(s) 206 may be communicatively coupled to the monitoring device 208 and/or the configuration device 216 through wired or wireless, electrical or optical communication media. For example, various wireless communication protocols such as near-field communication, various area networks (LAN, PAN, Bluetooth®, etc.), and similar ones may be used. The communication between the sensors and the monitoring device and/or the configuration device may be one-directional (e.g., sensor to monitoring device) or bi-directional (e.g., configuration device may configure, reset, or otherwise control the sensors). Remote device 210 may be a desktop computer, a server, a portable computer, or a special purpose device (e.g., pump controller) communicatively coupled to the monitoring device 208 via communication media, which may be similar to the communication media between the sensors and the monitoring device or different. For example, in cases where the monitoring device 208 is located at the pump 202, the communication media may be suitable for short-distance communication, and if the remote device 210 is located far away from the pump, the communication media may be suitable for longer-distance communication (e.g., WLAN, cellular communication, satellite communication, etc.). In some examples, monitoring device 208 may also be integrated with the remote device 210.

Rotating machinery such as motors, fans, rotors, and pumps include various components which may undergo wear or have equipment defects which cause failure of the components. Such components include bearings and seals which prevent leakage of the process fluid being pumped into the pump components along the shaft, for example. Any failures of the components of the rotating equipment may cause significant expense in the repair of the equipment as well as down time for the facility, where the machinery is installed. A monitoring system according to examples may detect various operational aspects of a rotating machine through vibration sensors placed in or on a bearing housing and other locations on the machinery and determine machine health based on an analysis of the detected aspects. The system may use general equipment information and/or machine specific historic data to analyze sensor information and determine actions such as alerts, reports, predictions, and/or suggest corrective actions.

In some examples, vibration data may be collected in orthogonal directions (for example, axial and radial directions) and indicate potential problems such as unbalance, bearing defects, gear defects, blade/impeller faults, structural resonance problems, rubbing, loss of lubrication, oil whirl, cavitation/recirculation problems, machine distress and/or seal distress as mentioned above. For example, an increase in vibration levels may be indicative of pending failure. Based on an analysis of detected vibration levels in light of machine specific historic data, a system according to examples may predict failure within an estimated time window and issue an alert and/or suggest corrective action.

In some examples, sensors 206 may collect time domain vibration data and convert to frequency domain (FFT), then provide to the monitoring device 208 and/or configuration device 216. The monitoring device 208 and/or configuration device 216 may process the FFT data and display to a user to configure alarm bands and perform other actions such as adjust machine parameters, sensor parameters, etc. In other examples, the sensors 206 may provide the time domain data to the monitoring device 208 and/or configuration device 216, which may perform the frequency domain conversion. In both scenarios, the remote device(s) 210 receiving data from the monitoring device 208 (and database(s) 212) may also display the FFT data to a user to configure alarm bands and perform further actions.

In an example configuration, the monitoring device 208, the configuration device 216, and/or the remote device(s) 210 may include one or more processors and a system memory. A memory bus may be used to communicate between the processor and the system memory. Depending on the desired configuration, the processor may be of any type, including but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor may include one or more levels of caching, such as a cache memory, a processor core, and registers. The processor core may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP core), or any combination thereof. A memory controller may also be used with the processor, or in some implementations, the memory controller may be an internal part of the processor. The processor may further include an FFT interface, a data capture module, and similar components to capture the sensor data, perform frequency domain conversion, and further process the data.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. The system memory may include an operating system, a monitoring application, and program data. The monitoring module 208 may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications with other devices and interfaces such as external data sources and remote devices. For example, a bus/interface controller may be used to facilitate communications between the processor and one or more data storage devices via a storage interface bus. The data storage devices may be one or more removable storage devices, one or more non-removable storage devices, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removable storage and the non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives such as compact disc (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSDs), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

The monitoring device 208, the configuration device 216, and/or the remote device(s) 210 may also include an interface bus for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., one or more output devices, one or more sensor interfaces, and one or more remote devices) such as a communication sub-system. Some of the example output devices may include a graphics processing unit and an audio processing unit, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports. One or more example sensor interfaces may include a serial interface controller or a parallel interface controller, which may be configured to communicate with sensors and/or input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.). For example, the controls on the graphical user interface (associated with start frequency, end frequency, and threshold of each alarm band) may be manipulated through a touch input, gesture input, eye tracking input, mouse input, keyboard input, or voice input. The communication sub-system may include a network controller, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices over a network communication link via one or more communication ports.

The network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulated data signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include non-transitory storage media.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual illustration of various example components and interactions between the components of a monitoring system for rotating machinery, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

Diagram 300 of FIG. 3 includes configuration device 302, vibration sensor(s) 304, monitoring device 306, database(s) 308, alert recipient(s) 312, and report recipient(s) 314. In some cases, one or more of the vibration sensors may include an integrated alarm device 310 such as a visual alert device, a sound alert device, etc. Monitoring device 306 may provide alert(s) 316 to the alert recipient(s) 312, which may include desktop computing devices, portable devices, smart phones, etc. Monitoring device 306 may also provide report(s) 318 to the report recipient(s) 314, which may include desktop computing devices, portable devices, smart phones, etc. In some cases, the vibration sensor(s) 304 may provide time domain data 322 or frequency domain data 324 to the monitoring device 306, which in turn may provide frequency domain data 326 to the alert recipient(s) 312 or report recipient(s) 314. The monitoring device 306 may generate and transmit the alert(s) 316 to the alert recipient(s) 312, as well as, reports and transmit the report(s) 318 to the report recipient(s) 314.

Database(s) 308 may store generic equipment information such as pump specifications; machine-specific information such as each particular pump's failure history, performance history, load history, etc. ; and/or environmental information such as ambient temperature, ambient humidity, ambient pressure, ambient vibration levels, pumped fluid pressure, pumped fluid temperature, pumped fluid viscosity, or a supply power condition (e.g., voltage level changes, power line noise), etc. In some examples, some of the aforementioned information such as generic equipment information may be stored at the monitoring device 306 and/or configuration device 302. Database(s) 308 may also store physics-based vibration analysis models 332, statistical and analytical models 334 developed from machine health monitoring data, and/or machine-specific data 336, based on which recommended values for the start/end frequencies and/or thresholds may be determined.

Vibration sensor(s) 304 may detect vibration levels at one or more locations of the bearing housing or machine assembly. In some examples, different sensors may be integrated.

Some of the sensors may be placed permanently inside or on the bearing housing or the machine assembly. Other sensors may be removable so that they can be replaced during a lifetime of the pump or rotating machine. The sensors may be configured to collect data periodically, on-demand, or continuously. In some cases, sensor data may be used for dynamic analysis, that is, decisions on pending failure or other equipment problems may not be made based on a fixed threshold of a single sensor. For example, vibration data may be evaluated in light of other sensor inputs such as frame temperature, oil temperature, oil contamination, etc.

In some examples, the monitoring device 306 and/or configuration device 302 may perform an analysis using physical, statistical, or machine-specific information based models and determine default values for start and end frequencies of alarm bands, as well as, thresholds for the suggested bands. The computed values may be displayed on a graphical user interface that presents selected FFT data to a user to allow the user to identify pertinent information and, if necessary, modify the settings from the default values. Historic data such as general equipment specifications or machine specific historic performance/failure information, as well as, environmental data may be used in the analysis. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms and/or artificial intelligence algorithms may be employed for the analysis. In other examples, machine-specific data may be collected and/or external data (e.g., predefined specifications, environmental data) may be retrieved during a calibration process and recommended default values computed as a result. For example, a calculation based on bearing specifications might determine the bearing fault frequencies and default a band around them. In further examples, the data may be collected during routine operation and the recommended default values computed. In addition to the analysis, the monitoring device 306 and/or configuration device 302 may manage the vibration sensors 304 by transmitting reset, configuration, or other instructions to the sensors. The monitoring device 306 and/or configuration device 302 may also manage power to themselves and/or the sensors. The power may be supplied by an external power source or a renewable power supply. For example, a power supply may generate power from the rotation of the shaft, from solar power, or battery power to supply the monitoring device 306, the configuration device 302, and/or the sensors 304.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show automatic sensor orientation detection in different sensor configurations, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

Diagram 400A shows a cross-section view of a housing 402 of a rotating machine such as a pump and a vibration sensor 404 attached to the housing 402 in a horizontal orientation. The diagram also shows 1 g gravity force 406 acting on the vibration sensor 404. In some examples, one or more additional sensors or an IMU may be integrated with or attached to the vibration sensor 404 and used to determine an actual orientation of the vibration sensor 404.

The vibration sensor 404 may capture vibration data from the rotating machine (e.g., pump) periodically, on-demand, or at random intervals. Vibration data may indicate potential problems with a shaft, seals, or other components of the rotating machine. As the vibration indicating potential fault may be in different directions (e.g., axial, rotational, etc.), a location and/or an orientation of the vibration sensor 404 may be critical. If the vibration sensor 404 is 90 degrees off the intended orientation, for example, it may detect rotational vibration as axial or vice versa. Thus, knowing the actual orientation of the vibration sensor may provide accurate diagnostics and corrective actions.

In some examples, the captured data may be stored in time domain or converted to frequency domain and stored. A user may be enabled to select an axis that may show the fault(s) they are trying to diagnose. For example, for a potential problem with the shaft, “axial” axis may be selected. With the selected options, the user may receive a picture of the vibration spectrum to guide them through a user interface.

Vibration analysis techniques help to identify three major parameters: acceleration, velocity and displacement. Each of these parameters emphasizes certain frequency ranges in their own way and may be analyzed together to diagnose issues. Acceleration places greater importance on high frequencies and may be converted to velocity or displacement. Displacement places greater importance on low frequencies. Velocity places greater importance on mid-frequencies, and acceleration has greater importance with high frequencies. Displacement measurements are typically used when examining the broad picture of mechanical vibrations. For example, displacement may be used to detect unbalance in a rotating part due to a significant amount of displacement at the rotational frequencies of the machine's shaft. Velocity is related to the destructive force of vibration and places equal importance on both high and low frequencies. The value of velocity (e.g., an average such as RMS) may provide optimum identification of vibration severity.

Diagram 400B shows the vibration sensor 404 on the housing 402 in a top position (90 degrees from the position in diagram 400A). As shown in the diagrams, gravity force 406 acts on the vibration sensor 404 sideways when the vibration sensor is in a horizontal orientation (diagram 400A), whereas the gravity force 406 acts on the vibration sensor 404 vertically when the vibration sensor is in the vertical orientation (diagram 400B). The difference in the impact direction of gravity on the vibration sensor 404 may be used by an accelerometer integrated with or attached to the vibration sensor 404 to receive a DC offset bias from the accelerometer and identify the actual orientation of the vibration sensor 404.

As mentioned herein, one or more additional sensors or an IMU with one or more sensors may be used to identify the actual orientation of the vibration sensor. However, not all sensors may provide exact orientation of the vibration sensor. For example, the accelerometer may identify top or bottom positions and a horizontal position for the vibration sensor but may not be able to distinguish between the two possible horizontal positions (e.g., left and right). Thus, combinations of sensors such as a magnetometer, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, an inertial sensor, or a rotational sensor may be used in addition to the accelerometer.

In the specific example configurations of diagram 400A and 400B, the accelerometer may determine z-coordinate (e.g., acting force=1 g for top position, −1 g for bottom position, and 0 g for horizontal position). However, when the acting force is 0 g, the accelerometer may not be able to tell whether the vibrating sensor is on the left side or right side (y-coordinate).

While the example configurations are discussed with a pump, other rotating machines may also be used. Similarly, the sensor type is not limited to vibration sensors, other diagnostic sensors may also be used in conjunction with an orientation detection module.

FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates configuration operations for automatic sensor orientation detection in a monitoring system for rotating machinery, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

Diagram 500 shows an orientation sensor 502 such as an IMU, an accelerometer, an inertial sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer provides orientation related information 504 such as DC offset bias (from the accelerometer); pitch, roll, and yaw; angular rate and inclination; or magnetic orientation. A processor 510 receiving the orientation related information 504 may determine a monitoring (e.g., vibration) sensor's orientation 512 and use the actual orientation to adjust diagnostics.

A diagnostics analytics engine monitoring a rotating machine (e.g., a pump) requires accurate sensor orientation (x, y, z axes) to perform properly and diagnose accurate root causes of detected faults. Conventional approaches include manual input of sensor information after installation, which may lead to errors, or ignorance of sensor orientation, which may result in faulty diagnostics. A monitoring system according to examples, automatically detects and sets sensor orientation without relying on manual orientation input. Thus, compromised (inaccurate) vibration analysis caused by incorrectly assumed sensor orientation may be prevented.

In some examples, one or more different orientation sensors may be used to provide orientation information. For example, a standalone accelerometer may provide orientation information distinguishing top or bottom and a sideway location for the vibration sensor, but not which side. Thus, the accelerometer may be combined with another sensor such as a magnetometer or an inertial sensor to identify all four orientations. A housing of the rotating machine (e.g., pump) may be cylindrical, spherical, or similar. Thus, the orientation of the vibration sensor may be top or bottom or one of (up to) four sides in 90-degree increments. Use of orientation information from sensors discussed herein may only provide orientation information in 90-degree increments, but other approaches may provide also orientation information in smaller increments. Example orientation sensors may include, but are not limited to, IMU, accelerometer, inertial sensor, yaw sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer. The orientation sensors may be integrated with or attached to the monitoring sensor (e.g., vibration sensor).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of an example monitoring system for automatic sensor orientation detection, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

Example methods may include one or more operations, functions or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 602, 604, and 606, and may in some embodiments be performed by a computing device or may be performed by an apparatus controlling operations of a system such as the one described in FIG. 2. The operations described in the blocks 602-606 may also be stored as computer-executable instructions in a computer-readable medium of a computing device.

An example process to provide configurable automatic sensor orientation detection in a monitoring system for rotating machinery may begin with block 602, “RECEIVE ORIENTATION PARAMETERS FROM ONE OR MORE SENSORS ASSOCIATED WITH MONITORING SENSOR,” where an output of one or more orientation sensors may be received. The one or more orientation sensors may be integrated with or attached to a monitoring sensor such as a vibration sensor and include an IMU, an accelerometer, an inertial sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyroscope, or a magnetometer. The orientation sensors may be used to identify an actual orientation of the monitoring sensor with 90-degree increments from a desired installation position (e.g., top of the rotating machine).

Block 602 may be followed by block 604, “DETERMINE SENSOR ORIENTATION BASED ON THE RECEIVED ORIENTATION PARAMETERS,” where a processor of a monitoring system may automatically identify the actual orientation of the monitoring sensor based on the receive orientation parameters such as DC offset bias from an accelerometer, pitch, roll, yaw, angular rate, inclination, or magnetic orientation.

Block 604 may be followed by block 606, “INCORPORATE SENSOR ORIENTATION INTO DIAGNOSIS ANALYSIS,” where the processor may incorporate the actual orientation of the monitoring sensor into diagnostic computations such that diagnostics and corrective actions may be determined correctly.

The operations included in the process described above are for illustration purposes and may be implemented by similar processes with fewer or additional operations, as well as in different order of operations using the principles described herein. The operations described herein may be executed by one or more processors operated on one or more computing devices, one or more processor cores, and/or specialized processing devices, among other examples.

Disclosed herein are methods and devices for automatic sensor orientation detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps. Through automatic detection of actual monitoring sensor orientation and incorporation into diagnostics, accuracy of a monitoring system, diagnostics and corrective actions determined by the monitoring system may be increased. A system according to examples may not rely human input or detection of changing sensor position/orientation timely.

As a result of the efficient and accurate detection of anomalies, components may be replaced avoiding waste of resources for early replacement or equipment downtime due to actual failure, which may be expected in schedule-based maintenance. In some examples, communicatively coupled system that allows access to accurate vibration data remotely may avoid a need to contact manufacturer or service entities, as well as, site visits for each detected anomaly.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. Such depicted architectures are merely examples, and in fact, many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermediate components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically connectable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

In general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”For any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments are possible. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.