Predictive maintenance techniques

This article discusses the importance of PdM for industrial process applications and investigates a number of emerging technologies that enable this approach, including online energy-efficiency evaluation and continuous condition monitoring. The article gives an overview of existing and future technologies that can be used in these areas. Two methods for bearing fault detection and energy-efficiency estimation are discussed. The article concludes with focus on one pilot installation at Weyerhaeuser's Containerboard Packaging Plant in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA, monitoring three critical induction motors: a 75-hrho blower motor, a 50-hrho hydraulic pump motor, and a 200-hp compressor motor. Finally, the field experience gained in this plant is presented as two case studies.