HCLT Whitepaper: Remote Monitoring of Rotating Equipment using Cloud

Remote Monitoring of Rotating Equipment Using Cloud

J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1

Remote Monitoring of Rotating Equipment Using Cloud | January 2011

© 2011 HCL Technologies, Ltd. Reproduction prohibited. This document is protected under copyright by the author. All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ............................................................................................. 3

Abbreviations .................................................................................... 4

Market Trends/Challenges ................................................................ 5

Solution ............................................................................................. 6

Conclusion....................................................................................... 11

Reference ........................................................................................ 12

Author Info ....................................................................................... 12


© 2011 HCL Technologies, Ltd.. Reproduction prohibited. This document is protected under copyright by the author. All rights reserved.

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Abstract

Heavy rotating equipment like compressors, turbines and pumps are

more susceptible to mechanical failure than non-rotating equipment.

Periodic health monitoring of rotating equipment is necessary to

ensure productivity and to extend longevity. Remote health

monitoring of rotating equipment by harnessing cloud computing

can appreciably reduce the cost. In fact, it offers a dual benefit –

remote monitoring compared to monitoring by qualified staff on-

premise, and second, use of the cloud to reduce IT overhead. This

article describes the benefits to end users of using cloud for remote

monitoring of their assets.



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Abbreviations

Sl. No. Acronyms Full form

1 OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer



5

Market Trends/Challenges

In the process industry, most critical rotating equipment like turbines

and compressors are maintained by dedicated systems and by on-

premise specialists. In a few safety-critical cases, the systems are

made hardware redundant. The health monitoring equipment, too,

requires periodic maintenance and software/hardware upgrades.

This makes health monitoring of rotating equipment a costly

proposition for end users. Only critical equipment is condition

monitored (another term for health monitoring), and by and large,

other equipment that is not monitored is a frequent source of

production loss.

Many end users, ranging from chemical process plant managers to

residential houses, have rotating equipment operating without a

health monitoring system in place. They rely on their technicians to

perform periodic manual offline maintenance checks to improve

reliability. If periodic comprehensive maintenance checks are not

performed, the equipment can continue to operate with defects,

leading to a potential breakdown. Many times the problems are fixed

without determining the underlying cause, resulting in the problem

resurfacing within a short time after the repair.

Remote asset management of rotating equipment with expert

technical advice, at nominal rates, will ensure that all equipment

performs as expected.

Periodic onsite maintenance is

expensive, and remote

monitoring will go a long way

toward reducing the cost of

maintenance



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Solution

1. Dynamics of Rotating Equipment

Generally, rotating equipment operates from 1,000 to 10,000 rpm, and is subject to centrifugal and centripetal forces. In many cases, they handle fluids (gases or liquids) at high pressure and temperature. As they are highly stressed, the chances of breakdown are also high. Some of reasons for equipment breakdown are:

o Unbalance - Unbalance occurs when the center-of-gravity of a rotating object is not aligned with its center-of rotation.

o Misalignment – a condition where the centerlines of coupled shafts do not coincide.

o Looseness – Looseness between a machine and its foundation

o Rotor rub - Rotor rub is a slight rubbing condition as the rotor is initially operated. If left undiagnosed, they will wear away the internal clearances until the machine cannot be operated.

o High temperature leading to overheating

It is important to monitor the health of rotating equipment periodically to prevent breakdown.

2. Condition Monitoring and Asset Management

Condition monitoring of rotating equipment is used to prevent failures, as mentioned above, from occurring. It monitors parameters such as vibration, current and temperature to identify potential issues, and quite often can predict the problems in advance, allowing preventive maintenance to be performed.

Asset management includes condition monitoring as one of its major modules. Asset management includes a database of equipment specifications, maintenance history, the dates and description of maintenance, a schedule for the next maintenance due, and the ability to raise alerts about the next maintenance due. In some cases, the asset management application can generate work orders to release the equipment for maintenance.

3. Remote Monitoring

Remote operation monitoring of rotating equipment is fast, and gaining acceptance worldwide. In remote monitoring, the

Unbalance, misalignment,

looseness and rotor rub are a

few of the reasons for rotating

equipment failure that can be

detected by condition

monitoring



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sensed data like vibration, temperature, power consumed, the number of starts/stops, and the duration of stops are transmitted to a central server. The data from sensors on the equipment is sent via wired or wireless mode to the server. There might be an intermediate server to acquire data from multiple pieces of equipment using varied protocols such as Modbus, Fieldbus, Profibus, and then provide another interface like OPC to transfer that data to the processing server.

The figure below gives a schematic representation of an entire setup – data collection from pumps to server and then on to users. The “CIU” cards are modules to transmit data from pump to servers in wireless/wired mode.

Internet

CIU 271

Cloud Infrastructure

CIU 300 CIU 200 CIU 150CIU 250

ProfibusModbusBacnetGPRSGPRS

Firewall

WebServer

ModBusTCP

over GPRS

Alternate

Communication path

The software on the server processes the data and presents it in a consumable format (reports, graphs, alarms, etc.) to equipment operators. It is normal to have web interfaces to

Data from rotating

equipment is sent in wired

or wireless mode to data

servers



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enable remote monitoring. SMS and emails alerts are also provided as add-on features. There are many advantages of remote monitoring over field supervision.

o A wide range of rotating equipment – be it turbines, compressors, pumps or fans – can be monitored from a single, centralized location, even if they are spread geographically.

o The dependence on field technicians to do periodic checking can be substantially reduced by remote monitoring

o Remote monitoring can be a solution to aging staff or unavailability of qualified technicians at remote sites

o As state-of-the-art analytics are provided, the monitoring becomes accurate and effective.

o Remote monitoring can be done by a competent person in another part of world, bringing down the cost of asset management.

4. Remote Monitoring with Cloud

Cloud computing is a perfect platform for remote monitoring. The cloud is a shared pool of IT resources, applications, processors, storage and databases. Resources can be dynamically procured to satisfy peaks in demand, and then released when demand subsides.

Cloud provides cost elimination through standardization and the reuse of IT infrastructure data centers, taking advantage of low real estate prices, less expensive power supply and the availability of competent resources at a reasonable price. Cloud is elastic in nature – charges are based on usage of hardware and software. At peak loads, more hardware would be put in use to service the user requests than compared to steady state. Accordingly the users are charged. Also there is a “Green Commitment” by efficient resource use.

5. Analysis and Control

Monitoring of raw data coming from pumps in the form of graphs/reports, and displaying those alerts based on those values are only the first few steps. With the availability of abundant processing capacity on cloud, computing-intensive applications to interpret the data can be implemented. Examples of such applications are:

Cloud computing is a perfect

platform for remote monitoring



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o Spectrum Analysis (frequency analysis using Fast Fourier transform) to identify defects after they have surfaced on rotating equipment which is not possible to visualize based on raw data

o Model Prediction – Creating a model based on input data within a given timeframe, then using the model output to compare the actual input signal coming thereafter to identify any defect before the defect manifests into a bigger problem

o Predict the behavior (probability) of rotating equipment in the immediate future (next few days) to long-term (next few months). This will enable technical personnel to take preventive steps

6. Spurring Analytics as a Service

Analytics as a service is a service offering in a cloud environment, wherin the data analysis is handled by another provider. They ensure the data is interprested by the most efficient and accurate algorithim. That means the data from the usual source (vibration analysis or current signal ) will be treated with varied algorithims as they become available. Because the service providers will be working with multiple organizations, they will have the means to provide the optimum solutions for each of the problems they encounter.

Remote condition monitoring would in turn spur the usage of analytics as service. End users want an accurate health diagnosis of their equipment. That, in turn, would mean using varied or complex algorithims to solve their problem.

7. Extension to Smart Phones

All data available on cloud can be easily viewed on smart phones. The obvious advantage of monitoring on smart phones will be felt by field personnel, who will have access to the data as they perform maintenance activities. They can take a snapshot and send mail to their offices and customers using the smart phones.

8. Apprehensions About Cloud Computing

The biggest hurdle to remote monitoring of rotating equipment on cloud is to convince end users their data is safe and secure, even though it will be handled by people outside their organization. Many process plant owners are wary of sharing their data outside their premises, as there are many IP

Remote monitoring will spur

usage of Analytics as a Service

There are many options to

make the cloud a secure place

to process data



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technologies involved. For those end users possessive about their data, or apprehensive about data being misused, the cloud today offers many secure solutions:

o Cloud service providers will have the most sophisticated security systems in place as they work with customer organizations, making it highly improbable for hackers to to break through

o Data scattering among geographically separated data servers will ensure that not all data is available in a single location. Different locations will implement different security mechanisms (all equally strong), different passwords, etc.

o Strong encryption algorithms will ensure even the scattered data will mean little to hackers, even if they were to gain access to such data

9. Economics to End Users and OEMs

Remote monitoring will be more economical for more than one reason:

o Continuous monitoring will ensure minimal unplanned shutdowns, thereby ensuring productivity. Many process plants bleed due to unplanned shutdowns as a result of improper condition monitoring.

o Visits by skilled technical staff from OEM to installation sites are virtually eliminated. For bigger rotating equipment like turbines and compressors, skilled staff are usually flown in from a distant country, and become expensive

OEMs of rotating equipment will also benefit from remote monitoring.

o They can bring down their warranty cost of equipment by offering remote monitoring (though the remote monitoring will be an added cost to end users)

o They are assured of regular income by managing the subscription to services, unlike the one-off sales revenue



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Conclusion

Remote monitoring of rotating equipment adds value to all

stakeholders (end users and OEMs). Continuous monitoring

ensures very little productivity loss due to unplanned shutdowns. By

offering the services on cloud, end users pay a nominal fee on a

monthly basis to have all their rotating equipment insured for health.

Due to cloud infrastructure, OEMs will be able to offer added

features at very low cost.



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Reference

1. Grundfos Remote Management – product flyer

Author Info

Mahesh Subramaniam, ERS, Industrial

Practice, has over 21 years of experience in

control systems engineering, software

development and IT project management. His

current interests include safety-critical

applications and condition monitoring.

Hello, I’m from HCL’s Engineering and R&D Services. We enable technology led organizations to go to market with innovative products and solutions. We partner with our customers in building world class products and creating the associated solution delivery ecosystem to help build market leadership. Right now, 14,500+ of us are developing engineering products, solutions and platforms across Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Industrial Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Networking & Telecom, Office Automation, Semiconductor, and Servers & Storage for our customers.

For more details contact [email protected]

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/hclers and our blog, at http://ers.hclblogs.com/

Visit our website: http://www.hcltech.com/engineering-services/

About HCL

About HCL Technologies HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company, working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. Since its inception into the global landscape after its IPO in 1999, HCL focuses on “transformational outsourcing,” underlined by innovation and value creation, and offers an integrated portfolio of services, including software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management, engineering and R&D services and BPO. HCL leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 31 countries to provide holistic, multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Consumer Services, Public Services and Healthcare. HCL takes pride in its philosophy of “Employees First, Customer Second,” which empowers our 77,046 transformers to create a real value for the customers. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 3.5 billion (Rs. 16,034 crores), as on 30 June 2011 (on LTM basis). For more information, please visit www.hcltech.com

About HCL Enterprise HCL is a $6.2 billion leading global technology and IT enterprise comprising two companies listed in India - HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India's original IT garage start-ups. A pioneer of modern computing and a transformational enterprise, HCL’s diverse range of hardware and software offerings span a wide array of focused industry verticals. The HCL team consists of 88,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 31 countries including over 500 points of presence in India. For more on HCL, please visit www.hcl.com

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