PERSONAL CASE HISTORY –CRACKED FAN/BLOWER IMPELLER

 

PERSONAL CASE HISTORY – CRACKED FAN/BLOWER IMPELLER

In the early years as a Vibration Analyst (2000) I was working at a processing plant in Bathurst NSW. This fluid bed dryer had a fan/ blower around 130Kw, 2 pole motor 2850 RPM. This was located in a fan room with 7 other fans/ blowers.

The vibration at the plumber block bearings were starting to rise and at 10mm/sec RMS and there was a concern. So dynamic balancing was scheduled. There was only access to the fan impeller through a small side hatch. The fan could not be fully isolated from other fans so you had moist hot air coming through, which made it hard to see and work. It was impossible to inspect and assess the impeller condition.

The inlet ducting could not be removed easily as it was welded which was a poor design.

The balancing, instrument was IRD but I also made calculations with polar plots and vectors but the unbalance could not be improved. The vibration amplitude climbed to 15mm/sec RMS over the next week and another attempt was made to balance the impeller and still no success.

The vibration a few weeks later as at 20mm/ sec RMS. A balancing expert was brought in. He checked my vectors and calculations and all were ok. He also attempted to dynamic balance with no success. The balancing expert-recommended changing out the complete rotor assembly.

The next shut down was 3 weeks away. A few days later the vibration climbed suddenly to 30mm/sec RMS and the concerns were at a critical level.

Production was not keen to shut down. I taped off the entrances to the fan room with danger tape and a no entry sign. The Maintenance Manager took notice, the fan shut down and the inlet ducting removed but had to be cut by oxy acetylene.

I was not very experienced at this stage in my VA career and did not know what to expect when inspecting the impeller. I thought there may be distorted or worn blades, obstructions, etc. What was found was not expected. The hub was cracked in an oval shape with only 50 mm in that radius fully intact. The impeller was approximately 1 meter in diameter and with the RPM 2850. The potential for a catastrophic failure, injury to workers, or even worse was very real.

Conclusion

At the time there was a sudden climb in vibration to 10mm/sec RMS the inlet ducting although welded should have been removed to allow a full inspection of the impeller. The cracking in the impeller hub would have been detected at this time and replaced. 

Vibration analysis is important for many reasons but the most important is it reduces the chance of a dangerous situation in the workplace. Safety is always number one.

Robert is qualified to VA Level 111 and a Condition Monitoring Technical Specialist. Robert has held roles as Maintenance Supervisor, Plant Inspector (Oil & gas) Predictive Systems Analyst, Reliability Supervisor, and Reliability Superintendent.

Contacts

Email: robbieccs@gmail.com & robertmva@yahoo.com.au

Stay safe

Robert