2021 Failure Ranking

Equipments are essential for any kind of industrial work, so their operation needs to perform at their best.

However, these assets can present failure modes that, depending on their criticality, cause unscheduled shutdowns and consequently damage the entire industrial operation.

Today, in the market, there are several maintenance techniques, from preventive to predictive maintenance.

Predictive maintenance can rely on online information technologies, such as wireless sensors and software for periodic monitoring and analysis of these machines.

In this text, we present the most common failure modes that were detected and recorded by our customers in 2021 using Dynamox’s solution, and detail how the vibration technique facilitates to the industrial sector the process of management, reliability and predictability of asset failures.

Dynamox’s solution has wireless sensors (DynaLoggers) that monitor vibration and temperature data, and automatic collectors (DynaGateways), which send the data obtained by the sensors to a platform equipped with several tools for data visualization and analysis.

In addition, we detail how predictive maintenance can assist your industry in the process of asset management, reliability, and predictability.

Asset monitoring data

It is estimated that Dynamox’s platform received about 4.5 million vibration spectra from all the DynaLoggers installed around the globe in the last year.

In addition, we receive around 19 million temperature and vibration samples daily, totaling 4.5 billion samples by 2021.

The data were extracted from a database of nearly 50,000 predictive analysis reports registered in the Dynamox system. These reports are completed and documented by vibration analysts who base their analysis on measurements from continuous monitoring and spectral analysis performed periodically, both provided by DynaLoggers installed on industrial assets.

The failures are divided into two groups: faults identified at frequencies lower than 300 Hz and faults that manifest themselves at frequencies higher than 300 Hz. Check out the survey below.

Misalignment and unbalance cause bearing wear

Every assembly that has a drive is susceptible to some kind of misalignment or unbalance, which are failure modes diagnosed through speed measurements obtained by the sensors.

If these failures are not addressed, we may have as a result the system’s bearing wear.

Wear is superficial damage, caused by mechanical interaction with another sliding or rolling contact surface during operation.

These failure modes are common in fans, blowers, exhaust fans, and pumps.

Unbalance is caused by reasons such as loss of mass, material accumulation, or cracking of the pallets.

Misalignment, on the other hand, has as its main causes: structure torsions, project inconformities, and component breaks, such as couplings and bases.

In the ranking of faults detected in 2021 among the high frequencies (f>300Hz), bearing wear appeared first, accounting for approximately 63% of the group.

Unbalance and misalignment, on the other hand, accounted for 25.7% and 13.5% of the lowest frequency (f<300Hz) failures, respectively.

The DynaLoggers are efficient options for predictive anomaly detection, allowing maintenance teams to anticipate the problem and plan timely interventions.

Insufficient lubrication and sensitive inspection

Insufficient lubrication occurs due to the use of incorrect or non-technical quality lubricants, leading to accelerated wear of parts in general, high maintenance costs, as well as a drop in productivity and asset availability.

Among its damages are increased friction, wear, heating, noise, expansion and rupture of parts, crimping (friction of metal surfaces), among others. This anomaly was presented in about 17% of the fault records identified above 300Hz.

To stop this type of failure, the ideal is to have a lubrication plan followed by the maintenance team, in which a compliance standard and the frequency of execution is defined. 

In addition to the vibration and temperature measurements performed by Dynamox sensors, it is also possible to complement the machine monitoring through Sensitive Inspection.

The picture below, for example, shows leakage in a monitored gearbox.

This failure could be identified as inadequate lubrication with the vibration sensor installed on site, with the presence of a carpet in the vibration spectrum.

However, leaks, blocked hoses, or greasy nozzles can also be detected by human presence, as in a visual inspection.

The composition of sensitive + predictive, in what we call integrated inspection, covers the asset even more, making the analysis base more complete.

In relation to sensitive inspection, Dynamox’s system has a route plan and checklists suited to the needs of the asset, which assists the maintenance technician in identifying and recording this type of failure and, together with industrial technology, facilitates the process of discovering the problem.

The DynaSens is a sensitive maintenance tool that supports the technician in planning and managing the analysis of data collected, created, and configured via Web Platform.

Other recurrent failures

In addition to the previously mentioned faults, our team identified that structural looseness and tooth wear were also recurrent problems.

In general, the main irregularities that cause tooth wear are: improper engaging between gear teeth (eccentric gears, misalignment, backlash, etc.), internal cracks, and problems in the gear formation or manufacturing process.

On the other hand, overloading and the tooth fatigue process are also common causes. The worn tooth represented 19.3% of the failure modes detected above 300Hz.

Structural slack relates to the slack between the machine and the base or between the machine and the machine foundation. It encompasses for example a lack of rigidity in the foundation, base plate or machine footing.

This failure accounted for approximately 43% of their group, coming in first place.

Often, this type of defect is also associated with corrosion or loosening of screws. In this case, simply tightening the bolt can solve the problem.

If you enjoyed this content and the features of the solution, check out more benefits of our technology for your industry.