Dynamox solution prevents unexpected screen shutdown in classified area 

Dynamox solution prevents unexpected screen shutdown in zone 21 classified area 

Arauco, one of the largest forestry companies in the world, relies on the Dynamox solution to monitor its assets.

Dynamox sensors and gateway are suitable for the Ex zone Read more: What national and international certifications does Dynamox have?

In this case, we’re going to talk about a screen, an important asset in the company’s production process. It is located in a classified zone 21, a place where potentially explosive dust clouds are sporadic under normal operating conditions. In addition, the motor is hard to access for the maintenance team to monitor.

Finding the problem in the screen

Given the difficulties imposed by the location of the asset, wireless sensors are the best alternative for monitoring vibration and temperature data. Thus, the data analyzed in this case was collected by a Dynamox wireless sensor that had been in use since the beginning of 2019, operating normally after a long period of more than four years, thanks to its quality and robustness. 

Thiago Nunes, Arauco’s predictive technician, was monitoring the vibration levels of the motor of the asset through the Web Platform, when he noticed an evolution in the data at the beginning of 2023. Even with this first increase identified, the levels were below the pre-established alerts. However, the Arauco team took the opportunity of a shutdown, used a stethoscope and identified a noise in the bearing. The motor was not yet in need of replacement, but there was a need to follow up and monitor the possible evolution of the failure.

Alert that avoided an unexpected shutdown at the screen

Over the months, at the end of May, the vibration increased, as can be seen in the Global RMS Velocity graph on the axial axis of the motor. Levels increased until they reached the first alert level (A1/attention) in June.

Since it was difficult to access and there was no need to stop at that time, the Arauco team decided that the maintenance would take place at an opportune time. The possibility to continue monitoring vibration levels periodically allows Dynamox customers to adopt guidelines like this, waiting for the right moment to act on the asset.

Check out the images below to see where the motor was located. Next, the spectral waterfall with the monitoring of the behavior of the vibration spectrum. This way, it is possible to understand on which day the fault became worse: 

At the time of a longer shutdown, the opportunity came up to change the motor. As a result, the Arauco maintenance team took the necessary action and prevented a catastrophic failure that would have damaged the operation of the screen for much longer.

Read also: Sensors identify potential failure in EX-classified area(dynamox.net)