On-line rotating equipment monitoring device

• US 20030200060A1
• Filed: 04/22/2002
• Published: 10/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computational Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: CSI Technology Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Eryurek, Evren, Bouse, Kai, Reeves, Todd
• Granted Patent: US 6,839,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0229 knowledge based, e.g. expert systems; genetic algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0262 Confirmation of fault detection, e.g. extra checks to confirm that a failure has indeed occurred

Abstract

A rotating equipment monitoring device includes a set of sensors, such as temperature, speed, pressure, and vibration sensors, locally connected to a diagnostic unit having a plant communication interface and a processor that implements one or more diagnostic routines. The diagnostic unit collects data from the sensors and performs diagnostics thereon to detect actual or potential problems with the rotating equipment on a continuous or semi-continuous basis. Using the communication interface, the diagnostic unit automatically sends signals indicating detected conditions of the rotating equipment to a maintenance system or a control system via standard or common communication network, such as a HART or Fieldbus network. The diagnostic unit may also be intermittently coupled to an off-line computer, such a one associated with a service provider, who may verify or further define the diagnostics provided by the diagnostic unit.

Claims

1. A rotating equipment monitoring device for use in a process plant having rotational equipment and a communication network, the rotating equipment monitoring device comprising:

a plurality of sensors adapted to be mounted on or near the rotating equipment to measure parameters associated with the rotating equipment during operation of the rotating equipment and to produce data indicative of the measured parameters; and

a diagnostic unit communicatively coupled to receive the data from each of the plurality of sensors, the diagnostic unit including;

a processor;

a memory;

a diagnostic routine stored in the memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to perform diagnostics using the data collected from the plurality of sensors to produce a condition indication indicating a condition of the rotating equipment; and

a communication interface adapted to be coupled to the communication network to send the condition indication over the communication network.

2. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a temperature sensor.

3. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a pressure sensor.

4. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an accelerometer.

5. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a vibration sensor.

6. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes two or more vibration sensors and a rotational speed sensor.

7. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an accelerometer.

8. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is a 2-wire communication interface.

9. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the communication interface is a Fieldbus interface.

10. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 9, wherein the Fieldbus communication interface is one of a FOUNDATION Fieldbus, a Profibus, and a CAN protocol interface.

11. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the communication interface is a HART interface.

12. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is a TCP/IP protocol interface.

13. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is a 3-wire communication interface.

14. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is a 4-wire communication interface.

15. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the processor includes a digital signal processor and an application processor.

16. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic routine is adapted to detect a present operating condition of the rotating equipment based on the data from the plurality of sensors.

17. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic routine is adapted to detect an expected future operating condition of the rotating equipment based on the data from the plurality of sensors.

18. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic routine is adapted to detect an error condition associated with the rotating equipment.

19. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic routine includes an expert engine.

20. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 19, wherein the expert engine is a rule-based engine.

21. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network.

22. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic unit operates substantially continuously during operation of the rotating equipment.

23. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the sensors are adapted to be permanently mounted on or near the rotating equipment.

24. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 23, wherein the diagnostic unit is adapted to be permanently mounted on or near the rotating equipment.

25. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic unit includes a local communication interface for connecting a local interface device to perform monitoring or configuration on the rotating equipment monitoring device.

26. A rotating equipment monitoring device, comprising:

a plurality of sensors adapted to be mounted on or near the rotating equipment to measure parameters associated with the rotating equipment during operation of the rotating equipment;

a diagnostic engine adapted to be mounted on or near rotating equipment and communicatively coupled to receive data indicative of the measured parameters from each of the plurality of sensors, the diagnostic engine operating on the received data to produce a condition indication indicating a condition of the rotating equipment; and

a communication interface directly coupled to the diagnostic engine and adapted to be coupled to a plant-based communication network to send the condition indication over the communication network.

27. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a temperature sensor.

28. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a pressure sensor.

29. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an accelerometer.

30. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a vibration sensor.

31. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the sensors are removably connected to the diagnostic engine.

32. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the diagnostic engine is configured to accept a variable number of sensors connected thereto.

33. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the communication interface is a 2-wire communication interface.

34. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the diagnostic engine includes a digital signal processor and an application processor.

35. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the diagnostic engine is adapted to detect an error condition associated with the rotating equipment.

36. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the diagnostic engine includes an expert engine.

37. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 36, wherein the expert engine is a rule-based engine.

38. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network.

39. The rotating equipment monitoring device of claim 26, wherein the diagnostic engine operates substantially continuously during operation of the rotating equipment.

40. A process plant comprising:

a host computer communicatively coupled to a communication network;

a plurality of field devices;

one or more controllers communicatively coupled to the plurality of field devices via the communication network to control the operation of the process plant using the plurality of field devices;

rotating equipment; and

a monitoring device mounted on or near the rotating equipment including;

a plurality of sensors mounted on or near the rotating equipment to measure parameters associated with the rotating equipment during operation of the rotating equipment and to produce data indicative of the measured parameters; and

a diagnostic unit communicatively coupled to receive the data from each of the plurality of sensors, the diagnostic unit including;

a processor;

a memory;

a diagnostic routine stored in the memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to perform diagnostics using the data collected from the plurality of sensors to produce a condition indication indicating a condition of the rotating equipment; and

a communication interface coupled to the communication network to send the condition indication over the communication network.

41. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the plurality of sensors includes two or more of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a vibration sensor, and a rotational speed sensor.

42. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface is a 2-wire communication interface.

43. The process plant of claim 42, wherein the communication interface is a Fieldbus interface.

44. The process plant of claim 42, wherein the communication interface is a HART interface.

45. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface is a 3-wire communication interface.

46. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface is a 4-wire communication interface.

47. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the diagnostic routine includes an expert engine.

48. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network to the host computer.

49. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network to a display application within the host computer to be displayed to plant personnel.

50. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network to a maintenance application within the host computer.

51. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface automatically sends the condition indication via the communication network to an optimization application within the host computer.

52. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the diagnostic unit operates substantially continuously during operation of the rotating equipment.

53. The process plant of claim 40, wherein the communication interface of the diagnostic unit can be browsed via the communication network.