Model-Based Condition Monitoring for the Detection of Failure of a Ball Bearing in a Centrifugal Pump

Centrifugal pumps are employed as important rotating machineries that play a vital role in sugar production plants. Untimely bearing failure, impeller damages, wearing out of sealing system and cavitation are the main faults that occur in centrifugal pump which need to be detected in advance for uninterrupted production activity in sugar plants. In such condition, the rolling bearing damage is a primary indicator of the possible major issues of the centrifugal pumps. The objective of this paper is to report a novel method that has been applied for the detection of the faulty bearing of a centrifugal pump used as a boiler feed pump in sugar production unit. A case study particularly of a deep groove ball bearing used to support non-drive end of pump is presented. Theoretical formulation of response parameters such as vibration velocity and frequency has been carried out using dimensional analysis. Subsequently, the in situ experiments have been performed using multichannel vibration analyzer (Brand—ADASH, Model-A4400 VA4 Pro) for validation.