Current conditions of each piece of equipment can be checked by using predictive maintenance and periodical measurements of monitored quantities at MVE and as a result, we can prevent any possible accidents from happening. One of these measurement methods is vibrodiagnostics which is used for measuring vibrations of important rotating equipment in use and in operation.

According to measuring standards, vibrodiagnostics can be measured in two ways:

Continuous measurements – characterize the current conditions of vibrations of each equipment during its operation in order to diagnose trouble free conditions of rotating parts. In practice, it is common e.g. some dirt (waste) collected on turbine blades creates higher vibration levels via unbalanced loads. To avoid shortening lifespan of these equipment exposed to load, we do analyze the increase in vibrations levels and take actions accordingly.

Predictive – periodical measurements – regularly performed at least once a year in order to determine detailed conditions of individual components. The gearbox is the most monitored rotating component at our power stations (MVE Hričov and MVE Kočkovce). The picture you see here shows CTA diagnostics – the assessment of the gear teeth meshing. Historical data of this measurement are used for evaluating wear state levels and each component lifetime can be thus predicted.

Thanks to these periodical measurements of vibrations, we can diagnose not only the conditions of bearings and gearboxes, but, in particular, of all rotating parts, and thus we prevent them from shortening lifespan.