Predictive Monitoring Services

Vibration Radial – RMS Max Overall vibration increase GENERATOR LOAD TURBINE DE (Drive End) BEARING VELOCITY VIBRATION TURBINE DE (Drive End) BEARING X DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION Positive deviation indications persistance Stable bearing displacement Corrective action on deflector position Deviation tracking back model values Abnormal deflector position on a Pelton Turbine in Norway Hydro Success Stories A hydropower plant in Norway avoided between €317,000 and €606,000 in costs thanks to GE’s hydro digital predictive monitoring system and early notification of increased vibration on the turbine guide bearing caused by an abnormal injector deflector position. What did our service find? The hydro predictive analytics detected a step increase in one of the 3 Pelton turbines’ guide bearing vibration in May 2022. The expected vibration velocity was around 0.5mm/s while the actual levels reached up to 1.2 mm/s in operation. The persistence of that increase triggered an early warning alert which was sent to the customer in the evening. What was the underlying cause? The next morning, when arriving at the plant, the Maintenance Supervisor noticed an abnormal noise. Upon review of the GE Hydro monitoring team notification, they focused their attention on that specific Pelton unit, and found a deflector in an abnormal position, causing an excessive water injection on the turbine runner, and eventually turbine unbalance and higher bearing vibration. The deflector position was corrected during online operations, and the vibration came back to the expected model levels. What was the value to the customer? While the actual range of vibration increased, no alarms were triggered on site due to various reasons and the turbine could have operated over a longer period where severe damage to the bearing could have caused unexpected downtime and mechanical parts repairs. With this predictive maintenance action, the customer avoided an unplanned maintenance and potential damage to the turbine bearing, shaft and runner. The customer and our digital team evaluated between 317,000€ (best scenario) and 606,000€ (worst case scenario) of mechanical repairs and production savings. Sensor Value Predicted Value