Centrifugal Pump Impeller Crack Detection Using Vibration Analysis

Abstract

The detection of the centrifugal pump impeller blades cracks using vibration analysis technique is investigated using both time and frequency domain methods. In time domain a time index parameter is applied as fault indicator and the power spectrum analysis is used as a frequency domain analysis. Initially, the vibration of centrifugal pump is measured at healthy condition and compared with nine different artificial cracks sizes which are introduced in the impeller blades. The results show the effectiveness of using both time index parameter and frequency spectrum for fault diagnosis. The amplitude of the impeller passing frequency and the vibration time index are increased as the blade crack size is developed, which can be used as indicator for fault severity.