What Is Vibration Analysis?

Vibration analysis is defined as a process for measuring the vibration levels and frequencies of machinery and then using that information to analyze how healthy the machines and their components are. While the inner-workings and formulas used to calculate various forms of vibration can get complicated, it all starts with using an accelerometer to measure vibration. Anytime a piece of machinery is running, it is making vibrations. An accelerometer attached to the machine generates a voltage signal that corresponds to the amount of vibration and the frequency of vibration the machine is producing, usually how many times per second or minute the vibration occurs.

All data collected from the accelerometer goes directly into a data collector (software), which records the signal as either amplitude vs. time (known as time waveform), amplitude vs. frequency (known as fast Fourier transform), or both. All of this data is analyzed by computer program algorithms, which in turn is analyzed by engineers or trained vibration analysts to determine the health of the machine and identify possible impending problems like looseness, unbalance, misalignment, lubrication issues and more.

Vibration analysis can detect problems such as:

• Imbalance
• Bearing failures
• Mechanical looseness
• Misalignment
• Resonance and natural frequencies
• Electrical motor faults
• Bent shafts
• Gearbox failures
• Empty space or bubbles (cavitation) in pumps
• Critical speeds