LabVIEW

TM

Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual

LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual

July 2005
372879C-01

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Contents
About This Manual
Conventions ...................................................................................................................ix
Related Documentation..................................................................................................ix

Chapter 1
Introduction to the LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit
Features of the Order Analysis Toolkit..........................................................................1-1
Finding Examples ..........................................................................................................1-2
Accessing the Order Analysis Demo .............................................................................1-2

Chapter 2
Introduction to Order Analysis
Definition of Order Analysis .........................................................................................2-1
Order Analysis Methods ................................................................................................2-4
Gabor Transform .............................................................................................2-4
Resampling ......................................................................................................2-6
Comparing Order Analysis Methods...............................................................2-8
Order Analysis Application Areas .................................................................................2-8
Design and Validation Applications................................................................2-8
Manufacturing Applications............................................................................2-8
Operational Applications.................................................................................2-9
Order Analysis Application Process ..............................................................................2-9

Chapter 3
Order Analysis Data Acquisition Systems
Signal Types and Transducers .......................................................................................3-1
Vibration Signals .............................................................................................3-1
Accelerometer Signals ......................................................................3-1
Velocity Signals ................................................................................3-2
Displacement Signals ........................................................................3-2
Selecting a Vibration Transducer ....................................................................3-3
Noise Signals ...................................................................................................3-4
Tachometer Signals .........................................................................................3-5
Analog Tachometer Signals ..............................................................3-7
Digital Tachometer Signals...............................................................3-7

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Contents

Data Acquisition Tips.................................................................................................... 3-8

Aliasing ........................................................................................................... 3-8
Sampling Rate ................................................................................................. 3-8

Chapter 4
Order Analysis Preliminary Processing
Scaling and Calibration ................................................................................................. 4-1
Scaling to Engineering Units .......................................................................... 4-1
Calibration....................................................................................................... 4-2
Tachometer Signal Processing ...................................................................................... 4-2
Locating Pulse Positions ................................................................................. 4-2
Calculating the Rotational Speed .................................................................... 4-2
Removing Trend in Analog Tachometer Signal ............................................. 4-3
Compensating for the Input Filter Delay ........................................................ 4-4
Calculating a Speed Profile Without a Tachometer Signal............................. 4-4
Generating a Simulated Speed Profile.............................................. 4-5
Vibration Preprocessing ................................................................................................ 4-8
Filtering ........................................................................................................... 4-8
Integration ....................................................................................................... 4-9
Reference Signal Processing ......................................................................................... 4-10

Chapter 5
Order Analysis Functions and Displays
Spectral Map.................................................................................................................. 5-3
Color Map ....................................................................................................... 5-4
Waterfall Plot .................................................................................................. 5-6
Cascade Plot .................................................................................................... 5-6
Order Power Spectrum .................................................................................................. 5-7
Spectrum Averaging ....................................................................................... 5-8
RMS Averaging .............................................................................................. 5-9
Vector Averaging ............................................................................................ 5-9
Choosing Between RMS and Vector Averaging ............................................ 5-10
Peak Hold ........................................................................................................ 5-10
Weighting Mode ............................................................................................. 5-11
Extended Measurement................................................................................... 5-11
Unit Conversion .............................................................................................. 5-11
Spectrum Peak Search..................................................................................... 5-11
Power in Band ................................................................................................. 5-12
Order Waveform, Magnitude, and Phase ...................................................................... 5-12
Order Waveform ............................................................................................. 5-12
Order Magnitude and Phase ............................................................................ 5-14
Phase Definition ............................................................................... 5-15

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Bode Plot .........................................................................................................5-16

Polar Plot .........................................................................................................5-17
Orbit, Timebase, and Shaft Centerline Plots..................................................................5-18
Orbit Plot .........................................................................................................5-20
Probe Angle Correction...................................................................................5-21
Blank-bright Sequence and Trigger Pulse Direction.......................................5-21
Timebase Plot ..................................................................................................5-22
Shaft Centerline Plot........................................................................................5-23
Drawing a Shaft Centerline Plot......................................................................5-24
Level Measurements ......................................................................................................5-25
Measuring RMS Level ....................................................................................5-25
Computing Peak Level ....................................................................................5-26
Computing the Crest Factor.............................................................................5-26
Even-Angle Signals in Integer Revolutions ....................................................5-26
Limit Testing..................................................................................................................5-27

Appendix A
Technical Support and Professional Services
Glossary

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About This Manual

This manual provides information about order analysis and the LabVIEW
Order Analysis Toolkit.

Conventions
The following conventions appear in this manual:

The symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options
to a final action. The sequence FilePage SetupOptions directs you to
pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options
from the last dialog box.
This icon denotes a tip, which alerts you to advisory information.
This icon denotes a note, which alerts you to important information.

bold

Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software, such
as menu items and dialog box options. Bold text also denotes the names of
parameters, dialog boxes, sections of dialog boxes, windows, menus,
palettes, and front panel controls and buttons.

italic

Italic text denotes variables or cross references.

monospace

Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the
keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax examples.
This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories,
programs, subprograms, subroutines, device names, functions, operations,
variables, filenames, and extensions.

Related Documentation
The following documents contain information that you might find helpful
as you read this manual:

LabVIEW Help available by selecting HelpVI, Function, & How-to

Help

Getting Started with LabVIEW

LabVIEW User Manual

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LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual

Introduction to the LabVIEW

Order Analysis Toolkit

The LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit enables you to use LabVIEW to

measure and analyze noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) generated by
rotating or reciprocating machinery such as automotive and aircraft
engines, power trains, turbines, pumps, compressors, and electric motors.
In general, Order Analysis Toolkit applications fall into one of the
following areas:

NVH product testing

Machine condition monitoring (MCM)

Order analysis can help you greatly improve device under test (DUT)
knowledge. You can use order analysis to accomplish the following tasks:

Reduce signals to a meaningful format

Separate rotational and structural signal components

Associate signal components with specific mechanical parts

Provide repeatable measurements

Features of the Order Analysis Toolkit

The Order Analysis Toolkit is a powerful tool for sound and vibration
measurement and analysis. The main features are:

Rotational speed calculation for both analog and digital tachometer

signals with averaging

Multiple channel order tracking in fast run-up and run-down tests with
multiple tachometer references

Spectral distribution measurement in the frequency or order-domain as

a function of time or rotational speed

Time-domain order waveform extraction

Various plots such as orbit plots, timebase plots, bode plots, polar
plots, color maps, waterfall plots, and cascade plots

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Order tracking without a tachometer reference

Vibration signal compensation with even-angle or vector references

You can access any of these features with the VIs included in the Order
Analysis Toolkit

Finding Examples
The Order Analysis Toolkit provides examples to help you get started using
this toolkit. Select HelpFind Examples in LabVIEW to launch the
NI Example Finder. Select Toolkit and ModulesOrder Analysis in the
browse tab to view all of the available examples, or use the Search tab to
locate a specific example. Order Analysis examples come in two
categories:

Functions

Getting Started

Accessing the Order Analysis Demo

The Order Analysis Toolkit includes an application designed to familiarize
you with the toolkit functions, features, and capabilities. You can launch
the Order Analysis Functions Demo and Gabor Order Tracking Start-up
from the Start menu.

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Introduction to Order Analysis

This chapter defines order analysis and introduces some of the methods,
concepts, and applications for order analysis.

Definition of Order Analysis

Order analysis is a technique for analyzing noise and vibration signals in
rotating or reciprocating machinery. Some examples of rotating or
reciprocating machinery include aircraft and automotive engines,
compressors, turbines, and pumps. Such machinery typically has a variety
of mechanical parts such as a shaft, bearing, gearbox, blade, coupling, and
belt. Each mechanical part generates unique noise and vibration patterns as
the machine operates. Each mechanical part contributes a unique
component to the overall machine noise and vibration.
One of the most common analysis methods to analyze noise and vibration
signals is fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. The FFT power spectrum
identifies and quantifies the frequency components of noise and vibration
signals. You can use the FFT power spectrum for machinery diagnostic
purposes by associating certain frequency components with specific
mechanical parts.
Figure 2-1 illustrates an FFT analysis performed on vibration signals
generated by a PC fan. The PC fan has four coils and seven blades. The
vibration signal of the PC fan is the superposition of the vibration from the
shaft, coils, and blades. The shaft rotates at the same rate as the rotational
speed, whereas the passing rate of the coils and blades are four and seven
times that of the rotational speed. The vibration signal generated by the
shaft is at the same frequency as the rotational speed. The vibration signals
generated by the coils and blades are at frequencies four and seven times
the rotational speed. The coil and blade vibration signals are the fourth and
seventh harmonics of the rotational speed. If the PC fan rotates at a constant
speed, the FFT power spectrum of the vibration signal shows peaks at the
rotational speed and the fourth and seventh harmonics of the rotational
speed.

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Introduction to Order Analysis

Coils

Blades

Shaft

+
3,300 RPM = 55 CPS

55
Overall Vibration

220
Hz

385

Figure 2-1. FFT and Order Analysis on a PC Fan

In rotating or reciprocating machinery, many mechanical characteristics

change with speed. You only can observe some mechanical faults, such as
resonance, as the rotational speed approaches or passes the critical speed.
For this reason, machinery noise and vibration tests usually require a
run-up or coast-down test. However, when the rotational speed is changing,
the frequency bandwidth of each individual harmonic gets wider. Because
each individual harmonic bandwidth becomes wider as the speed changes,
some frequency components might overlap. The resulting FFT power
spectrum becomes blurred and can no longer help you identify
characteristic vibration components. Figure 2-2 shows the blurred FFT
power spectrum of the PC fan when the rotational speed changes from
1,000 to 4,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). You cannot identify any
obvious peaks associated with particular mechanical parts in Figure 2-2.

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Figure 2-2. Blurred FFT Power Spectrum With Changing Rotational Speed

Order analysis techniques are suitable for analyzing noise and vibration
signals when the rotational speed changes over time. Order is defined as the
normalization of the rotational speed. The first order is the rotational speed
and order m is n times the rotational speed. Order components are the
vibration harmonics of the rotational speed. In the case of the PC fan, the
shaft vibration is the first order vibration. The coil and blade vibrations are
the fourth and seventh order vibrations, respectively.
With order analysis, you can uncover information about harmonics buried
in the FFT power spectrum due to changing rotational speed. Figure 2-3
shows the order power spectrum of the same signal used to compute the
FFT power spectrum shown in Figure 2-2. The order power spectrum is one
of the order analysis techniques available in the LabVIEW Order Analysis
Toolkit. The order power spectrum shows more clearly defined peaks
associated with the different mechanical parts. The peak at the first order
corresponds to the shaft vibration. The peak at the fourth order corresponds
to the vibration generated by the coils. The peak at the seventh order
corresponds to the vibration generated by the blades.

Figure 2-3. Order Spectrum With Changing Rotational Speed

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Introduction to Order Analysis

In general, order analysis techniques relate noise and vibration signals to

the rotational speed. Order analysis techniques also reduce these signals
into characteristic components, associate these components to mechanical
parts, and provide repeatable noise and vibration measurements. You can
obtain information about individual mechanical parts as well as the entire
machine with order analysis.

Order Analysis Methods

The Order Analysis Toolkit provides two methods to perform order
analysis:

Gabor transform

Resampling

Gabor Transform
The Gabor transform based method performs order analysis by analyzing
noise and vibration signals in the time-frequency domain.
Traditional FFT analysis is ineffective at analyzing machinery noise and
vibration signals with changing rotational speed. Fourier transform only
provides the frequency domain information. When the fundamental
frequency such as rotational speed changes over time, the FFT is unable to
reflect this variation. Joint time-frequency analysis (JTFA), which provides
both the time and frequency domain information, can overcome the
limitation of FFT analysis. The most basic JTFA method is the short-time
Fourier transform (STFT). When applying an STFT to a signal, you can
identify the order components in the time-frequency domain even if the
speed is variable.
Figure 2-4 shows the STFT results of an example vibration signal on an
intensity graph, and the corresponding speed profile. The x-axis and y-axis
of the intensity graph are time and frequency, respectively. The bright shade
in the graph represents significant vibration amplitude. Spectral Map signal
speed is increasing from approximately 1,400 rpm to 3,700 rpm during a
run-up test. Several curves appear on the intensity graph that change with
the speed. These curves are the order components. The order component
frequencies are increasing over time as the speed increases.

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Figure 2-4. Frequency-Time Display of Vibration Signal in Run-up Test

The Gabor transform is a type of invertible joint time-frequency transform.

With invertible joint time-frequency transforms, you can recover any
time-domain input signal or an approximation of the signal by applying an
inverse transform to the transform of the signal. The Gabor transform
results are called Gabor coefficients. The inverse Gabor transform is known
as Gabor expansion. You can think of the Gabor transform as a specific type
of STFT. The difference is that by using Gabor expansion you can recover
the time-domain signal from the Gabor transform, but not a general STFT.
This ability to recover time-domain signals is a feature of the Gabor
transform and expansion. Gabor transform and expansion allows you to
extract signal components related to rotational speed from the Gabor
coefficients, or the time-frequency representation. With the Gabor
technique, you can extract the signal components associated with any
particular orders.

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Resampling
When applying an FFT to even time spaced samples, or a time waveform,
you can calculate the frequency components that are periodic in time. Order
components take place n times per revolution and are periodic in rotational
angle. Signals that are spaced evenly in rotation angle are even-angle
signals. Similarly, if the noise or vibration samples are spaced evenly in the
rotation angle, you can apply an FFT to the even-angle spaced samples to
calculate the order components that are periodic in rotational angle. You
can think of the even-angle signals as those acquired when the machine
rotates over a constant angle. You can use standard FFT methods to
perform order analysis with an even-angle signal.
In order to acquire even-angle samples, you must adjust the sampling rate
according to the rotational speed. The adjusted sampling rate is called a
synchronous sampling rate. In practice, it requires complex additional
hardware to set a variable sampling rate to acquire samples with a
synchronous sampling rate. Applying anti-alias filtering when the sampling
rate is variable is also difficult. The Order Analysis Toolkit provides
software resampling to avoid the challenges of hardware implementation.
Typically, you acquire noise and vibration signal with a fixed sampling rate
and then use software to resample the signal with the synchronous sampling
rate.
Figure 2-5 describes the effect of resampling on a simulated vibration
signal in a run-up test. Each point on the shaft represents a sampling
position. As the shaft rotates faster, the intervals between adjacent samples
become larger. Accordingly, the period of the signal gets lower and the
frequency span becomes wider. With so many elements changing,
identifying the characteristic components is difficult. After resampling, all
the samples appear with constant angle intervals. The period of the
even-angle signal is constant and you can identify the order components.

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Resampling

1.00
0.75
0.50
0.25

Shaft

1000
750
500
250
0
250
500
750
1000

Amplitude

Amplitude

Shaft

0
0.25
0.50
0.75
1.00
0

0.02

0.04 0.06
Time (s)

0.08

0.109

0.0045
0.0040
0.0035
0.0030
0.0025
0.0020
0.0015
0.0010
0.0005
0

Amplitude

Amplitude

Introduction to Order Analysis

100

200
300
Frequency (Hz)

400

500

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Revolutions

0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0
0

4
5
Orders

Figure 2-5. Even Time-Spaced Samples Converted to Even-Angle Signal

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Comparing Order Analysis Methods

The resampling-based order analysis method typically provides better
order resolution. The resampling method works for both NVH and
machine-condition monitoring (MCM) applications. You can choose the
resampling-based order analysis method for multichannel online
processing applications in both run-up and coast-down tests, and constant
speed situations.
The Gabor transform-based order analysis method can generate order
waveforms. This feature is not available with the resampling-based method.
You can use the generated order waveform to evaluate the sound quality
aspects of order-related tones by listening to the tone or subtracting the tone
from the overall signal. The Gabor transform-based order analysis method
also can work for multi-axle order analysis. Multi-axle order analysis
analyzes crossing orders related to two or more independent speed signals,
such as with hybrid car testing in which the electrical motor and gas engine
run at different speeds. National Instruments does not recommend applying
the Gabor transform-based order analysis for online applications because
of the computational complexity.

Order Analysis Application Areas

You can use order analysis during every stage of a rotating machine
product lifecycle, from design, to manufacturing, to operation.

Design and Validation Applications

You can perform order analysis during the research and development stage.
Order analysis can help you locate sources of unwanted noise and
vibrations. You can lessen or remove the noise and vibration by changing
the design of specific mechanical parts. Order analysis can help you
separate rotational and structural vibrations to determine critical machine
speed and resonance characteristics. You can validate and modify machine
structures according to the analysis results.

Manufacturing Applications
You can perform order analysis to set vibration measurement baselines.
You can test machine performance and quality with the baselines you
create. You also can use order analysis to fine-tune a machine in the field.
You can use order analysis for typical adjustments such as balancing and
alignment before products ship.

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Operational Applications
Machines like turbines, pumps, or compressors require careful monitoring
and maintenance during operation. Vibration signals are good indicators of
machine physical condition. Order analysis can help you check working
conditions as well as detect faulty components.

Order Analysis Application Process

You can break a typical order analysis application into three primary
stepsacquiring data, analyzing data, and presenting data. The Order
Analysis Toolkit, together with NI software and data acquisition (DAQ)
devices, can help you complete the entire order analysis application
process. Figure 2-6 gives a more detailed picture of the application process.
Data Source refers to the data acquisition component. Steps from Scaling
and Calibration to Analysis represent the analysis component. The last
step, Display, is how you present the order analysis results.

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Data Source

DSA Device
DAQ Device
WAV File
DAT Recorder
Simulated Signal

Scaling and
Calibration

Scaling Voltage to
Engineering Unit

Calibration

Tachometer Signals
Noise/Vibration
Signals

Tacho Signal
Processing

Tacho Signal
Processing

Pre-filtering

Integration

Get Reference
Data

Order Tracking

Order Power
Spectrum

Order Spectral
Map

Extract Order
Waveform

Vibration Level
Measurement

Waveform Vector
Compensation

Extended
Measurement

Limit Testing

Orbit Plot

Timebase Plot

Polar Plot

Bode Plot

Color Map

Waterfall Plot

Cascade Plot

Shaft Centerline
Plot

Pre-processing

Analysis

Display

Figure 2-6. Order Analysis Application Process

Note

The dashed boxes in Figure 2-6 indicate optional operations.

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Order Analysis Data Acquisition

Systems

This chapter describes the order analysis data acquisition (DAQ) system,
such as signal types and transducers. This chapter also provides tips for
making accurate measurements.

Signal Types and Transducers

This section introduces the signal types used in order analysis, as well as
how to select a transducer to obtain the appropriate signal. Three important
signals for common order analysis functions are vibration, noise, and
tachometer signals.

Vibration Signals
There are three basic types of vibration transducers:

accelerometer

velocity transducer

displacement transducer

Each transducer has specific distinguishing characteristics and common

applications associated with it.

Accelerometer Signals
The accelerometer is the most widely used vibration transducer for
measuring vibrations on stationary machinery elements. An accelerometer
is a full-contact transducer mounted directly to a system or device under
test (DUT). The benefits of an accelerometer include linearity over a wide
frequency range and a large dynamic range. Due to the rugged and reliable
construction of accelerometers, you can use most accelerometers in
hazardous environments.
Accelerometers typically are used in applications involving frequencies
from a few hertz to tens of kilohertz. Most accelerometers usually have low
dynamic signal response below 10 Hz, making them less useful for low

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Order Analysis Data Acquisition Systems

Accelerometer Sensitivity (mv/g)

frequency measurements. The usable frequency range of an accelerometer

is typically15 Hz to10 kHz or above. Figure 3-1 shows the typical
frequency response characteristics of an accelerometer.
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
5

10

100

1000
Frequency (Hz)

10000

50000

Figure 3-1. Typical Frequency Response Characteristic of an Accelerometer

Accelerometers commonly are used to measure casing or machinery

vibrations. Mechanical parts like gearboxes, bearings, and motors often are
tested with accelerometers.

Velocity Signals
Velocity transducers measure the absolute motion of a system or DUT with
a good response range from 15 Hz to 1.5 kHz. Due to their limited response
range and other limitations, accelerometers often are used in place of
velocity transducers in many applications. You can obtain velocity output
from an accelerometer using the integration function provided in the
LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit. Refer to Chapter 4, Order Analysis
Preliminary Processing, for information about the integration function.

Displacement Signals
Displacement transducers, such as shaft-sensing proximity probes, often
are used to obtain measurements such as the relative displacement of a
rotating shaft surface. A proximity probe is a noncontacting transducer
mounted on a stationary mechanical structure. A proximity probe has
excellent signal response between DC and 1.5 kHz as well as flat phase
response in the operational range. Proximity probes typically are used for
lower frequency measurements.

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A proximity probe mainly is used for permanent monitoring and machine

protection measurements for DUTs with fluid film bearings. Because the
flexible fluid film bearing and heavy housing usually generate
low-frequency external vibration responses, the accelerometer or velocity
transducer cannot effectively measure the vibration. By measuring the
relative displacement of the shaft, the permanently mounted proximity
probe can measure the vibration through shaft motion. Proximity probes
also are used for functions such as radial or axial position monitoring and
rotational speed calculation. A proximity probe is a common tachometer
type.
A proximity probe is susceptible to shaft surface scratches, circular
irregularity, shaft bow, and other types of electrical runout. Accurate
displacement signal measurements require runout compensation to remove
these signal errors. The Order Analysis Toolkit provides VIs to acquire a
runout reference and remove the runout error. Refer to Chapter 4, Order
Analysis Preliminary Processing, for information about runout
compensation.

Selecting a Vibration Transducer

System attributes and signals of interest typically determine the transducer
type to use. These attributes include vibration type, system type, and signal
frequency range.

Relative or Absolute Vibration

If the vibration you are monitoring is a signal such as relative displacement
from shaft motion or bearing clearance, then you need to use a proximity
probe. If the signal of interest is something such as the casing vibration of
a gearbox or motor, an accelerometer is typically the best option.

System Rigidity
With a mechanical system composed of flexible heavy rotors and fluid film
bearings like those commonly found in turbo machinery, the vibration does
not transmit to the outer casing well. In these cases you need to use
proximity probes to directly measure shaft motion. If the system or DUT
components are stiff enough to transmit vibrations effectively, such as with
most rolling-element bearings, accelerometers can measure the vibration
effectively. In some cases, a combination of proximity probes and
accelerometers can generate better results.

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Low or High Frequency

Figure 3-2 shows how proximity probe and accelerometer sensitivity
differs over frequency ranges. Measure lower frequency vibrations, such as
shaft motion, with proximity probes. For DUTs or systems with
high-frequency elements such as rolling-element bearings, gearboxes, or
spinning blades, mounting an accelerometer on the casing or housing can
generate better results.

Vibration Amplitude (Mils (p-p), IN/Sec, G)

100
Proximity Probe

Accelerometer

10

1
Velocity Transducer
0.1

0.01
1

10

100

1000

20000

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 3-2. Typical Frequency Range of Common Vibration Transducers

Noise Signals
The most common type of noise transducer is a microphone, a device
designed to produce an electrical signal that is proportional to the sound
pressure, or pressure gradient, in the air immediately in front of the
microphone. A microphone can measure the noise emitted from the
rotating or reciprocating machinery. The noise signals typically are used
for NVH test applications. Performing order analysis on the noise signals
can separate the noise components emitted by different mechanical parts.
This helps you evaluate the noises of individual mechanical parts as well as
the physical conditions of the mechanical parts and the machine as a whole.

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Tachometer Signals
Along with the vibration or noise signals, most order analysis applications
require a tachometer signal to provide a rotational reference. The most
common tachometers are proximity probes, optical transducers, and
magnetic pickups. These transducers generate pulses at a rate proportional
to the rotational speed, typically once per revolution. A proximity probe
detects the presence of a keyway slot. The probe generates a pulse at certain
fixed amplitudes as the keyway slot passes it. Optical probes observe a
piece of reflective tape attached to the shaft. The coincidence of the
reflective tape and the optical probe produces a pulse signal. Figure 3-3
illustrates a proximity probe and an optical probe working as tachometers
to generate pulses. Optical transducers are well-suited to machines that
cannot tolerate drilled holes or milled slots in the exposed shaft surface.
Optical transducers also are appropriate for detecting pulses from high
speed machines.

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Proximity
Probe

Optical
Transducer

Figure 3-3. Proximity Probe and Optical Transducer Tachometers

An encoder is another common tachometer transducer. An encoder usually

generates multiple, even several hundred or more, pulses per revolution.
Due to this ability, encoders can usually generate more accurate speed
results for low rotational speed measurements of less than 100 rpm.

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Analog Tachometer Signals

Analog tachometer signals are tachometer signals obtained through the
analog input channel of a DAQ device. You can acquire the analog
tachometer signal with the same DAQ steps and Order Analysis Toolkit
VIs you use to acquire other signals, such as sound or vibration signals.
Synchronize the tachometer and sound or vibration acquisition channels.
After acquiring the signals, use the VIs in the Order Analysis Toolkit to set
thresholds and detect pulses in the analog tachometer signal.
Some DAQ devices might have difficulty acquiring very high rotational
speed signals from tachometers or from encoders that generate hundreds of
pulses per revolution. Even if you can choose a DAQ device that can sustain
high enough sampling rates to provide sufficient resolution for the
tachometer signal, it is not efficient to sample the noise on vibration signals
at the same high rate due to the demands that synchronization places on the
measurement and computational effort. In this case, acquiring the
tachometer signal with an analog measurement channel might not be a
good choice. You can avoid unnecessary computation and system resource
expenditure by running the acquisition of the noise or vibration signals at
lower frequency or by using a counter device to acquire a digital tachometer
signal.

Digital Tachometer Signals

A digital tachometer signal is a tachometer signal properly conditioned for
acquisition from the gate input channel of a counter device. The counter
device can detect the pulses directly, eliminating the need for additional
VIs to set a threshold for the tachometer signal. A counter device typically
also operates at a much higher sampling rate than the analog input channels
used to acquire sound and vibration signals. For these reasons, a counter
device is ideal for acquiring tachometer signals at high speeds or generated
by encoders. A digital tachometer signal is usually more accurate than an
analog tachometer signal. Digital tachometer signals require the output
tachometer signal to be transistor-transistor logic (TTL) compatible.
Acquiring a digital tachometer signal also requires additional devices such
as a counter/timer device and a signal conditioning device to condition the
tachometer signal to TTL compatibility.
Another possible approach to acquiring a tachometer signal is using a
multifunction reconfigurable I/O (RIO) device such as the NI PXI-7831R.
This kind of device allows you to use the LabVIEW FPGA Module to
configure the digital lines as inputs, outputs, or counters. You also can
perform tachometer signal conditioning with the device as well as
configure a 64-bit counter.

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Data Acquisition Tips

This section discusses some data acquisition concepts and strategies. You
can use this information to help ensure the data processed by the Order
Analysis Toolkit VIs is as accurate as possible for more accurate
measurements and analysis.

Aliasing
Aliasing is the phenomenon by which frequencies greater than the Nyquist
frequency are shifted erroneously to lower frequencies. Detecting if the
acquired signal has aliased frequencies after the signal is digitized is
extremely difficult, if not impossible. The Nyquist frequency is calculated
with the following formula:
f Nyquist = sample rate 2
When acquiring data with an NI dynamic signal acquisition (DSA) device,
alias protection is automatic. The DSA device employs analog and digital
lowpass filters to reject the frequency components above the Nyquist
frequency.
When acquiring data with other DAQ devices, NI strongly recommends
that you apply anti-aliasing filters to each channel prior to the data
acquisition.

Sampling Rate
The scan rate, or the sampling rate in NI-DAQmx, determines how often an
analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion takes place. A fast input sampling rate
acquires more points in a given time and can form a better representation
of the original signal than a slow input sampling rate.
The sampling rate is determined by two key parameters, maximum
rotational speed and maximum order to analyze. For sound and vibration
signal acquisition, choose the sampling rate according to the following
equation:
sample rate sound and vibration = 2.56 max order max speed (RPM) 60
When using an analog input channel to acquire a tachometer signal, set the
sampling rate to a higher rate. When performing run-up or run-down tests,
the measurement results are highly dependent on the accuracy of the
tachometer pulse measurement. You typically want to select a tachometer

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signal sample rate at least four times larger than the sound and vibration
signal sampling rate. Use the following equation to calculate the
tachometer signal sampling rate:
sample rate tacho = 4 2.56 max order max speed (RPM) 60
Note The max order is the actual max order output in the OAT Convert to Even Angle
Signal VI. The maximum order can be much higher than the one you specify when the
number of pulses the tachometer generates in each revolution is larger than what is in the
max order control.

The synchronized analog input channels for tachometer and sound and
vibration signals usually work at the same sampling rate. When measuring
high orders running at a fast speed, you must set the sampling rate to a very
high value. The fast sampling rate for the tachometer signal leads to
unnecessary processing for the slower sound and vibration signals. Based
on the sampling rate of your DAQ device, you might not be able to set the
sampling rate to the required value.
In this case, you can use a counter device to acquire the tachometer signal
and keep the sound and vibration signal sampling rate at an appropriate
value. When using a counter device synchronized with a DSA device, the
counter can acquire the tachometer signal at a much higher rate than the
DSA acquisition rate. Using this combination of devices can generate more
accurate measurement results.

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Processing

For most order analysis applications, you typically need to preprocess the
noise, vibration, and tachometer signals before you apply order analysis
algorithms. For example, you can select the frequency band of interest with
filters. You also can remove baseline drifting in the tachometer signal by
detrending the signal.
This chapter briefly discusses order analysis preliminary processing steps,
including scaling and calibration, tachometer signal processing, vibration
preprocessing, and reference signal processing.

Scaling and Calibration

This section describes the scaling and calibration functions available in the
LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit. Scaling to engineering units (EU) and
calibration typically are performed at the beginning of many order analysis
applications. These steps give the analysis VIs a calibrated signal in the
correct engineering units.

Scaling to Engineering Units

Typically, scaling a signal to the appropriate EU occurs before any
analysis. Use the SVL Scale Voltage to EU VI to scale the signal to the
appropriate EU.
All measurement and analysis VIs in the Order Analysis Toolkit expect
input signals, and return results, with the appropriate EU. Some examples
of signals and supported EU include time-domain signals in seconds,
frequency spectra in decibels with the proper reference, and phase
information in degrees or radians. To handle EU properly, the high-level
VIs need to operate on a signal scaled to the appropriate EU.
If you use any method outside the Order Analysis Toolkit to apply scaling to a
waveform, do not use the SVL Scale Voltage to EU VI. NI provides several tools and
methods to apply scaling to a waveform. These tools include, but are not limited to,
Note

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NI-DAQmx tasks or global channels created with Measurement & Automation Explorer
(MAX), the DAQ Assistant, or the DAQmx Create Virtual Channel VI.

Calibration
You typically perform system or sensor calibration before acquiring data
for order analysis. Most calibrations are performed with a dedicated
calibrator, such as a pistonphone for microphones or a shaker for
accelerometers.
The Order Analysis Toolkit provides sensor-specific calibration VIs, such
as the SVL Calibrate Microphone VI for microphones and SVL Calibrate
Accelerometer VI for accelerometers. The sensor-specific VIs are similar
to the general-purpose SVL Calibrate Sensor VI, but the sensor-specific
VIs offer the advantage of having default values commonly used for
pistonphones or hand-held shakers. All of the Calibration VIs use
characteristics of the calibrator, such as reference calibration value and
frequency, to perform calibration.

Tachometer Signal Processing

The Order Analysis Toolkit provides several VIs in the Tacho Signal
Processing VIs to process the analog and digital tachometer signals. You
can use these VIs to perform signal conditioning on tachometer signals,
locate tachometer pulse positions, and calculate rotational speed.

Locating Pulse Positions

The OAT Analog Tacho Process VI locates tachometer pulses in analog
tachometer signals. You can set the threshold, pulse width, and slope with
this VI to identify the time instances of tachometer pulses. For digital
tachometer signals, the OAT Digital Tacho Process VI calculates the
tachometer pulse time instances by comparing the counter timebase value
with the tachometer counts read from the counter.

Calculating the Rotational Speed

The OAT Analog Tacho Process VI and OAT Digital Tacho Process VI
both output the rotational speed as a function of time. These VIs employ a
digital differentiator method to calculate the rotational speed from the

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tachometer pulses. The rotational speed is calculated as the first derivative

of rotation angle with the following equation:
d
( t ) = -----dt
where is the frequency.

Removing Trend in Analog Tachometer Signal

Trend in analog tachometer signals can influence where you set the
threshold to locate tachometer pulse positions. Use the OAT Detrend
Analog Tacho Signal VI to remove the trend from the signal. Choose an
appropriate detrend level between zero and one, according to the trend
property in the tachometer signal. As the value of the detrend level
increases, the trend value becomes closer to the value of the analog
tachometer signal. When the detrend level approaches one, the trend
converges with the original analog tachometer signal.
Figure 4-1 shows how the detrend function effectively removes the trend
from an analog tachometer signal. The lighter line is the signal with a sine
trend. The scale of the lighter line is on the left of the plot from 6 to 6. The
darker line is the detrended signal. The detrended signal line scale is on the
right from 1 to 1. You can set a uniform threshold to detect pulse time
instances in the detrended signal, whereas you could not set a uniform
threshold with the original signal.

Figure 4-1. Comparison of Detrended and Original Tachometer Signal

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Compensating for the Input Filter Delay

All DSA devices, and some DAQ devices with anti-aliasing or other filter
protection, have an input filter delay that you might need to compensate for
in an application. When acquiring a tachometer signal with an analog data
acquisition channel, you do not have to compensate for the input filter
delay. The vibration and tachometer acquisition channels use the same
anti-aliasing filter. Therefore, the vibration signal and tachometer signal
contain the same delay. However, if you acquire the tachometer signal with
a counter device, you must compensate for the input filter delay in the
vibration acquisition channel. This requirement is because the counter
device does not have an anti-aliasing filter that delays the signal. Use the
OAT Build Digital Tacho Info VI to compensate for the acquisition
channel input filter delay. For the NI 447X and NI 446X series DSA
devices, the phase delay is automatically computed by the OAT Build
Digital Tacho Info VI. For other types of DAQ devices, you must enter the
appropriate device information to perform the compensation. You can find
the group delay information for individual DAQ devices in the device
specifications.

Calculating a Speed Profile Without a Tachometer Signal

Some test environments do not allow you to install a tachometer onto the
DUT to get the speed reference. If this is the case, use the OAT Tachless
Speed Profile Generator VI to compute the simulated speed profile. This VI
computes the simulated speed profile by performing some interactive
operations on the sound or vibration signal spectral maps. Use the
simulated speed profile to extract order waveforms and compute order
magnitude from order waveforms. Due to the lack of a real tachometer
trigger signal, you cannot get accurate phase information with a simulated
speed profile.
You cannot use the simulated speed profile with resampling based order analysis VIs
such as the OAT Convert to Even Angle Signal VI and OAT Spectral Map VI. The
simulated speed profile only works with Order Analysis VIs based on Gabor transform,
such as the OAT Extract Order Waveform VI and OAT Extract Most Significant Order
Waveforms VI.

Note

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Generating a Simulated Speed Profile

A window with a time-frequency color map appears every time you run the
OAT Tachless Speed Profile Generator VI. You must manually specify the
order components on the color map to generate the simulated speed profile.
To specify the order components and generate the simulated speed profile,
complete the following steps:
1.

On the block diagram, connect the sound or vibration signal output

of the OAT Tachless Speed Profile Generator VI to the OAT Tachless
Speed Profile Generator VI and run this VI.

2.

In the Fundamental Speed Tracker window that appears, adjust the

Window Length to allow the best view of the plot.

3.

Select the most significant order and place a set of control points on the
order trace by right-clicking on the trace and selecting Add Control
Point as shown in Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-2. Adding Control Points on the Most Significant Order

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4.

Specify the order number to which you have added control points in
Current Order.

5.

Select the Refine tab.

6.

Set the Mask Width to a value sufficient to cover the most significant
order. You also can add other significant orders in Reference Orders
to help refine the most significant order. Figure 4-3 shows the options
available on the Refine tab.

Figure 4-3. Refine Selected Order

7.

Click the Refine button to get the final order lines in the
Time-Frequency plot. The OAT Tachless Speed Profile Generator VI
computes the simulated speed profile based on this order line.
Figure 4-4 shows the final order line.

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Figure 4-4. Final Order Line

8.

If you want, compute the order waveform and magnitude with the
simulated speed profile. Figure 4-5 shows the simulated speed profile.

Figure 4-5. Simulated Speed Profile

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Vibration Preprocessing
Vibration preprocessing refers to the preliminary analysis functions
applied to the acquired vibration signal prior to any order analysis
functions. Vibration preprocessing consists mainly of two functions:

Filtering

Integration

Filtering
When measuring vibration signals, you typically measure over a fixed
frequency range. For example, when measuring the vibration levels of a
gearbox, you know that the casing velocity should be within the range
10 Hz to 1 kHz, while the gear casing vibration acceleration should be
within the range 1 kHz to 10 kHz. With some basic knowledge of the DUT,
you can formulate the requirements for highpass, lowpass, or bandpass
filters. Make sure you complete all filtering steps before integration.
You can find the OAT IIR Preprocess Filter VI and OAT FIR Preprocess
Filter VI. Use these two VIs to design common lowpass, highpass,
bandpass, and bandstop filters, as well as filter the input signals.
The OAT IIR Preprocess Filter VI provides Butterworth, Chebyshev,
Inverse Chebyshev, and Elliptic methods to design an Infinite Impulse
Response (IIR) filter. You can specify the filter type, frequency range, band
specifications, and filter order to design the IIR filter.
The OAT FIR Preprocess Filter VI uses the Kaiser window method to
design a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter. You can specify the filter
type, frequency range, and band specifications for that filter.
Refer to the LabVIEW Analysis Concepts manual for more information about FIR and
IIR filters.

Tip

You can filter the signal with the same VI used to design the filter. The VIs
in the Order Analysis Toolkit only provide basic functions for filter design
and implementation. For more advanced filter design and implementation,
you might consider using the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit.

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Figure 4-6. Continuous DAQ and FIR or IIR Filtering

Integration
Use the integration function to convert between acceleration, velocity and
displacement. If you need to operate on velocity or displacement signals
after acquiring acceleration or velocity signals, you can integrate the
acquired signal to yield the desired result.
You can use the SVL Integration VI to integrate time-domain signals. For
more information about the basic concepts of integration and challenges
using the SVL Integration VI, refer to the LabVIEW Sound and Vibration
Toolkit User Manual, available on ni.com.

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Reference Signal Processing

DUT imperfections can result in distortion or unwanted signals in many
order analysis applications. These imperfections primarily affect the
accuracy of proximity probe signals. The proximity probe measures the
distance between the probe tip and the shaft surface. Due to the existence
of shaft scratches, shaft bow, and other mechanical or electrical runout, the
shaft imperfections and resulting unwanted signals distort the vibration
signals of interest. When the shaft rotational speed is low, shaft
imperfections dominates the vibration signal measured by the proximity
probes. Therefore, allow the shaft to rotate at a low speed to collect the
reference signal, and then subtract the reference signal from the signal you
acquire during normal operation to remove the imperfection errors. This is
called slow-roll compensation. The reference signal is the slow-roll
reference signal. The slow-roll speed is typically below 10 percent of the
first resonance speed.
To perform slow-roll compensation, complete the following steps:
1.

Extract the slow-roll reference signal. Use the OAT Get Vector
Reference VI to extract the vector reference signal. Use the OAT Get
Even Angle Reference VI to extract the even-angle reference signal
from the slow-roll vibration and tachometer signal.

2.

Remove the reference signal from the acquired vibration signals. Use
the OAT Compensate Vector Signal VI to remove the slow-roll errors
in the vector signal. Use the OAT Compensate Even Angle Signal VI
to remove the slow-roll errors from the even-angle signal. Even-angle
signal compensation typically is performed prior to displaying an
unfiltered orbit plot and unfiltered timebase plot. You can compensate
the even-angle signal with an even-angle reference or vector reference.

You usually need to compensate for centerline offset when you compute the
centerline plot of shafts. This requires another type of reference signal
called a DC gap reference. The DC gap reference is the DC values of the
probes when the shaft is at rest.

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To perform a shaft centerline position measurement, complete the

following steps:
1.

Measure the XY proximity probes DC gap voltage values at rest. Use

the OAT Get Gap Reference VI to compute the DC gap.

2.

Subtract the at-rest values from the measured DC voltages and

combine the results to form the shaft centerline plot. Use the OAT DC
Gap Estimator VI to subtract the DC gap value at rest from the
acquired DC gap value.

For more information about how to use the VIs to extract and compensate for a
reference signal, refer to the examples in the Order Analysis Toolkit.

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Displays

The LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit provides several tools to acquire,

analyze, and present noise and vibration information. These tools include
the spectral map, order waveform, order spectrum and order magnitude and
phase functions. You can use the analysis and display tools in the Order
Analysis Toolkit to analyze noise and vibration signals and improve your
knowledge of the DUT.
This chapter briefly discusses the order analysis functions and available
order analysis displays. This chapter also discusses the analysis and display
steps in the order analysis application process.
When programming with the Order Analysis Toolkit, you might encounter
three signal types: waveform, even-angle, and vector signal. A waveform
signal is the time signal acquired with a fixed time sampling rate. An
even-angle signal is a resampled signal with a constant number of samples
per revolution. A vector signal is a complex signal comprised of the
magnitude and phase of a certain order. All three signals might work as the
input signals, intermediate results, as well as the final output results in
different functions and displays.
The order analysis and display VIs use different signal types as inputs and
outputs and have a different programming flow. Understanding the
programming flow can help you better use the order analysis function and
display VIs. Figure 5-1 shows a comprehensive flowchart for all order
analysis and display VIs. The leftmost block is the well-conditioned and
preprocessed data source containing both the waveform signals and speed
profile. Through some intermediate and final processing functions, the
rightmost blocks are the order analysis results and displays. Look for the
specific function you need from the rightmost portion of the chart and trace
the programming flow for that function. For example, if you want to display
a filtered orbit plot, you need to convert the waveform signal to an
even-angle signal. Then you must use the OAT Order Magnitude and Phase
VI to convert the even-angle signal to a vector signal. In some cases, you

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might want to remove the slow-roll errors in the vector signal. Finally, you
need to use OAT Orbit Plot VI to display the results. The boxes in dashed
lines are optional operations.

Waveform

Spectra

Data Source

Spectral Map

Color Map

Speed
Waterfall Plot

Cascade Plot

Waveform

Tachless Order
Tracking

Vibration Level
Measurement
Simulated Speed
Order Waveforms

Extract Order
Waveforms

Speed
Waveform

Order Waveforms
Bode Plot

Even-Angle Signal
Compensate
Even Angle
Signal

Convert to evenangle signal

Vibration Level
Measurement

Order Power
Spectrum
Even-Angle
Signal

DC Gap
Estimator

Order Magnitude
and Phase

Unfiltered Orbit/
Timebase Plot
DC Gap

Shaft Centerline
Plot

Compensate
Vector
Signal

Bode Plot

Vector Signal

Polar Plot

Filtered Orbit and

Timebase Plot

Figure 5-1. Programming Flow Chart of Order Analysis Functions and Displays

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Spectral Map
A spectral map is a three-dimensional display of a noise or vibration
spectrum as a function of time or speed. The spectrum can be a frequency
or order spectrum. A spectral map provides an excellent overview of the
frequency or order content of a signal related to the incremental time or
speed. A spectral map can help you locate strong noise or vibration
components, identify the components changing with the rotational speed,
and the fixed components within a certain frequency range.
Figure 5-2 shows the spectral map of the vibration signal acquired from a
gearbox casing in a run-up and coast-down test. On this spectral map the
strong order components change with time. In the frequency range from
1.8 kHz to 3.0 kHz, the vibrations are stronger than in other frequency
ranges. That range is the resonance range of the gearbox. In general, a
spectral map helps you get overview information such as how the signal
components change, and the location of the significant frequency or order
components.
Because a spectral map provides overall signal information, it is usually
performed as the first step in order analysis applications. You can locate the
signal components of interest from the view of time, speed, frequency, or
order. After you locate the components of interest, you can perform some
more detailed analysis with other functions such as order power spectrum,
order magnitude and phase, or order waveform.

Figure 5-2. Gearbox Vibration Signal Spectral Map

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You can use the OAT Spectral Map VI to generate the spectral map data as
a two-dimensional array. You can display the spectral map data in a color
map, waterfall plot or cascade plot for offline or online analysis.

Color Map
A color map displays the spectral map data in a customized intensity graph.
The color map uses different colors on the plot to represent the signal power
distribution.
When displaying a signal with a color map, you can select any one of eight
plot types in the OAT Spectral Map VI to view different information related
to time, speed, frequency and order. Figure 5-3 shows vibration results
from a run-up test in a Frequency-Time and RPM-Order display. In
Figure 5-3, you can see the Frequency-Time and RPM-Order information
related to different units.

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Figure 5-3. Frequency-Time and RPM-Order Display of Vibration Signal

A colormap is used primarily for offline analysis. By comparing the display

results with different formats and units, you can get a complete knowledge
of the signal and determine further analysis steps.
Connect the spectral map data to the OAT Config Color Map Indicator VI
palette to create and display the color map.

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Waterfall Plot
Use a waterfall plot to observe frequency or order spectrum changes versus
time. A waterfall plot consists of a series of spectra acquired at consecutive
times. The abscissa displays frequency or order. The ordinate axis shows
the time. The third axis is the amplitude or power. Figure 5-4 shows a
waterfall plot.

Figure 5-4. Waterfall Plot

A waterfall plot is used primarily for online analysis, because it shows how
vibration changes with time and indicates which components are related to
rotational speed. Connect the spectral map data to the OAT Waterfall Plot
VI to display a waterfall plot.

Cascade Plot
Use a cascade plot to observe frequency or order changes versus rotational
speed. A cascade plot consists of a series of spectra acquired at consecutive
speeds, either increasing or decreasing. The abscissa displays frequency or
order. The ordinate axis shows speed and the third axis is the amplitude or
power. Figure 5-5 shows a cascade plot.

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Figure 5-5. Cascade Plot

You can use a cascade plot for both online or offline analysis. A cascade
plot is used primarily to show results for tests such as run-up and
coast-down tests. The components that move across the plot as the speed
changes are the order components, while fixed frequency components
move straight up the plot. You can use this cascade plot feature to recognize
machine resonances which occur at fixed frequencies.
Connect the spectral map data to the OAT Cascade Plot VI to create a
cascade plot.

Order Power Spectrum

An order power spectrum measurement gives a quantitative description of
the amplitude, or power, of the orders in a signal. It provides a good view
of all order components of a signal. This can help you find significant
orders and compare the level of different order components.
When analyzing machinery noise and vibration, you usually perform an
order power spectrum measurement after displaying a spectral map. After
you identify a certain time block as the signal of interest on the spectral map
display, you can perform an order power spectrum on this signal block to
get more detailed order information. You can identify the characteristic
order components, form a quantitative spectrum measurement of the
orders, and compare the amplitude of different orders. Figure 5-6 shows a
typical order power spectrum for a gearbox. You can identify the significant
orders from this plot, measure the amplitude of the orders, and compare
different orders from this plot.

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Figure 5-6. Order Power Spectrum

Use the OAT Convert to Even Angle Signal VI to convert a waveform to an

even-angle signal. Use the OAT Order Power Spectrum VI to compute the
order power spectrum. The OAT Order Power Spectrum VI applies an FFT
on the even-angle signal and calculates the power spectrum of the FFT
results. When calculating the order power spectrum, the FFT takes a block
of even-angle signals and returns a discrete spectrum. In the spectrum, the
order information is resolved into a finite number of lines, or bins.

Spectrum Averaging
Averaging successive measurements usually improves measurement
accuracy. You typically average the spectrum, but not the time record
directly. The OAT Order Power Spectrum VI supports spectrum averaging.
You can choose from the following averaging modes to perform spectrum
averaging:

RMS averaging

Vector averaging

Peak hold

Weighting mode

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RMS Averaging
Performing RMS averaging on the spectrum can reduce the signal
fluctuation, but not the noise floor. Because RMS averaging averages the
power of the signal, the averaged RMS spectrum does not contain phase
information. The VIs compute RMS averaging for order power spectrum
according to the following equation:
X X
where

X is the complex FFT of the even angle signal x

X* is the complex conjugate of X.

Vector Averaging
Vector averaging, also called coherent averaging or time/angle
synchronous averaging, can reduce the noise floor in the even-angle signal.
Vector averaging computes the complex quantity and averages the real and
imaginary parts separately. The VIs compute vector averaging for order
power spectrum according to the following equation:
X X
where

X is the complex FFT of the even angle signal x

X* is the complex conjugate of X.

When performing vector averaging, use a triggered even-angle signal.

Otherwise, you might eliminate strong order components in the averaged
spectrum. Use the OAT Output Triggered Even Angle Signal VI to generate
a triggered signal for vector averaging.
You must specify a trigger period when using the OAT Output Triggered
Even Angle Signal VI. The trigger period determines how frequently to
trigger the signal output. The trigger period must be equal to the period of
significant order components in the signal. The trigger period the VI uses
is the smallest integer that is a multiple of the specified trigger period and
greater than the block size. For example, when the significant order
component is 0.5 order, the sample rate is 160 samples/revolution, and the
block size is 512, set the trigger period to 2 revolutions. Figure 5-7 shows
how the triggered even-angle signal is output.

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4 Revolutions
160

160

160

512 Samples

512

4 Revolutions
160

160

160

160

160

512 Samples

512

Output-Triggered
Even-Angle
Signal

Figure 5-7. Triggered Even Angle Signal Generation

Choosing Between RMS and Vector Averaging

Use RMS averaging when applying an order power spectrum to an
unknown even-angle signal. RMS averaging works with signals with
different order components and generates good spectrum results.
Use vector averaging when you already have some knowledge of the signal
and want to reduce the noise floor in the signal. Carefully trigger the
even-angle signal to generate good spectrum results.

Peak Hold
Peak hold averaging is performed at each individual order line and retains
the RMS peak levels of the averaged quantities from one FFT spectrum to
the next. Peak hold averaging is most useful when configuring a
measurement system or when applying a limit to an order spectrum. The
VIs compute peak hold averaging for order power spectrum according to
the following equation:
MAX ( X X )
where

X is the complex FFT of the even angle signal x

X* is the complex conjugate of X.

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Weighting Mode
You can choose from the following weighting modes when performing
RMS or vector spectrum averaging:

Linear

Exponential

Linear weighting weights each individual spectrum by the same amount in

the averaged spectrum. Linear weighting is used most often for analysis
purposes.
Exponential weighting weights the most recent spectrum more than the
previous spectra, which makes the averaged spectrum more responsive to
changes in the input signal. This responsiveness makes exponential
weighting ideal for the configuration phase of a measurement. Exponential
weighting also is useful for monitoring applications, because the averaged
spectrum responds to a singular event. A linearly averaged spectrum might
not respond noticeably to a singular event, especially with a large number
of averages.

Extended Measurement
You can use the Extended Measurement VIs to perform extended
measurement on the order power spectrum results:

SVL Unit Conversion VI

SVL Spectrum Peak Search VI

SVL Power in Band VI

SVL Limit Testing VI

Unit Conversion
Use the SVL Unit Conversion VI to switch the order power spectrum
between magnitude and power spectra, switch between dB on and off,
change the dB reference, or change the peak unit.

Spectrum Peak Search

The SVL Spectrum Peak Search VI estimates the order and the amplitude
of the order components that satisfy the search criteria specified in the peak
search settings. The spectrum must exceed the specified threshold for the
VI to identify a single order component. Specify the threshold in the same
units as the input spectrum.

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Power in Band
The SVL Power in Band VI measures the total power within a specific
order range. The VI computes the power in band from the order power
spectrum according to the following equation:
stop order

PS

start orderPower = ---------------------ENBW

where

PS is the order power spectrum.

ENBW is the equivalent noise bandwidth of the applied window.

Order Waveform, Magnitude, and Phase

An order waveform is the time signal associated with a certain order, that
is synchronous to the rotational speed. You can compute the magnitude and
phase of a specific order from the order waveform. You also can compute
order magnitude and phase from an even-angle signal. Unlike order power
spectrum which provides information for all of the orders of a certain time
block signal, order waveform, magnitude, and phase provide information
only for one particular order relative to time. Order magnitude and phase
also can provide the order information relative to speed when you perform
a run-up or coast-down test. The display of magnitude and phase
information relative to speed is a Bode plot. Order magnitude and phase
help you view noise or vibration signals from another perspective by
focusing on particular orders.
Use the spectral map or order power spectrum to identify the most
significant orders. After identifying the most significant orders, you can
extract order waveform, magnitude, and phase to get detailed information
for individual orders.

Order Waveform
Figure 5-8 shows the original waveform and extracted order waveform.
You can see the contribution of the fourth order to the overall waveform
signal. You can also calculate the running RMS value of a certain order
from order waveform, which you then can use to indicate the amplitude of
a certain order.

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Order Analysis Functions and Displays

4th Order Waveform

Figure 5-8. Original Signal and Extracted Order Waveform

One feature of order waveform extraction is the ability to play back the time
signal. Playing back the time signal enables you to listen to the sound of a
certain order or a combination of orders. This feature is useful for both
testing and monitoring applications, or any application where a microphone
acquires the signal. You can use it to perform noise analysis and locate a
noise source by comparing the noise generated by different orders or order
combinations. The most common applications utilizing this feature are in
sound quality engineering. You can analyze and synthesize the sound of
several orders and evaluate the subjective perception of these sounds. In
automotive NVH tests, one example is the evaluation of power train
components like the engine to get a more comfortable noise level for the
passengers.
Use the OAT Extract Order Waveforms VI to compute the order waveforms
of specified orders. You also can compute the order components with the
highest power with the OAT Extract Most Significant Order Waveforms VI.
Specify the number of significant orders you would like to extract, and the
VI returns the most significant order waveforms.
To better select the order of interest and specify the appropriate bandwidth,
you may interactively extract the order from a time-frequency color map
with cursor positions. You can move the cursor to the order of interest on
the time-frequency color map and specify the bandwidth to cover that order.
Figure 5-9 shows the color map and the extracted order waveform.

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Figure 5-9. Interactively Selecting Orders in a Color Map to Extract Order Waveforms

Order Magnitude and Phase

Many mechanical faults are associated with certain orders, analyzing order
magnitude and phase can help you detect mechanical faults directly. For
example, a strong first order magnitude indicates imbalance in most cases.
Analyzing the first order magnitude can help you identify the imbalance.
Moreover, the magnitude and phase of the first order can help you correct
the imbalance by adding weights on the appropriate rotor positions.
Use the OAT Order Magnitude and Phase VI to calculate the order
magnitude and phase from an even-angle signal or order waveform. The
output of the magnitude is expressed in RMS value. You can use the SVL
Unit Conversion VI to convert the output to zero-peak or peak-peak value.

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Phase Definition
Phase describes the relative timing between two signals. Phase is the angle
difference of the measured point and reference point. You can use phase to
locate the imbalance location on a rotor. Measuring the phase of vibration
signals requires a reference signal or a reference trigger point. In machinery
vibration analysis, the tachometer pulses work as the reference trigger
points.
The phase measurement in machinery vibration measurement uses the
phase lag convention. Phase is defined as the angle difference measured
from the peak of a vibration signal backward in time to the reference trigger
point. This means the directions of numerically increasing angles are
always set against the shaft rotation.
Figure 5-10 shows the relationship of the vibration signal and reference
signal to zero degree phase. The shaft has a heavy spot and a keyway slot.
When the keyway slot passes the tachometer, the tachometer detects a
trigger pulse. The heavy spot causes the shaft to vibrate as the shaft rotates.
When the heavy spot passes the proximity probe, the vibration reaches a
peak. When the heavy spot passes the proximity probe and the keyway slot
passes the tachometer simultaneously, the peak of the vibration does not lag
or lead the reference trigger point. At this point the phase is zero degrees.

= 0
Proximity
Probe
Heavy Spot
Proximity
Probe
Tachometer

CW
Keyway Slot

Figure 5-10. Zero Degree Phase Signal

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The other part of the convention dictates that 90 degrees means that the
peak of vibration lags 90 degrees behind the trigger point. Figure 5-11
illustrates the 90 degree phase. When the vibration signal reaches the peak,
rotate the shaft backward (counter the rotation direction) until the keyway
slot passes the tachometer. The number of degrees you rotate is the phase
lag, or the phase value in machinery vibration measurement. Figure 5-11
shows the relationship of the vibration signal and reference signal to the
90 degrees phase convention.

= 90
Proximity
Probe
Heavy
Spot
90

Proximity
Probe
Tachometer

CW
Keyway Slot

Figure 5-11. Ninety Degree Phase Signal

Bode Plot
A Bode plot displays order magnitudes and phases as a function of
rotational speed or frequency. You typically use Bode plots for transient
analysis in both start-up and coast-down conditions. A Bode plot can help
to identify the resonance speed of a rotor or examine the rotor dynamics on
an order basis. Figure 5-12 shows the resonance phenomena of a rotor in a
Bode plot. When the rotor passes the resonance speed area, the magnitude
reaches the peak and the phase shift approaches 180 degrees. Figure 5-12
shows that the resonance speed is at approximately 3,500 rpm.

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Figure 5-12. Bode Plot Display

Use the OAT Order Magnitude and Phase VI to generate a Bode plot.

Polar Plot
Polar plots and Bode plots often are combined to describe the rotating
speed vector signal locus during speed changes. A Bode plot provides
excellent change visibility with respect to speed, while the polar plot shows
improved phase variation resolution. This is due to the nature of both the
Bode and the polar plots. The x-axis in the Bode plot is speed or frequency,
which allows you to see the changes in magnitude and phase over speed or
frequency. In the polar plot, the plot displays the data in polar coordinates,
which allows you to see the phase changes in the range of zero to
360 degrees. Figure 5-13 shows a polar plot. From this plot, you can see
that the phase angle shifts 180 degrees after the speed passes the resonance
range.

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Figure 5-13. Polar Plot with Different Probe Angles and Shaft Rotation Directions

Use the OAT Polar Plot VI to display a polar plot. The polar plot zero
degree point always is located at the transducer angular position. You can
compare data from orthogonally mounted proximity probe pairs with a
polar plot. Because the VI defines the phase of the vector signal as a phase
lag value, the phase increases in the direction counter to shaft rotation in the
polar plot. Specify the probe angle value and shaft rotation direction in the
channel settings control to set the transducer angular position. The VI
rotates the plot accordingly. Figure 5-13 also shows the polar plot when the
probe is at zero degrees with a counter clockwise rotation direction and
90 degrees with a clockwise rotation direction. From this plot, you can see
how the zero degree position changes according to the probe angle position
and how the phase changes according to the shaft rotational direction.

Orbit, Timebase, and Shaft Centerline Plots

Use orbit, timebase, and shaft centerline plots to display shaft motion.
Typically two proximity probes acquire the signals for these three plots.
The proximity probes typically are mounted orthogonally on the fluid film
bearing. An orbit plot shows the dynamic motion of the center of a rotating
shaft with signals from two proximity probes. A timebase plot displays
dynamic vibration amplitude information with the same proximity probe
signals as the orbit plot. A timebase plot displays the signal as a function of
time in one or more revolutions with two separate plots.

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A shaft centerline plot displays the shaft center DC position changes within
a bearing clearance range. An orbit plot represents the shaft center AC
dynamic motion. Use a shaft centerline plot with an orbit plot to track both
aspects of shaft motion.
Figure 5-14 shows how you might configure a system to display an orbit
plot and a shaft centerline plot. In this plot, the outer circle depicts the
bearing clearance. Two orthogonally mounted proximity probes measure
the shaft motion. As the shaft speeds up in the counterclockwise (CCW)
rotation direction, the center moves from the bottom of the bearing
clearance to the normal operational center as shown by the shaft centerline.
As the shaft continues in normal operation, the shaft center moves around
the normal operating center as shown by the shaft orbit.

Vertical
Probe
Horizontal
Probe
Bearing
Center
Vertical
Clearance

CCW
Rotation

Shaft
Centerline

Shaft Orbit
Horizontal
Clearance

Figure 5-14. Shaft Centerline and Orbit Within Bearing Clearance

The most common use for the orbit, timebase, and shaft centerline plots is
to monitor turbomachinery with fluid film bearings. Some turbomachinery
mechanical faults have characteristic plot shapes. You can compare the
acquired plots with any known characteristics to detect faults and diagnose
machine problems.

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Orbit Plot
An orbit plot is a plot that shows the dynamic motion of the center of a
rotating shaft. An orbit plot generates a two-dimensional image of the shaft
center motion. Figure 5-15 shows a filtered orbit plot and the typical setup
for monitoring a rotating shaft with an orbit plot. XY proximity probes,
two probes of the same type mounted 90 degrees apart, monitor the shaft.
If you do not use orthogonally-mounted XY probes, the orbit might appear
skewed.

Y Axis

1.50
1.25
1.00
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
0.25
0.55
0.75
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.5 1.0 0.5

0..5

1.0

1.5

X Axis

Figure 5-15. Orbit Plot

Use the OAT Orbit Plot VI to display both filtered and unfiltered orbit plots.
The unfiltered plot shows the direct motion of the shaft center and displays
all orders. An unfiltered orbit plot displays shaft motion based on data from
an even-angle signal. A filtered plot shows the synchronous motion of a
particular order. A filtered orbit plot displays the shaft motion based on
vector signal data.
When creating an orbit plot, you need to pay attention to two important
issues:

Probe angle correction

Blank-bright sequence and trigger pulse direction

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Probe Angle Correction

In many cases, you cannot mount probes easily in the desired 90 degrees
out of phase horizontal and vertical orientation. By default, the orbit
display assumes the signals are from probes in the horizontal and vertical
positions. To display the data with respect to a true vertical and horizontal
coordinate system, you must virtually rotate the data by the probe angular
offset from the desired coordinates. The OAT Orbit Plot VI can
automatically rotate the orbit display to the true horizontal and vertical
probe orientations. Specify the probe angle of the x-axis and y-axis probes
in the channel settings control.

Blank-bright Sequence and Trigger Pulse Direction

In an orbit plot, there is a bright spot and a blank spot in the motion curve.
The bright and blank spots in the orbit plot represent the trigger point for
the tachometer observing the shaft rotation. In the trigger signal, the
negative slope produces a blank spot while the positive slope produces a
bright spot. A negative-going trigger pulse produces a blank-bright
sequence. A positive-going trigger pulse produces a bright-blank sequence.
Figure 5-16 illustrates each type of trigger pulse.

Negative Going Trigger Pulse

Positive Going Trigger Pulse

Figure 5-16. Trigger Pulse Direction and Associated Blank-Bright Sequence

A negative-going trigger pulse typically is used for a proximity probe

observing a notch or a hole drilled into a shaft. A positive-going trigger
pulse usually is generated for an optical transducer.

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Use the blank-bright sequence in an orbit plot to determine the orbit

procession direction. Typically, the orbit procession direction is described
as forward or backward.

Forwardorbit procession is in the same direction as the shaft

rotation.

Backwardorbit procession is in the reverse direction of the shaft

rotation.

The blank-bright sequence represents the orbit procession direction. The orbit
procession direction can be different from the shaft rotation direction. Some complex
machinery instabilities display an order less than one that have a procession direction that
is the opposite of the shaft rotation.

Note

Figure 5-17 illustrates the variation of blank-bright sequences with pulse

type and the orbit procession direction, both clockwise (CW) and CCW.

CCW

CCW

CW

CW

Negative Going Trigger Pulse

Positive Going Trigger Pulse

Figure 5-17. Variation of Blank-Bright Sequence with Pulse Type and Orbit Precession

Timebase Plot
A timebase plot displays the vibration amplitude of one or more revolutions
of a shaft as a function of time. Whereas an orbit plot shows the whole
picture of the rotating shaft, a timebase plot allows you to get a clearer
picture of what an individual transducer is seeing in terms of vibration
amplitude. A timebase plot also uses the blank-bright system to represent
points on the plot. The timebase plot follows the same convention as the
orbit plot. Figure 5-18 shows a typical unfiltered timebase plot for the
x-axis and y-axis. Each dot on the plot represents the trigger pulse position.

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Figure 5-18. Typical Unfiltered Timebase Plot

Use the OAT Timebase Plot VI to draw both unfiltered and filtered plots.
The unfiltered timebase plot displays shaft vibration with an even-angle
signal. The filtered timebase plot displays the shaft vibration with a vector
signal. A filtered timebase plot only shows the synchronous motion of a
certain order.

Shaft Centerline Plot

Use a shaft centerline plot to display changes in radial rotor position with
respect to a stationary bearing over a range of time or speed. The DC gap
voltage from two orthogonally-mounted proximity probes determines the
averaged position change. Figure 5-19 shows a typical shaft centerline plot
during machine startup. The numeric values on this plot correspond to the
rotational speed.

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Figure 5-19. Shaft Centerline Plot

Drawing a Shaft Centerline Plot

You can use the OAT DC Gap Estimator VI to compute the DC gap values
from the x-axis and y-axis proximity probes. You can use the OAT Shaft
Centerline Plot VI to display the shaft centerline plot with the DC gaps.
The shaft centerline plot follows the same true vertical and true horizontal
convention as the orbit plot in the Order Analysis Toolkit. You can use the
OAT Shaft Centerline Plot VI to virtually rotate the plot to true vertical and
true horizontal positions automatically by specifying the probe angles in
the channel settings control.
When displaying a shaft centerline plot, you must specify the bearing
clearance and shaft centerline start point reference. There are three types of
start point references:

Bottomtypically used for a horizontal machine train.

Centertypically used for a vertical machine train.

Toptypically used for overhung rotors such as fans and compressors.

The start point reference you choose greatly affects the clearance boundary
circle position in the shaft centerline plot. Figure 5-20 shows three shaft
centerline plots with different start point references.

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Figure 5-20. Shaft Centerline Plot with Different Start Points

Level Measurements
A level measurement is a common measurement technique available in the
Order Analysis Toolkit. A level measurement gives a quantitative
description of the overall vibration acquired from the transducer. Level
Measurement & Limit Testing VIs work with time-domain or even-angle
signals. You can use the vibration level measurement VIs to obtain the
following values:

Root-Mean-Square (RMS) level

Running RMS level

Peak level

Max-min level

Crest factor

Exponential average level

Decimated exponential average level

Measuring RMS Level

One common vibration level measurement is measuring the RMS level of
the signal returned by an accelerometer. You also can perform a running
RMS level measurement, which returns the RMS value computed over the
last n revolutions for an even-angle signal, or the last n seconds for a
waveform signal.

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Computing Peak Level

Use the SVL Peak Level VI to compute the peak level of an even-angle
signal. In peak-hold averaging, the VI computes the largest measured level
value of all previous values and returns the value until a new value exceeds
the current maximum. The new value becomes the new maximum value
until a new value exceeds the new maximum.

Computing the Crest Factor

The crest factor is the ratio of the peak value over the RMS value of a given
signal. The crest factor indicates the even-angle signal shape. The
following equation defines the crest factor:
V pk
F c = ---------V rms
where

Fc is the crest factor.

Vpk is the peak value of an even-angle signal.
Vrms is the RMS value of an even-angle signal.
You can use the SVL Crest Factor VI to compute the even-angle
signal crest factor.

Even-Angle Signals in Integer Revolutions

In some cases, computing the vibration level requires working with the
even-angle signal input in integer revolutions. Use the OAT Output
Triggered Even Angle Signal VI to adjust the even-angle signal. Set the
block size to a 1 default value so the number of revolutions in the
even-angle signal output equals the integer times trigger period.

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Limit Testing
The SVL Limit Testing VI allows you to specify a mask around a data set
to define a pass range. You can enter a scalar value to the upper limit, lower
limit, or both to specify a constant ceiling or floor for the data. This allows
you to perform tests such as range detection. You can enter an upper limit
mask, lower limit mask, or both to the SVL Limit Testing VI to define a
pass range that varies in shape and level based on acceptable results at any
given point in the measurement. You must enter at least one limit, or the
SVL Limit Testing VI returns an error.
You can use this VI to analyze almost any results produced by the Order
Analysis Toolkit. The supported datatypes include:

waveform

even angle signal

order spectrum

XY signal (speed profile, order magnitude and phase, etc.)

peak (spectrum peak search result)

scalar

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Professional Services

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SupportOnline technical support resources at ni.com/support

include the following:

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Glossary
Numbers/Symbols

Infinity.

2D

Two-dimensional.

A
adaptive filter

A type of filter that operates on a recursive algorithm to achieve the goal of

optimum. An adaptive filter is self-designing and suitable for tracking time
variations of the input signal, but complete knowledge of the relevant signal
characteristics is not available.

aliasing

A phenomenon in which an analog signal of a frequency greater than half

the sampling frequency, or Nyquist frequency, appears after sampling at a
frequency less than half the sampling frequency. See also anti-aliasing filter
and Nyquist frequency.

anti-aliasing filter

Analog lowpass filters used before analog-to-digital conversion to filter out

the frequencies greater than half the sampling frequency. See also aliasing
and Nyquist frequency.

C
critical sampling

Occurs in Gabor transform when the window length equals the window
shift step. In critical sampling, the number of Gabor coefficients cm, n equals
the number of original data samples s[k].

D
dB

Decibel.

dual functions

Pair of window functions for Gabor transform and Gabor expansion. The
two dual functions are interchangeable. That is, you can use either of the
dual functions for a Gabor transform while using the other dual function for
a Gabor expansion.

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LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual

Glossary

F
FFT

Fast Fourier transform.

fundamental component

Portion of a signal whose frequency is at the fundamental frequency.

G
Gabor coefficient

The result of Gabor transform.

Gabor expansion

The inverse Gabor transform used on Gabor coefficients to recover a time

domain input signal.

Gabor transform

One of the invertible joint time-frequency transforms.

H
harmonic

Frequencies that are integer or fractional multiples of a fundamental

frequency.

L
LMSE

Least mean square error.

N
Nyquist frequency

Half the sampling frequency. Any analog frequency component above

the Nyquist frequency will, after sampling, be converted, or aliased, to a
frequency below the Nyquist frequency. See also aliasing and anti-aliasing
filter.

O
order

A harmonic related to the rotational speed of a machine.

order analysis

The analysis of harmonics related to rotational speed. The application of

harmonic analysis to rotating machinery

LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual

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Glossary

order curves

The high power density curves in a spectral map which indicate order
components.

orthogonal-like Gabor
transform pair

The pair is composed of a Gabor transform and a Gabor expansion when

the Gabor coefficients cm, n found by each method are the projection of the
signal on the synthesis window function h[k].

over sampling

Occurs in a Gabor transform when the window length is greater than the
window shift step. In over sampling, the number of Gabor coefficients cm, n
is more than the number of original data samples s[k].

R
resampling

A method to sample a time sequence at a different time interval.

RMS

Root mean square.

RPM

Revolutions per minute.

S
STFT

Short time Fourier transform.

W
window shift step

The shortest time interval between two windows. In the LabVIEW Order
Analysis Toolkit, the window shift step is always equal to a quarter (0.25)
of the window length. For example, if the window length is 2,048, the
window shift is 512.

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LabVIEW Order Analysis Toolkit User Manual