Cavitation Detection of Centrifugal Pump Using Vibration Signature Analysis

Abstract

Cavitation is one of the most common faults in pumps and could lead serious problem such as increasing vibration level, noise and rapid deterioration of the impeller, seal, bearing, shaft and motor. Therefore, condition monitoring of pumps is very important to guarantee the availability and functional of the pumps. In this work, an experimental test rig of centrifugal pump was set up to investigate the cavitation detection using vibration analysis method, and measured parameters including pressure and flow rate for feasibility of cavitation detection. The experimental testing includes four conditions of closing suction valve: 0, 30, 45 and 60. It was shown that the high frequency random vibration in the fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectrum was salient and applicable for cavitation diagnosis. The amplitude of vibration was increased significantly in the spectrum during cavitation existence.