Conceived and developed as a method to understand the causal factors and address problems with vertical drive shaft breakage of the Raymond mills, the Roll Bowl Cop (RBC) data acquisition hardware and output software analysis system is...

BGE's partnership with the environment and its continued dedication to reducing environmental impact is significantly enhanced with improved oil monitoring on electric transmission underground high voltage circuits. Customers, stakeholders, and the BGE team are direct benefactors of the results. Reduced risk, increased reliability, and reduction in operation and maintenance expenses for the electric transmission cable systems are some of the benefits derived from this comprehensive monitor and alarm system.

ECG's background in Distributive Control Systems (DCS's), power generation engineering, software development, and digital information systems, allows us to deliver a product that combines the accuracy of ASME performance calculations and the ease of the latest Windows'R Graphical User Interface (GUI). We recently installed a heat rate monitoring system at a large utility in Eastern Ohio that utilizes PlantView. The plant aimed to reduce the system costs by interfacing the existing equipment. Before ECG was involved, several unsuccessful attempts were made to implement a reliable, accurate and user-friendly monitoring system. At this site, a single host computer collects information from a Bailey Infi90R, L&NR strip chart recorders and OmegaR data loggers. The host computer runs a custom-built WindowsR based program that calculates and distributes heat rate information to databases on the Local Area Network (LAN).

In 1992, an Ohio utility was plagued with pulverizer problems that resulted in unit de-rating, drive shaft failures, excessive component wear, and bearing failures. ECG was invited to investigate the more frequently occurring problem of main shaft failures. Our engineers constructed a data acquisition system that collects displacement information from the external element springs. By analyzing the data with several time-domain and frequency-domain techniques, the dynamic conditions of the mill can be determined without taking it out of service. The results of the analysis help to optimize the machinery adjustments and assure accurate assembly of the grinding elements. The payoff is longer grinding element life, dramatically improved fineness, and the virtual elimination of typical drive train failures. The system can also be used to perform routine preventative maintenance and predicts when a major overhaul will be required. This allows plant management to plan outages on a condition-based schedule as opposed to a time-based schedule which reduces maintenance costs.