Title:	Vibration Testing of a Fan Structure
	Author:	ITI
	Size:	216.2 KB
	Date Published:

Summary
Draft fans plan an important role at power generating plants. When noise and vibration problems affect the fan's performance, plant managers are eager to have the problem resolved quickly. This paper details excessive bearing vibration on a 10,000 HP induced draft (ID) fan used at a coal-fired generating plant. This paper explores methods of evaluating the dynamic characteristics of large fan structures. When performing model tests on such structures, the excitation energy must be concentrated at lower frequencies in order to adequately excite the basic modes of the structure.

The method developed in this paper involves the use of an impacter equipped with a shock absorber as an excitation source. The results of a modal test performed using this method as well as other troubleshooting techniques for other rotating machinery will be presented.