How to Perform a Cooling Tower Fan Vibration Analysis

Cooling towers are used to cool industrial processes and commercial buildings. They cool water by spraying it into large towers while fans pull air through the towers. Evaporation removes heat and the cooled water is returned to the building. Vibration monitoring is an important part of routine maintenance, due to the harsh environment in cooling towers. Over 90 percent of cooling tower maintenance is caused by fan, motor or gearbox failures. Vibration monitoring will provide early signs of these failures.

Things You'll Need

• Vibration monitors
• Weatherproof wiring
• Junction box
• Computer
• Vibration monitoring software

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Instructions

• 1

  Shut down the cooling tower power and water. Follow safety protocols for entering the cooling tower. Determine where to run sensor wiring to avoid contact with fans or other moving equipment before installing any equipment.

• 2

  Install vibration sensors on the fan motors and gearboxes for each tower fan. Sensors may use epoxy or gel to create a contact point with the equipment. Follow sensor manufacturer instructions for correct mounting procedures. Run weatherproof wiring from the sensors to a junction box. Run wiring from the junction box to your computer.

• 3

  Install a vibration monitoring software program. Programs are sold by many manufacturers of vibration sensors. The program is necessary to convert the signals from the sensors into data that show the vibration frequencies and amplitude or intensity. Set up the software to provide alarms for excessive vibration; the vibration limits should be available from the cooling tower fan manufacturer.

• 4

  Start the cooling tower and run the fans through all available speeds. Confirm the software is downloading and storing all available sensor data. Review the sensor data and schedule repair of any equipment showing excessive vibration.