UE Systems Ultrasonic Detection Equipment

Model UCA586 Ultrasonic Condition Alert Systems

EXAMPLES OF UCA APPLICATIONS

• Highly viscous fluid flows through pipes. Small metal balls are used to separate the liquid and to act as a sound source. Monitoring the sounds of the metal balls as they move against the pipe indicates fluid flow. A drop in sound level indicates disruption of flow.

• Groove Counting. A machine cuts 21 groves in an armature. The armature is spun 360° creating a click for each grove. With sensor contacting the armature, the instrument counts the clicks. An incorrect count is noted in a control panel.

• A paper mill monitors a critical valve. In only specific situations is the valve to be opened. Should a valve leak, an alarm is activated.

• A food producer automatically washes large tanks with an internal spray wand. A sensor mounted on the outer wall detects the spray of water as it hits the interior wall. A localized indicator signals a " no-wash" condition.

• An Electric utility has sensors affixed to cooling and feedwater boiler pumps to detect the onset of destructive cavitation. As air bubbles are compressed in these pumps, they burst producing a very distinctive ultrasound. Once a baseline is set cavition is indicated by an increase in ultrasound amplitude.

• Screw Compressors: Bearings are monitored for the onset of the failure mode in compressors used for refrigeration. An increase of 10-50 times over a baseline in a monitored ultrasonic frequency is the earliest indicator of bearing failure according to NASA research.

• Fan Bearings: enclosed buildings must have ventilated air move through at a set cfm (cubic feet per minute). Should a fan bearing fail, the air quality in the building can be negatively effected. Monitors are set to alarm should a bearing enter the failure mode.

• Cooling Fan bearings in a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for a computer room. Should the fans fail, the computers can overheat and fail. These monitors relay an alarm to a control panel.

• Dynamometers are used to simulate driving conditions in an automotive test facility. The bearings are critical for accurate results in the testing. Should a bearing become faulty, the readings of a particular test can be incorrect. These bearings are ultrasonically monitored to indicate the earliest onset of bearing failure.

• Landing gear in a test lab is used to provide information about various mechanical processes related to this type of landing gear. Sensors are mounted on the bearings of this gear and set alarm should the bearing begin to fail.