Robust, accurate, and non-contacting vibration measurement systems: Supplemental appendices presenting comparison measurements of the robust laser interferometer and typical accelerometer systems. Volume 2

Epoch Engineering, Incorporated (EEI) has completed a series of vibration measurements comparing their newly-developed Robust Laser Interferometer (RLI) with accelerometer-based instrumentation systems. EEI has successfully demonstrated, on several pieces of commonplace machinery, that non-contact, line-of-sight measurements are practical and yield results equal to or, in some cases, better than customary field implementations of accelerometers. The demonstration included analysis and comparison of such phenomena as nonlinearity, transverse sensitivity, harmonics, and signal-to-noise ratio. Fast Fourier Transformations were performed on the accelerometer and the laser system outputs to provide a comparison basis. The RLI was demonstrated, within the limits o the task, to be a viable, line-of-sight, non-contact alternative to accelerometer systems. Several different kinds of machinery were instrumented and. compared, including a small pump, a gear-driven cement mixer, a rotor kit, and two small fans. Known machinery vibration sources were verified and RLI system output file formats were verified to be compatible with commercial computer programs used for vibration monitoring and trend analysis. The RLI was also observed to be less subject to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and more capable at very low frequencies. This document, Volume 2, provides the appendices to this report