“We are getting fantastic results with the latest cutting-edge technology from RDI Technologies Inc., the Tach Sync. Following a trial run at one of our regular power plants in the UK, we were asked to model the motion of some ACC cooling fan blades during operation. The site was experiencing significant cracks near the root of the blades and needed to determine if the cracks were due to transient events like gusts of wind or if there was vibration motion on the blades leading to cyclic fatigue failures.

A differently designed fan was installed on one unit for comparison to the old blade design where the cracks had been occurring. The Tach Sync works by syncing the IRIS M Motion Amplification Camera via a pulse from a tachometer (1XRPM of the fan in this case), freezing the rotating component on the image similar to a strobe light. We collected 200 revolutions and created an MA video, filtering to non-synchronous individual frequencies to visualize and measure the motion.

As you can see from the footage of the old fan design, significant flexing motion over a short distance is occurring constantly in the exact location of the cracking. In contrast, the new fan design shows much less motion with limited flexing near the shaft next to the fan hub. The Motion Amplification data clearly shows that the problem is constant and not due to transient wind gusts. The site is now replacing the old fan design with the new design to improve reliability, significantly saving on external wind baffles.” — Stuart Walker

Learn more about IRIS M + Tach Sync.