Efficiency of Diagnosing Electrotechnical Components of Hydraulic Equipment

Diagnostics of electrical components of hydrotechnical equipment used in agricultural production within the planned maintenance intervals with continuous analysis of residual resource is useful for reducing equipment operation costs. The use of inexpensive universal diagnostic equipment in conjunction with primary analysis of the state of units makes it possible to detect 60 to 80% of prefailure states. To ensure efficient application of the complex approach to primary diagnostics of electrical components of hydraulic equipment used in agricultural production, the authors considered the most common electric motors of pumping units, electrohydraulic distributors, and switching equipment. Complex diagnostics included the use of a thermal imager, vibration signal processing systems, and current signal control systems. The vibrograms of equipment control points were analyzed, and the state of bearing units as well as the cavitation characteristics of pumps were assessed by methods of acoustic and vibration diagnostics; hydraulic equipment leaks were searched, and power cables breakdown zones were detected in accordance with methodical instructions for determining the breakdowns of power cables with a voltage of up to 10 kV (RD 34.20.516-90). The article shows the possibilities of applying the diagnostics methodology based on surface thermograms to determine typical defects. Particularly discussed are the parameters of current signals from the electromagnet coils observed in case of distribution equipment malfunction. The authors give comparative estimation of diagnostics methods with calculated efficiency determination. It is established that the method of combined diagnostics using the analysis of external thermal fields can halve the time of preliminary diagnostics of faults with a stable forecast of the failure time 2–3 months before the critical state. This reduces the expenditures for detection of unit failures and simplifies the planning of maintenance procedures.