RMC-09-33 Reducing the Downtime Cost in the Brazilian Refineries through the Remote Induction Motor Health Monitoring and Induction Motor Management

Description:

This paper presents the feasibility of implementing the Electrical Signature Analysis(ESA) as a diagnostic tool for condition monitoring and failure identification in high-voltage and strategic induction motors in the Brazilian oil industry refineries. A synopsis of the ESA theory is presented. Decision tools and the motor under failure management are discussed. In the theoretical part, an overview of the Brazilian oil industry according to the introduction of induction motor condition monitoring methods based exclusively on electrical signal analysis is presented. The most common induction motor failure patterns and real cases are also included. The topic related to the decision tools approaches all the criteria used to improve the logistics of replacing the motor under failures with healthy ones. The main idea is to show how Petrobras, based on remote condition monitoring, is able to manage its motors stocked or in stand-by condition, located in different plants in order to reduce the downtime cost to a minimum. Lessons learned, extracted from real cases, demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology.