Mechanical Testing
What Is Mechanical Testing?
Mechanical testing is the measurement, investigation and monitoring of an industrial plant for defects, undesirable operation or deteriorating health. Various testing technologies are implemented to determine the plant’s condition or establish the cause of the fault or undesirable operation. Our mechanical testing team undertake routine monitoring, specialised online system development and detailed investigation and testing.
Our Approach
We apply our engineering expertise to develop innovative methodologies and solutions to achieve asset integrity and performance assurance. Our mechanical team analyse the problem at hand and apply our knowledge and experience to develop a solution to meet our customer’s requirements.
Focussing on mining, power generation, manufacturing and associated heavy industry sectors, we work with our customers to provide highly effective precision maintenance, testing and analysis services. We maximise personnel and equipment safety, asset availability and production output while lowering maintenance costs throughout the life of your equipment.
Typical Applications
Our expertise is in customised, high-end condition monitoring of fixed plant rotating equipment, vibrating screens, mobile equipment, static structures and materials handling assets.
We talk through the specific challenges facing our clients and design monitoring programs that provide objective, evidence based solutions. We are fully resourced with highly trained technicians and the latest technology to provide routine condition monitoring programs and imbedded condition monitoring systems. We offer this service, working from the ground up to design and execute highly effective, Conditioning Monitoring (CM) programs to provide early warning of defects on all critical assets.
Benefits
Our solutions provide precise, actionable recommendations which can be tailored to align with the maintenance schedules of our customer’s operations, putting clients back in control of maintenance and minimising unscheduled production losses.
We understand our client’s needs to maximise their equipment availability and we strive to provide high value solutions. We can also assist in the planning and scheduling of any rectification work that is the result of recommendations we provide.
Typical Program Cycle
Integrated 24/7 Condition Monitoring
24/7 online monitoring provides regular snapshots of the performance and condition of your critical assets so that you are always aware of the health of your plant items.
Having access to timely & accurate information regarding the condition of your assets, your operation can begin to consider moving away from calendar based maintenance & component changes, to purely condition based on many plant items. The cost & resource advantages associated with this approach to maintenance can move your operation towards world’s best practice.
Typical Application
ODS, cross phase, acceleration, displacement & resonant conditions, bearing and gear defects on all items of fixed and variable speed rotating equipment.
Service Offering
- Customised site CM program development
- 24/7 online CM system design, install, analysis & reporting
- Automated CMMS integration
- Infrared Thermography
- Dynamic balancing
- Laser shaft alignment
- Lubricating oil sample collection, analysis & reporting
- Transformer oil sample collection, analysis & reporting, including DGA
Machine Dynamics and Diagnostics
From high-speed machinery such as steam and gas turbines, pumps, fans and compressors, to conveyor drive and reeving systems, we can simultaneously monitor and analyse a multitude of machine operating variables to paint a picture of the current operation of your equipment, diagnose problems and apply the right fix.
We aim to provide a solution that is permanent so as to eliminate the defect, and continuously improve equipment reliability throughout its lifecycle.
Typical Application
Power generation assets such as steam & gas turbines, pumps, fans, compressors, cooling, vacuum, condenser & power distribution systems, statutory plant, materials handling systems such as conveyors.
Service Offering
- Multi-channel, fixed & variable speed vibration analysis
- Multiplane balancing
- Turbo machinery, gas & hydro turbines, compressors
- Critical plant defects requiring specialised testing, analysis & investigation
- Structural vibration analysis & investigation
- Operating Deflection Shape (ODS)
Reliability Engineering Services
We are a solutions provider for consulting, services and training, and offers an array of targeted engineering and testing services focussed on helping businesses rapidly improve maintenance efficiency, asset reliability and operational performance.
As the demands on personnel and capacity increase, organisations are looking for assistance with resolving specific issues that may be limiting their productivity. Our targeted services combine specific equipment, process and maintenance strategy improvements with education, training and mentoring to provide permanent solutions that will improve maintenance and process efficiency, and reduce unplanned downtimes.
Typical Application
Critical mining process and materials handling assets such as draglines, mobile field equipment, longwall systems, vibrating screens/feeders, conveyor systems, yard machinery, train loading and unloading systems, ship loaders, static structures, wear packages, lubrication & hydraulic systems, statutory plant.
Power generation assets such as boilers and associated auxiliary machinery, turbines, pumps, fans, compressors, cooling, vacuum, condenser & power distribution systems, statutory plant.
Service Offering
- Vibrating screen/feeder operational performance and defect analysis
- Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
- Root Cause Analysis
- Defect Elimination
- Maintenance strategy and tactics development
Vibrating Screen and Feeder, Reliability and Performance Management System
Due to the environment vibrating screens and feeders operate, they can often experience fatigue and cause bottle necks in production. By continually monitoring various parameters such as temperature, stroke, acceleration, orbit path, phase and resonance, our reliability performance management system protects the structure and its components while simultaneously ensuring your equipment is operating for maximum product output.
Typical Application
Our screen condition monitoring and performance management system also ensures early detection of damage, cracking and exciter related defects allowing focused, condition-based maintenance of the machine.The real-time monitoring of critical variables delivers additional peace of mind, which ensures the machine is both energy-efficient and operating at nameplate capacity.
This new system is specifically designed and engineered for use on vibrating equipment, which sets it apart from generic and less reliable vibration monitoring systems.
Benefits
Suitable for use on vibrating screens, vibrating feeders and their exciters, the system facilitates remote, 24/7 online screen condition and performance monitoring.
This also includes:
- Automated interpretation of condition and performance parameters
- Email/SMS alerts notifying of defects and undesirable operating conditions
- Operation deflection shape animations
- Monitoring of correct machine stroke, throw and acceleration
- Robust design of all parts to withstand constant vibratory movement
- Eliminates the need for any local, routine vibration monitoring
- Reduced human interaction with operating equipment
- Quick and easy retrofitting
- Minimal cabling required
- Integration with client data historian
- Complete modular system requiring only 240V AC or 24V DC supply
Note: System requires mobile phone reception
FEA and CFD Simulation
Our expertise in modelling and simulation ensures that industrial machinery and structures meet operational requirements. We offer an integrated approach to industrial modelling, providing FEA and CFD simulation services reinforced with field testing and validation.
- Experienced engineers in modelling, simulation and site testing
- Market leading FEA and CFD software
- High speed computing capacity to solve large simulation models
- State-of-the-art high speed data acquisition systems for measurements including strain, vibration, displacement and pressure.
What sets us apart is our ability to integrate field testing into the overall simulation regime. Field testing is used to measure engineering parameters in order to validate simulation models, verify the accuracy of predictions and ensure the success of proposed modifications.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Key areas of expertise include:
- Advanced FEA analysis for stress, fatigue and dynamics
- Integrated FEA with physical testing
- Linear/non-linear analysis (deflection, material & contact)
- Modal analysis and frequency response analysis
- Steady state and transient vibration analysis
- Heat transfer analysis and thermal stress analysis
- Thermo-mechanical fatigue simulation for high temperature systems
- Virtual strain gauging and test instrumentation optimisation
- Lifting analysis of machinery packages
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Key areas of our expertise include:
- Laminar and turbulent steady state and transient flow
- Incompressible and compressible flow
- Heat transfer analysis including solid conjugate heat transfer (CHT)
- Stationary and rotating domains (fluid, solid and porous representations)
- Multi-component and multi-phase fluid flow modelling
Specialist Mechanical Testing
Focussing on mining, power generation, manufacturing and associated heavy industry sectors, we work with our customers to provide highly effective precision maintenance, testing and analysis services. We maximise personnel and equipment safety, asset availability and production output while lowering maintenance costs throughout the life of your equipment.
Typical Application
Our expertise is in customised, high-end condition monitoring of fixed plant rotating equipment, vibrating screens, mobile equipment, static structures and materials handling assets
Benefits
Our solutions provide precise, actionable recommendations which can be tailored to align with the maintenance schedules of our customer’s operations, putting clients back in control of maintenance and minimising unscheduled production losses.
We understand our client’s needs to maximise their equipment availability and we strive to provide high value solutions. We can also assist in the planning and scheduling of any rectification work that is the result of recommendations we provide
