by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Apr 9, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Plant Operations, The Sustainable Plant
We frequently think of electric motors and driven equipment when the topic of energy efficiency comes up. On the other hand, the energy-transmission component, or coupling, also has an energy-efficiency rating that can be affected by things such as application and...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Apr 3, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Plant Operations, The Sustainable Plant
Compressed-air systems are an important part of most plant operations. That said, these systems have typically been the most inefficient utility in plants. Even in a well-maintained compressed-air system, to operate a one-horsepower air motor, you generally need seven...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Mar 27, 2021 | Asset Management, Safety Matters
The move toward digital transformation throughout industry is clearly important. Yet, except in the IT departments of many plants and facilities, there still seems to be enormous misunderstanding as to which physical assets and systems at sites should be considered...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Mar 21, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
Last week’s article (March, 13, 2021), “Evaluation Of Medium And High Voltage Machines with Motor Circuit Analysis (MCA)” sparked quite a bit of interest. That included substantial on- and off-line discussion about low- and high-voltage testing. Based on articles and...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Mar 13, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
Low- and high-voltage Motor Circuit Analysis (MCA) methods have existed since the 1950s, with low-voltage MCA technology becoming commercially viable in the 1980s. Since the mid-1980s, MCA technologies have become more prevalent as part of predictive-maintenance (PdM)...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Mar 7, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
in this week’s article, we wrap up our short series of discussions around the first of the three parts (“Volumes”) of the 2021 “U.S. Industrial and Commercial Motor System Market Assessment Report.” In doing so, we need to consider...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 27, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
As noted in Part I of this article series (Feb. 14, 2021, see link below), the purpose of the “U.S. Industrial and Commercial Motor System Market Assessment Report” is to provide information on the current state of electric motor-driven systems in United States...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 21, 2021 | Asset Management, Electrical Reliability, Plant Operations
With the extreme polar vortex dipping south into Texas recently, there’s been plenty of discussion about the reliability of wind turbines in supplying power. The issues raised have ranged from turbine icing to the notion that Texas might have been relying too...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Feb 14, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
In 2016, a project was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) through Lawrence Berkeley National Labs to re-perform the original industrial and commercial motor-system opportunities reports from 1996. At the beginning of the study, there was a...
by Howard Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP | Jan 23, 2021 | Electrical Reliability, Motors & Drives
In Part of this series (Jan. 16, 2020, link below), we discussed a few basics of supervised machine-learning (ML) systems, including typical steps to the development of an ML solution. In this second installment, we take a brief look at the types of algorithms used in...
