Site Strain Gauging

Howden Technology has developed a site testing technique to measure the steady-state and dynamic stresses in high speed rotating impellers. By using in-house developed telemetry equipment and suitable strain gauges located at critical zones, testing can be done with the machine on load at various operating conditions. In one case we were asked by an end-user to investigate the repeated fatigue cracking of a centrifugal impeller supplied by a competitor. The measurement, and subsequent analysis, clearly demonstrated that the cyclic gravitational loading was above the fatigue limit for the impeller welds.

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