A test rig built at Centa Transmissions guarantees that precision gearboxes it supplies to nuclear industry won’t fail prematurely.
Despite its critical role the rig is quite simple, a motor drives the test unit against a load created by one of Centa’s brakes, in between is a non-contact TorqSense unit monitoring the torque. The test runs for 3 hours at full load, then increases to 300% load for 1 hour generating a performance professional profile to compare with the ideal standard.
“The output reading is a true reflection of gearbox performance” says Michael Sykes of Centa Transmissions. “The gearboxes are used in automated scoop mechanisms collecting ‘high-activity liquor’ from reactor industrial cooling systems, to be sealed into flasks for storage until radioactivity decays to safe levels. This is at the core of the nuclear plant where system breakdown means shutting down all operations for months, costing millions of pounds. To avoid this everything is lifetime guaranteed to demanding criteria.”
TorqSense uses a radio frequency (RF) link to pick up signals from two piezo ceramic combs (INDUSTRIAL SAW Devices) glued onto the industrial shaft which vary under the effects of torque. The RF link also supplies power to the SAW’s, as they only need 1mW of power.
Thus Centa’s rig doesn’t need slip rings. Other advantages of TorqSense SAW technology include no load imparted to the drive mechanism under investigation, broad signal bandwidth and elimination of electromagnetic interference.
“Simplicity is a virtue for nuclear installations,” maintains Sykes. “less to go wrong, easier maintenance, inspections and approvals are simpler. In this respect, both our test rig and Sensor Technology’s TorqSense are ideal.”