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Power & Plant

Continuous acoustic monitoring of coal handling equipment

Sound from a fuel conveyor drive, collected without the gaps that walk-down inspections leave.

Project overview

Site
Power plant fuel handling
Target
Belt conveyor drive
Data
Sound, vibration, temperature and humidity
Objective
Continuous acoustic collection and a feasibility check for anomalous-sound detection
Client
Korean power generator B
Duration
Field pilot

Field problem

Rotating plant equipment often changes in sound and vibration before it fails, but walk-down inspections cannot watch every machine around the clock. Nights, weekends and unstaffed areas leave gaps, and signs that appear briefly are hard to confirm afterwards.

XyloZero deployment

A battery-powered sensor node mounted near the drive collected sound, vibration, temperature and humidity continuously, and anomalous-sound detection trained on normal operation separated sounds that differed from usual.

  • Sensor node mounted on the upper belt conveyor drive
  • Continuous collection on battery, without external power or extra wiring
  • Explosion-proof, dust-proof enclosure and cellular transmission

Analysis

  1. Unsupervised anomalous-sound detection trained only on normal sound
  2. Idle and loaded running separated from distant noise, sirens and heavy machinery
  3. Anomaly-like signals, normal reference sound and ambient sound scored apart

Results

  • Continuous collection without external power through the pilot
  • Temperature and humidity recorded without gaps
  • Operating states and ambient events separated from sound alone
  • Detection thresholds to be refined with more normal data and maintenance records