Icon Research Machinery and Diesel Engine Condition Monitoring Software

Founded in 1993, Icon Research is a specialist leader in machinery condition monitoring and diesel engine performance monitoring. Products that are particularly applicable to the marine industry include the Doctor (portable software monitoring of cylinder pressure and fuel pressure), the Iconet (a flexible Ethernet network system that provides information on your machinery) and the Guardian (a fully featured monitoring software package for rotating machinery).

DOCTOR: PORTABLE, INTEGRATED SHIP ENGINE MONITORING SYSTEM

The Doctor systems provide extensive information on the performance of engines quickly, simply and accurately. Older engines can benefit just as much as new ones and the systems can provide a rapid payback of the investment cost.

The portable Doctor DK-2 series is an industry standard for cylinder pressure measurement, having built its reputation on reliability, accuracy and ease-of-use. The “Diesel Doctor”, as it is often known, is housed in a rugged plastic case and is fully sealed against moisture and dirt. A complete system, including sensors and cables, fits into a convenient shoulder bag about the same size as a camcorder case.

Installed Doctor systems are available in two versions. The DK-2 is a single channel unit for measuring cylinder pressure while the DK-2/FV measures cylinder and fuel pressure simultaneously.

ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER AND FUEL PRESSURE MONITORING WITH THE DOCTOR SYSTEM

The Doctor provides the following advantages:

• Reduced maintenance costs – maintenance can be targeted at the areas requiring attention, meaning disturbance of engine components that are performing well can be minimised
• Improved performance – provides accurate pressure readings and cylinder power calculations; the performance of injectors and combustion can clearly be seen on the high resolution graphs
• Reduced fuel consumption – engine balancing and tuning can be achieved and maintained, resulting in greater efficiency engine running and consequent fuel saving
• Reduced emissions through combustion optimization

ICONET: FLEXIBLE MACHINERY MONITORING SYSTEM

Iconet is a flexible network system used to gather vital information on your machinery. It can be incorporated into existing Ethernet networks and can be accessed locally or remotely.

The Iconet can interface just about any sensor type that is encountered in the field of machinery monitoring. Typical transducers for vibration measurement are accelerometers and eddy current probes – these are two of the types that can be used for so-called “dynamic” measurements.

Often, process measurements such as temperatures and pressures need to be monitored. These so-called “static” parameters can also be accommodated.

GUARDIAN: ROTATING MACHINERY MONITORING SOFTWARE

A fully featured monitoring software package for rotating machinery, the Guardian system can handle both dynamic measurements (typically vibration) as well as process measurements such as temperatures and pressures. The software operates with the Iconet industrial network to provide a highly flexible distributed data acquisition system.

Features of the Guardian system include the following:

• Mimic-based visual interface – gives a clear indication of plant status at a glance
• Simple operation – a simple hierarchy and intuitive controls combine to set new standards in ease-of-use
• Detailed analysis options and real-time testing – analysis tools are available to determine the exact cause of a problem – it is also possible to go straight to any point on the system and see time/spectral updates in real-time
• End user and OEM configurable