Inner Race Bearing Defect Detected with Ultrasound in a Pulp and Paper Mill Pump

Allan Rienstra2026-08-20T13:32:44+00:00 Manufacturing paper is a water intensive process. To ensure production stays on track, water must be freely available throughout the facility. To ensure that it is, the water is transported using a system of pumps, motors, and pipes. A dump chest, like the one in Figure...

Finding Vacuum Leaks in a Multi-Effect Evaporator with Ultrasound

Allan Rienstra2026-08-20T13:34:36+00:00 Finding Vacuum Leaks So many industrial processes depend on stable vacuum, but system leaks impair process efficiency and, if left unchecked, will shut it down. Finding these leaks can be challenging in noisy plant environments and reliability engineers must weigh the balance between the costs of...

How to Find Air Brake and Air Suspension Leaks with Ultrasound

Allan Rienstra2026-08-17T14:09:29+00:00 A pressure-loss test can tell you an air system is leaking. It cannot tell you which fitting, valve, line, brake component, or air spring is responsible. That gap between confirming a leak and finding it is where airborne ultrasound is useful. Escaping compressed air creates turbulence,...

Ultrasound Inspection for Mobile Equipment: 4 Practical Applications

Allan Rienstra2026-08-14T12:48:22+00:00 Most condition monitoring routes stop at the plant floor. The equipment outside the plant does not. Loaders, haul trucks, tractors, service vehicles, and other mobile assets work through dust, weather, vibration, changing loads, and constant movement. When something starts to go wrong, the first sign is...

How to Detect Hydraulic Cylinder Internal Bypass with Ultrasound

Allan Rienstra2026-08-14T12:55:21+00:00 A hydraulic cylinder can lose force without leaking a drop of oil. When pressurized fluid slips past the piston seal inside the cylinder, the pressure loss stays internal. The cylinder may still move, but it can become slower, weaker, unstable under load, or unable to hold...

Delivering Evidence-Based Lubrication to Fin Fan Drive Motors

Allan Rienstra2026-07-02T20:30:45+00:00 During a client visit to Saudi Aramco's Western Region Terminal Distribution (WRTD) facility in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, I had the opportunity to investigate a question that challenges one of maintenance's oldest assumptions: can adding fresh grease actually make a healthy bearing worse?  The refinery receives crude...