Experimental investigation on shaft motor coupling misalignment impact on energy consumption

Misalignment of a shaft in rotating machinery is the most common fault which account for up to 15 percent extra energy consumption by a motor to rotate the shaft. In this study, reduction of energy as a result of shaft motor coupling misalignment is analyzed in pursue of finding a correlation between energy consumptions with different degrees of misalignment of the shaft through experimental investigation. A Machine Fault Simulator (MFS) was utilized in determining the energy losses with the varies degrees of misalignment. The ammeter clamp and multimeter were used to measure the voltage and currents. In addition, the study also found the remedial to the misalignment of the shaft, either by using a straightedge, dial indicator or laser realignment. The study proved that the misalignment had proportionately increased the energy consumption of the rotating machinery.