3.5.2. Scope Limits File Format

Scope Limits File

The CSV Scope Limits file is an APEX mode setup configuration file that is comma separated. Notice that during the explanation of the different sections of the file you will see the word “Optional” which specifies that this section is not required to be in the file. The CSV file format is flexible in the sense that you can have multiple variations of the content and the setup information will load in fine. The Scope Limits file is a reduced model that is used throughout APEX products, such as GageMap, DS/DR, and DX. Scope Limits files support component, part, and signal breakdown. A component is an assembly of “similar” parts. A part is a single structure with identical modes that contains one or more sensors. A signal is the measurement identity.

Keywords

Keyword: project (Optional)

Project is a keyword providing project information followed by the Project Name, the Engine Model, the Facility ID, the Manufacturer,and the Number of Parts.

  • Project Name: string, name of the project (Optional).
  • Engine Model: string, model of the engine (Optional).
  • Facility ID: string, name of the testing facility (Optional).
  • Manufacturer: string, engine manufacturer (Optional).
  • Number of Parts: integer, number of parts in the component (Required).
Example:
project Test Rig SN0001 ACME Acme Turbine Engines 2

Keyword: part (Required)

The part keyword is a required string followed by the Part Name, Component Name, the Number of Modes, the Number of Parameter Entries, the Number of Sensors, the Parameter Name, and the Interpolation Scheme.

  • Component Name: string, name of the component (Optional).
  • Number of Modes: integer, number of modes present (Required).
  • Number of Parameter Entries: integer, number of parameter values provided in
  • the data tables (Optional).
  • Number of Sensors: integer, number of sensors used on the part (Required).
  • Parameter Name: string, name of the parameter that is being used for interpolating between points (Optional).
  • Interpolation scheme: integer (Optional).
Example:
part Blade 01 Fan R1 10 3 2 N 0

Part Dependent Keywords

These keywords must follow the “part” keyword.

Keyword: modenames (Required)

modenames: string, list of all mode names.

Example:
modenames 1B 1T 2B 2T 1CWB

Keyword: ftol (Optional)

ftol- float, single peak frequency band for which a specific mode applies. No ftol = adjacent mode bins.

Example:
ftol 50 25 100 200

Keyword: param(#) (Required)

param(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter index entry.

Example:
param1 0 0 0 0 0

Keyword: freq(#) (Required)

freq(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter index entry followed by the nominal frequency values defined for each mode.

Example:
freq1 100 250 400 600 1000

Keyword: freqmin(#) (Optional)

freqmin(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter index entry followed by the min frequency values.

Example:
freqmin1 0 332.629 848.732 1398.89 1894.86 2418.47 2867.31

Keyword: freqmax(#) (Optional)

freqmax(#)- float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter index entry followed by the max frequency values defined for each mode.

Example:
freqmax1 332.529 848.632 1398.79 1894.76 2418.37 2867.21 3184.76

Signal Keywords

Keyword: Sensor Name Sensor: string followed by a list of sensors.

Example:
signal SG01

Signal Dependent Keywords

Keyword: scopelimit(#) (Optional)

scopelimit(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter entry followed by the limit defined at each mode for a given signal.

Example:
scopelimit1 20 10 40 60 35

Keyword: reducedlimit(#) (Optional)

reducedlimit(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or the parameter entry. reducedlimit does not trigger a response in DS.

Example:
reducedlimit1 50 60 35 80

Keyword: strainratio(#) (Optional)

strainratio(#): float, (#) = 1 (default) or parameter entry followed by the ratio defined at each mode for a given signal.

Example:
strainratio1 0.308609 0.455828 0.157961 0.373862 0.120844 0.263427

Example Scope Limits

Now that we know the individual keywords, we can now see how they are integrated together to create a scope limits file. There are several ways of defining scope limits. All of the examples below would work.

Example #1: Single Limit Across Many Signals

project         1
part Part 1   1   4
freq1 2500        
signal SG01        
signal SG02        
signal SG03        
signal SG04        
strainratio1 1.0        
scopelimit1 60        
reducedlimit1 40        

Example #2: Single Limit, Signal Dependent

project         1
part Part 1   1   4
modenames all_modes        
freq1 2500        
           
signal SG01        
scopelimit1 40        
strainratio1 1.0        
           
signal SG02        
scopelimit1 60        
strainratio1 1.0        
           
signal SG03        
scopelimit1 30        
strainratio1 1.0        
           
signal SG04        
scopelimit1 100        
strainratio1 1.0        

Example #3: Time & Frequency Domain Limits

project         1
part Part1   2   4
modenames Time Freq      
freq1 0 2500      
signal SG01        
signal SG02        
signal SG03        
signal SG04        
scopelimit1 80 60      
strainratio1 1.0 1.0      

Example #4: Frequency Dependent Limits, Adjacent Modes

project         1
part Part 1   4   4
freq1 500 1000 2000 3000  
modenames 1F 1T 2F Unk  
           
signal SG01        
scopelimit1 30 40 50 60  
           
signal SG02        
scopelimit1 55 44 53 68  
           
signal SG03        
scopelimit1 89 100 64 77  
           
signal SG04        
scopelimit1 41 93 47 35  

Example #4A: Frequency Dependent Limits, Non-adjacent Modes

project         1
part Part 1   4   4
ftol 50 100 200 0  
freq1 500 1000 2000 3000  
modenames 1F 1T 2F Unk  
           
signal SG01        
scopelimit1 30 40 50 60  
           
signal SG02        
scopelimit1 55 44 53 68  
           
signal SG03        
scopelimit1 89 100 64 77  
           
signal SG04        
scopelimit1 41 93 47 35  

Example #5: Frequency Dependent Limits, Limits Vary with a Parameter

project         1    
part Part 1   5 4 5 N 0
modenames Time 1F 1T 2F Unk    
param1 600 600 600 600 600    
freq1 0 300 800 1500 2000    
param2 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200    
freq2 0 400 800 1700 2200    
param3 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000    
freq3 0 500 950 1900 2400    
param4 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000    
freq4 0 600 1100 2000 2500    
               
signal SG01            
scopelimit1 90 60 40 50 60    
scopelimit2 80 55 35 45 60    
scopelimit3 70 50 30 40 60    
scopelimit4 60 45 25 35 60    

Note: Limits are extrapolated! “Fix” by defining maximum speed point.

Example #5a: Alternate Definition

project         1    
part Part 1   5 4 5 N 0
modenames Time 1F 1T 2F Unk    
               
param1 600 600 600 600 600    
param2 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200    
param3 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000    
param4 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000    
               
freq1 0 300 800 1500 2000    
freq2 0 400 800 1700 2200    
freq3 0 500 950 1900 2400    
freq4 0 600 1100 2000 2500    
               
signal SG01            
scopelimit1 90 60 40 50 60    
scopelimit2 80 55 35 45 60    
scopelimit3 70 50 30 40 60    
scopelimit4 60 45 25 35 60    

The ‘signal’ lines designate the APEX DS signals to which the following mode and limit definitions apply. They are matched up by name. It is not an error for a scope limit file to have mode definitions for a non acquired signal. It is also not a requirement that it contains mode definitions for all measured signals. The line should also specify the number of modes defined in the following table.

The following five lines (freq(#), freqmin(#), freqmax(#), param(#), scopelimit(#)) can be given once or repeated multiple times. If given multiple times with different parameter values, they can be used to implement parameter (i.e. speed) dependent mode frequencies and limits. APEX DS will interpolate between parameter points using the actual value of the parameter. The parameter used for the interpolation is the default parameter assigned to the channel in the APEX DS setup.

If a ‘mode’ with all three frequencies (freq(#), freqmin(#), and freqmax(#)) equal to zero is present then the limit value for that mode is used as a limit for the time domain peak to peak signal value.

If an APEX DS channel has modes associated with it via the scope limit file, the following additional features are available in APEX DS:

  • Spectrum plots show the limits
  • Campbell plots have display modes which show the mode and limit data
  • History records (by expanding signals in the selector box) are available for mode amplitudes and limit ratios.
  • Mode over limit events are logged in a file in the log directory set up on the Setup Panel.