ISO 10817-1:1998

Overview - ISO 10817-1:1998 (Rotating shaft vibration measuring systems)

ISO 10817-1:1998, published by ISO, defines requirements for sensing and front-end measurement of radial shaft vibration on rotating machinery. It specifies how to obtain reproducible relative and absolute radial vibration measurements for large machines (e.g., steam turbine-generator sets, gas turbines, industrial turbosets and hydraulic machines). This part covers the sensing block only: transducers, signal conditioners, attachment methods and calibration procedures; signal processing is covered in ISO 10817-2.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Measurement approaches
  • Relative sensing: non‑contacting displacement transducers (optical, inductive, capacitive) that measure shaft-to-probe gap.
  • Absolute sensing: either a combined system (seismic transducer + non‑contacting probe on a common mount) or shaft‑rider (seismic transducer mounted on the shaft).
• Sensing system architecture
  • Two orthogonal transducers per plane are recommended to capture total dynamic motion and the kinetic orbit.
  • Phase reference (e.g., shaft encoder) required to correlate vibration with shaft position.
• Manufacturer-specified characteristics
  • Linear measurement range, amplitude/phase response, physical dimensions (tip diameters 5, 8, 18 mm; thread recommendations M8, M10, M20), recommended cable length (≈5 m), supply (recommended −24 V DC), sensitivities (examples: 8 mV/µm for 2 mm range, 4 mV/µm for 4 mm range), output mode/impedance and protection class (IP67 recommended).
• Measurement quality
  • Guidance on measurement uncertainties, calibration methods for relative and absolute systems, and accuracy requirements aligned with ISO 7919 series and ISO 16063 fundamentals.
• Environmental and mounting considerations
  • Transducer mounting, enclosure protection, and environmental test references (IEC vibration and bump tests, IP code).

Practical applications and users

• Who uses it: vibration analysts, condition‑based maintenance engineers, test laboratories, OEMs, and plant reliability teams in power generation, petrochemical, and heavy industry.
• Why use it: to ensure reproducible, traceable radial vibration measurements for diagnostics, rotor balancing, commissioning, fault detection and compliance with ISO 7919 evaluation criteria.
• Typical applications: periodic condition monitoring of large rotating shafts, commissioning and acceptance testing of turbines/generators, onsite calibration checks, and comparative data collection across sites.

Related standards

• ISO 7919 series - measurement & evaluation criteria for rotating shafts (Parts 1–5)
• ISO 16063 - calibration of vibration and shock transducers
• ISO 2041 - vibration & shock vocabulary
• IEC 60068 environmental tests; GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement)

ISO 10817-1:1998 is essential when specifying or procuring shaft vibration sensing systems, writing test procedures, or establishing measurement traceability for rotating machinery condition monitoring.