parkerVM600Mk2 A Second-Generation Architecture for a New Era

mixture is too lean. The ratio is 

then adjusted (less lean) such that

the combustor is perpetually on 

the verge of instability, but without

actually pulsating. In other words,

a precisely controlled balancing act 

to maintain that tiny operational 

zone existing between stable and

unstable combustion – a zone 

where efficiency is highest and

NOx emissions lowest.

It turns out that monitoring these 

pressure pulsations requires

sophisticated filtering and other

signal processing that is not unlike

the requirements of monitoring a

vibration signal – particularly those 

from aeroderivative gas turbines 

where accelerometers are used and

extraction of desired signal features 

can be very demanding.

It was not surprising, then, that

gas turbine manufacturers turned 

to vibration monitoring suppliers 

to meet these needs. Vibro-meter 

was among the first to rise to the

challenge and offer fully integrated 

combustion dynamics monitoring 

with the release of our VM600

platform and its 16-channel XMC16 

module.

Indeed, the deep domain expertise 

of Meggitt for supplying sensors 

that can survive environmental 

extremes meant that vibrometer could supply not only the 

necessary monitoring system, but 

the associated high-temperature 

dynamic pressure sensors, able to 

survive in one of the most extreme 

of all machinery environments:

gas turbine combustors where

conditions at the measurement 

locations can approach 700°C and 

250 bar.

1. Zink, John C., “Progress

continues in gas turbine NOx

control” Power Engineering. May

1, 1996. Retrieved September 19, 

2021.

2. Richards, G A, and Lee, G T. “Gas 

turbine combustion instability”. 

US Dept of Energy. September 1,

1996. Retrieved September 19, 

2021.

Combustion dynamics monitoring 

is part of closed-loop control to 

ensure that damaging pulsations 

in low-NOx gas turbines do not

prematurely age or destroy the 

combustor cans. The pulsations 

occur because today’s lowNOx technologies rely on

inherently metastable combustion 

conditions that burn fuel in the 

leanest possible manner but can 

produce an unstable flame if not

meticulously controlled

Full API 670 compliance

Within the petrochemical sector, the importance of American Petroleum 

Institute standards for machinery and its associated instrumentation 

cannot be overstated.

These standards are no longer considered best practice employed by the 

cutting-edge few – they are so universally accepted that they are today

considered standard practice and thus widely embraced by the many.

Nowhere is this more true than with API Standard 67023 which defines the

necessary attributes of machinery protection systems. 

The first edition of this standard was released in 1976 and has been so

successfully embraced that it has resulted in five successive revisions to

keep pace with industry’s changing needs: the 6th edition of the standard

is currently in preparation and is expected to be released by 2023.

Indeed, it provides such value that it has remained among the API’s bestselling standards in the more than 45 years since its introduction. Not

surprisingly, the VM600 was designed with full API 670 compliance in

mind, allowing customers in the oil & gas industries to employ the system

with the confidence that it rigorously adheres to the robust feature set

and functionality that multiple generations of users and manufacturers 

have found important.

Indeed, the requirements of 670 are so well-recognized by practitioners

in all industries that it is not uncommon to find power generation

and other customers using it as the basis of their own purchasing

specifications – not just those in the petroleum industries.

3. API Standard 670 “Machinery Protection Systems”. American Petroleum 

Institute. Washington, DC. November 2014.

Full API 670 compliance

Both first- and second-generation

VM600 platforms are fully 

compliant with the 5th edition

of API 670. Additionally, we

participate on the API Task Force

that is currently preparing the 6th 

edition to ensure we remain fully

compliant with and abreast of

industry changes as the standard 

evolves.

Why a Second-Generation product?

With such a rich feature set and pedigree of innovation, it is natural to ask 

why a second-generation platform was even necessary. 

There are multiple reasons:

Cybersecurity

When the VM600 was originally

designed, the internet itself 

was not even a decade old. The

idea that this global network

infrastructure would someday

become a remotely accessible 

means to sabotage industrial 

instruments and automation 

systems wasn’t even part of

anyone’s thought process at the

time. But the intervening 22 years 

have changed everything.

Today, cybersecurity is at the very 

top of customer concerns. What 

has also changed are the types 

of customers concerned about 

cybersecurity. For decades, the 

most innovative and demanding 

customers were largely in the

petroleum and oil & gas sectors.

They were often the ones with