Natural roller bearing fault detection by angular measurement of true instantaneous angular speed

• Published in: Mechanical systems and signal processing Vol. 24; no. 7; pp. 1998 - 2011
• Main Authors: Renaudin, L., Bonnardot, F., Musy, O., Doray, J.B., Rémond, D.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Angular sampling; Angular speed; Applied sciences; Automotive components; Bearing; Bearings; Bearings, bushings, rolling bearings; Condition monitoring; Drives; Encoder; Engineering Sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Fault detection; Faults; Fluctuation; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Industrial metrology. Testing; Instantaneous angular speed; Measurement and testing methods; Measurements common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Mechanical components; Mechanical engineering; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Mechanics; Metrology, measurements and laboratory procedures; Physics; Power transmission; Repairing; Solid mechanics; Structural and continuum mechanics; Velocity, acceleration and rotation; Fault detection; Instantaneous angular speed; Encoder; Angular sampling; Bearing; Motor car; Fourier transformation; Surface crack; Slip; Vibration measurement; Speed measurement; Rotation speed; Modeling; Vibrometer; Varying speed; Gear; Rolling bearing; Angular measurement; Gear drive; Robustness; Sampling; Repair; Monitoring; Damaging; Erosion; Experimental study; Operating conditions; Magnetic measurement; Roller bearing; Corrosion; Power device; Scaling; Loadbearing capacity; Defect detection
• ISSN: 0888-3270; 1096-1216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2010.05.005

The challenge in many production activities involving large mechanical devices like power transmissions consists in reducing the machine downtime, in managing repairs and in improving operating time. Most online monitoring systems are based on conventional vibration measurement devices for gear transmissions or bearings in mechanical components. In this paper, we propose an alternative way of bearing condition monitoring based on the instantaneous angular speed measurement. By the help of a large experimental investigation on two different applications, we prove that localized faults like pitting in bearing generate small angular speed fluctuations which are measurable with optical or magnetic encoders. We also emphasize the benefits of measuring instantaneous angular speed with the pulse timing method through an implicit angular sampling which ensures insensitivity to speed fluctuation. A wide range of operating conditions have been tested for the two applications with varying speed, load, external excitations, gear ratio, etc. The tests performed on an automotive gearbox or on actual operating vehicle wheels also establish the robustness of the proposed methodology. By the means of a conventional Fourier transform, angular frequency channels kinematically related to the fault periodicity show significant magnitude differences related to the damage severity. Sideband effects are evidently seen when the fault is located on rotating parts of the bearing due to load modulation. Additionally, slip effects are also suspected to be at the origin of enlargement of spectrum peaks in the case of double row bearings loaded in a pure radial direction.