Sensitivity of Air-Coupled Ultrasound and Eddy Current Sensors to Bearing Fault Detection

• Published in: Tribology transactions Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 310 - 323
• Main Authors: Dadouche, Azzedine, Rezaei, Aida, Wickramasinghe, Viresh, Dmochowski, Waldemar, Bird, Jeff W., Nitzsche, Fred
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01.05.2008; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Acoustical measurements and instrumentation; Acoustics; Air-Coupled Ultrasound Sensor; Analysing. Testing. Standards; Applied sciences; Ball Bearing; Ball bearings; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Eddy Current Sensor; Envelope Detection; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Industrial metrology. Testing; Materials science; Materials testing; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Metals. Metallurgy; Nondestructive testing; Physics; Sensors; Testing for defects; Tribology; Vibration; Air coupling; Measurement sensor; Air-Coupled Ultrasound Sensor; Experimental study; Envelope Detection; Rolling bearing; Defect characterization; Electrical measurement; Ball bearing; Eddy Current Sensor; Ultrasonic control; Defect size; Accelerometer; Signal processing; Eddy current; Non destructive test; Monitoring; Structural analysis; Constant load; Defect detection; Eddy current testing; Crack
• ISSN: 1040-2004; 1547-397X
• DOI: 10.1080/10402000701772587

For decades, vibration and oil analysis have usually been used to detect early bearing faults and track their progression over time. Progress has been seen in condition monitoring through vibration analysis of rolling element bearings using improved sensors and advanced signal processing techniques. In this paper, the authors investigate the use of air-coupled ultrasound and eddy current sensors as diagnostic tools for the detection of bearing faults. A series of experiments was carried out in a laboratory environment: localized defects with different sizes were created intentionally on the test bearing components simulating evolving cracks or other related faults. The resulting data for a constant bearing speed and load have shown that both sensors are capable of detecting different types of defects located on the bearing components. The data from the air-coupled ultrasound and eddy current sensors were also compared with those obtained from an accelerometer. The test method and the processing technique are described and the spectra of the different signals are analyzed and discussed.