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A study of white etching crack bearing failure detection using electrostatic sensing in wind turbine gearboxes

A study of white etching crack bearing failure detection using electrostatic sensing in wind turbine gearboxes
A study of white etching crack bearing failure detection using electrostatic sensing in wind turbine gearboxes
White etching cracks (WECs) have been found to form in rolling element bearings as early as 6-24 months into operation, especially in large wind turbine gearboxes. Despite the number of investigations conducted in both industrial and academic research over the past two to three decades, WEC formation and initiation mechanisms are still not well understood. This is due to the complexity of the factors that influence WEC formation, such as speed, load (mechanical and electrical) and lubrication, as well as a lack of effective monitoring techniques that can detect WECs prior to severe bearing failures, such as spalls on the bearing surface. Recent research has suggested that WECs can form in rolling element bearings under the influence of electrical load (potential or current). To investigate the feasibility of WEC detection using the electrostatic (ES) sensing technique, an ES wear site sensor was installed on a bearing test-rig where WECs had been created under the influence of electrical load. The ES responses were compared with those from an acoustic emission (AE) sensor that had been shown to detect WEC failures in a previous study. The physical findings related to WEC failures in the bearings and basic analysis of the sensor signals have been reported in a parallel paper by Zuercher et al. This paper focuses on the analysis of ES and AE signals using a time-frequency method, where correlations between the electrostatic charge signals and AE measurements are found. The results suggest that electrostatic sensors have the potential to detect WEC formation in rolling element bearings.
82-88
Esmaeili, Kamran
99ab4049-5a0c-46dd-9478-91fc9c82f711
Wang, Ling
c50767b1-7474-4094-9b06-4fe64e9fe362
Harvey, Terence
3b94322b-18da-4de8-b1af-56d202677e04
White, Neil
c7be4c26-e419-4e5c-9420-09fc02e2ac9c
Holweger, Walter
97dc70d7-c418-430b-8f43-424983c07e8d
Zuercher, M.
9f231587-447b-4448-a0b5-03de4120f76d
Schlücker, E.
14d7d56e-79e0-4ec2-a990-4182efa4a73b
Esmaeili, Kamran
99ab4049-5a0c-46dd-9478-91fc9c82f711
Wang, Ling
c50767b1-7474-4094-9b06-4fe64e9fe362
Harvey, Terence
3b94322b-18da-4de8-b1af-56d202677e04
White, Neil
c7be4c26-e419-4e5c-9420-09fc02e2ac9c
Holweger, Walter
97dc70d7-c418-430b-8f43-424983c07e8d
Zuercher, M.
9f231587-447b-4448-a0b5-03de4120f76d
Schlücker, E.
14d7d56e-79e0-4ec2-a990-4182efa4a73b

Esmaeili, Kamran, Wang, Ling, Harvey, Terence, White, Neil, Holweger, Walter, Zuercher, M. and Schlücker, E. (2018) A study of white etching crack bearing failure detection using electrostatic sensing in wind turbine gearboxes. International Journal of Condition Monitoring, 8 (3), 82-88. (doi:10.1784/204764218823931271).

Record type: Article

Abstract

White etching cracks (WECs) have been found to form in rolling element bearings as early as 6-24 months into operation, especially in large wind turbine gearboxes. Despite the number of investigations conducted in both industrial and academic research over the past two to three decades, WEC formation and initiation mechanisms are still not well understood. This is due to the complexity of the factors that influence WEC formation, such as speed, load (mechanical and electrical) and lubrication, as well as a lack of effective monitoring techniques that can detect WECs prior to severe bearing failures, such as spalls on the bearing surface. Recent research has suggested that WECs can form in rolling element bearings under the influence of electrical load (potential or current). To investigate the feasibility of WEC detection using the electrostatic (ES) sensing technique, an ES wear site sensor was installed on a bearing test-rig where WECs had been created under the influence of electrical load. The ES responses were compared with those from an acoustic emission (AE) sensor that had been shown to detect WEC failures in a previous study. The physical findings related to WEC failures in the bearings and basic analysis of the sensor signals have been reported in a parallel paper by Zuercher et al. This paper focuses on the analysis of ES and AE signals using a time-frequency method, where correlations between the electrostatic charge signals and AE measurements are found. The results suggest that electrostatic sensors have the potential to detect WEC formation in rolling element bearings.

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IJCM 8.3 Esmaeili final version - Version of Record
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e-pub ahead of print date: 1 July 2018
Published date: July 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 423190
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/423190
PURE UUID: a2609a1a-412f-4a0d-97a5-23edcdfec535
ORCID for Ling Wang: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2894-6784
ORCID for Neil White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1532-6452

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Date deposited: 19 Sep 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:24

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Contributors

Author: Kamran Esmaeili
Author: Ling Wang ORCID iD
Author: Terence Harvey
Author: Neil White ORCID iD
Author: Walter Holweger
Author: M. Zuercher
Author: E. Schlücker

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