Automatic Bearing Damage Detection on Commercial Vehicle Cardan Shafts

Abstract

AbstractDrive shafts are safety–critical components whose failure can result in situations ranging from a simple breakdown due to loss of tractive force to danger to life and limb. In addition, economic damage is caused by downtime, particularly in the commercial vehicle sector.In almost all cases, cardan shaft damage on commercial vehicles is caused by the rolling bearings used in the universal joints. Bearing damage is often indicated at an early stage by measurable vibrations. This allows damage to be detected even before the driver can notice it. Current diagnostic systems for rolling bearing damage are unsuitable for application in vehicle cardan shafts. At present, the authors are not aware of any system that can detect faults while the vehicle is in operation and inform the driver accordingly.This paper shows a way on how to identify damaged bearings of drive shafts of commercial vehicles reliably at an early stage and on how the driver can be informed about the failure.In the first step, a low-cost measuring system was developed whose package space requirements allow it to be installed in the drive shaft. Subsequently, measurements were carried out on a test rig for cardan shafts. Based on the collected vibration measurement data, an algorithm was developed whose output is an indicator value for the cardan shaft condition. The value is transmitted to a driver information system via a wireless connection. This enables the driver to react accordingly in order to exclude hazards due to consequential damage.KeywordsCardan ShaftCondition MonitoringCommercial Vehicles