Diagnostic evaluation of rolling behavior in ball bearings by ultrasonic technique

Abstract

Failures of machines having rotating parts are mostly caused by damage to bearings and there exist increasing demands for detecting damaged bearings at an early stage. However, conventional diagnostic methods, such as measuring temperature and observing vibration, have found difficulties in performing the early detection, so that more advanced diagnosis is necessary. This study therefore applies an ultrasonic technique as an advanced diagnostic method to bearing life tests. Ultrasonic wave pulses (UWP) emitted from a piezoelectric UWP generator can partially reflect from the interfaces of contact zones within the housing and the bearing with regard to the different acoustic impedance between a solid-to-solid contact and a contact dominated by some fluid layers. Hence, the intensity of the resultant UWP echoes can be determined by the real contact area formed at the interfaces. The experimental results of UWP echoes under the different operating conditions have demonstrated that the time intervals between peaks of UWP echoes varied in accordance with the movement of rolling balls and the lubricating phenomena in bearings. This behavior has further suggested the possibility of the early detection of abnormalities in ball bearings by using the variation in UWP echoes.