Monitoring of Lubrication Conditions in Journal Bearing by Acoustic Emission

AE를 이용한 저어널 베어링에서의 윤활유 이물질 혼입의 영향 감시

Systems with journal bearings generally operate in large scale and under severe loading conditions such as steam generator turbines and internal combustion engines, in contrast to the machineries using rolling element bearings. Failure of the bearings in these machineries can result in the system breakdown. To avoid the time consuming repair and considerable economic loss, the detection of incipient failure in journal bearings becomes very important. In this experimental approach, acoustic emission monitoring is employed to the detection of incipient failure caused by intervention of foreign particles most probable in the journal bearing systems. It has been known that the intervention of foreign materials, insufficient lubrication and misassembly etc. are principal factors to cause bearing failure and distress. The experiment was conducted under such designed conditions as inserting alumina particles to the lubrication layer in the simulated journal bearing system. The results showed that acoustic emission could be an effective tool to detect the incipient failure in journal bearings.