[2E5] Application of acoustic emission to the condition monitoring of in-service low-speed bearings
T Bradshaw
Mistras Group Ltd, UK
Low-speed bearings (LSBs) are commonplace in a wide range of applications and machines, including marine loading arms, cranes, marine propulsion units, wind turbine pitch controls and amusement park attractions, to name but a few. LSBs are defined as having a rotational speed of less than 100 r/min and can have rotational speeds well below 1 r/min. Typically, low-speed bearings bear high-mechanical loads and in some cases do not rotate through full 360° rotations. Due to the locations at which they are installed and the nature of their construction, LSBs are often difficult to inspect using conventional non-destructive testing methods.
Acoustic emission (AE) technology is a passive non-destructive monitoring technique that has been successfully used to monitor the condition of LSBs in industry. This has enabled Mistras to deliver both long-term and short-term solutions for the assessment of low-speed bearings. This work presents a background on AE technologies and the work that has been conducted to enable the technique to be successfully applied. Case studies of real in-service applications are presented along with the way this has provided the information required by a customer to make operational decisions on their assets.
Acoustic emission (AE) technology is a passive non-destructive monitoring technique that has been successfully used to monitor the condition of LSBs in industry. This has enabled Mistras to deliver both long-term and short-term solutions for the assessment of low-speed bearings. This work presents a background on AE technologies and the work that has been conducted to enable the technique to be successfully applied. Case studies of real in-service applications are presented along with the way this has provided the information required by a customer to make operational decisions on their assets.
