[2B1] Bolt health monitoring in harsh environments using ultrasonics
C Wang¹, T Comyn¹, N Curry² and T Stevenson¹
¹Ionix Advanced Technologies, UK
²ICE Electronics, UK
The need for real-time bolt health monitoring in critical applications such as aero engines, gearboxes, landing gear and wind turbines is becoming increasingly important to improve efficiency, sustainability and safety in the digital world. By enabling sensing in previously inaccessible or hostile environments, digital strategies including digital twins and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) can be applied in more places to enhance the operation of rotating components of these vehicles and infrastructure.
If the integration of a smart bolt into aero engines can be achieved, real-time monitoring of bolt health, detection of crack initialisation, position and development, detection of fretting between the bolt and structure and assessment of bolt tightness can be achieved.
Here, the authors report on the development of an intelligent critical fastener solution, able to self- monitor or proximity monitor over a wide temperature range. The fastener will be able to actively monitor strain, avoiding under- and over-tightening, determine if any flaws exist within the fastener, for example subsurface damage to the threads, and also ‘listen’ to acoustic events in proximity related to damage mechanisms, such as bearing failure or fretting.
As well as combining active (ultrasonic) and passive (acoustic) sensing capability integrated into a bolt head, the highlight of this paper is to show the ability of the sensors to withstand high temperatures of up to 580°C, which is essential for monitoring bolts within harsh environments such as a jet turbine. This allows for more comprehensive monitoring of the bolt’s health in situ and can help to detect potential problems within other areas of the turbine before they become critical, as well as in other sector applications such as wind turbines.
Overall, the integration of ultrasonic transducers offers significant potential for improving non-destructive bolt health monitoring and achieving real-time monitoring capabilities to aid in the prevention of catastrophic failures in critical applications and ensure that machinery operates safely and efficiently.
If the integration of a smart bolt into aero engines can be achieved, real-time monitoring of bolt health, detection of crack initialisation, position and development, detection of fretting between the bolt and structure and assessment of bolt tightness can be achieved.
Here, the authors report on the development of an intelligent critical fastener solution, able to self- monitor or proximity monitor over a wide temperature range. The fastener will be able to actively monitor strain, avoiding under- and over-tightening, determine if any flaws exist within the fastener, for example subsurface damage to the threads, and also ‘listen’ to acoustic events in proximity related to damage mechanisms, such as bearing failure or fretting.
As well as combining active (ultrasonic) and passive (acoustic) sensing capability integrated into a bolt head, the highlight of this paper is to show the ability of the sensors to withstand high temperatures of up to 580°C, which is essential for monitoring bolts within harsh environments such as a jet turbine. This allows for more comprehensive monitoring of the bolt’s health in situ and can help to detect potential problems within other areas of the turbine before they become critical, as well as in other sector applications such as wind turbines.
Overall, the integration of ultrasonic transducers offers significant potential for improving non-destructive bolt health monitoring and achieving real-time monitoring capabilities to aid in the prevention of catastrophic failures in critical applications and ensure that machinery operates safely and efficiently.
