OBSERVATIONS OF ACOUSTIC EMISSION IN A HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING

Numerous studies have been conducted in the field of Acoustic Emission technology applied to rotating machine fault diagnosis. Principally most of the work to date has been focused on correlating Acoustic Emission (AE) activity to the defect condition on rolling element bearings with limited investigations on hydrodynamic bearings. In developing the AE technology for monitoring hydrodynamic bearings operated under variable speed and load conditions it is essential that a relationship between the operational variables and the generation of AE is established. This paper presents experimental tests aimed at understanding the influence of speed and load on generation of Acoustic Emission in a hydrodynamic bearing. It is concluded that the power losses associated which such bearings has a direct influence on the generation of AE.

Keywords:

Acoustic Emission , Condition monitoring , Hydrodynamic bearing