Assessment of Gearbox Fault DetectionUsing Vibration Signal Analysis and Acoustic Emission Technique

Abstract

Maintenance is a set of organised activities that are carried out in order to keep an item in its best operational condition with minimum cost acquired. Predictive maintenance (PdM) is one of the maintenance program that recommends maintenance decisions based on the information collected through condition monitoring techniques, statistical process control or equipment performance for the purpose of early detection and elimination of equipment defects that could lead to unplanned downtime of machinery or unnecessary expenditures. Particularly Gears and rolling element bearings are critical elements in rotating machinery, so predictive maintenance is often applied to them. Fault signals of gearboxes or rolling-element bearings are non-stationary. This paper concludes with a brief discussion on current practices of PDM methodologies such as vibration analysis and Acoustic Emission analysis, which are widely used as they offers a complimentary tool for health monitoring or assessment of gears in rotating machineries.