Gear Fault Detection Using Non-Contact Magnetic Rotation Position Sensors

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation of possible applications for a low cost non-contact magnetic rotational position sensor. A single stage gearbox operating spur gears was instrumented with these sensors along with typical optical encoders. These rotational position devices were used independently to measure gearbox Transmission Error (TE) during operation. Basic filtering techniques were used to condition the TE so that localized faults were observable. Characteristic feature extraction on the TE using RMS, Kurtosis and Crest Factor was used to quantify gearbox dynamics. These features were able to measure dynamic changes in gearbox health, such as wearing in the gears or the progression of a fault resulting in full tooth failure. These sensor attributes are ideal for machine condition monitoring applications where catastrophic failure can be forewarned by incipient fault detection.