Location- and time-resolved strain measurement in thrust roller bearings using thin-film sensors

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Abstract
Bearings play a crucial role in a broad range of engineering applications, such as automotive, aerospace and renewable energies. Particularly when it comes to larger and/or hard to replace/repair bearings, such as those in wind turbines, condition monitoring and load control are essential due to their complex and expensive conditions for maintenance and repair. Conventionally, different sensors are used, which are typically positioned outside of the bearing. Thus, a rather low depth of information is achieved, and the bearing condition cannot be assessed optimally. Therefore, this article focuses on the production and evaluation of directly deposited thin-film strain sensor arrays on a rolling bearing within and close to the tribomechanical contact between roller and raceway. The sensor production was carried out using sputtering, photolithography and etching processes. After the static strain gauge characterization concerning temperature, strain and pressure sensitivity on different substrates, a sensor-integrated 81212 thrust roller bearing was investigated in an FE8 bearing test rig. After data processing, the dynamic measurements with a maximum Hertzian pressure of 1 GPa revealed negative sensor resistance changes of up to −1.4 ‰ in the tribomechanical contact and up to 3.8 ‰ positive resistance change right next to the contact zone. Due to the fact that these sensors were subject to wear, sensors were also positioned at a greater distance from the contact that still showed a measurable signal of 0.5 ‰ resistance change that can be used after critical loads when their signal has been correlated to the other sensors in the contact zone when the latter are worn. Furthermore, the time-resolution enables the precise measurement of the rotational speed, and deviations in the roller geometries can be detected as well due to different sensor amplitudes. The location-resolved measurements allow important information about the tribomechanical contact to be derived in real-time, thus enabling intelligent component control, for example concerning rotational speed, lubrication and load before a damage occurs.
Funding Information
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (PO 675/21-1)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (PA 3279/7-1)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (WU 558/41-1)
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover

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