Analysis of Gear Fault Detection Methods as Applied to Pitting Fatigue FailureData

摘要

The application of gear fault prediction techniques to experimental data isexamined. A single mesh spur gear fatigue rig was used to produce naturally occurring faults on a number of test gear sets. Gear tooth surface pitting was the primary failure mode for a majority of the test runs. The damage ranged from moderate pitting on two teeth in one test to spelling on several teeth in another test. Previously published failure prediction techniques were applied to the data as it was acquired to provide a means of monitoring the test and stopping it when a failure was suspected. A newly developed technique along with variations of published methods were also applied to the experimental data. The published methods experienced some success in detecting initial pitting before it progressed to affect the overall root-mean-square (RMS) vibration level. The new technique robustly detected the damage on all of the tests, and in most cases continued to react to the damage as it spread and increased in severity. Since no single method was able to consistently predict the damage first on all the runs, it was concluded that the best approach to reliably detect pitting damage is to use a combination of detection methods.... Gear, Fatigue, Diagnostics, Failure prediction.