A new feature for monitoring the condition of gearboxes in non-stationary operating conditions

The paper introduces a new diagnostic feature, which can be used for monitoring the condition of planetary gearboxes in time-variable operating conditions. The novel approach (originally presented in W. Bartelmus, R. Zimroz, Vibration condition monitoring of planetary gearbox under varying external load, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 23 (2009) 246–257) exploits the fact that a planetary gearbox in bad condition is more susceptible (yielding) to load than the gearbox in good condition. The diagnostic method based on the new diagnostic feature is very simple: one needs to capture signals for different external load values and calculate a simple spectrum based feature versus operating conditions indicator (current or instantaneous rotation speed). In a certain range of operating conditions the diagnostic relation (i.e. the dependence between the spectral features and the operating conditions indicator) is linear. However, since a gearbox in bad condition is more susceptible to load than the gearbox in good condition the relation will be different for the two cases. Using a simple regression equation one can calculate the slope of the straight line, which expresses the new diagnostic feature. The method is very quick, technically simple, robust and intuitive. This approach has been used for diagnosing the very complex high-power planetary gearbox used in bucket wheel excavators.