Method for detecting fatigue crack in gears

The most undesirable damage that can occur in gear units is crack in the tooth root as it often makes gear unit operation impossible. Monitoring vibrations can be used to detect defects. Time signals are acquired experimentally and afterwards. Different methods can be used to analyse them. The changes in tooth stiffness caused by a fatigue crack in the tooth root are of significance. The dynamic response of a gear unit with a damaged tooth differs from the one of an undamaged tooth. Amplitudes of time signal are, by time–frequency analysis, presented as a function of frequencies in spectrum.