Towards health monitoring of hybrid ceramic bearings in aircraft starter/generators

Our research is assessing the degradation of hybrid ceramic bearings in the newest generation of starter/generators for condition monitoring and health management. This paper discusses bearing degradation as foundation for the definition of relevant health condition assessment and decision making approach, and the integration of a monitoring system into a prototype test bearing to be used for data generation and algorithm validation. Initial results indicate this approach can effectively diagnose bearings faults. Validation was conducted by using repository data.