Vibrodiagnostics Used for Evaluating the Technical Condition of a Mechanical Gearbox

The aim of this article is to evaluate the technical condition of a mechanical four-speed gearbox tightly connected to a mechanical two-speed auxiliary gearbox placed in an off-road vehicle. When observing the technical condition of the mechanical gearbox, we used one of technical diagnostics methods, namely vibrodiagnostics. The mechanical gearbox was monitored during all its life cycle up to failure occurrence. In the article there is a detailed description of the stand where the gearbox technical condition was monitored. When observing vibration signals, we used four tri-axial sensors placed in four selected spots depending on the design arrangement of antifriction bearings. In order to evaluate the measured results, two methods were applied, namely the root mean square gRMS based on the measured acceleration in three axes. The other method used for monitoring the technical condition was the Crest factor. The aim of the experiment was to monitor the technical condition of the mechanical gearbox, mainly its antifriction bearings, therefore the values were measured when the gear was put into fourth position and into overdrive in the auxiliary gearbox. When the gear is put into fourth position, the torque is transmitted from the motor through the main gearbox and the auxiliary gearbox directly. Single gearbox wheels are engaged but not loaded (they do not transmit the torque). At the end of our article we introduced the measured values along with the oral evaluation of the technical condition of the mechanical gearbox and the auxiliary gearbox