Analysis of Solid Contamination in Ball Bearing Through Acoustic Emission Signals

Acoustic emission is one of the effective techniques used for the condition monitoring of rolling element bearings. Contamination is one of the major reasons for bearing early failure due to presence of solid particle in lubricant grease. In most cases, outer race is stationary and the inner race is attached to the rotating assembly. The lubrication is very essential for the bearing to perform under various demanding conditions. The main aim of this project is to analyze the effect of contamination of lubricant by solid particles on the dynamic behavior of rolling bearing. Green sand at three concentration levels 5%, 15%, 25% and different particle sizes 75 μm, 106 μm and 150μm is used to contaminate the lubricant. Experimental tests have been performed for different load and speed condition in good and contaminated ball bearings lubricated with grease. The trends in the amount of AE waves affected by the contamination of the grease were determined. Acoustic emission signals were analyzed in terms of RMS, kurtosis, and peak-peak