Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High Throughput Wear Debris Detection in Lubricants Using a Resonance Frequency Division Multiplexed Sensor

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Tribology Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

With a long time goal of detecting signs of potential machine failure, we demonstrate a proof-of-principle multiplexed, multichannel, inductive pulse sensor based on resonant frequency division multiplexing for high throughput detection of micro-scale metallic debris in lubricants. In the four-channel sensor, each sensing coil is connected to a specific external capacitance to form a parallel LC circuit that has a unique resonant frequency. Only one combined sinusoidal excitation signal consisting of four frequencies components that are close to the 4 sensing channels’ resonant frequencies was applied to the sensor, and only one combined voltage response was measured. Because each sensing channel exhibited a peak amplitude at its resonant frequency, the signals for each individual channel were recovered from the combined response by taking the spectrum components at each resonant frequency with an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Inductance change for each channel was then calculated from signals of individual channels. Testing results show that the use of resonant frequency division multiplexing allows simultaneous detection of debris in lubricants using only one set of detection electronics; for the four-channel sensor, there is a 300 % increase in throughput. The resonant frequency division multiplexing concept can be potentially applied to a multichannel oil debris sensor with a large number of sensing channels to achieve a very high throughput, which is necessary for online health monitoring of rotating and reciprocal mechanical components.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tucker, J.E., Galie, T.R., Schultz, A., Lu, C., Tankersley, L.L., Sebok, T., Howard, P.L.: LASERNET fines optical wear debris monitor: a Navy shipboard evaluation of CBM enabling technology. 54th Machine Failure Prevention Technology Proceedings (2000)

  2. Edmonds, J., Resner, M.S., Shkarlet, K.: Detection of precursor wear debris in lubrication systems IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceeding 6, 73–77 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Flanagan, I.M., Jordan, J.R., Whittington, H.W.: An inductive method for estimating the composition and size of metal particle. Meas. Sci. Technol. 1, 381–394 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Flynn, B.W., Whittington, H.W.: Improved transducer design for machine wear debris monitoring. Electron. Lett. 31, 177–179 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. MetalSCAN User’s Manual—Early Failure Detection for Rotating Equipment 2002 GASTOPS Inc.

  6. Dickert, A.D., Johnson, E.L., Kirkpatrick, J.F., Hawn, K.A.: Oil monitor with magnetic field. US Patent 5,262,732 (1993)

  7. Du, L., Zhe, J., Carletta, J.E., Veillette, R., Choy, F.: Real-time monitoring of wear debris in lubrication oil using a microfluidic inductive coulter counting device. Microfluid. Nanofluidics 9, 1241–1245 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Appleby, M., Choy, F.K.: Oil debris and viscosity monitoring using ultrasonic and capacitance/inductance measurements. Lubr. Sci. (2013). doi:10.1002/ls.1221

    Google Scholar 

  9. Du, L., Zhe, J.: An integrated ultrasonic–inductive pulse sensor for wear debris detection. Smart Mater. Struct. (2013). doi:10.1088/0964-1726/22/2/025003

    Google Scholar 

  10. Iwai, Y., Honda, T., Miyajima, T., Yoshinaga, S., Higashi, M., Fuwa, Y.: Quantitative estimation of wear amounts by real time measurement of wear debris in lubricating oil. Tribol. Int. 43, 388–394 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Fan, H.B., Zhang, Y.T., Ren, G.Q., Li, Z.N.: Experimental study of an on-line monitoring sensor for wear particles in oil. Tribology 30, 338–343 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Du, L., Zhe, J.: On-line wear debris detection in lubricating oil for condition based health monitoring of rotary machinery. Recent Pat. Electr. Eng. 4, 1–9 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Du, L., Zhe, J.: A high throughput inductive pulse sensor for online oil debris monitoring. Tribol. Int. 44, 175–179 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Cartwright, K.V., Joseph, E., Kaminsky, E.J.: Finding the exact maximum impedance resonant frequency of a practical parallel resonant circuit without calculus. Technol. Interface Int. J. 1, 26–34 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  15. APPLICATION NOTE AN014: Understanding FFT windows. http://www.physik.uni-wuerzburg.de/~praktiku/Anleitung/Fremde/ANO14.pdf (2003). Accessed 29 March 2013

  16. Dziczkowski, L.: Effect of eddy current frequency on measuring properties of devices used in non-destructive measurements of non-ferromagnetic metal plates. Arch. Mater. Sci. Eng. 32, 77–84 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jagtiani, A.V., Carletta, J.E., Zhe, J.: A microfluidic multichannel resistive pulse sensor using frequency division multiplexing for high throughput counting of micro particles. J. Micromech. Microeng. 21, 065004 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Du, L., Zhe, J.: Parallel sensing of metallic wear debris in lubricants using undersampling data processing. Tribol. Int. 53, 28–34 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Du, L., Zhu, X.L., Han, Y., Zhao, L., Zhe, J.: Improving sensitivity of an inductive pulse sensor for detection of metallic wear debris in lubricants using parallel LC resonance method. Meas. Sci. Technol. (2013). doi:10.1088/0957-0233/24/7/075106

    Google Scholar 

  20. Sanders, P.G., Xu, N., Dalka, T.M., Maricq, M.M.: Airborne brake wear debris: size distributions, composition, and a comparison of dynamometer and vehicle tests. Environ. Sci. Technol. 37, 4060–4069 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Iijima, A., Sato, K., Yano, K., Tago, H., Kato, M., Kimura, H., Furuta, N.: Particle size and composition distribution analysis of automotive brake abrasion dusts for the evaluation of antimony sources of airborne particulate matter. Atmos. Environ. 41, 4908–4919 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Geller, M.D., Sardar, S.B., Phuleria, H., Philip, M., Sioutas, C.: Measurements of particle number and mass concentrations and size distributions in a tunnel environment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39, 8653–8663 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Kukutschová, J., Roubíček, V., Mašláň, M., Jančík, D., Slovák, V., Malachová, K., Filip, P.: Wear performance and wear debris of semimetallic automotive brake materials. Wear 268, 86–93 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This article is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI-0968736. Y. Han acknowledges partial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China via an Overseas Outstanding Young Scientist Award (#51128601). The authors also wish to thank Prof. L. Zhao at Xi’an Jiaotong University for valuable discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, 44325, USA

    Li Du, Xiaoliang Zhu, Yu Han & Jiang Zhe

Authors
  1. Li Du
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaoliang Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yu Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jiang Zhe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiang Zhe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Du, L., Zhu, X., Han, Y. et al. High Throughput Wear Debris Detection in Lubricants Using a Resonance Frequency Division Multiplexed Sensor. Tribol Lett 51, 453–460 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0179-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0179-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation