Analysis of Vibrations and Noise to Determine the Condition of Gear Units

The main goal of maintenance is to maintain the characteristics of a technical system at the most favourable or still acceptable level. Maintenance costs can be reduced, operation can become more reliable and the frequency and complexity of damages can be reduced. To evaluate the condition of a technical system, it is necessary to collect precise data, and the to analyse, compare and process this data properly. Gear units are the most frequent machine parts or couplings. They consist of a housing, toothed wheels, bearings and a lubricating system and are of various types and sizes. Durable damages in gear units are often a resulta of the following factors: geometrical deviations or unbalanced component parts, material fatigue, which is a result of engagement of a gear pair, or damages caused to roller bearings. To monitor the condition of mechanical systems, methods for measuring vibrations and noise are usually useddata about a gear unit can be acquired in this way. Afterwards certain tools are used to analyse the data. Features that denote the presence of damages and faults are identified in this way