Robust Diagnostic Concept for Vehicle Gearbox with Artificial Pitting Defect in Gear using Vibration Measurements

Using the PULSE platform for vibration analysis, which has been developed as an advanced solution for vibration measurements, the Robust Diagnostic Concept (RDC) was elaborated. The PULSE setup is designed to aid in fault diagnosis of a vehicle gearbox - the main part of a vehicle powertrain. Time Domain, Continuous Wavelet Transformation Technique (CWT), FFT and order analysis measurements are used for detection of an artificial pitting defect in a gear by tracking the gearbox response at accelerated speed and different loads. The test stand is equipped with three dynamometers; the input dynamometer serves as the internal combustion engine, the output dynamometers introduce the load on the flanges of the output joint shafts. The pitting defect is manufactured on the tooth side of the fifth speed gear on the intermediate shaft. The effect of temperature on the vibration measurements was also investigated to study its impact on the fault diagnosis. The presented concept has an important application in the field of mechanical fault diagnosis.