CRACK DETECTION FOR AEROSPACE QUALITY SPUR GEARS

Health and Usage Monitoring System research and development involves analysis of the vibration signals produced by a gearbox throughout its life. There are two major advantages of knowing the actual lifetime of a gearbox component: safety and cost. Three spur gears were machined with a notch to provide a seeded fault. These gears were then run until tooth failure while recording the vibration signals. Standard vibration diagnostic parameters are calculated and are presented. The results of this study indicate that the detection methods examined are not robust or repeatable. Current techniques show that the cracks progressed at a much faster rate than anticipated which reduced available time for detection.