Reliable methodology for gearbox wear monitoring based on vibration analysis

Gearboxes are important components in industrial applications and its condition monitoring is relevant in industries for reducing costs and minimizing maintenance downtime. Diagnosing wear in gearboxes saves time to prepare appropriate corrective actions, and to ensure that the system does not deteriorate critically. Nowadays, for condition monitoring in gearboxes, vibration analysis is commonly used due to its high reliability. In this work, a reliable methodology for diagnosing different levels of wear in a gearbox through vibration signals, and supported by a theoretical model, is proposed. The theoretical model is based on calculating the characteristic frequencies of the gearbox, with the aim for locating the spectral components of the faults in the vibration signal. Experimentation is done to a healthy gearbox and three wear levels. Results show the reliability of this method that makes it suitable to be used in diagnosing industrial machinery such as in automotive manufacturing applications.