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Development of Acoustic Emission Technology for Condition Monitoring and

Diagnosis of Rotating Machines: Bearings, Pumps, Gearboxes, Engines, and
Rotating Structures

Article  in  The Shock and Vibration Digest · March 2006

DOI: 10.1177/0583102405059054

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Articles

Development of Acoustic Emission Technology for

Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis of Rotating
Machines: Bearings, Pumps, Gearboxes, Engines,
and Rotating Structures
D. Mba and Raj B. K. N. Rao

ABSTRACT—One of the earliest documented applications tic capabilities, which are safe, efficient and cost-effective. In

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of acoustic emission technology (AET) to rotating machinery this paper we review the research and development activities
monitoring was in the late 1960s. Since then, there has been
an explosion in research- and application-based studies cov- that are being pursued in the following subject areas: bear-
ering bearings, pumps, gearboxes, engines, and rotating struc- ings (roller and hydrodynamic), gearboxes, pumps, machin-
tures. In this paper we present a comprehensive and critical ery, and mechanical seals.
review to date on the application of AET to condition moni- AE was originally developed for non-destructive testing
toring and diagnostics of rotating machinery. of static structures; however, over the last 35 years its
KEYWORDS: acoustic emission, condition monitoring,
machine diagnosis, rotating machines

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application has been extended to health monitoring of rotat-
ing machines, including bearings, gearboxes, pumps, etc. It
offers the advantage of earlier defect/failure detection in
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comparison to vibration analysis due to the increased sensi-
tivity offered by AE. However, limitations in the successful
1. Introduction application of the AE technique for monitoring the perform-
ance of a wide range of rotating machinery have been partly
Acoustic emissions (AEs) are defined as transient elastic due to the difficulty in processing, interpreting, and classify-
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waves generated from a rapid release of strain energy caused ing the intelligent information from the acquired data. The
by a deformation or damage within or on the surface of a main drawback with the application of the AE technique is
material (Pao et al., 1979; Mathews, 1983; Pollock, 1989). the attenuation of the signal, and as such the AE sensor
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In the application to rotating machinery monitoring, AEs are has to be close to its source. However, it is often practical
defined as transient elastic waves generated by the interac- to place the AE sensor on the non-rotating member of the
tion of two media in relative motion. Sources of AE in rotat- machine, such as the bearing or gear casing. Therefore, the
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ing machinery include impacting, cyclic fatigue, friction, AE signal originating from the defective component will
turbulence, material loss, cavitation, leakage, etc. For instance, suffer severe attenuation, and reflections, before reaching
the interaction of surface asperities and impingement of the the sensor.
bearing rollers over a defect on an outer race will result in AE covers a wide frequency range (100 kHz to 1MHz),
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the generation of acoustic emission. These emissions propa- and time domain waveforms associated with AE are of two
gate on the surface of the material as Rayleigh waves and the types: burst and continuous. A continuous-type AE refers
displacement of these waves is measured with an AE sensor. to a waveform where transient bursts are not discernible
Rayleigh waves are a combination of longitudinal and trans- (Miller and McIntire, 1987). Both waveform types are asso-
verse waves (Viktorov, 1967). It should be noted that sur- ciated with rotating machinery; for instance, a continuous-
face defects such as cracks and scratches attenuate Rayleigh type emission may be a result of turbulent fluid flow within
waves; in addition, the surface finish of metals can also a peep while a burst type could be associated with the tran-
influence attenuation (Viktorov, 1967). sient rolling action of meshing bears. On rotating machinery,
Judicious application of well-tried and tested acoustic typical background operational noise is of a continuous type.
emission technology (AET) can provide powerful diagnos- Traditionally, the most commonly measured AE parameters
for diagnosis are amplitude, rms, energy, kurtosis, crest fac-
tor, counts and events (Mathews, 1983). Observations of the
D. Mba ([email protected]), School of Engineering, Cranfield frequency spectrum, whilst informative for traditional non-
University, UK. Raj B. K. N. Rao, COMADEM International, Birmingham, destructive evaluation, have only found limited success in
UK.
machinery monitoring. This is primarily due to the broad
The Shock and Vibration Digest, Vol. 37, No. 5, September 2005 000–000 frequencies associated with the sources of generation of AE
©2005 Sage Publications in rotating machinery. For example, the transient impulse
DOI: 10.1177/0583102405059054 associated with the breakage of contacting surface asperities
2 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

experiencing relative motion will excite a broad frequency quencies initiated by shock excitation associated with minor
range. structural irregularities. These resonant frequencies are a func-
tion of the mass configuration and type of material involved.
2. Acoustic Emission and Bearing Defect The frequencies and amplitudes at resonance are much higher
Diagnosis than bearing element rotations, so they are ideal under con-
ditions of high background noise. Moreover, the resonant
From the moment bearings leave the factory, they encoun- frequencies are independent of rotational speed; however,
ter many harsh environmental hazards, which in turn induce their amplitudes will vary directly with rotational speed, as
a number of failure modes. It is well known how these fail- will the impact energy. Resonant frequencies can be as high
ure modes reduce the life expectancy of the bearings. Some as 300 kHz for ball rollers, and up to 140 kHz for the inner
of the events responsible for the bearing failures include race, depending on the mode of vibration (Rogers, 1979). Bal-
incorrect applications, poor maintenance, poor lubrication, erston suggested that the “free” resonant frequencies of the
overload, over-speed, misalignment, imbalance, harsh environ- individual components were not changed significantly after
mental conditions (temperature/humidity/dust/dirt/altitude), assembly, although the assembly created a damping effect.
etc. Bearing failure modes include friction/wear processes Furthermore, it was suggested that because of the interaction
producing flaking, brinelling, fluting, spalling, pitting, sei- between the components of a bearing, a defect in any com-
zure, etc. All these modes are known sources of AE. How- ponent would cause resonant frequency ringing in all com-
ever, the most widely employed technique for condition ponents, making interpretation difficult. Moreover, at low
monitoring and diagnostics of bearings is vibration monitor- rotational speeds the impact energy generated will be very
ing. This method has been successful where the energy from low, and this might explain why there have been limited appli-

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other components (shaft, gears, etc.) does not overwhelm the cations of this technique to low-speed bearings. The princi-
lower energy content from the defect bearing. In addition, by ple of the shock pulse meter (SPM) is similar to the resonant
the time a significant change in vibration has been observed, technique as both respond to minute transient pressure waves
the remaining operational or useful life of the bearing is very generated from fault impacts in regions of contact; however,
short. This is where AET offers a significant advantage. The the SPM resonates itself.
formation of subsurface cracks due to the Hertzian contact Balerston noted that two types of AE signatures were
stress induced by the rolling action of the bearing elements
in contact with the inner and outer races and the rubbing
between damaged mating surfaces within the bearing will
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observed during experimental testing: burst-type emissions,
associated with the seeded defects on the inner, outer race
and ball element, and continuous-type AE signatures, noted
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generate acoustic emission activity. Other reasons for the when the bearing was run dry (starved of lubrication). In one
generation of AE include the breakdown of the oil film, for- particular bearing defect simulations (dry run) AE counts
eign matter in the lubricating medium, and excessive tem- were noted to increase prior to bearing failure. In summary,
peratures. It must be noted that the propagation of the AE is Balerston stated that the resonant frequency technique was
affected by material microstructure, non-homogeneities, very successful and it offered a direct correlation between
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geometrical arrangement of free surfaces, loading condi- defect severity and increase in amplitude level of the reso-
tions, and the number of component interfaces. Almost all nant frequencies, although it was concluded that the AE
research on the application of AE to bearing defect analysis technique would become important with the development of
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has been undertaken on experimental test-rigs specifically sensors. This was the earliest assessment on the application
designed to reduce AE background noise. of AE to bearing monitoring.
Catlin (1983) reported that AE activity from bearing defects About 10 years after Balerston, Rogers (1979) utilized
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was attributed to four main factors including numerous tran- the AE technique for monitoring slow rotating antifriction
sient and random AE signals associated with bearing defects. slew bearings on cranes employed for gas production, and
Furthermore, it was stated that the signals detected in the AE obtained some encouraging results compared to vibration
frequency range represented bearing defects rather than monitoring techniques. Rubbing of the crack faces, grinding
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other defects such as imbalance, misalignment, looseness, of the metal fragments in the bearing, and impacts between
shaft bending as well as the other major structural component the rolling elements and the damaged parts in the loaded
resonances. In addition, Catlin noted that high-frequency AE zone were identified as sources of detectable AE signatures.
signatures attenuate rapidly; therefore, if the transducer was Roger stated that “because of the slow rotational speed of
placed close to the bearing, it was possible to detect the high- the crane, application of conventional vibration analysis (0–
frequency content induced mainly by the bearing fault since 20 kHz) was of limited value for on-line condition monitor-
signatures originating from other machine components are ing.” AE resonant transducers between 100 and 300 kHz
highly attenuated upon reaching the sensor. Balerston (1969) were found to be informative for on-line monitoring of
published the first document that applied AET to the iden- bearings using kurtosis at different frequency bands.
tification of artificially seeded defects in rolling element Yoshioka and Fujiwara (?, 1984) have shown that AE
bearings. Interestingly, this is probably one of the earliest parameters identified bearing defects before they appeared
applications of AE to monitoring bearings. Defects simu- in the vibration acceleration range. In addition, sources of
lated included outer and inner race defects, ball defects, and AE generation were identified during fatigue life tests on
lack of lubrication. Balerston compared vibrations in the audi- thrust loaded ball bearings. Hawman and Galinaitis (1988)
ble range, resonant range and AE, commenting on the advan- reinforced Yoshioka’s observation that AE provided earlier
tages that monitoring of the resonant frequency range offered detection of bearing faults than vibration analysis and noted
over the audible vibration range. The resonant technique that diagnosis of defect bearings was accomplished due to
involved measurement of bearing component natural fre- modulation of high-frequency AE bursts at the outer race
 Mba and Rao / CONDITION MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINES 3

defect frequency. Hawman and Galinaitis placed the AE of spalls on the inner race resulted in a rapid increase in
receiving sensor directly onto the bearing outer race. The vibration rms levels. However, AE (counts per minute) showed
modulation of AE signatures at bearing defect frequencies a steadily increasing value at least 5 h before the observed
has also been observed by other researchers (Holroyd and rapid increase in vibration. A total of 16 fatigue tests were
Randall, 1993a; Holroyd, 2001). In addition, Bagnoli et al. undertaken and the authors commented that they could pre-
(1988) investigated the demodulation of AE signatures at dict the appearance of a spall by observing the AE response.
the defect rotational frequency (outer race) of a bearing. It Whilst AE counts may highlight changes in machine state,
was noted that when the defect was absent, the periodicity they will not be able to identify the origins of defect, e.g.
of the passage of the balls beneath the load could be readily outer race. The successful use of AE counts for bearing diag-
identified by observing the frequency spectrum of demodu- nosis is dependent on the particular investigation, and the
lated AE signatures; however, it was reported that the AE method of determining the trigger level is at the discretion of
intensity was less without the defect present. There was no the investigator. Moreover, it has been shown that AE counts
mention of trigger levels employed, load applied on the test are sensitive to the level and grade of lubricant within the
bearing, method of attaching the transducers to the rig, or bearing, adding to the complexity of this measure. Morhain
any information on background noise. and Mba (2003) undertook an investigation to ascertain the
Tandon and Nakra (1990) investigated AE counts and most appropriate threshold level for AE count diagnosis in
peak amplitudes for an outer race defect using a resonant- rolling element bearings. The results showed that values of
type transducer. It was concluded that AE counts increased AE maximum amplitude did correlate with increasing speed
with increasing load and rotational speed. However, it was but not with load and defect size. In addition, it has been
observed that AE counts could only be used for defect detec- shown that the relationship between bearing mechanical

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tion when the defect was less than 250 µm in diameter, integrity and AE counts is independent of the chosen thresh-
although AE peak amplitude provided an indication of defects old level, although a threshold of at least 30% of the maxi-
irrespective of the defect size. Loads applied ranged from mum amplitude for the lowest speed and load operating
8% to 50% of the bearing static load rating. Choudhary and condition was advised. Furthermore, Morhain and Mba com-
Tandon (2000) employed AE for bearing defect identifica- mented that unlike the results reported by Tandon and Nakra
tion on various sized bearings and rotational speeds ranging (1990) it was observed that AE counts could be used for
from 500 to 1500 rpm. It was observed that AE counts were
low for undamaged bearings. In addition, it was observed
that AE counts increased with increasing speed for damaged
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defect size detection for lengths of up to 15 mm and widths
of 1 mm. In addition, Morhain validated the observations of
Choudhary and Tandon (2000).
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and undamaged bearings whilst an increase in load did not Kakishima et al. (2000) undertook a comparative experi-
result in any significant changes in AE counts for both dam- mental study on the assessment of AE and vibration for
aged and undamaged bearings. monitoring/detecting seeded defect simulations on the inner
Tan (1990) used a variation of the standard AE count race of a roller and ball bearing. Defects were seeded with an
parameter for diagnosis of different sized ball bearings. In electron discharge machine (EDM). Analysis of the AE was
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addition to the difficulty of selecting the most appropriate based on the spectrum of the enveloped AE signals. It was
threshold level for standard AE counts, Tan cited a couple of concluded that the threshold at which the AE technique was
other drawbacks with the conventional AE count technique. able to identify the defect was similar to that for vibration
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This included dependence of the count value on the signal monitoring. Furthermore, for both AE and vibration, it was
frequency. Secondly, it was commented that the count rate noted that an increase in defect size resulted in an increase of
was indirectly dependent upon the amplitude of the AE both AE and vibration levels on the envelope spectrum.
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pulses. Tan’s variation to the standard AE counts technique Kaewkongka and Au (2001) applied the AE technique on
involved computing the accumulated area under the ampli- a rotor dynamic system onto which multiple defects were
tude–time curve of the AE waveform over a specified time seeded, including a seeded defect on one of the bearings. It
period. This was accomplished by setting four trigger levels was shown the AE technique offered high sensitivity, thereby
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with amplitude multiples of 1, 2, 4, and 8, and calculating allowing for discrimination of the multiple defect condi-
the area under the amplitude–time AE waveform. The final tions. Success was based on minimum distance classifier.
count assigned was weighted by the multiple of the ampli- Schoess (2000) presented the results of an assessment of six
tude ratio between these levels. It was concluded that the different but relevant technologies for onboard monitoring
“new” count rates increased exponentially with increasing of a railcar bearing. It was concluded that the AE technique
defect sizes and increasing rotational speed. The dependence offered the highest potential payoff. Schoess successfully
of AE counts on threshold levels was also noted by Huguet evaluated the AE technique on an artificially damaged bear-
et al. (2002) during investigations on the use of AE for ing on a railcar, concluding that the AE technique offered the
identifying damage modes in specific materials; in this potential for condition-based maintenance in the railroad
instance, a trigger level of 10% of the maximum amplitude industry. Price et al. (2001) assessed the vibration and AE
was employed. techniques for monitoring rolling element bearing failures.
Yoshioka et al. (1999) undertook an investigation of Their experimental study focused on a four-ball machine
vibration and AE on naturally fatigued deep groove ball from which AE activity, vibration, temperature, friction,
bearings (bore diameter 20 mm). By removing the groove on etc., were monitored as a function of time. It was noted that
the inner race, Yoshioka claimed the stresses in the area of AE could detect distress within the test balls before the fric-
contact were increased and this accelerated fatigue failure. tion in the contact area increased noticeably. It was stated
Vibration rms levels were recorded continuously through the that increasing damaging results in increasing friction at the
fatigue tests which lasted approximately 130 h. The presence contact area.
4 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

Shiroishi et al. (1997) compared vibration and AE on seeded bearings of a pump unit. Sundt commented on the use of AE
defective bearings operating at 1200 rpm. Interestingly, Shi- to defect defective bearings utilizing race resonance for ampli-
roishi et al. defined the industry bearing failure criteria as fication, noting that this could enhance detection sensitivity.
being reached when a defect size reached 6.45 mm2; this However, it was stated that the mechanical “Q” (dynamic
value was cited from Hoeprich (1992). Defects of varying magnification factor) of the race was an unpredictable function
sizes were seeded on the outer and inner races. Shiroishi et of the bearing type, housing constraint, etc. Furthermore, it
al. noted that the vibration offered better detection than the was noted that race resonances could be excited by normal
AE technique, and that the AE sensor was insensitive to background noise. Also, similar readings could be obtained
inner race defects. In addition, on the parameters extracted from a good bearing with a high “Q” and a bad bearing with
from vibration and AE measurements, Shiroishi et al. (1997) a low “Q”. The difficulty with monitoring bearings at the
noted that the peak ratio was the most reliable indicator of element resonating range (20–100 kHz) was also discussed
the presence of a localized defect with the rms, kurtosis and by Barclay and Bannach (1992). It was noted that wave-
crest factor showing decreasing reliability. The most signif- lengths of vibration at these frequencies are often compara-
icant observation from the investigation of Shiroishi et al. ble with the dimensions of parts in the bearing or bearing
was the correlation between acceleration peak value and defect housing which may create standing waves with nodes and
width. This correlation was first noted by Balerston (1969) antinodes. The consequence of this makes sensor position
employing a monitoring system based on observations of critical. Barclay and Bannach (1992) presented the spectral
bearing resonant frequencies. The most recent correlation emitted energy (SEE) method, which combined the high-fre-
between defect size and measuring parameter (AE) was noted quency AE detection within the 250–350 kHz range with the
by Al-Ghamdi et al. (2004) and Al-Ghamdi and Mba (2005). enveloping technique. The source of AE activity was attrib-

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A direct correlation between defect length (circumferential, uted to the metal-to-metal contact as a result of lubricating
along direction of rolling) and AE burst duration was film breakdown. It was concluded that the SEE method was
observed under varying simulated defect cases. In addition, a a viable technique for detecting rolling element bearing defects
correlation between the amplitude of the burst-type AE sig- and compliments the present-day low-frequency vibration.
nature (associated with the bearing defect) to the underlying Badi et al. (1990) investigated the condition of automotive
continuous-type emission was noted to increase with increas- gearbox bearings using stress waves (also known as AE).
ing defect width (perpendicular to rolling direction).
Li et al. (1998) undertook bearing fatigue failure tests at
1600 rpm and 167% of the rated radial load. To accelerate
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These sensors were used on a bearing test rig with simulated
faults. All the artificially seeded faults were identified by
employing the stress wave sensor method. The sensors were
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failure, an initial defect was seeded with an electric dis- easy to install and needed simple signal processing to evalu-
charge machine. Li et al. commented that vibration and AE ate bearing faults. The only drawback was that the sensors
rms increased with increasing defect severity. An adaptive were bulky. Sturm et al. (1992) employed AE to investigate
scheme was proposed to predict conditions of defective bear- damage processes (pitting and mixed friction) of sliding and
ings based on vibration and AE techniques. Bansal et al. rolling element bearings under laboratory and field condi-
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(1990) applied AE as a quality control tool on reconditioned tions. Analysis revealed that the amplitude behavior observed
bearings. Bearings were tested at 3% of the load rating. It from the envelope analysis of the AE signals yielded essen-
was noted that as the load increased there was little increase tial information about the damage processes. Javed and Lit-
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in the peak-to-peak amplitude level for standard (operational) tlefair (1993) presented some general aspects of the application
and reconditioned bearings; however, the peak values of the of AE for detecting the early development of failures in roll-
reconditioned bearing were in some instances five times ing element bearings. Some results of the experimental
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that of a new bearing. investigation of the basic relationship between ball bearing
Li and Li (1985) presented a pattern recognition technique failures and the resulting change in AE signal were pre-
for early detection of bearing faults using AE. Faults were sented. Neill et al. (1998a) described the relative sensitivities
seeded on an outer race, a roller and multiple outer race of accelerometer and AE sensors to a range of defects and
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defects. It was noted that the occurrence of AE events at a assessed their merits in an industrial environment, where
rate equivalent to a bearing characteristic defect frequency ambient noise and/or other faults were highly influential. It
was evidence of the presence of a localized defect. Li et al. was revealed that the AE signals preserve the impulsive nature
presented such a case with the seeded outer race defect but of defect-element interactions, yielding characteristic har-
no results on the roller defect were presented. This was monics of the defect frequencies in the spectrum. These har-
rather disappointing as Li and Li are the only investigators to monics distinguished bearing defects from other periodic
attempt to diagnose roller defects with AE. faults induced by imbalance or misalignment occurring at the
Sundt (1979) detailed two cases where high-frequency same frequency. Also, Neill et al. concluded that the AE sen-
AE was applied to bearing defect detection. For the first case sors were more sensitive to small defects.
study, high-frequency signals associated with a hairline Salvan et al. (2001) adopted a triangulation technique by
crack in the outer race the defect frequency were detectable employing two AE sensors with fuzzy neural networks on a
above 100 kHz. This defect condition was not observed with high-speed post office mail sorting machinery, which con-
vibration analysis. It was stated that the defect was at an tained a large number of bearings. The investigation was
early stage of development and the bearing clearances had limited to the detection of a simpler source and the authors
not deviated from the normal operating condition, explain- were unable to obtain a precise location, presumably due to
ing why vibration monitoring was unsuccessful in this par- incorrect parameters in the sound velocity equation and the
ticular study. The second case study showed the ability of use of an inefficient technique. Parikka et al. (2002) reported
AET to detect the presence of foreign matter (sand) in the their findings on the operation of paper machines, which
 Mba and Rao / CONDITION MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINES 5

were equipped with a number of oil-lubricated rolling bear- rpm. The sensors were placed on the bearing housing. A fault,
ings. They assessed information on the effects of higher or simulated by a fine scratch on the inner raceway, formed the
significantly lower than intended bearing loads on its service basis of this experiment. It was commented that the AE trans-
life, as the lubricant conditions or movement changes with ducer, with a frequency response beyond 300 kHz, failed to
time. It was commented that the possibility of using AE for perform as expected at the higher end of the rotational speed
monitoring critical operating situations of rolling bearings range (850 rpm) and was inferior to the conventional high-
was very promising. Based on this investigation, a window- frequency accelerometer. However, at low rotational speeds
based diagnostic system (prototype) was developed. Morhain (10 rpm) the AE transducer appeared to respond to minute
and Mba (2002) investigated the application of standard AE strains (local distortions) of the bearing housing caused by
characteristic parameters on a lightly radially loaded bear- the concentrated loading of each ball in the bearing. These
ing. An experimental test rig was designed to allow seeded minute strains appeared as spurious spikes superimposed on
defects on the inner/outer races. The test rig also produced the ball pass frequency. It was concluded that at low speeds
high background AE noise providing a realistic test for fault with steady loads, the base bending/strain of the bearing hous-
diagnostics. It was concluded that irrespective of the high ing could enable the AE transducer to detect signatures from
levels of background noise and low radial load (between 2% very small defects in rolling element bearings, while at higher
and 70% of the bearing rating), standard AE parameters pro- speeds base bending appears as low-frequency noise.
vided adequate early indication of bearing defects. Fan et al. Smith (1982) was involved in the experiment mentioned
(2005) presented data streaming technology for non-inter- above and, in a separate paper, reiterated the findings of
rupted acquisition of AE waveforms. In addition, Fan et al. McFadden and Smith (1983), although puzzled at the behav-
reiterated that modulation of the AE waveforms could iden- ior of the AE sensor used, stating “the form of response of the

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tify the defective part (race, roller) within the bearing. Hol- AE sensor was puzzling since the transducer was responding
royd (2000) detailed laboratory studies on rolling element to once-per-ball distorting in the casing at frequencies as low
bearings in which AE signals were processed in terms of as 1 Hz. AE transducers are not supposed to respond to fre-
their dynamic envelop (i.e. rectification and low pass filtering). quencies as low as these.”
Tests showed that the periodicity of the enveloped signal Tavakoli (1991) investigated the application of AE to nee-
corresponded to a bearing defect frequency. A proprietary dle bearings. Interestingly, the rotational speed for this inves-
method of characterizing the AE time waveform was pro-
posed. Several successful applications of the proprietary
method were also presented.
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tigation was 80 rpm, which some might classify as a low-
speed application. Three simulations were undertaken: defect-
free fully lubricated, defect-free unlubricated, and a condition
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Finley (1980) developed an incipient failure detection (IFD) in which two adjacent needle elements (rollers) were missing.
system based on high-frequency AEs generated from shock The frequency domain characteristics of the AE rms voltage
pulses as a rolling element (ball) passes a defective race. A were examined in relation to the simulated conditions. It was
couple of industrial case studies were presented. Finley noted shown that the mean spectral density function of the rms
that AET has been proven to be more effective than conven- voltage distinguished all three simulations. It was also noted
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tional low-frequency sound and vibration measurements. that the source of AE in bearings was attributed to friction
Jamaludin et al. (2002) presented research findings on the and impacting.
lubrication monitoring of low-speed rolling element bear- Holroyd (1993) described in this application note the results
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ings (1 rpm). A test rig was designed to simulate the real of AE measurements on four heavily loaded roller bearings
bearing used in real-life situations. Using a newly devel- rotating at 60 rpm. The operation of these bearings in the
oped method called the pulse injection technique (PIT), the slowly rotating machine was critical indeed. This case study
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variation of lubricant amount in the low-speed bearing was clearly demonstrated the ability of this innovative and prof-
successfully monitored. This technique was based on trans- itable technology to prevent secondary damage and to mini-
mitting a Dirac pulse to the test bearing in operation via an mize production loss due to machine failures. Miettinen and
AE sensor. The AE data were processed using a clustering Pataniitty (1999) described the use of the AE method in
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technique based on the autoregressive (AR) coefficient to monitoring of faults in an extremely slowly rotating rolling
differentiate between properly and poorly lubricated bear- bearing, whose rotational speed varied from 0.5 to 5 rpm.
ings. The AE technique has also been employed by Miettinen This investigation revealed that the AE measurement was
and Salmenperä (2002), Miettinen and Andersson (2000), very sensitive and the fault was easily identified under labo-
and Holroyd (2000) to monitor the lubricant condition in ratory conditions. Jamaludin et al. (2001) reported the results
rolling element and plain bearings. of an investigation into the applicability of AE for detecting
Whilst monitoring bearing degradation by AE and vibra- early stages of bearing damage at a rotational speed of 1.12
tion analysis is relatively established at speeds above 600 rpm. A bearing test rig was used with seeded localized sur-
rpm, at low-rotation speeds there are numerous difficulties face defects induced by spark erosion on the inner/outer
with vibration monitoring that have been detailed (Berry, races and on a roller element (which resembled pitting). The
1992; Murphy, 1992; Canada and Robinson, 1995; Robinson paper concluded that AE parameters such as amplitude and
et al., 1996). The difficulty of monitoring at low rotational energy provided valuable information on the condition of a
speeds was summarized by Kuboyama (1987). particular low-speed rotating bearing.
Unlike vibration monitoring there has been considerable Sato (1990) investigated the use of AE to monitor low-
success in the development and application of AE to moni- speed bearing damage by simulating metal wipe in journal
toring slow-speed bearings. McFadden and Smith (1983) bearings at 5.5 rpm. It was observed that acoustic bursts
explored the use of AE transducers for the monitoring of were generated as a result of slight metallic contact and the
rolling element bearings at speeds varying from 10 to 1850 amplitude of the waveform became larger with increasing
6 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

metal wear. Sturm and Uhlemann (1985) also investigated above, with additional analysis techniques: AE cumulative
the application of AE to plain bearings, noting the instanta- energy count and wavelet transforms of AE signals. From
neous response of AE to the changes in the frictional state of the results, Miyachika et al. concluded the prediction of crack
hydrodynamic fluid film. initiation by means of the AE method was possible for the
Williams et al. (2001) noted that the majority of bearing various carburized gears tested.
diagnosis experiments were undertaken with seeded defects Wheitner et al. (1993) performed a series of gear tooth bend-
and, as such, undertook bearing experiments without seeded ing fatigue tests to verify the effectiveness of AE and system
defects; in essence, fatigue tests. The test bearings, roller, and stiffness measurements for monitoring the crack initiation
ball were run at 6000 rpm at 67% of the dynamic rated load, and propagation. The tests and instrumentation employed were
although some tests were undertaken at varying speed con- to standards detailed in the Society of Automotive Engineers
ditions. Vibration and AE techniques were compared, and (SAE) gear geometry, testing procedure and fatigue test fix-
in one particular instance Williams et al. stated that the AE ture. The AE senor had a resonant frequency of 300 kHz and
sensor showed an increase 10 min after an increase in vibra- was attached to the gear at the root of the tooth with super-
tion. It was also noted that the AE sensor was unresponsive glue. The tooth stiffness measurements were made through
to outer race failures. This is rather surprising considering an accelerometer mounted to the base of the fixture. The test
the number of publications confirming the ability of the AE gears were of various materials, surface finishes, and surface
technique to diagnose outer race defects. treatments. All the testing was performed by applying sinu-
The development of AE in bearing monitoring and fault soidal load of 10 Hz and load ratio of 0.1. A run-out life of
diagnosis is the most established application of AE in rotat- 106 cycles was employed for all the test cases. Wheitner et al.
ing machinery and this is reflected in the number of com- noticed non-zero AE counts before the initiation point of the

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mercially available systems on the market today. Needless gear tooth root fatigue crack, which was attributed to the
to say, more detailed investigations are still required and there background noise of the test machine. In general, AE activ-
are opportunities for applying AET for prognosis. ity increased with crack propagation and very rapidly at the
failure point. All the test gears exhibited similar trends in
3. Application of Acoustic Emission to stiffness measurements. At high load and low fatigue lives,
Monitoring Gearboxes crack propagation life contributed a significant proportion of

Whilst vibration analysis on gear fault diagnosis is well

established, the application of AE to this field is still in its
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the gear total life as compared to crack initiation life. Wheit-
ner et al. went further to conclude that both the AE and sys-
tem stiffness measurements were effective in monitoring the
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infancy. In addition, there are limited publications on the appli- cracking processes of the gear tooth. However, in most cases,
cation of AE to gear fault diagnosis. Irrespective of the numer- AE activity was detected before the first change in stiffness
ous publications on the application of vibration analysis to compliance was registered.
monitoring gearboxes, it still meets with great challenges Singh et al. (1999) explored an alternative AE technique to
that monitoring and diagnosis of gearboxes present. AET offers the more widely used vibration and debris monitoring meth-
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a complementary tool in this instance. ods for detection of gear tooth crack growth. They employed
Miyachika et al. (1995) presented a study on AE in a a single tooth bending machine with the load on the tooth
bending fatigue test of spur gear teeth. Three different gears varied sinusoidally at 40 Hz frequency. An AE sensor and
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with common module, pressure angle, and number of teeth accelerometer were mounted on a spur gear near to the load-
were used. Two of the gears were case hardened to different ing tooth. The test terminated when the loaded tooth broke
case depths. These gears were made from SC415 steel with a off. Raw AE waveforms and fatigue cycles were recorded
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face width of 10 mm whilst the second gear (face width of 8 during the test. There was no information given on the type
mm) was made from S45C steel without any case hardening. of gear, sensors, the applied load, and the sampling rate used.
An AE sensor was fixed on the gear with a clamp arrange- The test revealed that AE detected the first sign of failure
ment. AE measurements, such as frequency spectra, cumula- when the gear reached 90% of its final life. As the crack pro-
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tive event count, event count rate, and peak amplitude, were gressed, AE amplitude increased. During the final stage of
recorded during the fatigue process under different tooth gear tooth fracture, a significantly high amplitude AE burst
load conditions. In addition, crack length measurements were was detected. On the other hand, the vibration level did not
made. However, the type and characteristics of the sensor, change significantly in the initial stage of crack initiation
the sampling rate employed, and the loading frequency were and propagation until the final stage of failure. Hence, Singh
not presented in this paper. During the fatigue test, it was et al. concluded that AE method offered an advantage over
observed that there was a marked increase in AE cumulative vibration monitoring techniques.
event count and event count rate just before crack initiation In order to study the practical aspects of sensor placement
for both case hardened gears. For the normalized gear, such in a real-life gearbox situation, Singh et al. (1999) performed
an observation was not noted. It was also found that as the an assessment of the transmissibility of an AE signal within
tooth load decreased, the number of cycles until the marked a gearbox. The tests were performed with different torque
cumulative event count occurred increased. Miyachika et al. levels using lead pencil breaks to simulate AE activity in the
drew the conclusion that the prediction of crack initiation gearbox. This technique is known as the Nielsen source test.
using the AE technique was possible for case hardened gear First, various individual interfaces with varying torques were
but difficult in the case of the normalized gear. studied and quantified. Following this, Singh et al. evaluated
Miyachika et al. (2002) extended their investigations to the total loss of strength of the AE signal across multiple inter-
supercarburized gear material. The investigation was per- faces and compared with the sum of losses obtained from
formed under the same test set and procedures as detailed individual interfaces. Several AE transmission paths were
 Mba and Rao / CONDITION MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINES 7

examined. From the results obtained, Singh et al. concluded on the housing of the test gearbox. The input speed to the
that the attenuation across the gearbox was an accumulation gearbox was 1775 rpm with an unknown torque loading. Dur-
of losses across each individual interface within the trans- ing the early stage of the test, there were no defects on the
mission path, and that the optimum path of propagation will mating gear teeth surfaces and the signals (both AE and vibra-
be that with the smallest cumulative loss. tion) showed no significant peaks above the operational
The investigations detailed earlier (Wheitner et al., 1993; noise level. After 30 min of operation, pits started to develop
Miyachika et al., 1995, 2002; Singh et al., 1999) have indi- on the pinion teeth and periodically occurring peaks were
cated that the AE technique was able to detect bending fatigue observed from the AE signals. A further 15 min run saw pit-
failure. In addition, the AE technique was capable of detect- ting on multiple teeth and the detected AE signals revealed
ing the fault condition in advance of the vibration monitoring more frequently occurred peaks above noise level. There
technique. This conclusion is encouraging and motivating was no visible peak noted for the accelerometer signal. Dur-
for the AE technique to be the new condition monitoring ing the test, the AE sensor was also placed at the slave gear-
tool. However, to ensure that this technique is robust, the box housing and bearing location between the two gearboxes
defect detection capability on the other modes of gear failure to assess the detectability of the natural pits from the men-
(surface damage and fatigue) has to be explored. tioned locations. Singh et al. concluded that the AE sensor
Siores and Negro (1997) explored several AE analysis should be as close to the monitored part as possible in order
techniques to correlate possible failure modes of a gearbox to maximize the detection capability of pits using AE tech-
during its useful life. The gearbox employed for the failure nique.
interrogation includes two gear sets (input and output), a DC Raad et al. (2003) illustrated the application of the AE
shunt motor, and a variable speed controller to alter the motor monitoring technique for gear fault detection by employing

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speed for the tests. The AE sensor employed was mounted an industrial gear rig. No information on the gear test rig,
on the gearbox casing and has a resonant frequency of 175 applied torque, and speed was given in the paper. The exper-
kHz. Prior to the start of the test, the gearbox was allowed to iment was performed above the rated load of the gears for
wear-in at 1200 rpm for four 1 h intervals at full load condi- two weeks until near breakage of two teeth. Various types of
tion. Common gear failures, such as excessive backlash, shaft AE sensors (resonant and wide band) and accelerometers
misalignment, tooth breakage, scuffing, and worn teeth, were were mounted on the bearing. Measured signals were taken
seeded on the test gears. All the seeded defect conditions
were tested at 300 and 600 rpm whilst AE parameters such
as rms, standard deviation, and duration of AE were meas-
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at regular intervals and visual inspection of gears was per-
formed at the end of each day. The recorded AE and vibra-
tion data were analyzed using four different methodologies:
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ured. Siores and Negro concluded that the monitored AE visual comparison, Kurtosis, spectral density, and envelope
parameters exhibit identifying qualities for the respective analysis. The visual comparison revealed that AE bursts
failure modes. appeared with spalling. However, these AE bursts disap-
Singh et al. (1996) performed two experiments to study peared after the defect was established. There was no clear
the feasibility of applying AE to detect gear pitting. Both indication from vibration signatures. The Kurtosis values were
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simulated and natural pits were used to evaluate this detec- correlated to spalling defects after 3000 cycles. However, this
tion technique. The first experiment employed a UH1H gen- method was unable to localize the spalling defect to individ-
erator drive offset quill, which consisted of the driver, driven, ual tooth. The first sign of spalling observed from the vibra-
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and idler gears. In this experiment, the idler gear contains the tion technique was at 5000 cycles. Using the spectral density
simulated pit of width and depth of 1.25 mm. This pit was analysis method, the increase in energy before and after the
simulated by removing a thin strip of material from the spall detection was common to both AE and vibration sig-
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pitch-line on one of the teeth of the idler gear by the EDM nals. In the final analysis of the AE and vibration signals, the
process. A resonant type AE sensor with a resonant fre- spectrum of the squared envelope was used. The vibration
quency of 280 kHz and an accelerometer were mounted on technique was able to pick up the defect by displaying peaks
the gearbox housing near the output shaft bearing. A tachom- at twice the shaft frequency. However, these peaks were not
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eter was used as a trigger to ensure each cycle of the meas- visible in the AE spectrum until the logarithm of the squared
urements started with the same idler tooth in contact. The envelope was employed. The observed peaks occurred at the
test gearbox was first run with no pit on the idler gear and same frequency for both AE and vibration techniques. Raad
then replaced by the idler gear with simulated pits. AE and et al. concluded that this first evaluation of AE as condition
vibration data were recorded during the run. This procedure monitoring tool was promising.
was repeated for several combinations of load and speed. Sentoku (1998) presented an investigation on tooth sur-
From the test results, Singh et al. concluded that both detec- face failure with AE measurements. A power circulating type
tion techniques were able to pick up the simulated defect but gear testing machine was employed. The testing machine
the AE technique exhibited much greater signal-to-noise consisted of a pair of test and power return spur gears with
ratio. He also suggested that both detection techniques were a forced lubrication system that supply oil directly to the
unable to detect the simulated pit at extremely high speeds or engaged teeth surfaces from the side of the gear pairs. It is
unloaded conditions as the noise level increases whilst the important to note that the oil temperature was maintained
amplitude of the defect signal arising from contact of the pit- constantly at 40 ± 2oC. This eliminated the effect of oil film
ted region decreases. thickness on AE activity. An ultracompact AE sensor of res-
Singh et al. (1996) performed the second experiment using onant frequency 350 kHz was mounted on the gear wheel
a back-to-back gearbox to study the detectability of natural using screws. The AE signature was transmitted from the
pits. Similar acquisition systems to the first experiment were sensor to the data acquisition card via a mercury slip ring. A
employed with both the AE sensor and accelerometer mounted strain gage was also adhered to the tooth root to correlate the
8 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

extracted AE parameters with tooth root strain waves. Dur- in load. (b) The AE parameters increased as the defect size
ing the tests, the roughness of the gear teeth surfaces and pit- (diameter of pit) increased. (c) The AE (ring-down) counts
ting size were measured at regular intervals. showed slightly better results than the other AE parameters
The first test was performed under applied stress of 960 measured. (d) The AE technique detected the seeded defect
MPa and pinion speed of 992 rpm using hardened gears. at a smaller size (500 µm) compared to the vibration tech-
From the results obtained, Sentoku observed no change in nique (1000 µm). (e) In general, the distribution of AE events,
AE amplitude except that the unevenness of AE wave lines counts, and peak amplitude became broader due to the pres-
was smaller with an increasing number of cycles. At this stage ence of a defect in the gear.
of the test, no surface damage was noted. Subsequently, Sen- Finley (1980) presented an industrial case study on the appli-
toku performed the second test using heat-treated ground cation of an AE developed system (IFD) for gearbox moni-
gears. During the early stage of the test, both AE amplitude toring. Al-Balushi and Samanta (2002) introduced energy-
and the pitting area ratio remained unchanged. However, based features extracted from AE signatures for monitoring
when pitting on the three monitored gear teeth began, AE and diagnosing gear faults. This feature, called the energy
wave lines started to change. Subsequently, AE amplitudes index (EI), was defined as the square of the ratio of the rms
increased with both the pitting area ratio and the numbers of value for a segment of the signal to the overall rms value of
cycle. Sentoku explained that the increase in AE amplitude the entire signal. Various different forms of EI were derived
was caused by friction due to increasing pitting. Similar and compared with existing statistical methods for early
observations were noted for AE energy. Hence, with the fault detection. Experiments were undertaken on a back-to-
results obtained from the test, he drew conclusion that the back spur gearbox. Three miniature ultrasound transducers
AE technique could detect gear teeth pitting. were implanted onto the rolling element bearing adjacent to

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Badi et al. (1996) performed an investigation on the use of the gear wheel for collection of AE data. A triggering system
AE and vibration monitoring techniques for condition mon- was used to ensure all the acquired data have identical start-
itoring of a typical drive line. A test rig comprised of a drive ing locations on the gear. The tests were performed using
and simple spur gearbox, loaded by a pneumatically oper- brand new gears and terminated at the 40th hour when the
ated brake disk, was employed to simulate the essential part gear failed. AE signals were acquired for one revolution of
of this drive line. The rotating components were connected the test gear at hourly intervals. However, information such
by flexible couplings and supported by bearing blocks. The
rig was instrumented with both accelerometers and AE sen-
sors at several locations along the drive line. However, Badi
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as the characteristics of the sensors, the applied load, and the
reason for the varying rotational speeds was undisclosed. Al-
Balushi and Samanta illustrated that the proposed EI and the
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et al. only reported the results from the sensor which gave various derived forms were able to locate the broken and pit-
the optimum location for fault detection. Seeded defects ting teeth more effectively than the traditional kurtosis and
such as “blip” and “shaved” gear faults were introduced on crest factor methods. By employing the proposed analysis
the test gears to simulate scuffing and pitting defects on gear technique, the defective tooth was picked up in a helicopter
tooth. There was no further information on the testing proce- gearbox.
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dures used in this experiment. Analysis techniques such as In a separate report Al-Balushi and Samanta (2000) pre-
the crest factor and kurtosis were employed for both AE and sented a procedure for fault diagnosis of gears through wave-
vibration techniques. For the “blip” gear fault, both monitor- let transforms and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The
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ing techniques were able to identify the defect through the time domain AE signals of a rotating machine with normal
analysis techniques employed. As for the “shaved” gear fault, and defective gears were processed through wavelet trans-
only the AE technique was able to detect the defect. Badi et form to decompose in terms of low-frequency and high-
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al. concluded that the analysis techniques used were ideally frequency components. The extracted features from the wave-
suited for identifying faults with an impulsive nature. How- let transform were used as inputs to an ANN-based diagnostic
ever, for a more comprehensive methodology, other analysis approach. The procedure was illustrated through the experi-
techniques should be explored. mental AE signals of a gearbox.
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Tandon and Mata (1999) performed seeded defect tests Tan and Mba (2005a, 2005b) noted difficulties in identi-
on spur gears using an IAE gear lubricant testing machine fying the location of a defective tooth during an experimental
to assess the fault detection capability of the AE technique investigation. It was noted that the lubricant temperature had
and to make a comparison with the more widely used vibra- an influence on the levels of AE activity/strength during the
tion technique. Both hardened and ground spur gears were gear mesh. This has far reaching consequences as it implies
employed for the tests. The test gears were lubricated by a jet that whilst other researchers have stipulated the effect of load/
of oil. The AE sensor and accelerometer employed had res- speed on AE activity, the time of data acquisition, in effect
onant frequencies of 375 and 39 kHz, respectively. Both the the temperature of the lubricant, will influence the levels of
AE and vibration signals were measured closed to the bear- AE obtained.
ings of the test gearbox. All the tests were carried out at a While exploring the applicability of the AE technique to
single speed (1000 rpm) and varying load conditions (0–10 kg). gear health diagnosis, Toutountzakis and Mba (2003) made
AE and vibration measurements were first taken for gears some interesting observations of AE activity due to misalign-
that have no seeded defect, which were treated as reference ment and natural pitting. The test was performed on a back-
signals. Subsequently, a simulated pit of constant depth (500 to-back spur gearbox with the AE sensors placed on the pin-
µm) and variable diameter (from 250 to 2200 µm in incre- ion and bearing casing of the pinion shaft. The AE sensors
mental order) was introduced on a gear tooth pitch-line by used have a relative flat response in the region between 150
spark erosion. From the tests, Tandon and Mata made these and 750 kHz. A silver contact air-cooled slip ring was
observations. (a) There was some increase in AE with increase employed to transmit the AE signal for further processing.
 Mba and Rao / CONDITION MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINES 9

AE parameters such as rms and energy values were recorded Although the development of AE in gear diagnosis is in its
during the tests. Prior to the test proper, AE measurements infancy, the papers reviewed have illustrated the potential and
for defect-free gears were first recorded. As the rotational viability of AE becoming a useful diagnostic tool in condition
speed increased, measured AE parameters increased for both monitoring of gears. However, more detailed investigations
AE sensor locations. Furthermore, Toutountzakis and Mba are required to ensure this technique is robust and applicable
observed that change in speed resulted in changing AE param- for operational gearboxes. This involves understanding the
eters. During one of the tests, Toutountzakis and Mba noted influences of operational variables on AE generation and
increasing AE rms (at pinion location) for 6 h before the investigating the effects of variable load conditions to moni-
gearbox was paused for inspection. The results of the inspec- toring with AE.
tion revealed signs of pitting and scuffing, which indicated a
misalignment in the gearbox. The gearbox was reassembled 4. Pumps and Acoustic Emission Technology
and the test continued. An interesting observation was made:
“a reduction in AE parameters was noted initially, but these Pumps play a significant role in industrial plants and need
values gradually increased to values which did not depart continuous monitoring to minimize loss of production. Every
from the initial gradient of the increasing trend.” Toutount- pump manufacturer supplies characteristic curves for their
zakis and Mba concluded that there is a potential application equipment illustrating pump performance under given condi-
of the AE technique for gear health diagnostic. tions. These curves demonstrate the inter-relationship between
Price et al. (2005) investigated the detection of severe slid- discharge capacities, pump head, power, and operating effi-
ing and pitting with AE. The experimental results presented ciency. The ideal operating point for a pump is known as the
were based on a “four-ball machine” test-rig. It was observed best efficiency point (BEP). This is the point where pump

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that scuffing and pitting were easily detectable by observing capacity and head pressure combine to provide the maxi-
changes in AE energy, principally due to changes in contact mum efficiency of the pump. If the pump operates too far to
friction. More interestingly, Price et al. noted changes in the the left or right of the BEP, not only may its efficiency be
frequency patterns of measured AE signals prior to pitting compromised, but it can also be subjected to increased wear,
and stated that AE monitoring was capable of detecting wear reducing operational life. Also, the pump manufacturer will
events prior to either vibration monitoring or wear debris undertake net positive suction head (NPSH) tests on sup-
analysis. Building on this statement, very recently Tan et al.
(2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c) have presented results of an
experimental investigation in which natural pitting of spur
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plied pumps; the significance of the latter is to determine the
3% drop in head at which serious cavitations will occur.
Cavitation occurs when the absolute static pressure at some
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gears was allowed to occur. Throughout the test period, AE, point within the pump falls below the saturated vapor pres-
vibration and spectrometric oil samples were monitored con- sure of the liquid. It causes a loss of pump efficiency and
tinuously in order to correlate and compare these techniques degradation of the mechanical integrity of the pump. It is
to the natural life degradation of the gears. It was observed generally accepted that the critical pressure for inception of
that the AE technique was more sensitive in detecting and cavitation is not constant and varies with operation fluid
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monitoring pitting than either the vibration or spectrometric physical properties, the surface roughness of the hydraulic
oil analysis (SOA) techniques. It is concluded that as AE equipment, etc. In addition, cavitation is known to begin long
exhibited a direct relationship with pitting progression, it before the performance of the pump is affected (McNulty and
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offered the opportunity for prognosis. From the results pre- Pearsall, 1962).
sented it was clearly evident that the AE monitoring indica- In this paper we review the application of AE for condi-
tor could be linearly correlated to the gearbox pitting rates tion monitoring of pumps. Prior to detailing some recent
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for all torque conditions, with detection of onset of pitting as attempts at applying AE to pump health diagnosis, the inves-
early as 8% of the pitted gear working face area. This offered tigations of McNulty and Pearsall (1962) and McNulty and
much earlier diagnosis than vibration analysis, where only Deeprose (1978) are worth mentioning. They undertook high-
after between 20% and 40% of pitted gear working face did frequency measurements (up to 160 kHz) taken at the suc-
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this technique offer capability for defect identification. This tion and discharge sides of the pump and detected incipient
near linear relationship between AE and pit progression offers cavitation. However, it was noted that the success was depend-
great potential, and opportunities, for prognostics in rotating ent on the operational background noise levels. These results
machinery. relating NPSH to varying noise levels are of great interest,
Tan and Mba (2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2005c) ascertained although undertaken at 40 kHz. This clearly relates the audi-
the AE source mechanism through a series of experimental ble intensity and high-frequency energy to the varying cavi-
programs. These experimental programs consisted of iso- tation stages experienced by a pump as the head drops to the
thermal tests on undamaged gears to explore the effects of 3% level. It was noted (McNulty and Pearsall, 1962) that dur-
rotational speed and applied torque on AE levels. From the ing cavitation the high-frequency noise increased. In sepa-
isothermal test results, it was observed that variation of the rate paper, McNulty (1981) showed that the minimum noise
applied torque had a negligible effect on the AE rms levels, intensity levels of a pump were obtained at the BEP. Sources
similar to the negligible effect of load on film thickness under of noise were noted as turbulence, impeller and volute inter-
elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) of non-conforming actions and hydraulic interactions.
mating surfaces. It was noted that the variation in rotation Derakhshan et al. (1989) investigated the cavitation bub-
speed had a more pronounced effect on AE rms levels rela- ble collapse as a source of AE and commented that the high
tive to the load. Tan and Mba concluded that the source of amplitude pressure pulse associated with bubble collapse
AE during gear mesh was asperity contact under rolling and generated AE. When the AE sensor was placed on the actual
sliding of the meshing gear teeth surfaces. specimen experiencing cavitation, Derakhshan et al. observed
10 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

increasing AE rms levels with increased pressure of flow (1979) detailed a case study on the application of AE for
and cavitation. However, with the AE sensor mounted on the detecting pump cavitation. It was shown that during cavita-
tank wall the reverse was observed: decreasing AE rms lev- tion AE levels increased whilst vibration levels dropped.
els with increasing pressure and cavitation. This was attrib- Also, Finley (1980) presented an industrial case highlighting
uted to a visible bubble cloud that increased with pressure. It the successful application of AE to cavitation detection.
was commented that this cloud attenuated the AE signature Whilst promoting the use of audible acoustics (less than
prior to reaching the transducer on the wall casing. In addi- 20kHz) for monitoring pumps, Cudina (2003) cites some appli-
tion to the high amplitude pressure pulse associated with cations of AE for detecting broad-band noise associated with
cavitation, pressure pulses associated with centrifugal pumps cavitation. Al-Sulti et al. (2005) noted that the use of the
have been detailed (Guelich and Bolleter, 1992); these include power spectrum density of AE acquired over a range of flow
wake flow from the impeller blade trailing edge, vortices rates was not effective in detecting cavitation. However, it
generated by flow separation and recirculation. The influ- was noted that the use of higher-order spectral analysis (bi-
ence of the latter on pump performance has been presented coherence) showed improved sensitivity of AE over vibra-
(Fraser, 1981). tion for early detection of cavitation. The results are in contrast
Neill et al. (1996, 1997) assessed AET for detecting early to nearly all published work on AE for monitoring cavitation
cavitation. It was also noted that the collapse of cavitation where a clear increase in AE levels was noted without the
bubbles was an impulsive event of the type that could gener- need for advanced signal processing.
ate AE. These transients cause very high local transient pres- The papers reviewed above have clearly associated AE
sure that can damage the internal parts of pumps. It was with the collapse of cavitation bubbles. The presence of cav-
observed that when the pump was under cavitation, the AE itation has been shown to increase operational AE noise levels.

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operational background levels dropped in comparison to non- Recently, Alfayez et al. (2005) and Alfayez and Mba (2005)
cavitating conditions. To ensure a more direct transmission undertook experimental tests on a range of pumps in an
path between the fluid and the sensors, metal wave guides attempt to correlate incipient cavitation with AE activity.
were put into the venture tube wall at different locations. It is The results showed a clear relationship between AE activity
worth stating that prior to, and during cavitation, vibration measured from the pump casing, suction and discharge
measurements showed no significant change. In conclusion, pipes, and incipient cavitation. At a high NPSH value, when
Neill et al. stated that loss in NPSH before the 3% drop-off
criterion was detectable with AE and evidence of incipient
cavitation was detectable in the higher frequency band (0.5–
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incipient cavitation is known to occur, a significant increase
in AE was observed. Experiments were conducted for several
flow rates on different sized pumps to validate this assump-
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1 MHz). It is interesting to note that Neill et al. (1998b) also tion. Further reduction in the NPSH resulted in a decrease in
successfully applied AET to detect the recirculation in a cen- measured AE levels due to the presence of bubble clouds.
trifugal pump. Recirculation is defined as a flow reversal at Observations of the frequency content of captured AE time
either the inlet or the discharge tips of the impeller vanes. It waveforms showed a shift in frequency range for incipient
occurs in axial, centrifugal shrouded and unshrouded pumps. and developed cavitation. The results of this study also
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It is important to detect this phenomenon at the earliest stage showed that the measurement of AE rms levels could be
and distinguish it from other undesirable phenomena, such employed for determining the BEP of pumps, which offers
as cavitation. enormous opportunities within the industry. Sikorska and
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Hutton (1969) investigated the feasibility of detecting AE Hodkiewicz (2005) reiterated the observations of Alfayez et
in the presence of hydraulic noise. It was noted that artificially al. (2005) and Alfayez and Mba (2005), noting that AE was
seeded AE bursts were detected above background opera- able to detect off duty conditions in double suction pumps.
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tional noise for turbulent flow, with and without cavitations. Furthermore, Sikorska and Hodkiewicz noted that AE could
Furthermore, Hutton noted that the presence of cavitations in be used to detect cavitation and recirculation and postulated
the system increased the operational AE noise levels by a that low-flow AE activity was initiated by recirculation
factor of 50. In addition, cavitation was found to generate a whilst high-flow AE activity was due to incipient cavitation.
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significant increase in noise level below 500 kHz. Hutton Cavitation is known to occur more easily at higher flow rates
placed AE sensors on the pipe. Darling and Johnston (1991) (Cudina, 2003).
found that AE from a high pressure hydraulic pump during
cavitation was wide band noise, up to 1 MHz. Darling and 5. Monitoring Engines and Rotating Structures
Johnston noted that during cavitation there was little change with Acoustic Emission
in the vibration signature from normal operation, which was
not the case with AE observations. It was also commented Industries all over the world use various machines and
that the position of the AE sensor was insensitive to mount- structures to manufacture and distribute various goods and
ing position whilst the reverse was observed with the vibra- services to global customers. These include rotating and recip-
tion senor. rocating machines and mechanical structures of all sizes,
Al-Maskari (1984) attempted to detect incipient cavitation shapes, and complexities. Damage assessment of these assets
with AE but concluded that whilst the inception of cavitation (both old and new) is very crucial as it determines the quality,
was not detectable with AE, fully developed cavitation was reliability, availability, maintainability, and the life expect-
detectable. Another interesting observation by Al-Maskari ancy. The reliability and health monitoring of both old and
was the variation in AE activity at flow rates below the BEP new machineries and structures form the subject of exten-
and it was suggested that investigations on applying AE to sive research in many academic institutions, government
cavitation detection should be concentrated at the BEP. Al- laboratories, defense research establishments, and industrial
Maskari placed the AE sensor on the pump casing. Sundt organizations worldwide. AET is now becoming a widely
 Mba and Rao / CONDITION MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINES 11

accepted practice in the field of engine and rotating struc- ing the cepstral analysis for the model, stating that it used
tural monitoring. the frequency content of the AE rms signal rather than the
Holroyd et al. (1996) illustrated the background to the AE energy content, which gave the advantage over signals with
approach and its technological developments, which enabled low-energy content. The application of AET to modeling
it to be used as a means of dynamically probing the opera- the pressure originated from previous studies by El-Ghamry
tion of machineries and mechanisms, and attempted to clar- et al. (2003). In the latter investigation El-Ghamry et al.
ify the opinions held on the similarities and differences of attempted to develop generic techniques for diagnosing
the AE and vibration monitoring techniques when applied to faults in reciprocating machines. The generic pattern recog-
machinery condition monitoring (Holroyd and Brashaw, nition technique developed was based on the time-domain
1999). Holroyd and Randall (1993b) illustrated with exam- AE rms signals, statistical feature extraction from the time-
ples some real benefits of using AE techniques as a highly domain signal, and correlation of the AE response to specific
sensitive, simple to use, and cost-effective maintenance tool. events in the engines. Steel and Reuben (2005) recently
Gill et al. (1998) described how AE techniques could be reviewed developments in monitoring engines with AE. It
implemented as a condition-based maintenance strategy to was noted that AE signals could be associated with the
monitor the inlet and outlet valves of reciprocating compres- actual operational and degrading processes in the engine.
sors. The investigation was based on an eight-cylinder, hor- Furthermore, this could be accomplished non-intrusively. It
izontally opposed, single acting, two-stage compressor used was also stated that analysis of AE data could be enhanced
to compress ethylene at a large plastics plant. Gill et al. high- with a detailed knowledge of the operating conditions of
lighted the possibility of detecting fluid movement with AET. the engine, such as injector timing, running speed, and valve
The sensor required very little space and was non-intrusive, movement.

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which was a major benefit in the hostile conditions. The Mba (2002) presented a case study on the application of
results revealed the practical deployment of AE sensors for high-frequency AE as a means of detecting the early stages
condition monitoring applications. of loss of mechanical integrity in low-speed rotating machin-
Fog et al. (1998) conducted an experimental investigation ery. Investigations were centered on the rotating biological
into detecting exhaust valve burn-through on a four-cylin- contactor (RBC), which is used for sewage treatment in small
der, 500 mm bore, two-stroke marine diesel engine with an communities and rotates at approximately 1 rpm. The results
output of approx. 10,000 BHP. The investigation comprised
monitoring three different valve conditions (normal, leak,
and large leak). Vibration and structure-borne stress waves
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presented were obtained from an operational unit that suf-
fered a fractured stub shaft retaining bolt head. Evidence to
support the inadequacies of vibration analysis and the appli-
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(AE) were monitored. The results showed that the AE sig- cability of AE to detecting this fault condition were detailed.
nals contained more information for identifying valve and The results of the case study pointed to the potential of AE
injector related mechanical events during the combustion for diagnosing serious mechanical defects where vibration
process than time series recorded from other sensors. Fea- analysis would be ineffective. The investigation showed that
tures of the AE signals were extracted using principal com- AE activity could be related not only to the fractured bolt but
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ponent analysis (PCA). A feedforward neural classifier was also to loose bolts. The mechanism for generating AE signa-
used to discriminate between the three valve conditions. Friis- tures was the rubbing in the threaded bolt within its recess
Hausen and Fog (2001) identified efficient classifiers for and the rubbing and/or crushing of the fractured bolt shank
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the detection of two different failure modes in marine diesel with wear and rust particles within the clearance hole of the
engines: exhaust valve leaks and defective injection (misfire). stub shaft. A typical AE parameter such as amplitude can
The purpose of the exhaust valve is to seal the combustion provide valuable information on the clamped condition of a
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chamber from the surroundings during compression, thus component on a low-speed rotating machine. These observa-
securing maximum pressure in the cylinder during the com- tions confirmed the finds of Hanel and Thelen (1995, 1996a,
bustion event. This ensures maximum engine performance 1996b) where a relationship between AE activity and the
in terms of output power. This study identified an efficient tensile stress on a bolt was established. A direct correlation
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classifier, which could discriminate completely between between increased AE activity and plastic deformation of
leak sizes in the exhaust valve, based on the recorded rms the bolt was presented. Furthermore, the investigators pro-
AE signals. An efficient classifier for detection of misfire posed that the low-level AE activity in the elastic range of
was also developed. El-Ghamry et al. (1998) illustrated the the bolt corresponded to the friction process in the thread.
potential of AE sensing to determine the strength of the air– Smulders and Loob (1994) employed the use of envelop-
fuel mixture in 30.56 liter Perkins four-stroke, eight-cylinder ing and high-frequency AET for monitoring: bearing fault
turbocharged gas engine. AE, acceleration, inside cylinder detection, very slow speed bearing, rail car turntables, and
pressure, and timing signals were monitored during the tests. lubrication condition in paper mill machinery. Mba et al.
The results revealed that the AE signal showed additional (1996) and Mba and Hall (2001) presented the results of a
features, which could be used to identify the strength of the study into the use of stress wave analysis as a means of detect-
gaseous fuel mixture. ing early stages of loss of mechanical integrity in low-speed
Results that showed that indirect measurements of cylin- rotating machinery. The source of AE was attributed to the
der pressure from diesel engines with AET were presented breakage, and entrapment, of surface asperities as a result of
by El-Ghamry et al. (2005). The AE rms was correlated relative movement of clamped components that had lost pre-
to the pressure in the time and frequency domains. Fur- defined tightening torques (loose clamped components). AR
thermore, the complex cepstrum analysis was used to model coefficients associated with each AE provided an efficient
the pressure readings from the complete combustion phase parameter for classification and diagnostics. Holroyd (2002)
of the engine. El-Ghamry et al. noted the advantage of employ- reviewed some of his development work in applying AET to
12 The Shock and Vibration Digest / September 2005

machinery condition monitoring over the last decade, and Bansal, V., Gupta, B. C., Prakash, A., and Eshwar, V. A., 1990, “Quality
also introduced new developments in the field of condition Inspection of Rolling Element Bearing Using Acoustic Emission
Technique,” Journal of Acoustic Emission, Vol. 9, No. 2, 142–146.
monitoring of structures. Barclay, J. and Bannach, R., 1992, “Multiparameter Condition Monitor-
ing,” Noise and Vibration Worldwide, March, 17–20.
Berry, J. E., 1992, “Required Vibration Analysis Techniques and Instru-
6. Conclusion mentation on Low Speed Machines (Particularly 30 to 300 RPM
Machinery),” Technical Associates of Charlotte, Inc., Advanced
AET is a continuously evolving multidiscipline and is now Vibration Diagnostic and Reduction Techniques.
the focus of intense research- and application-based studies. Canada, R. G. and Robinson, J. C., 1995, “Vibration Measurements on
The wealth of knowledge discovered, generated, and dis- Slow Speed Machinery,” in Predictive Maintenance Technology
seminated in this evolving discipline is itself proof of its National Conference (P/PM Technology), Indianapolis, IN, Vol. 8,
No. 6, 33–37.
diverse applicability. The interest in developing new tech- Catlin, J. B. Jr., 1983, “The Use of Ultrasonic Diagnostic Technique to
nologies to overcome the many hitherto unsolved problems Detect Rolling Element Bearing Defects,” in Proceedings of the
in condition monitoring and diagnostics of complex indus- Machinery and Vibration Monitoring and Analysis Meeting, Vibra-
trial machinery applications offers immense opportunities tion Institute, IL, April, 123–130.
Choudhary, A. and Tandon, N., 2000, “Application of Acoustic Emission
for AET to grow unabated. This is also reflected by the sig- Technique for the Detection of Defects in Rolling Element Bear-
nificant growth in global demand for AE sensors. With the ings,” Tribology International, Vol. 33, 39–45.
accelerating speed in the growth of intelligent information, Cudina, M., 2003, “Detection of Cavitation Phenomenon in a Centrifugal
sensor and data acquisition technologies, combined with the Pump Using Audible Sound,” Mechanical Systems and Signal
Processing, Vol. 17, No. 6, 1335–1347.
rapid advances in intelligent signal processing techniques, a Darling, J. and Johnston, D. N., 1991, “The Use of Acoustic Emission for
healthy growth in the application of AE in many engineer- Condition Monitoring in High-pressure Hydraulic Pumps,” in

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ing, manufacturing, processing, and medical sectors is to be EUROTECH Direct 91, IMechE, Birmingham, UK, 2–4 July, Paper
expected. The application of AE in prognosis has yet to be C414/011, 137–143.
Derakhshan, O., Houghton, J. R., and Jones, R. K., 1989, “Cavitation Mon-
fully explored and exploited. We are still a long way away itoring of Hydroturbines with RMS Acoustic Emission Measure-
from interpreting and fully understanding the wonderful ments,” in World Meeting on Acoustic Emission, Charlotte, NC,
“sounds of AE” from rotating machines. March, 305–315.
El-Ghamry, M. H., Brown, E., Ferguson, I. G., Gill, J. D., Reuben, R. L.,

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Steel, J. A., Scaife, M., and Middleton, S., 1998, “Gaseous Air–fuel
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