A Method for Estimating the Composition and Size of Wear Debris in Lubricating Oil Based on the Joint Observation of Inductance and Resistance Signals: Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Verification

Inductive debris sensors can distinguish, estimate, and count debris in oil in a nonembedded manner, becoming one of the most promising approaches for health monitoring of mechanical equipment in the marine and ocean industry. In this study, a method for estimating the composition and size of the debris based on the joint observation of inductance and resistance signals was proposed, and a model for calculating the inductance and resistance increment induced by a single debris was procured accordingly. The relationships between impedance increments and excitation frequencies and between impedance increments and debris sizes were investigated, and the theoretical results were in good agreement with the experimental results. The sensitivity of coil parameters on the induced impedance increment by the debris was also analyzed and discussed in the end.

Automated summary

Inductive debris sensors are one of the most promising approaches for health monitoring of mechanical equipment in the marine and ocean industry. This study proposes a method for estimating the composition and size of debris based on the joint observation of inductance and resistance signals, and validates the theoretical results through experiments. The sensitivity of coil parameters on the induced impedance increment by the debris is also analyzed.