New Electric Online Oil Condition Monitoring Sensor – an Innovation in Early Failure Detection of Industrial Gears

A new online diagnostics system for the continuous condition monitoring of lubricating oils in industrial gearboxes is presented. Characteristic features of emerging component damage, such as wear, contamination or chemical aging, are identified in an early stage. The OilQSens sensor effectively controls the proper operation conditions of bearings and cogwheels in gears. Also, the condition of insulating oils in transformers can be monitored. The online diagnostics system measures components of the specific complex impedance of oils. For instance, metal abrasion due to wear debris, broken oil molecules, forming acids or oil soaps result in an increase of the electrical conductivity, which directly correlates with the degree of contamination in the oil. The dielectrical properties of the oils are particularly determined by the water content that becomes accessible via an additional accurate measurement of the dielectric constant. For additivated oils, statements on the degradation of additives can also be derived from changes in the dielectric constant. For an efficient machine utilization and targeted damage prevention, the new OilQSens online condition monitoring sensor system allows for timely preventative maintenance on demand rather than in rigid inspection intervals. The determination of impurities or reduction in the quality of the oil and the quasi continuous evaluation of wear and chemical aging follow the holistic approach of a real-time monitoring of a change in the condition of the oil-machine system. Once the oil condition monitoring sensors are installed on the plants, the measuring data can be displayed and evaluated elsewhere. The measuring signals are transmitted to a web-based condition monitoring system via LAN, WLAN or serial interfaces of the sensor system. Monitoring of the damage mechanisms during proper operation below the tolerance limits of the components enables specific preventive maintenance independent of rigid inspection intervals.