Bearing cage temperature measurement using radio telemetry

Abstract

Two different versions of a temperature telemeter were designed and developed for use in tribological environments and their usefulness as a condition-monitoring instrument for bearings is demonstrated. The first version is a battery-powered telemeter and it is designed to have extremely small size and mass, which are essential for application in rolling element bearings. The second version is a remotely powered design, which has similar features to that of the battery-powered telemeter but provides the advantage of an almost infinite life and even smaller size. The telemeters were installed on the cage of a tapered rolling element bearing and tests were conducted under normal and severe conditions to determine the feasibility of the cage temperature as a condition-monitoring parameter on a bearing. A finite element model of the cage was developed to study and compare with experimental results. The tests conducted indicate that the cage temperature demonstrates a very fast response to tribological changes such as interruption in lubrication supply, speed or torque variation and it is thus a good parameter for determining the temperature condition of a rolling element bearing.