Remaining Useful Life Prediction of High-Frequency Swing Self-Lubricating Liner

Abstract

The remaining useful life (RUL) prediction of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings is essential for replacement decision-making and the reliability of high-end equipment. The high-frequency swing self-lubricating liner (HSLL) is the key component of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings under high-frequency oscillation conditions. In this study, a RUL prediction method was proposed based on the Wiener process and grey system theory. First, the predictive processing of the wear depth was carried out using the grey model GM(1,1) to reduce the randomness and enhance the inherent regularity of the life test data. A degradation process model was established and the RUL was predicted online with the model parameter estimates based on the Bayesian updating strategy. Finally, examples were provided to elaborate the RUL prediction of the HSLL. The results show that the prediction accuracy of the proposed RUL prediction model is higher than that of the simple Wiener process during the entire residual life cycle of the HSLL. Based on the original wear data, the prediction accuracy of the RUL exhibited a strong dependence on prior samples and was relatively low owing to the larger deviation of the wear rate between the test sample and prior samples.