Wear Particle Classification Using Ferrographic Analysis in Gearbox System Considering Area and Perimeter

Wear particles are generated in the mechanical system due to different modes, such as abrasion, adhesion, erosion, oxidation, corrosion, and severe sliding. Wear particle analysis is a non-intrusive tool to monitor the condition of lubricated components. The study of wear particles gives information related to the size of particle, concentration and quantity, material composition and size distribution, from which operating wear mode can be predicted to observe the state of a component. This paper has discussed the case study for wear particle classification using different parameters. Experimentation has been carried out to observe the nature of wear and wear particle classification by operating gearbox for 500hrs. Lubrication is essential for correct functioning of gearbox therefore, ferrographic analysis is carried to measure the concentration of wear particle through lubricating oil. Olympus Stream Basic Software is used to analyze ferrogram slides to measure different parameters area, perimeter, aspect ratio, shape factor, mean radius, and mean color intensity values of wear particles. Area and perimeter of normal rubbing wear is used to classify them into small-, medium-, and large-sized particles.