1st International IEEE Workshop on WIreless Systems: Advanced Research and Development

Research Article

WiBeaM:Wireless Bearing Monitoring System

  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/COMSWA.2007.382456,
        author={ Lt Cdr VMD Jagannath and Bhaskaran Raman},
        title={WiBeaM:Wireless Bearing Monitoring System},
        proceedings={1st International IEEE Workshop on WIreless Systems: Advanced Research and Development},
        publisher={IEEE},
        proceedings_a={WISARD},
        year={2007},
        month={7},
        keywords={Application software  Base stations  Condition monitoring  Costs  Data analysis  Induction motors  Micromechanical devices  Predictive maintenance  Sensor systems  Wireless sensor networks},
        doi={10.1109/COMSWA.2007.382456}
    }
    
  • Lt Cdr VMD Jagannath
    Bhaskaran Raman
    Year: 2007
    WiBeaM:Wireless Bearing Monitoring System
    WISARD
    IEEE
    DOI: 10.1109/COMSWA.2007.382456
Lt Cdr VMD Jagannath1,*, Bhaskaran Raman2,*
  • 1: Electrical officer, Indian Navy
  • 2: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India 208016
*Contact email: vmdjagannath@gmail.com, braman@cse.iitk.ac.in

Abstract

Sensor nodes combined with MEMS sensors can form a complete replacement for the existing cumbersome predictive maintenance systems. We have designed a system that can be used to monitor the bearing conditions of induction motors. The system called as WiBeaM (wireless bearing monitoring system) forms a network of sensor nodes that sense the vibration on motors and transmit the same to a central base station, this data is further analyzed through signal processing for defect diagnosis. We have used cheap off the shelf components to realise a real world application at a very low cost. Considering the low cost and the ease of deployment, our application is one of its kind in the domain. The solution has been implemented on Moteiv's Tmote-Sky nodes using ADXL105 accelerometer from Analog devices.The solution includes an application layer, transport layer for reliable data transfer and a MAC protocol for low power consumption. The challenges in the implementation span from the hardware to software. The aim was to select a cheap yet efficient sensor that could be compatible with the sensor node and build a software that can automat the otherwise cumbersome process of bearing monitoring. Whilst developing the application we have found that by proper selection of transmit power of the radio, single hop wireless transmission is more power efficient than the multihop. In sum, we have proved the viability of machinery vibration monitoring with wireless network technology by conducting testbed trials.