Experimental assessment of multiple contact wear using airborne noise under dry and lubricated conditions

The generation of wear and airborne noise is inevitable in the mechanical contacts of the machine components. This paper addresses the effectiveness of the airborne noise data in estimating the wear on a disc under multi-contact conditions. A pin-on-disc rig was employed to study the role of noise parameters on the evolution of the wear area. When a pin slides on the disc, the airborne noise is generated and subsequently a sound signal is obtained. These signals, for various sets of experiments, were recorded using a digital microphone. A Matlab code was developed and employed to estimate the noise parameters from the recorded sound. Noise parameters including values of voltage RMS, noise counts and amplitudes of dominant frequencies were used to analyse the variation in the disc wear at different time intervals. These parameters were found to be effective in the determination of the wear damage evaluation under different loads without lubrication.