Resonant micromechanical vibration sensors for on-line monitoring and diagnosis of bearings

The paper describes the application of resonant vibrational sensors for monitoring of bearings. The possibility of direct and continuous detection of low characteristic frequencies of bearings with high sensitivity is shown. A significant data reduction can be obtained by filtering effects of the resonant micromechanic structure. The signal is analysed in the time domain. The signal-to-noise ratio at the frequency of interest can be improved significantly. The sensor application is not limited to bearing diagnosis. The sensor is applicable in all cases where characteristic frequencies and narrow frequency bands occur.