Citation :

R. T. Chander, Partha Sarathi Chakraborty, S. Nallusamy, V. S. Hariharan, K. Manogar, "Vibration and Acoustic Emission Diagnostics for Identifying Nano-Additive Effects under Particulate Contamination in Rolling Bearings," International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT), vol. 74, no. 9, pp. 609-623, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V74I9P142

Abstract

This study improves and endorses Vibration and Acoustic Emission (AE) based diagnostic methods to assess the in-service performance of nano-additives in mineral oil-lubricated rolling bearings under solid contamination. Tests were performed using base oil and three nano-additives, namely Tungsten Disulfide (WS₂), Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP), and Al₂O₃, under quartz particulate ingress. High-frequency AE and accelerometer vibration signals were recorded with friction, temperature, and wear measurements. Time- and frequency-domain features, including RMS, spectral band energies, AE counts, and hit energy, were extracted and examined and compared to the contaminated base oil, WS₂ and GNP formulations reduced vibration RMS by approximately 33% and 26%, respectively, while AE RMS values decreased by nearly 40% and 32%. Correspondingly, the wear rate was reduced by 65% for WS₂ and 55% for GNP. AE counts and peak energies provided indicators of incipient abrasive events. Envelope and spectral analyses revealed frequency signatures associated with third-body impacts and tribo-film sliding. Correlation analysis confirmed strong relationships (r>0.8) between vibration and RMS, AE RMS, envelope peak amplitude and wear rate. Random Forest classification demonstrated that a subset of AE and vibration features could discriminate the responses of the tested lubricant conditions, particularly the film-forming WS₂ and GNP formulations from the Al₂O₃ condition. Surface analyses using SEM, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed tribo-film formation for WS₂ and GNP and severe ploughing for Al₂O₃. The diagnostic framework offers monitoring of lubricant additive efficacy in industrial bearings.

Keywords

Vibration Diagnostics, Acoustic Emission, Nano-Additives, Tribofilm, Bearing Contamination, Wear Monitoring.

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