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Multi-Parametric Sensitivity Analysis of an Electrical Potential Difference Gear Crack Sensor Using Finite Elements

Charikleia Aliberti 1, Nikolaos Fokas 2, and Yoon Lee 2
1. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
2. Psyche Engineering Systems and Technologies, The Hague, Netherlands

Abstract—In this paper a method is developed and described for the determination in real-time of the crack length at the root of a three-dimensional gear tooth of given thickness, based on the electrical potential difference method. Multi-Electrostatic analysis is carried out on multi-parametric gear solid models using finite elements, by inserting direct current from a pair of pre-attached electrodes and measuring the potential field at selected locations via other dedicated pre-attached electrode pairs and the results are correlated with the crack length. This analysis is used to determine the sensitivity of the electric sensing layout to size and other parameters, including the width of a tooth, the module, and the mounting position of the sensing electrode pairs. 
 
Index Terms—gear teeth, crack sensor, electrical potential difference, sensitivity analysis

Cite: Charikleia Aliberti, Nikolaos Fokas, and Yoon Lee, "Multi-Parametric Sensitivity Analysis of an Electrical Potential Difference Gear Crack Sensor Using Finite Elements," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 272-278, July 2017. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.6.4.272-278