ABSTRACT
Rotating machines are an essential element for most of the modern mechanical
systems. Hence, the reliable and continuous monitoring of their health is always
receiving attention to ensure safety and reduce downtime. Vibration based fault
diagnosis is one of the robust and well established techniques used to monitor the
condition of a rotating machine. The early the fault is detected the more time is
allowed for proper diagnosis and maintenance planning. The conventional method of
measuring the vibration on the bearing pedestals proved to be applicable in most
cases of machines structures and configurations. However, it requires a number of
vibration sensors at each bearing pedestal for fault diagnosis. The on-shaft vibration
measurement forms a proper solution as it provides enriched vibration content with
much less number of sensors, and consequently leads to better fault diagnosis. In
this paper, the on-shaft vibration measurement technique is presented and its
applicability to diagnose different faults introduced to an experimental test rig is
investigated.