The Selection of Diagnostic Technologies and Sensors for Condition Based Maintenance Systems

The effective implementation of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) systems generally requires the use of sensors selected specifically to detect, isolate and diagnose machinery component faults. In order for CBM systems to operate reliably, the diagnostic technologies and sensors used to monitor the machinery must provide repeatable and accurate measurements. The ability of a CBM system to effectively detect and correctly identify component faults at their inception depends largely on the appropriate selection of the fault parameters to be measured and the sensors used to measure them. Furthermore, the incorrect selection, inappropriate application, or inattention to the sensor performance requirements may lead to missed failure detects and false alarms, resulting in the general lack of acceptance of the entire CBM system. This paper presents an overview of a methodology for the selection of applicable diagnostic technologies and sensors for machinery health monitoring systems.