JP2004020444A - Wear particles capturing device, method of diagnosing lubrication object part, and lubrication object part diagnostic system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lubrication object part diagnostic system which can accurately and quickly diagnose the lubrication state and the wear state of a lubrication object part. <P>SOLUTION: The system 1 includes a wear particle capturing device A which stably captures wear particles in lubrication oil in a short time, on a transparent plate 20 by centrifugal force and magnetic force, an optical microscope B for imaging the wear particles captured on the plate 20, and a computer C which calculates a covering rate and an abnormal friction index of the wear particles by data obtained by binarizing the taken image. According to the system 1, by the computer C, each calculated value is compared with each reference value stored in advance, and the state of the lubrication object part is diagnosed. The diagnostic result is outputted and displayed on a display monitor 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wear particle trapping device, a lubrication target portion diagnosis method and a lubrication target portion diagnosis system using the device, and more specifically, wear particles in lubricating oil can be trapped stably in a short time. The present invention relates to a wear particle capturing device, a lubrication target portion diagnosis method and a diagnosis system capable of accurately and quickly diagnosing a lubrication target portion.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a wear particle trapping device, a permanent magnet that generates a magnetic field and a transparent plate (also referred to as a ferrogram slide) that is installed in an inclined state above the permanent magnet are provided. It is known that lubricating oil is supplied and flows toward the lower side, and wear particles in the lubricating oil are arranged for each particle diameter on a transparent plate and captured by the magnetic force of a permanent magnet (see, for example, No. 8-303690). According to such a wear particle capturing device, the distribution state of the wear particles captured on the transparent plate is photographed by the photographing means, the photographed image is displayed on the monitor, and quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis are performed. There are advantages such as being able to diagnose the lubrication state and wear state of the lubrication target portion that has used the lubricating oil.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described wear particle trapping device, the transparent plate is inclined at a slight angle from the horizontal plane, and the lubricating oil supplied on the transparent plate slowly flows from the higher side to the lower side only by its own weight. Therefore, it takes time to capture the wear particles in the lubricating oil. In particular, a large-scale equipment machine in a power plant or the like has many parts to be lubricated such as bearings, and it is usually necessary to repeatedly collect the wear particles in the lubricating oil sampled manually. It was an extremely time-consuming and complicated task.
Also, lubricating oil that flows slowly on the transparent plate by the action of its own weight is easily affected by the surrounding atmosphere, and the trapped state (precipitation distribution state) of the wear particles becomes unstable. As a result, analysis of the wear particles and diagnosis of the lubrication target part are performed. May not be performed properly.
In addition, the transparent plate that captures the wear particles may be washed, dried and reused, but the washing and drying operations are complicated, and if the washing is not performed properly, the analysis accuracy of the wear particles is high. It will decline.
[0004]
As described above, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wear particle capturing device that can stably capture wear particles in lubricating oil in a short time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a lubrication target part diagnosis method and a lubrication target part diagnosis system capable of accurately and quickly diagnosing the state of the lubrication target part using the wear particle capturing device. To do.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The wear particle capturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field, and a plate holding and rotating means for holding and rotating the plate in the magnetic field, and wear particles in lubricating oil supplied onto the plate. Are captured in an annular arrangement on the plate by a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the plate and a magnetic force generated by the magnetic field generating means.
Further, the magnetic field generating means can be composed of a cylindrical permanent magnet.
[0006]
Examples of the “magnetic field generating means” include a magnet and an electromagnet that generates a magnetic field by supplying electric energy. The “plate” is preferably a transparent plate so that optical analysis can be performed. Moreover, examples of the “lubricating oil” include spindle oil, machine oil, dynamo oil, turbine oil, and the like, which are petroleum-based lubricating oils. The lubricating oil can be, for example, a semi-solid grease. Moreover, the said lubricating oil is normally extract | collected from the lubrication target part mentioned later. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the “wear particles in the lubricating oil” are arranged in an annular shape on the plate 20 in the first capturing portion 30 a and the second capturing portion 30 b that are at least a pair of concentric circles. Can be captured. As a result, the wear particles can be captured according to the particle diameter, and the wear particles can be analyzed with higher accuracy.
[0007]
In addition, the “plate holding and rotating means” may, for example, rotate the plate at a predetermined capture rotational speed when capturing wear particles, rotate the plate at a predetermined cleaning rotational speed when cleaning the plate, and dry the plate. Can be rotated at a predetermined drying speed. Thereby, a series of wear particle capture, plate cleaning and plate drying can be performed efficiently. The capture rotation speed is 75 to 250 rpm, preferably 150 to 200 rpm. The washing rotation speed is 75 to 250 rpm, preferably 150 to 200 rpm. As said drying rotation speed, it is 150-300 rpm, Preferably it is 200-250 rpm. Further, the plate holding and rotating means includes, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a hollow rotating member 17 that is rotatably supported with the axis being vertical, a drive source 18 that rotates the hollow rotating member 17, and A magnetic field generating means 12 provided on the hollow rotating member 17 and a flexible adsorbing member 19 fixed to the upper end of the hollow rotating member 17 and adsorbing and holding the plate 20 can be provided. Thereby, a plate can be easily attached or detached with respect to a plate holding | maintenance rotation means, and an inexpensive wear particle capturing apparatus can be provided with a simple configuration.
[0008]
The lubrication target part diagnosis method of the present invention is a lubrication target part diagnosis method using the wear particle trapping device, and is based on a space factor per unit area of wear particles arranged and trapped on the plate. The condition of the part is diagnosed.
Further, the state of the lubrication target portion can be diagnosed based on the rate of change of the space factor with time.
[0009]
The lubrication target part diagnosis system according to the present invention is a lubrication target part diagnosis system using the wear particle capturing device, the photographing means for photographing the wear particles arranged and trapped on the plate, and the photographing result by the photographing means. The space factor calculating means for calculating the space factor per unit area of the wear particles, the determining means for determining the state of the lubrication target part from the calculation result by the space ratio calculating means, and the determination result by the determining means Display means for displaying.
Further, the storage means for storing the calculation result by the space factor calculation means, the ratio calculation means for calculating the rate of change of the space factor with the passage of time from the storage result by the storage means, and the ratio calculation means And a determination means for determining the state of the lubrication target portion from the calculation result.
[0010]
Examples of the “lubrication target portion” include a sliding bearing portion, a rolling bearing portion, a gear portion, and a sliding portion. Further, the “state of the lubrication target part” means a lubrication state and / or a wear state of the lubrication target part. Further, the “space factor” can be represented by (area of wear particles / total area) in the photographed image S by the photographing means, for example, as shown in FIGS. Further, using the above space factor, {(area of large-diameter wear particles of the first trapping portion / total area) ² − (area of small-diameter wear particles of the second trapping portion / total area) ² } The indicated abnormal wear index can be determined. Thereby, the state of the lubrication target part can be accurately diagnosed.
The “lubrication target part diagnosis method” is, for example, the state of the lubrication target part based on one or a combination of two or more of the shape, size, and color of the wear particles arranged and captured on the plate. Diagnosis can be made, or the state of the lubrication target part can be diagnosed based on the number of times the drive mechanism related to the lubrication target part is driven. Thereby, the state of the lubrication target part can be diagnosed more accurately.
[0011]
【The invention's effect】
According to the wear particle capturing device of the present invention, the plate is rotated by the plate holding and rotating means, and the lubricating oil supplied onto the plate is caused to flow in the centrifugal direction by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the plate, and the wear particles in the lubricating oil Are captured in an annular arrangement on the plate by the magnetic force generated by the magnetic field generating means. As described above, since the wear particles in the lubricating oil are captured and arranged by the action of centrifugal force and magnetic force, the wear particles can be quickly and stably captured. As a result, analysis of wear particles and diagnosis of the state of the lubrication target part can be performed quickly and accurately. Further, when the plate is rotated by the plate holding and rotating means during the cleaning and drying of the plate, the cleaning and drying can be performed quickly and easily.
Further, if the magnetic field generating means is composed of a cylindrical permanent magnet, an inexpensive apparatus can be provided with a simple structure.
[0012]
According to the lubrication target part diagnosis method of the present invention, the state of the lubrication target part can be diagnosed accurately and quickly based on the space factor per unit area of the wear particles arranged and captured on the plate.
Further, if the state of the lubrication target portion is diagnosed based on the rate of change of the space factor with time, the diagnosis can be made more accurately.
[0013]
According to the lubrication target part diagnostic system of the present invention, the distribution state of the wear particles arranged and captured on the plate by the photographing means is photographed, and the space factor per unit area of the wear particles is calculated from the photographing result, The state of the lubrication target part is determined from the calculation result, and the determination result is displayed. Therefore, the state of the lubrication target part can be automatically and accurately diagnosed.
Moreover, if the ratio of the change with time passage of the space factor is calculated, the state of the lubrication target part can be diagnosed more accurately.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
(1) Overall Configuration of Lubrication Target Part Diagnosis System As shown in FIG. 1, a lubrication target part diagnosis system 1 according to this embodiment includes a wear particle trapping device A (hereinafter, trapping device) that traps wear particles in lubricating oil. A), and an optical microscope B capable of photographing the captured wear particles and a computer C connected to the optical microscope B. A storage container 3 that stores lubricating oil is detachably supported by a support member 2 that is suspended in the vicinity of the capturing device A. A base end portion of a tube 4 made of transparent vinyl is connected to the storage container 3. The distal end portion of the tube 4 is supported by a support 6 provided on the upper surface of the housing 5 of the capturing device A, and is directed to a predetermined part. Further, an intermediate portion of the tube 4 is passed through a well-known pump 7, and by the action of the pump 7, lubricating oil is supplied from the tip end portion of the tube 4 at a predetermined flow rate.
[0015]
The computer C is connected to a display monitor 8 capable of displaying a photographed image S taken by the optical microscope B and an appropriate input means (not shown) such as a mouse. In addition, the computer C uses the data obtained by binarizing the image S taken by the optical microscope B to cover each of the wear particles, which will be described later, with a covering ratio (space factor) Pl and Ps and an abnormal wear index Is (Is). = Pl ² −Ps ² ). Furthermore, the computer C includes a storage unit 10 that stores a reference abnormal wear index Is ₀ (for example, 1 × 10 ⁰ ) in advance, as will be described later. In addition, the said lubrication object part diagnostic system 1 shall be installed in the management room etc. in a power plant etc., for example.
[0016]
(2) Structure of wear particle trapping device As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the trapping device A has a magnetic field generating means 12 for generating a magnetic field and a plate holding for rotating and holding the transparent plate 20 in the magnetic field. The rotation means 13 is basically provided. The magnetic field generation means 12 is configured by combining a columnar first permanent magnet 14, a cylindrical second permanent magnet 15, and yokes 16a and 16b. The plate holding and rotating means 13 includes a hollow rotating member 17 that is rotatably supported around a vertical axis in the housing 5 (see FIG. 1) of the capturing device A, and a speed change that drives the hollow rotating member 17 to rotate. And a possible drive motor 18. Further, the hollow rotating member 17 has a truncated cone-shaped portion 17a whose upper side is opened, and a flexible suction member 19 for sucking and holding the transparent plate 20 is fixed to the upper end side of the truncated cone-shaped portion 17a. Yes. The adsorbing member 19 includes a ring-shaped base portion 19a and a diameter-adsorbing portion 19b that expands upward from the upper edge of the ring-shaped base portion 19a. Further, the magnetic field generating means 12 is integrally fixed to the hollow rotating member 17, and the upper end portion of the magnetic field generating means 12 faces the inner peripheral side of the ring-shaped base portion 19 a of the adsorption member 19. A predetermined magnetic field is generated above the transparent plate 20 attracted and held by the attracting member 19 by the action of the magnetic field generating means 12.
In the present embodiment, the structure in which the hollow rotating member 17 and the magnetic field generating unit 12 are integrally fixed and both the members 17 and 12 rotate together is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The means 12 may be fixedly installed on the housing 5 side so that only the hollow rotating member 17 rotates.
[0017]
(3) Various processing actions of lubrication target part diagnosis system Next, various processing actions of the lubrication target part diagnosis system 1 configured as described above will be described. First, the lubricating oil being used is sampled and stored in the storage container 3 from the various lubrication target portions of the large-scale equipment machine at the power plant, and the transparent plate 20 is suction-held by the suction member 19 in the capturing device A. When the capturing device A and the pump 7 are driven from this state, the transparent motor 20, the suction member 19, the hollow rotating member 17, and the magnetic field generating means 12 are driven around a vertical axis (for example, by a driving motor 18). , 150 rpm). Further, the lubricating oil in the storage container 3 is dropped from the distal end portion of the tube 4 to the central portion of the transparent plate 20 by the action of the pump 7. The dropped lubricating oil is caused to flow in the centrifugal direction by centrifugal force, and wear particles in the flowing lubricating oil are captured on the transparent plate 20 by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating means 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the wear particles in the lubricating oil are captured on the transparent plate 20 by being arranged in an annular shape between a pair of concentric first capturing portions 30 a and second capturing portions 30 b. It will be. The first capturing portion 30a captures a relatively large diameter (for example, 5 μm or more) large diameter wear particles PL, and the second capturing portion 30b captures a relatively small diameter (for example, less than 5 μm) small diameter wear particles. PS is captured.
[0018]
Next, after a predetermined amount (for example, 2 ml) of lubricating oil is dropped, the driving of the capturing device A and the pump 7 is stopped, the transparent plate 20 is removed from the adsorption member 19, and the transparent plate 20 is placed on the stage of the optical microscope B. Place and set up. Then, with this optical microscope B, four shooting points (indicated by phantom lines in FIG. 4) in the first and second capturing units 30a and 30b are shot. Thereafter, the captured image S is output to the computer C and displayed on the display monitor 8 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Then, the computer C calculates the coverages Pl and Ps of the wear particles PL and PS and the abnormal wear index Is from data obtained by binarizing the captured images S. Next, the computer C compares the calculated values Pl, Ps, Is with the reference values Pl ₀ , Ps ₀ , Is ₀ stored in advance, and the lubrication state and the wear state of the lubrication target part are normal. An abnormality is determined, and the determination result is output and displayed on an output means such as a display monitor 8 or a printer.
[0019]
Here, the abnormal wear index Is (4.53 ×) determined from the coverages Pl (6.78 × 10 ⁻¹ ) and Ps (8.02 × 10 ⁻² ) calculated based on the captured image S shown in FIG. Since 10 ⁻¹ ) is a value smaller than the reference value Is ₀ (1 × 10 ⁰ ), the state of the lubrication target part is diagnosed as normal. On the other hand, the abnormal wear index Is (1,28 × 10) obtained from the coverages Pl (1.17 × 10 ¹ ) and Ps (2.91 × 10 ⁰ ) calculated based on the captured image S shown in FIG. Since 10 ² ) is a value exceeding the reference value Is ₀ (1 × 10 ⁰ ), the state of the lubrication target part is diagnosed as abnormal.
[0020]
Then, when diagnosing the state of another lubrication target part, when reusing the previously used transparent plate 20, the transparent plate 20 is sucked and held by the suction member 19, and a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 150 rpm) The transparent plate 20 is supplied with a cleaning agent to clean the transparent plate 20, and then the transparent plate 20 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 200 rpm) to dry the transparent plate 20. Do. Next, the state of another lubrication target portion is diagnosed in substantially the same manner as described above.
[0021]
(4) Effects of Embodiment As described above, in the lubrication target part diagnosis system 1 of the present embodiment, the wear particles PL and the small diameter are larger than the data obtained by binarizing the captured image S of the optical microscope B by the computer C. The coverages Pl and Ps and the abnormal wear index Is of the wear particles PS are calculated, and the calculated values Pl, Ps, Is and the reference values Pl ₀ , Ps ₀ , Is ₀ are compared to determine the state of the lubrication target portion. Since the diagnosis result is displayed on the display monitor 8, the state of the lubrication target portion is more accurately and accurately compared with a conventional method in which a skilled worker diagnoses the state of the lubrication target portion. Diagnosis can be made quickly.
Further, in the wear particle capturing apparatus A of the present embodiment, a hollow rotating member 17 having an upper opening is rotatably supported in the housing 5, and the hollow rotating member 17 is flexible enough to adsorb the transparent plate 20. And the magnetic field generating means 12 is provided in the housing 5 so as to face the opening of the hollow rotating member 17, and the drive motor 18 for rotating the hollow rotating member 17 is provided to rotate transparently. Since the predetermined magnetic field can be generated on the plate 20, the lubricating oil dropped on the rotating transparent plate 20 can be instantaneously caused to flow in the centrifugal direction by centrifugal force, and wear in the lubricating oil The particles can be arranged and captured on the transparent plate 20 by a magnetic field. Therefore, as compared with the conventional one in which the lubricating oil dropped on the inclined transparent plate flows slowly by the action of its own weight, the wear particles in the lubricating oil can be captured in a very short time and stably. Further, when the used transparent plate 20 is reused, the cleaning and drying can be performed quickly and easily by using the rotation of the transparent plate 20.
[0022]
In the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention depending on the purpose and application. That is, in the present embodiment, the state of the lubrication target portion is determined and diagnosed based on the coverages Pl and Ps of the wear particles PL and PS and the abnormal wear index Is, but the present invention is not limited to this. The storage unit 10 of the computer C stores the calculation values Pl, Ps, Is calculated by the calculation unit 9, and the state of the lubrication target portion is determined from the rate of change of each calculation value Pl, Ps, Is over time. May be determined and diagnosed. Further, in this embodiment, a system for diagnosing various lubrication target parts in a large facility machine of a power plant is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, various lubrication target parts in machine tools, construction machines, aircraft machines, etc. A diagnosis system may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the lubricating oil is sampled in a batch type is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lubricating oil may be sampled in an online type.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overall configuration of a lubrication target part diagnosis system;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the configuration of the wear particle trapping device.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part, similarly.
4 is a view taken along arrow IV in FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory views for explaining a photographed image of wear particles when the state of a lubrication target part is normal, FIG. 5A shows a distribution state of large-diameter wear particles, and FIG. The distribution state of particles is shown.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views for explaining a photographed image of wear particles when the state of the lubrication target part is abnormal, FIG. 6A shows a distribution state of large-sized wear particles, and FIG. The distribution state of particles is shown.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Lubrication object part diagnostic system, 9; Arithmetic part, 10; Memory | storage part, 12: Magnetic field generation | occurrence | production means, 13; Plate holding | maintenance rotation means, 14; 1st permanent magnet, 15; 2nd permanent magnet, 20; A: Wear particle capturing device, B: Optical microscope, C: Computer, PL; Large diameter wear particle, Pl: Large diameter wear particle coverage, PS: Small diameter wear particle, Ps: Small diameter wear particle coverage, S; Photographed image.

Claims (6)

Magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field, and plate holding and rotating means for holding and rotating the plate in the magnetic field,
Wear particles in lubricating oil supplied on the plate are captured in an annular arrangement on the plate by a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the plate and a magnetic force generated by the magnetic field generating means. Capture device. The wear particle capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field generating means is composed of a cylindrical permanent magnet. A method for diagnosing a lubrication target part using the wear particle capturing device according to claim 1,
A method for diagnosing a lubrication target part, comprising diagnosing the state of the lubrication target part based on a space factor per unit area of wear particles arrayed and captured on the plate. The lubrication target part diagnosis method according to claim 3, wherein the condition of the lubrication target part is diagnosed based on a rate of change of the space factor with time. A lubrication target part diagnosis system using the wear particle capturing device according to claim 1 or 2,
Imaging means for imaging wear particles arranged / captured on the plate, space factor calculating means for calculating a space factor per unit area of the wear particles from the imaging result by the imaging means, and space factor calculation A lubrication target part diagnosis system comprising: determination means for determining a state of a lubrication target part based on a calculation result by the means; and display means for displaying a determination result by the determination means. Storage means for storing the calculation result by the space factor calculation means, ratio calculation means for calculating the ratio of change of the space factor with time from the storage result by the storage means, and calculation result by the ratio calculation means The lubrication target part diagnosis system according to claim 5, further comprising determination means for determining a state of the lubrication target part.

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