INDUSTRIAL FLUID DEGRADATION MONITORING WITH AN ELECTROMECHANICAL IMPEDANCE ACTIVE SENSOR

Industrial fluids, such as lubricant oil and cutting fluid, are ubiquitous in various manufacturing situations. During the service period, the industrial fluids are vulnerable to degradation and contamination, rendering the abnormal function of the subordinate machine and product quality. This paper proposes an Electro-Mechanical Impedance Spectroscopy (EMIS) for the real-time monitoring of industrial fluids degradation. To develop a profound understanding on the interaction mechanism between the industrial fluids and the piezoelectric sensory device, a three-dimensional analytical model is established. The influence of the fluid is processed as the additional inertial load and the dissipative viscosity. Meanwhile, Finite Element (FE) analysis is performed to examine the influence of the fluid and verify the analytical model. Fluid-Structural Interaction (FSI) is utilized to introduce the interaction at the interfaces, while the spring-damper element (COMBIN 14) is employed to simulate the viscosity of the fluid. Ultimately, the experimental assessment is performed to mutually validate the analytical and FE model, and to practically demonstrate the feasibility of the EMIS methodology for the real-time monitoring of fluid degradations. EMI index is exploited to quantify the severity of the degradation.