Ball-groove Contact Identification Using Ultrasound Reflectometry

Abstract

This paper presents a way to identify the contact position of a steel ball over a steel plate with a machined groove, by using the ultrasound reflectometry in both static and dynamic manner. The static test was carried out with an ultrasonic probe scanning over the contact region of a steel ball in contact with a line of groove on a rectangular plate, and the dynamic test was conducted using an ultrasonic array revealing contact information of three steel balls rolling over a ring of groove on a rotating plate. This approach provides a new thinking of dynamic condition monitoring for machine elements, especially for ball bearings in high-speed train bogie and wheel-rail contact systems.