IMTC 2005 – Instrumentation and Measurement

Technology Conference
Ottawa, Canada, 17-19 May 2005

Contactless Monitoring of Ball Bearing Temperature

Jhon A. Henao-Sepulveda1, Manuel Toledo-Quiñones2, and Yi Jia3
1
Currently working with Central Tumaco, Palmira Valle, Colombia
2
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and 3 Mechanical Engineering Department
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM), Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Phone: 1-787-832-4040, Email: jahenaos@lycos.com, mtoledo@ece.uprm.edu, jia0@me.uprm.edu

Abstract – This article reports a novel technique to directly
monitor the temperature of bearing cages. The circuit, developed
to sense the bearing cage’s temperature, employs no batteries and
transmits data wirelessly. It offers a contact-less method consistent
with long-term and low-maintenance operation. To our
knowledge, this is the first such technique reported in the
literature. In this article, after briefly describing the problem, the
proposed technique is overviewed and results from laboratory tests
are presented.
I. INTRODUCTION
There is great interest in the development of sensing
strategies capable of measuring important parameters of
bearings while in motion. Rolling element bearings – as
basic mechanical components providing support and
rotational freedom for rotating machines – have found
widespread use in commercial, aerospace, and military
applications. Due to their complex design and uneven
operational conditions, premature failure of individual
bearings can occur. Bearing failure is directly linked to
machine downtime. It can produce tragic human death and
substantial monetary losses [1-4]. Thus, the development of
advanced techniques to monitor the health of bearings while
in operation is highly desirable. This would allow for
efficient preventive maintenance and failure anticipation.
Temperature is one of the most important parameters
affecting the functional life and performance of rolling
element bearings [5-8]. There are four elements in a rolling
bearing: inner and outer raceway, rollers and cage, as shown
in [10]. The interaction between the rolling elements and the
races is based on pure rolling motion; while, the interaction
between the rolling elements and the cage is based on pure
sliding motion. Therefore, a greater heat generation is
anticipated in the rolling elements and cage contact than in
the rolling elements and inner race or outer race contact. The
mass of the cage is smaller than that of the outer race. Also
the cage is not in direct contact with any other part of the
bearing. Consequently, the rate of thermal dissipation from
the cage is very low. The bearing cage, therefore, will
respond faster to an increase in heat input than other bearing
component. In addition, the cage, guiding the rolling
elements, is often the starting point of bearing damage [9].
Therefore, it is desirable that a health monitoring system
should measure the bearing cage temperature. However, the
measuring of cage temperatures is significantly difficult due
to the limited space inside bearings. Furthermore, the
complex motion of the bearing cage prevents the use of slip
rings.
II. PROPOSED APPROACH
This article describes a battery-less wireless sensing
technology to monitor the cage temperature in bearings.
Since the bearing cage performs a sliding motion with respect
to inner and outer races and the cage’s rotation precludes
direct wiring or the use of slip rings, measurements must be
non-contact.
We implemented the sensing circuit using two
temperature-sensitive capacitors and a Colpitts oscillator.
Temperature variations caused changes in the oscillation
frequency. A small antenna was attached to the output of the
oscillator, and the radiated electromagnetic signal was
detected by a nearby receiver. The receiver was connected to
a personal computer for further data analysis. A second radio-
frequency (RF) signal was used to supply energy to the
sensor electronics without the use of wires or batteries.
Because both the power and the data were transmitted
wirelessly, direct contact to the sensor circuit was not needed.
Fig. 1. RF power supply.
The temperature bearing monitoring system used in this
study consists of the sensor, an external data receiver (an
antenna), and a central computer. The RF power transmitter,
shown on figure 1, is based on a class-E amplifier. The EM
signal radiated by Lt is received by the power receiver and
used to operate the oscillator, shown on figure 2.
Temperature sensing elements and the electronic transmitter
circuit are located on the bearing cage. Data measured during
the bearing operation is wirelessly sent via a modulated

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carrier signal to the external receiver. A diagram of the sensor
installed in a bearing is shown in figure 3.
spectra of the sensor signal, as shown on Figure 6. The
spectra clearly showed two peaks: one at 10 MHz
corresponding to the signal used to power the circuit, and
another related to the temperature dependant oscillator signal,
which is the one displayed in figure 6. Calibration was
carried out by monitoring the oscillator frequency carrying
the temperature information and thermocouple
measurements. Calibration results are shown on figure 7.

Oscilloscope Thermocouple
Amplifier

Fig. 2. Sensor circuit.

Sensors

RF-Powering
Antenna
Fig. 5. Sensor calibration setup.
Fig. 3. The wireless temperature sensor should be installed in the bearing.
Data is received by a small antenna placed near the data transmission coil
and transferred to a computer for analysis.

Fig. 6. Display of FFT data obtained from the oscilloscope and used for
calibration. The oscillator signal produced a peak at 1.1.6MHz corresponding
to a temperature of 25°C.

Fig. 4. Wireless temperature sensor installed on a ball bearing. 2.2 Frequency

linear
y = 0.0157*x + 0.784

The circuit was fabricated on Dupont Kapton® thick film 2

substrates and uses surface mount components to provide

compatibility with the mechanical parts and the required 1.8
Frequency (MHz)

small size. The developed prototype, shown in figure 4, can

1.6
be adapted to monitor the condition of other mechanical
components for which wired circuits are difficult to use. 1.4

III. RESULTS 1.2

1
To calibrate the wireless sensor, the sensing elements were 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Temperature (Celcius)
immersed in a 300 ml beaker filled with engine oil that was Fig. 7. Calibration results.
placed over a hot plate as shown in Figure 5. The oil
temperature was independently measured with a K-type
thermocouple. An oscilloscope was attached to the data
receiving antenna and used to determine the frequency

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 Spectrum
analyzer instrumented
bearing
RF-powering
circuit
Load shaft
Fig. 8. Test setup for a ball bearing instrumented with the RF-powered
wireless temperature sensor.
Fig. 9. Results from measurements performed on an operating
bearing, showing the cage temperature while the bearing reaches its
operating speed of 1550 rpm with a load of 25 pounds.
Fig. 10. Cage temperature while the bearing reaches its operating
speed of 1550 rpm with a load of 45 pounds.
A lathe machine was used to carry out an experiment on
an operating bearing. The setup is shown in figure 8. The
objective of the experiment was to verify the operability of a
wireless device under realistic operational conditions. The
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instrumented bearing was mounted on a spindle of the lathe;
the spindle was used to rotate the bearing. An axial shaft was
used to add load to the bearing. The spindle speed can be
varied by discrete quantities, so the temperature for several
speeds was registered after 10 minutes of machine operation
for each velocity value.
Figures 9 and 10 show the result of a test carried out at a
speed of 1550 rpm, under two load conditions of 25 and 45
pounds, respectively. For these measurements the lubricant
was almost completely removed from the bearing with the
objective of increasing the temperature, which normally
remains low for the loads used. Each test was conducted until
a reasonably stable temperature was reached; then the
machine was stopped. The cooling down process was
recorded as well.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors would like to express their deep appreciation for
the financial support provided by the NASA Puerto Rico
Space grant under IDEAS-ER Program.
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