Smart Bearing Development by Integrating FBG Sensors with Temperature Compensation

Rolling bearings are essential components in rotating machinery. The growing demand for real-time condition monitoring has led to the development of smart bearings integrated with advanced sensors. However, conventional sensing technologies often suffer from limited sensitivity, a lack of temperature compensation, and installation difficulties. Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors offer a promising alternative, featuring high sensitivity, electromagnetic immunity, and multiplexing capabilities. However, a key challenge that remains insufficiently addressed is the accurate decoupling of mechanical strain and thermally induced strain caused by the temperature variation in dynamic environments.
This research aims to develop a dynamic temperature compensation method to enhance the performance of FBG-based smart bearings. The objectives are twofold: to improve load measurement accuracy and to enable early fault detection and severity assessment under varying temperature conditions.
The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Manitoba (Canada) and the University of New South Wales (Australia), bringing together expertise in sensing technology, bearing modeling, wear analysis, and tribology. By advancing FBG-based contact force measurement and condition monitoring with temperature compensation, this work seeks to enhance the reliability and practicality of smart bearings for real-time condition monitoring in industrial applications.

Faculty Supervisor:

Xihui (Larry) Liang

Student:

Partner:

University of New South Wales

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Manitoba

Program: