Highly Reliable Multicomponent MEMS Sensor for Predictive Maintenance Management of Rolling Bearings

Area of Science:

• Metrology
• Sensor Technology
• Vibration Monitoring

Background:

• Low-cost, multicomponent Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers are increasingly used in vibration monitoring due to their size, cost, and power efficiency.
• Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of these sensors is crucial for trustworthy data, necessitating a metrological approach to calibration and uncertainty evaluation.
• Current metrological characterizations at the microscale offer detailed performance quantification, but comprehensive calibration in the frequency domain is not widely available.

Purpose of the Study:

• To dynamically calibrate a low-cost, multicomponent MEMS accelerometer prototype (MDUT) for rolling bearings vibration monitoring.
• To determine the sensitivity parameters of the MDUT across a broad frequency domain (10 Hz to 25 kHz).
• To provide a metrological characterization of the MDUT's performance and responsiveness.

Main Methods:

• A dynamic calibration procedure was employed for the MDUT.
• Calibration was performed by comparing the MDUT against a reference standard transducer.
• The calibration and characterization were conducted at the Primary Vibration Laboratory of the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRiM).

Main Results:

• The study successfully determined the sensitivity parameters of the MDUT prototype.
• The calibration provided metrological traceability and reliability for the sensor's frequency domain data.
• Detailed quantification of the MDUT's technical performance and responsiveness was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The dynamic calibration procedure is effective for characterizing low-cost MEMS accelerometers.
• The calibrated MDUT prototype demonstrates potential for reliable vibration monitoring in rolling bearings.
• Metrological characterization is essential for validating the performance of MEMS-based sensors in demanding applications.