Broadband waveguide vibration sensor for turbine bearing health monitoring

Mechanical waveguides have been demonstrated for monitoring turbine engine main shaft bearings. These devices are rugged metallic wires which can be installed inside the engine near the bearing and routed outside to the case where the electronics can be serviced. To date, the waveguide vibration sensor has been demonstrated on two engines with thrust bearings with seeded defects: a T63 and a Rolls Royce 501-KB5+ (industrial version of the T56).