Application of acoustic emission method in contact damage identification

The contribution summarises the experimental experience of authors with acoustic emission method application in the area of improved bearing materials contact damage stages identification on testing stations Axmat and R-mat types. The paper is focused also on the first experimental results received from measurements on real axial bearings. These results proved the acoustic emission (AE) technique enables reliable recognition of running-in period, stabilised run and exact definition of origin stage of material surface damaging, leading to the pitting. It is proposed that the direction of AE analysers utilisation not only in research area, but the AE technique may be successfully used even in industrial practice. Method of acoustic emission may offer another possibility of deepening of diagnostics of real actual state of bearing; it is, without doubt, one of new perspective areas of automated diagnostics.