Perpustakaan Digital ITB

The adoption of electric vehicles has increased significantly over the past decade. In the other hand, the reliability of electric vehicles is considered lower than that of conventional vehicles. Furthermore, electric motor bearings according to surveys have the highest failure rate compared to other components in electric motors. Bearing damage can occur both mechanically and electrically in electric motors. Shaft voltage and bearing current are the main causes of this electrical damage, resulting in damage and ultimately bearing failure. An experimental study was conducted to estimate the effect of mechanical loads on ball bearing lifetime subjected to electric current. A data acquisition system was developed for a previously mechanically developed bearing test rig to monitor and measure bearing conditions during the experiment. The bearing condition parameters analyzed included vibration levels escalation, defect frequencies, temperature, and visual inspection. The data acquisition system was successfully developed using calibrated sensors and acquisition devices, along with two LabVIEW programs for data acquisition and bearing vibration analysis during testing. Experimental testing was conducted with varying mechanical loads. Testing of five cases indicate that mechanical loads were more dominant in influencing bearing specimen lifetime than electrical currents. In addition, in the case of constant mechanical loads with and without electric current, the bearing specimens with electric current showed a 15% shorter operating duration than the specimens without electric current.