An affordable Airborne Ultrasonic Sensor for Predictive Maintenance Applications

The capture of ultrasound is a technique that is currently provoking an increasing interest among theorists and specialists in predictive maintenance, as it allows the detection of failures that can go unnoticed if other techniques only are used. This work is devoted to the development of an affordable airborne ultrasound sensor for the detection of natural ultrasound emissions, such as those caused by the friction of moving parts of machines, small gas leaks or cavitations, electrical faults, etc. The sensor is oriented to detect faults in machines and designed for permanent installation in industrial environments. It is specially designed to be used in conjunction with a data acquisition device which permits data to be collected for equipment without the presence of an operator and to obtain detailed information about the type of failure.