Advances in research on a multi-channel on-line ferrograph

This paper introduces the basic principle, functions and test results of a multi-channel on-line ferrograph. The instrument catches wear debris with an electromagnet, detects wear debris with a photoelectric sensor, and controls sampling and data processing with an 8098 single-chip microprocessor which can communicate with a master computer. The instrument has four sampling channels, which can monitor not only one machine but also four machines one by one. The software of the instrument includes five modules which are a main program, a keyboard control program, a floating point operation program, a serial communication program and a self-checking program. The results of experiments on a gear box show that increasing average values detected by the instrument correspond to increasing load, so the instrument can meet the need for on-line monitoring of the wear condition of machines.