MATRIX SENSOR FOR LUBRICATING GREASE CONDITION MONITORING

摘要

A lubricating grease condition monitoring sensor (21) comprises a substrate (22) of insulating material for engagement with the grease (G) to be monitored and a matrix of electrodes (20) distributed on the substrate. The electrodes (20) are separated from each other and arranged for contact with the grease (G), such that the grease (G) acts as a dielectric between the electrodes. An interrogation circuit (26) is provided for addressing individual pairs of electrodes (20) to determine the capacitance of the respective electrode pairs. An algorithm is used to optimise the sequence of interrogations in order to determine which electrodes are actually in contact with the grease (G).