Instrumented dead shaft for pulley assemblies and the like

Abstract

An instrumented dead shaft is provided for a rotating machine system, such as a drum pulley. The shaft includes bearing support regions for receiving bearings for supporting a rotating element. The shaft also includes at least one sensor assembly, and preferably a number of sensor assemblies for sensing operating parameter of the shaft system. In a preferred configuration, the system includes a rotational speed sensor, temperature sensors, load sensors, and an accelerometer. The speed sensor detects rotational speed of the rotating element and applies an output signal representative thereof to an interface circuit. The temperature sensors provide an indication of the bearing temperatures. The load sensors provide an indication of the strain of the shaft during loading. Output signals from all sensors are transmitted to a control and monitoring circuit via network interfaces. The data links between network interface circuitrys and the sensors are embedded in the shaft. The data links may thus pass beneath the bearing support regions, enabling the sensors to be placed freely along the shaft.