Researchers from the LECAD laboratory (UL, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) have developed a new approach to monitoring the wear of polymer composite gears. Instead of focusing on the gear surface, the method analyses particles generated during wear. The study, published in Wear (2026), shows that analysing microplastic particles enables reliable and repeatable identification of wear patterns. The results provide new insight into wear processes and open up possibilities for improved monitoring of mechanical systems.
Polymer gears are often used in applications where lubrication must be avoided due to the risk of environmental contamination, such as in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In such systems, wear does not only mean mechanical degradation of a component, but also the generation of microplastic particles. Until now, there has been no systematic monitoring of microplastic emissions generated during the operation of polymer gears. Current wear assessment methods mainly focus on changes in gear geometry or on mass loss. These approaches indicate how much material remains, but not how and in what form material is released into the environment during operation.
In the scientific article Image-based monitoring of material emissions for wear characterization of laminated polymer composite gears«, the researchers present a methodology based on digital microscopy and computer image analysis. The system enables the measurement of morphological parameters of wear particles and allows quantitative and repeatable identification of wear patterns that conventional methods fail to detect.
“The key advantage of the developed methodology is non-invasive sampling, as wear monitoring is carried out without interfering with the operating system and without the need to remove the worn component for analysis,” the authors explain.