Advantages and Limitations of Oil Film Thickness Capacitive Sensor Measurements in Balanced Vane Pumps

Research regarding the Oil Film Thickness (OFT) in balanced vane pumps is especially significant as they are characterized by both loss of contact and elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication condition of the vane tip, adverse to Noise-Vibration-Harshness and durability. Subsequently, a novel experimental approach for the OFT measurement between the stator and the vane tip by using capacitive sensors has been proposed in this study. The procedure employed to adapt the pump components to accommodate the sensor are described and the experimental operations are depicted. Furthermore, an original post-processing technique is described to determine the OFT magnitude, highlighting the related critical points.