2. OLVF monitoring system and IPCA
The on-line visual ferrograph (OLVF) system [13] has specifi-
cally been developed and currently used in wear particle monitoring
of some gearboxes and engines [15,16]. The development of
the technique provides means for high-frequency on-line sampling
and analyzing wear-particles to replace the inefficient and
time consuming off-line analytical approaches. The OLVF system
(Fig. 1) integrates an oil sampling system, a magnetic coil control
system with a semiconductor image sensor and a persona