Close to process measuring improves the data quality of a condition monitoring process. A possibility to access such measurements comes with the addition of a sensory function in machine elements. For a systematic development of sensing machine elements, an approach is presented for the identification of possible measurands to determine a variable of interest. Based on a modelling of physical causeeffect- relationships by using an effect matrix and an effect catalogue it allows to consider both direct and indirect measurements for the determination of measurands in technical systems.

The presented approach is initially applied to develop a sensory solution for self-lubricated fibrecomposite sliding bearings. The aim is to measure a variable of interest that can give a conclusion about the estimated remaining useful lifetime. The development process is described and possible solutions for measurement concepts are presented. The electrical capacity measurement, evaluated as the most promising concept, is described in detail and experimental results are presented.

These results show the applicability of the sensory concept and therefore, the benefits of the presented approach.