A monitoring device monitors a forming machine (target device). The forming machine includes a housing, a bearing attached to the housing, and a shaft placed radially inside the bearing. The monitoring device includes a plurality of heat flux sensors and a detector. The heat flux sensors are provided on the radially outer side of the bearing and spaced from each other in the circumferential direction of the bearing. The heat flux sensors output a signal corresponding to heat fluxes through faces thereof on the bearing side and faces thereof on the other side. The detector detects a load applied radially to the shaft or bearing, based on the output from the heat flux sensors.

There is provided a method for identifying thrust counterforce working point positions of backup rolls of a rolling mill, the method including: changing at least either friction coefficients and inter-roll cross angles between the rolls with an unchanged kiss roll load to cause thrust forces at a plurality of levels to act between the rolls, and measuring thrust counterforces in a roll-axis direction acting on rolls forming at least one of roll pairs other than a roll pair of the backup rolls and measuring backup roll counterforces acting in a vertical direction on the backup rolls at reduction support positions in a kiss roll state; and identifying, based on the measured thrust counterforces, thrust counterforce working point positions of thrust counterforces acting on the backup rolls, using first equilibrium conditional expressions relating to forces acting on the rolls and second equilibrium conditional expressions relating to moments acting on the rolls.

A monitoring device monitors a forming machine (target device). The forming machine includes a housing, a bearing attached to the housing, and a shaft placed radially inside the bearing. The monitoring device includes a plurality of heat flux sensors and a detector. The heat flux sensors are provided on the radially outer side of the bearing and spaced from each other in the circumferential direction of the bearing. The heat flux sensors output a signal corresponding to heat fluxes through faces thereof on the bearing side and faces thereof on the other side. The detector detects a load applied radially to the shaft or bearing, based on the output from the heat flux sensors.