Sensors (Apr 2020)

A Simple Condition Monitoring Method for Gearboxes Operating in Impulsive Environments

  • Stephan Schmidt,
  • Radoslaw Zimroz,
  • Fakher Chaari,
  • P. Stephan Heyns,
  • Mohamed Haddar

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s20072115
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 7
p. 2115

Abstract

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Reliable condition indicators are necessary to perform effective diagnosis and prognosis. However, the vibration signals are often corrupted with non-Gaussian noise and rotating machines may operate under time-varying operating conditions. This impedes the application of conventional condition indicators. The synchronous average of the squared envelope is a relatively simple yet effective method to perform fault detection, fault identification and fault trending under constant and time-varying operating conditions. However, its performance is impeded by the presence of impulsive signal components attributed to impulsive noise or the presence of other damage modes in the machine. In this work, it is proposed that the synchronous median of the squared envelope should be used instead of the synchronous average of the squared envelope for gearbox fault diagnosis. It is shown on numerical and experimental datasets that the synchronous median is more robust to the presence of impulsive signal components and is therefore more reliable for estimating the condition of specific machine components.

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