Multiple-fault detection and identification scheme based on hierarchical self-organizing maps applied to an electric machine

Strategies of condition monitoring applied to electric motors play an important role in the competitiveness of multiple industrial sectors. However, the risk of faults coexistence in an electric motor and the overlapping of their effects in the considered physical magnitudes represent, currently, a critical limitation to provide reliable diagnosis outcomes. In this regard, additional investigation efforts are required towards high-dimensional data fusion schemes, particularly over the features calculation and features reduction, which represent two decisive stages in such data-driven approaches. In this study, a novel multiple-fault detection and identification methodology supported by a feature-level fusion strategy and a Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) hierarchical structure is proposed. The condition diagnosis as well as the corresponding estimated probability are obtained. Moreover, the proposed method allows the visualization of the results while preserving the underlying physical phenomenon of the system under monitoring. The proposed scheme is performed sequentially; first, a set of statistical-time based features is estimated from different physical magnitudes. Second, a hybrid feature reduction method is proposed, composed by an initial soft feature reduction, based on sequential floating forward selection to remove the less informative features, and followed by a hierarchical SOM structure which reveals directly the diagnosis and probability assessment. The effectiveness of the proposed detection and identification scheme is validated with a complete set of experimental data including healthy and five faulty conditions. The accuracy’s results are compared with classical condition monitoring approaches in order to validate the competency of the proposed method.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Automatic condition monitoring of electromechanical system based on MCSA, spectral kurtosis and SOM neural network

Condition monitoring and fault diagnosis play the most important role in industrial applications. The gearbox system is an essential component of mechanical system in fault identification and classification domains. In this paper, we propose a new technique which is based on the Fast-Kurtogram method and Self Organizing Map (SOM) neural network to automatically diagnose two localized gear tooth faults: a pitting and a crack. These faults could have very different diagnostics; however, the existing diagnostic techniques only indicate the presence of local tooth faults without being able to differentiate between a pitting and a crack. With the aim to automatically diagnose these two faults, a dynamic model of an electromechanical system which is a simple stage gearbox with and without defect driven by a three phase induction machine is proposed, which makes it possible to simulate the effect of pitting and crack faults on the induction stator current signal. The simulated motor current signal is then analyzed by using a Fast-Kurtogram method. Self-organizing map (SOM) neural network is subsequently used to develop an automatic diagnostic system. This method is suitable for differentiating between a pitting and a crack fault

A Machine Learning Approach for Gearbox System Fault Diagnosis

This study proposes a fully automated gearbox fault diagnosis approach that does not require knowledge about the specific gearbox construction and its load. The proposed approach is based on evaluating an adaptive filter's prediction error. The obtained prediction error's standard deviation is further processed with a support-vector machine to classify the gearbox's condition. The proposed method was cross-validated on a public dataset, segmented into 1760 test samples, against two other reference methods. The accuracy achieved by the proposed method was better than the accuracies of the reference methods. The accuracy of the proposed method was on average 9% higher compared to both reference methods for different support vector settings

Thermography-based methodology for multifault diagnosis on kinematic chain

The procedures for condition monitoring of electromechanical systems are undergoing a reformulation, mainly, due to the current thermographic affordability of infrared cameras to be incorporated in industrial applications. However, high-performing multifault data-driven methodologies must be investigated in order to infer reliable condition information from the thermal distribution of not only electrical motors but also of shafts and couplings. To address this issue, a novel thermography-based methodology is proposed. First, the infrared capture is processed to obtain a thermographic residual image of the kinematic chain. Second, the thermal distribution of the image's regions of interest is characterized by means of statistical features. Finally, a distributed self-organizing map structure is used to model the nominal thermal distribution to subsequently perform a fault detection and identification. The method provides a reliability quantification of the resulting condition assessment in order to avoid misclassifications and identify the actual fault root-causes. The performance and the effectiveness of the proposed methodology is validated experimentally and compared with the classical maximum temperature gradient procedure.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Industrial data-driven monitoring based on incremental learning applied to the detection of novel faults

The detection of uncharacterized events during electromechanical systems operation represents one of the most critical data challenges dealing with condition-based monitoring under the Industry 4.0 framework. Thus, the detection of novelty conditions and the learning of new patterns are considered as mandatory competencies in modern industrial applications. In this regard, this article proposes a novel multifault detection and identification scheme, based on machine learning, information data-fusion, novelty-detection, and incremental learning. First, statistical time-domain features estimated from multiple physical magnitudes acquired from the electrical motor under inspection are fused under a feature-fusion level scheme. Second, a self-organizing map structure is proposed to construct a data-based model of the available conditions of operation. Third, the incremental learning of the condition-based monitoring scheme is performed adding self-organizing structures and optimizing their projections through a linear discriminant analysis. The performance of the proposed scheme is validated under a complete set of experimental scenarios from two different cases of study, and the results compared with a classical approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Smart Monitoring Based on Novelty Detection and Artificial Intelligence Applied to the Condition Assessment of Rotating Machinery in the Industry 4.0

The application of condition monitoring strategies for detecting and assessing unexpected events during the operation of rotating machines is still nowadays the most important equipment used in industrial processes; thus, their appropriate working condition must be ensured, aiming to avoid unexpected breakdowns that could represent important economical loses. In this regard, smart monitoring approaches are currently playing an important role for the condition assessment of industrial machinery. Hence, in this work an application is presented based on a novelty detection approach and artificial intelligence techniques for monitoring and assessing the working condition of gearbox-based machinery used in processes of the Industry 4.0. The main contribution of this work lies in modeling the normal working condition of such gearbox-based industrial process and then identifying the occurrence of faulty conditions under a novelty detection framework

Machine learning and deep learning based methods toward Industry 4.0 predictive maintenance in induction motors: Α state of the art survey

Purpose: Developments in Industry 4.0 technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enabled data-driven manufacturing. Predictive maintenance (PdM) has therefore become the prominent approach for fault detection and diagnosis (FD/D) of induction motors (IMs). The maintenance and early FD/D of IMs are critical processes, considering that they constitute the main power source in the industrial production environment. Machine learning (ML) methods have enhanced the performance and reliability of PdM. Various deep learning (DL) based FD/D methods have emerged in recent years, providing automatic feature engineering and learning and thereby alleviating drawbacks of traditional ML based methods. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of ML and DL based FD/D methods of IMs that have emerged since 2015. An overview of the main DL architectures used for this purpose is also presented. A discussion of the recent trends is given as well as future directions for research. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive survey has been carried out through all available publication databases using related keywords. Classification of the reviewed works has been done according to the main ML and DL techniques and algorithms Findings: DL based PdM methods have been mainly introduced and implemented for IM fault diagnosis in recent years. Novel DL FD/D methods are based on single DL techniques as well as hybrid techniques. DL methods have also been used for signal preprocessing and moreover, have been combined with traditional ML algorithms to enhance the FD/D performance in feature engineering. Publicly available datasets have been mostly used to test the performance of the developed methods, however industrial datasets should become available as well. Multi-agent system (MAS) based PdM employing ML classifiers has been explored. Several methods have investigated multiple IM faults, however, the presence of multiple faults occurring simultaneously has rarely been investigated. Originality/value: The paper presents a comprehensive review of the recent advances in PdM of IMs based on ML and DL methods that have emerged since 2015Peer Reviewe

Bearing fault diagnosis using multidomain fusion-based vibration imaging and multitask learning.

Statistical features extraction from bearing fault signals requires a substantial level of knowledge and domain expertise. Furthermore, existing feature extraction techniques are mostly confined to selective feature extraction methods namely, time-domain, frequency-domain, or time-frequency domain statistical parameters. Vibration signals of bearing fault are highly non-linear and non-stationary making it cumbersome to extract relevant information for existing methodologies. This process even became more complicated when the bearing operates at variable speeds and load conditions. To address these challenges, this study develops an autonomous diagnostic system that combines signal-to-image transformation techniques for multi-domain information with convolutional neural network (CNN)-aided multitask learning (MTL). To address variable operating conditions, a composite color image is created by fusing information from multi-domains, such as the raw time-domain signal, the spectrum of the time-domain signal, and the envelope spectrum of the time-frequency analysis. This 2-D composite image, named multi-domain fusion-based vibration imaging (MDFVI), is highly effective in generating a unique pattern even with variable speeds and loads. Following that, these MDFVI images are fed to the proposed MTL-based CNN architecture to identify faults in variable speed and health conditions concurrently. The proposed method is tested on two benchmark datasets from the bearing experiment. The experimental results suggested that the proposed method outperformed state-of-the-arts in both datasets

Failure Prognosis of Wind Turbine Components

Wind energy is playing an increasingly significant role in the World\u27s energy supply mix. In North America, many utility-scale wind turbines are approaching, or are beyond the half-way point of their originally anticipated lifespan. Accurate estimation of the times to failure of major turbine components can provide wind farm owners insight into how to optimize the life and value of their farm assets. This dissertation deals with fault detection and failure prognosis of critical wind turbine sub-assemblies, including generators, blades, and bearings based on data-driven approaches. The main aim of the data-driven methods is to utilize measurement data from the system and forecast the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of faulty components accurately and efficiently. The main contributions of this dissertation are in the application of ALTA lifetime analysis to help illustrate a possible relationship between varying loads and generators reliability, a wavelet-based Probability Density Function (PDF) to effectively detecting incipient wind turbine blade failure, an adaptive Bayesian algorithm for modeling the uncertainty inherent in the bearings RUL prediction horizon, and a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for characterizing the bearing damage progression based on varying operating states to mimic a real condition in which wind turbines operate and to recognize that the damage progression is a function of the stress applied to each component using data from historical failures across three different Canadian wind farms