Self-organizing map approach for classification of mechanical and rotor faults on induction motors

Two neural network-based schemes for fault diagnosis and identification on induction motors are presented in this paper. Fault identification is performed using self-organizing maps neural networks. The first scheme uses the information of the motor phase current for feeding the network, in order to perform the diagnosis of load unbalance and shaft misalignment faults. The network is trained using data generated through the simulation of a motor-load system model, which allows including the effects of load unbalance and shaft misalignment. The second scheme is based on the motor's active and reactive instantaneous powers, in order to detect and diagnose faults whose characteristic frequencies are very close each other, such as broken rotor bars and oscillating loads. This network is trained using data obtained through the experimental measurements. Additional experimental data are later applied to both networks in order to validate the proposal. It is demonstrated that the proposed strategies are able to correctly identify, both unbalanced and misaligned load, as well as broken bars and low-frequency oscillating loads, thus avoiding the need for an expert to perform the task.Fil: Bossio, Guillermo Rubén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ingeniería. Grupo de Electrónica Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: de Angelo, Cristian Hernan. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ingeniería. Grupo de Electrónica Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Bossio, Guillermo Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ingeniería. Grupo de Electrónica Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

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

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

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

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

Learning for predictions: Real-time reliability assessment of aerospace systems

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) aim to predict the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of a system and to allow a timely planning of replacement of components, limiting the need for corrective maintenance and the down time of equipment. A major challenge in system prognostics is the availability of accurate physics based representations of the grow rate of faults. Additionally, the analysis of data acquired during flight operations is traditionally time consuming and expensive. This work proposes a computational method to overcome these limitations through the dynamic adaptation of the state-space model of fault propagation to on-board observations of system’s health. Our approach aims at enabling real-time assessment of systems health and reliability through fast predictions of the Remaining Useful Life that account for uncertainty. The strategy combines physics-based knowledge of the system damage propagation rate, machine learning and real-time measurements of the health status to obtain an accurate estimate of the RUL of aerospace systems. The RUL prediction algorithm relies on a dynamical estimator filter, which allows to deal with nonlinear systems affected by uncertainties with unknown distribution. The proposed method integrates a dynamical model of the fault propagation, accounting for the current and past measured health conditions, the past time history of the operating conditions (such as input command, load, temperature, etc.), and the expected future operating conditions. The model leverages the knowledge collected through the record of past fault measurements, and dynamically adapts the prediction of the damage propagation by learning from the observed time history. The original method is demonstrated for the RUL prediction of an electromechanical actuator for aircraft flight controls. We observe that the strategy allows to refine rapid predictions of the RUL in fractions of seconds by progressively learning from on-board acquisitions

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

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

Advanced signal processing methods for condition monitoring

Condition monitoring of induction motors (IM) among with the predictive maintenance concept are currently among the most promising research topics of manufacturing industry. Production efficiency is an important parameter of every manufacturing plant since it directly influences the final price of products. This research article presents a comprehensive overview of conditional monitoring techniques, along with classification techniques and advanced signal processing techniques. Compared methods are either based on measurement of electrical quantities or nonelectrical quantities that are processed by advanced signal processing techniques. This article briefly compares individual techniques and summarize results achieved by different research teams. Our own testbed is briefly introduced in the discussion section along with plans for future dataset creation. According to the comparison, Wavelet Transform (WT) along with Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Park's Vector Approach (PVA) provides the most interesting results for real deployment and could be used for future experiments.Web of Scienc