A Review on Fault Diagnosis of Misaligned Rotor Systems

Abstract

The diagnosis and prognosis of misaligned rotor systems have gained importance in recent times. Misalignment has become one of the main reasons for system vibration, which reduces the life and stability of machine parts, making it vitally important for machines to perform effectively without any catastrophic failure. Limited research has been reported on understanding its effect on rotor systems. Even if zero misalignment is achieved at the beginning, it cannot be retained over longer durations due to various reasons. Many techniques like DWT, CWT, and HHT are also used to understand the misalignment problem. Some advanced techniques such as MCSA, thermal imaging, and the acoustic emission technique have come into existence and become important tools to classify faults, leading to more reliable misalignment diagnosis. In the present study, a detailed literature review is conducted to diagnose and classify misalignments. All recent techniques and their limitations are discussed, and a hybrid approach is presented for the lucid understanding of this fault and its classification.