Bearing degradation prediction based on deep latent variable state space model with differential transformation

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Rolling bearings are a critical component of mechanical transmission equipment. Predicting their degradation trend is crucial for ensuring safe and stable equipment operation. Most existing bearing degradation prediction methods based on state space models (SSMs) use either linear functions or limited nonlinear functions (e.g., exponential/power laws) to construct the state and measurement equations. As such, these models fail to adapt to the complex and varied nonlinear degradation processes that occur in real-world environments. To address this limitation, we developed a deep latent variable-driven state space degradation model and employed it for bearing degradation prediction. Owing to the powerful nonlinear modeling ability of deep learning models, the proposed method extends the applicability of state space equations. In addition, it inherits the advantages of SSMs and can model uncertainties in a structured manner. Furthermore, the model was integrated with differential pre-transformation to improve its long-term prediction performance. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model in predicting bearing degradation, experiments were conducted using a bearing dataset from the PRONOSTIA platform and real wind turbine bearing data. Results showed that the proposed method yielded higher bearing degradation prediction accuracy than existing methods, thus demonstrating the superior performance of the proposed model in predicting bearing degradation.