Fault Detection of Wheelset Bearings through Vibration-Sound Fusion Data Based on Grey Wolf Optimizer and Support Vector Machine

Abstract

This study aims to detect faults in wheelset bearings by analyzing vibration-sound fusion data, proposing a novel method based on Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Wheelset bearings play a vital role in transportation. However, malfunctions in the bearing might result in extensive periods of inactivity and maintenance, disrupting supply chains, increasing operational costs, and causing delays that affect both businesses and consumers. Fast fault identification is crucial for minimizing maintenance expenses. In this paper, we proposed a new integration of GWO for optimizing SVM hyperparameters, specifically tailored for handling sound-vibration signals in fault detection. We have developed a new fault detection method that efficiently processes fusion data and performs rapid analysis and prediction within 0.0027 milliseconds per data segment, achieving a test accuracy of 98.3%. Compared to the SVM and neural network models built in MATLAB, the proposed method demonstrates superior detection performance. Overall, the GWO-SVM-based method proposed in this study shows significant advantages in fault detection of wheelset bearing vibrations, providing an efficient and reliable solution that is expected to reduce maintenance costs and improve the operational efficiency and reliability of equipment.