Fault diagnosis of internal combustion engine gearbox using vibration signals based on signal processing techniques

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the fault diagnosis of internal combustion (IC) engine gearbox using vibration signals with signal processing and machine learning (ML) techniques.Design/methodology/approachVibration signals from the gearbox are acquired for healthy and induced faulty conditions of the gear. In this study, 50% tooth fault and 100% tooth fault are chosen as gear faults in the driver gear. The acquired signals are processed and analyzed using signal processing and ML techniques.FindingsThe obtained results show that variation in the amplitude of the crankshaft rotational frequency (CRF) and gear mesh frequency (GMF) for different conditions of the gearbox with various load conditions. ML techniques were also employed in developing the fault diagnosis system using statistical features. J48 decision tree provides better classification accuracy about 85.1852% in identifying gearbox conditions.Practical implicationsThe proposed approach can be used effectively for fault diagnosis of IC engine gearbox. Spectrum and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) provide better information about gear fault conditions using time–frequency characteristics.Originality/valueIn this paper, experiments are conducted on real-time running condition of IC engine gearbox while considering combustion. Eddy current dynamometer is attached to output shaft of the engine for applying load. Spectrum, cepstrum, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and wavelet analysis are performed. Spectrum, cepstrum and CWT provide better information about gear fault conditions using time–frequency characteristics. ML techniques were used in analyzing classification accuracy of the experimental data to detect the gearbox conditions using various classifiers. Hence, these techniques can be used for detection of faults in the IC engine gearbox and other reciprocating/rotating machineries.