Gearbox Fault Identification Framework Based on Novel Localized Adaptive Denoising Technique, Wavelet-Based Vibration Imaging, and Deep Convolutional Neural Network

Abstract

This paper proposes an accurate and stable gearbox fault diagnosis scheme that combines a localized adaptive denoising technique with a wavelet-based vibration imaging approach and a deep convolution neural network model. Vibration signatures of a gearbox contain important fault-related information. However, this useful fault-related information is often overwhelmed by random interference noises. Furthermore, the varying speed of gearboxes makes it difficult to distinguish the fault-related frequencies from the interference noises. To obtain a noise-free signal for extraction of fault-related information under variable speed conditions, first, a new localized adaptive denoising technique (LADT) is applied to the vibration signal. The new localized adaptive denoising technique results in optimized vibration sub-bands with negligible background noise. To obtain fault-related information, the wavelet-based vibration imaging approach (WVI) is applied to the denoised vibration signal. The wavelet-based vibration imaging approach decomposes the vibration signal into different time–frequency scales, these scales are reflected by a two-dimensional image called a scalogram. The scalograms obtained from the wavelet-based vibration imaging approach are provided as an input to the deep convolutional neural network architecture (DCNA) for extraction of discriminant features and classification of multi-degree tooth faults (MDTFs) in a gearbox under variable speed conditions. The proposed scheme outperforms the already existing state-of-the-art gearbox fault diagnosis methods with the highest classification accuracy of 100%.