Transfer learning with cross-domain adaptation of vibro-acoustic signals for electric motor mechanical fault detection and diagnosis.

Abstract

Contact-based vibration measurement techniques involving accelerometers are typically utilized for machine health monitoring and manufacturing end-of-line quality control. Acoustic signals, encompassing sound pressure and particle velocity, carry crucial information about the operational status of underlying equipment and can be utilized for detecting various machine faults. Utilizing one-dimensional Convolution Neural Networks (1D-CNN) based on deep learning for processing raw acoustic time signals has proven to be a valuable approach in detecting machinery faults, offering an effective alternative to using traditional accelerometer signals. However, the success of deep learning methods is heavily dependent on the quantity and availability of data for robust network training. When transitioning to new non-contact type sensor technology, manufacturers may face challenges due to insufficient data for training deep learning models. In such cases, leveraging existing historical accelerometer-based data becomes crucial. Transfer learning emerges as a promising solution, allowing deep learning models trained on a source domain (SD) to be applied to a separate but related target domain (TD). This paper hence introduces a domain adaptation methodology by implementing transfer learning, where the SD 1D-CNN network is trained on accelerometer signals, then the trained model weights are transferred to the TD 1D-CNN network that can process acoustic signals.