FPGA implementation of an improved envelope detection approach for bearing fault diagnosis

• Published in: Journal of engineering and applied science (Online) Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 3 - 19
• Main Authors: Rebiai, Mohamed, Bengharbia, Billel, Maazouz, Mohamed, Toumi, Yassine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2024; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Bearing fault; Bearings; Civil Engineering; Contact angle; Downtime; Electrical Engineering; Engineering; Engineering Mathematics; Envelope detection; Envelope detection approach; Fast Fourier transformations; Fault detection; Fault diagnosis; Faults; Field programmable gate arrays; FPGA; Industrial applications; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Methods; Rotating machinery; Rotating machines; Signal processing; Teager energy operator; Vibration analysis; Vibration measurement; Bearing fault; Rotating machines; FPGA; Teager energy operator; Envelope detection approach; Vibration analysis
• ISSN: 1110-1903; 2536-9512; 2536-9512
• DOI: 10.1186/s44147-023-00343-0

This study presents an enhanced envelope detection technique implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to diagnose bearing faults in rotating machinery. Bearing faults frequently result in machinery breakdowns, incurring substantial downtime and maintenance expenses. In our approach, we employ the Teager energy operator (TEO) to extract the vibration signal envelope. Subsequently, we subject the envelope signal to the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to generate the envelope spectrum of the vibration signal. Finally, we further refine the envelope spectrum using TEO for a second time, resulting in a pronounced fault peak that facilitates early fault detection. We evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed method using two distinct types of bearing vibration signals, one being simulated and the other measured. Our findings reveal that the suggested approach outperforms traditional envelope detection methods, leading to a substantially enhanced fault diagnosis capability. For instance, when we assess the characteristic frequency ratio (FCFR) for faults in the inner and outer rings of the bearing using the proposed method, we observe that the FCFR values are significantly elevated, ranging from 160 to 330% higher compared to the analysis performed by the TEO and HT methods. Consequently, this indicates that the proposed approach has the ability to detect faults at an earlier stage than other methods. Furthermore, the FPGA-based implementation makes it suitable for critical industrial applications where rapid fault detection is essential to prevent catastrophic failures.