Applications of the Minimum Entropy Deconvolution for the Feature Enhancement of Rolling Bearings

Anbo MING1, Huaiyu ZHANG2, Wei ZHANG1, Gan TIAN1, Zhengwei YANG1

1Xi’an High-Tech Institute, Shaanxi, Xi’an, 710025, China

2University of Leeds, Business School, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Abstract: In order to enhance the impulsivity of the vibration, which is induced by the incipient fault of rolling element bearings, the Minimum Entropy De-convolution (MED) method is introduced in this paper. By formulating an inverse filter, the MED method is used to counteract the effect of the signal transmission path so as to recover the input impulses. The impulsivity of the fault vibration signal can be enhanced by MED. The simulated and experimental vibration signals are used to validate the efficacy of the proposed method. It is shown that no matter the inner race fault ｏｒ outer race fault induced vibration, the corresponding kurtosis is apparently increased when the signal is filtered by the designed optimal inverse filter. The experimental vibration comes from the bearing center of Case Western Reserve University. It is indicated that the MED method could efficiently enhance the feature of the fault induced vibration and is valuable in the engineering application.

Keywords: Minimum entropy de-convolution; Feature enhancement; Weak fault; Rolling element bearings