Effectiveness of Adaptive Filter Algorithms and Spectral Kurtosis in Bearing Faults Detection in a Gearbox

Bearing faults detection at the earliest stages is vital in avoiding future catastrophic failures. Many traditional techniques have been established and utilized in detecting bearing faults, though, these diagnostic techniques are not always successful when the bearing faults take place in gearboxes where the vibration signal is complex; under such circumstances it may be necessary to separate the bearing signal from the complex signal. The objective of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of an adaptive filter algorithms compared to a Spectral Kurtosis (SK) algorithm in diagnosing a bearing defects in a gearbox. Two adaptive filters have been used for the purpose of bearing signal separation, these algorithms were Least Mean Square (LMS) and Fast Block LMS (FBLMS) algorithms. These algorithms were applied to identify a bearing defects in a gearbox employed for an aircraft control system for which endurance tests were performed. The results show that the LMS algorithm is capable of detecting the bearing fault earlier in comparison to the other algorithms.