Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Sparsity Measurement as Tools Enhancing the Gear Diagnostic Capabilities of Time Synchronous Averaging

Abstract

The paper introduces the concept of exploring the potential of Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) and Sparsity Measurement (SM) in enhancing the diagnostic information contained in the Time Synchronous Averaging (TSA) method used in the field of gearbox diagnostics. EEMD was created as a natural improvement of the Empirical Mode Decomposition which suffered from a so-called mode mixing problem. SM is heavily used in the field of ultrasound signal processing as a tool for assessing the degree of sparsity of a signal. A novel process of automatically finding the optimal parameters of EEMD is proposed by incorporating a Form Factor parameter, known from the field of electrical engineering. All these elements are combined and applied on a set of vibration data generated on a 2-stage gearbox under healthy and faulty conditions. The results suggest that combining these methods may increase the robustness of the condition monitoring routine, when compared to the standard TSA used alone.