This paper presents mechanical fault detection in squirrel cage induction motors (SCIMs) by means of two recent techniques. More precisely, we have analyzed the rolling element bearing (REB) faults in SCIM. Rolling element bearing faults constitute a major problem among different faults which cause catastrophic damage to rotating machinery. Thus early detection of REB faults in SCIMs is of crucial importance. Vibration analysis is among the key concepts for mechanical vibrations of rotating electrical machines. Today, there is massive competition between researchers in the diagnosis field. They all have as their aim to replace the vibration analysis technique. Among them, stator current analysis has become one of the most important subjects in the fault detection field. Motor current signature analysis (MCSA) has become popular for detection and localization of numerous faults. It is generally based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the stator current signal. We have detailed the analysis by means of MCSA-FFT, which is based on the stator current spectrum. Another goal in this work is the use of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) technique in order to detect REB faults. In addition, a new indicator based on the MCSA-DWT technique has been developed in this study. This new indicator has the advantage of expressing itself in the quantity and quality form. The acquisition data are presented and a comparative study is carried out between these recent techniques in order to ensure a final decision. The proposed subject is examined experimentally using a 3 kW squirrel cage induction motor test bed.
Last decades, rolling bearing faults assessment and their evolution with time have been receiving much interest due to their crucial role as part of the Conditional Based Maintenance (CBM) of rotating machinery. This paper investigates bearing faults diagnosis based on classification approach using Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) features. Throughout, only one criterion is defined for the evaluation of the performance during all the cycle of the classification process. This is the Average Classification Rate (ACR) obtained from the confusion matrix. In every test performed, the generated features vectors are considered along to discriminate between four fault conditions as normal bearings, bearings with inner and outer race faults and ball faults. Many configurations were tested in order to determinate the optimal values of input parameters, as the frame analysis length, the order of model, and others. The experimental application of the proposed method was based on vibration signals taken from the bearing datacenter website of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Results show that proposed method can reliably classify different fault conditions and have a highest classification performance under some conditions.