Vibration-Based Techniques for Damage Detection and Health

Monitoring of Mechanical Systems

by
Adrian I. Cuc
Bachelor of Science
Politehnica University of Timisoara, 1996
____________________________________________________
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering & Information Technology
University of South Carolina
2002

________________________________
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director of Thesis

________________________________
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Second Reader

_______________________
Dean of the Graduate School

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Building a strong education is a hard, long and beautiful journey. University of

South Carolina added an important and substantial chapter to my professional education.
I would like to thank my academic advisor, Dr. Victor Giurgiutiu for his understanding,
support and guidance throughout the years I have spent at USC.
I would also like to thank to all the professors who have shared with me their
knowledge throughout my education. Special thanks go to Dr. Leonid Gelman for his
help and support.
In addition, I would like to sincerely thank my colleagues and friends Jing Jing
(Jack) Bao, Max Fitzgerald, Paulette Goodman, Florin Jichi, Greg Nall, Mattias Ohlsson,
Radu Pomirleanu, Andrew Rekers, and Andrei Zagrai for their support and for having
such a great time.
My thanks go also to the South Carolina Army National Guard, Mr. Lem Grant
and Tim Cook for knowledge they shared with me. The financial support of the South
Carolina Army National Guard is gratefully acknowledged.
Last but not least, I would like to express my deeply gratitude to my parents,
without whom none of this would have been possible.

ii

ABSTRACT

The state of the art in vibration-based damage detection and health and usage
monitoring is reviewed. The damage detection concepts and the signal analysis
techniques are examined, explained, and compared. Latest advances in signal processing
methodologies that are of relevance to vibration based damage detection (e.g., Wavelet
Transform and Wigner-Ville distribution) are highlighted. These vibration signalprocessing methods play an important role in early identification of incipient damage that
can later develop in a potential threat to the system functionality. A brief mathematical
description of the techniques for vibration-based damage detection/health monitoring in
rotating mechanical systems is given.
Technologies for vibration reduction of rotating machinery as well as current
Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) programs installed on the civil and
military helicopters are reviewed. The current procedures for Rotor Track and Balance
(RT&B) of the helicopters are explained and vibration data from the sensors mounted in
the cockpit showing the reduction in vertical vibrations are presented. HUMS
instrumentation and technologies are briefly examined.
To illustrate these issues on a tractable example, the damage detection of a
cracked specimen was investigated. The non-linear equations of motions were set up and
damage was simulated as a change in the stiffness of the specimen. The relative crack
size considered in this study was r = 0 (pristine case) r = 0.1 (small crack), r = 0.4
(medium crack), and r = 0.6 (large crack). Using MATLAB-SIMULINK software, the
iii

time-domain nonlinear vibration signal was generated. Two signal analysis methods were
used to process the time-domain signal: Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and
Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD). To compare the effectiveness of the two methods
investigated, the Fisher criterion was calculated for pairs of classes representing the
frequency of the main harmonic for the pristine case and the frequency of the main
harmonic for various damage cases. The results showed that both WVD and STFT
methods predict the presence of the damage. The STFT method gives a better indication
of the higher harmonics of the main frequency due to the crack growth. On the other
hand, WVD method gives stronger sensitivity to the crack presence based on the changes
in the main frequency.
The presented work shows that structural damage can be detected from vibration
analysis. This methodology forms the foundation of vibration-based Structural Health
Monitoring.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................II
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................. III
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................IX
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... X
1

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1

1.1

PROBLEM DEFINITION .......................................................................................... 1

1.2

THESIS OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 2

STATE OF THE ART IN MACHINERY HEALTH MONITORING AND DAMAGE

DETECTION ................................................................................................................................. 5
3

MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES FOR VIBRATION-BASED DAMAGE

DETECTION/HEALTH MONITORING IN ROTATING MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ...... 8

3.1

FOURIER TRANSFORM (FFT) ............................................................................... 8

3.2

SIGNAL FEATURES EXTRACTION .......................................................................... 9

3.2.1

Signal Preprocessing ................................................................................ 10

3.2.2

Signal Features ......................................................................................... 12

3.2.2.1

RMS ...................................................................................................... 12

3.2.2.2

Kurtosis ................................................................................................. 13

3.2.2.3

Crest Factor........................................................................................... 13

3.2.2.4

Enveloping ............................................................................................ 14

3.2.2.5

FM0....................................................................................................... 14
v

3.2.2.6

NA4....................................................................................................... 14

3.2.2.7

FM4....................................................................................................... 15

3.2.2.8

NB4 ....................................................................................................... 15

3.3

JOINT TIME-FREQUENCY ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES ............................................... 16

3.4

SHORT TIME FOURIER TRANSFORM (STFT) ...................................................... 17

3.4.1
3.5

General properties of Short Time Fourier Transform.............................. 20

WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION (WVD) .............................................................. 21

3.5.1

Description of the Wigner-Ville distribution ............................................ 22

3.5.2

Properties of the Wigner-Ville Distribution ............................................. 24

3.5.3

The Wigner-Ville distribution of the sum of two signals .......................... 25

3.6

WAVELET TRANSFORM ...................................................................................... 26

3.7

FISHER CRITERION ............................................................................................. 30

3.7.1
3.8

Fisher criterion example for two classes c1 and c2 ................................... 34

VIBRATION ANALYSIS HEALTH MONITORING SOFTWARE ................................. 36

3.8.1

Mobius iLearn Interactive......................................................................... 37

3.8.2

Spectral Visualization and Development, SVD Inc................................... 38

3.8.3

Predict-DLI ............................................................................................... 40

HELICOPTER VIBRATION REDUCTION THROUGH ROTOR TRACK AND

BALANCE (RT&B)..................................................................................................................... 41

4.1

RT&B PROCEDURE ........................................................................................... 42

4.1.1

Test equipment installation/checkout........................................................ 45

4.1.2

Flat track main rotor on the ground ......................................................... 46

4.1.3

Balance main rotor on the ground............................................................ 47

vi

4.1.4

Track main rotor in flight ......................................................................... 47

4.1.5

Tail rotor balance ..................................................................................... 49

4.2

RT&B VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION .............................................................. 49

4.3

RT&B VIBRATION DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................... 51

VIBRATION-BASED DAMAGE DETECTION/HEALTH MONITORING

METHODS FOR HELICOPTERS............................................................................................ 57

5.1

WAVELET TRANSFORM METHODS FOR HELICOPTER HEALTH MONITORING ..... 57

5.2

JOINT TIME-FREQUENCY WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

FOR HELICOPTER HEALTH MONITORING ........................................................................ 60

5.3

NEURAL NETWORK-BASED AND NEURO-FUZZY METHODS FOR HELICOPTER

HEALTH MONITORING ................................................................................................... 62

6

HELICOPTER HEALTH AND USAGE MONITORING SYSTEMS (HUMS) .......... 66

6.1

WHAT IS HUMS?............................................................................................... 66

6.1.1

Vibration HUMS Programs ...................................................................... 67

6.1.2

Current HUMS products........................................................................... 69

6.2

VMEP HUMS CONFIGURATION AND VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION ............ 76

6.2.1

VMEP HUMS Configuration ................................................................. 76

6.2.2

VMEP HUMS Vibration data collection................................................ 80

6.3

VMEP HUMS VIBRATION DATA ANALYSIS ................................................... 81

6.4

VMEP HUMS FEATURE EXTRACTION........................................................... 83

6.4.1

Case 1: same aircraft, same state, and same sensor ................................ 84

6.4.2

Case 2: different aircraft, same state, and same sensor ........................... 85

vii

DAMAGE DETECTION OF A SIMULATED CRACK USING SHORT TIME

FOURIER TRANSFORM AND WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION .................................. 87

7.1

DYNAMIC MODEL OF A CRACKED OBJECT .......................................................... 88

7.2

DAMAGE DETECTION STRATEGY ........................................................................ 92

7.3

NUMERICAL SIMULATION................................................................................... 93

7.3.1

MATLAB SIMULINK Simulation.............................................................. 93

7.3.1.1

Simulation Flowchart............................................................................ 93

7.3.1.2

MATLAB SIMULINK Simulated Time Domain Data ........................ 95

7.3.1.3

MATLAB SIMULINK Graphical User Interface................................. 97

RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 98

7.4

7.4.1

Case 1: Pristine Structure (r = 0)............................................................. 98

7.4.2

Case 2: Small Crack (r = 0.1) .................................................................. 99

7.4.3

Case 3: Medium Crack (r = 0.4) ............................................................ 100

7.4.4

Case 4: Large Crack (r = 0.6)................................................................ 101

7.5

DIAGNOSTIC EFFECTIVENESS ........................................................................... 102

7.6

DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 103

CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 107

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 110

viii

LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1

Plan test for RT&B (AVA Technical Manual).............................................. 42

Table 5.1

List of the fault types created in the test gearbox (Essaway et al., 1998)...... 64

Table 5.2

Neural Network Classification results using APSD features at 100% load

(Essaway et al., 1998).................................................................................... 64

Table 5.3

Neural network classification results using wavelet features (Essaway et al.,

1998) .............................................................................................................. 65

Table 6.1

Shaft frequencies and mesh frequencies for the main components of the
mechanical drive shaft of AH-64A helicopter............................................... 82

Table 7.1

Input variables for SIMULINK simulation ................................................... 95

Table 7.2

Fisher criterion calculated for STFT and WVD methods and the feature
comparison. Each of the the damaged cases were compared with the pristine
case .............................................................................................................. 102

ix

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1 Processing flow chart for feature extraction methods for vibration analysis
(Lebold et al. 2000)....................................................................................... 10
Figure 3.2 Short-Time Fourier Transform (Qian and Cheng, 1996)............................... 18
Figure 3.3 STFT(t,w) as a subset of the entire two-dimensional functions (Qian and
Cheng, 1996).................................................................................................. 19
Figure 3.4 WVD representing the energy distribution of linear chirp with Gaussian
envelope (Qian and Chen, 1996) ................................................................... 24
Figure 3.5 WVD cross-term at midway between the two auto-terms. It oscilates in both
time and frequency directions (Qian and Cheng, 1996) ................................ 26
Figure 3.6 Comparison of elementary functions for STFT (a) and WT (b). For STFT all
elementary functions have the same envelope, whereas the WT elementary
functions have different envelopes (Qian and Cheng, 1996). ....................... 28
Figure 3.7 Comparisons of STFT and WT (a) For STFT time and frequency resolutions
are uniform for the entire time-frequency domain; (b) For WT there is good
time resolution for high frequencies, and good frequency resolution for low
frequencies (Qiang and Cheng, 1996) .......................................................... 29
Figure 3.8 Elementary illustration of Fisher Criterion showing how the projected
distributions vary with the projection angle a: (a) unfavorable projection
angle a = 5o yields overlapping of Class 1 and Class 2 projected distribution;
(b) a more favorable angle a = 35o yields better separation, but the variance

S1 and S2 are still large; (c) optimal projection angle a = 72o yields clearly
separated sharp distributions with small variances........................................ 32
Figure 3.9 A schematic illustration of the two classes C1 and C2 their mean values and
the projection of the means onto the two axes (Bishop, 1995)...................... 32
Figure 3.10 Two classes of randomly uniform distributed data points............................. 35
Figure 3.11 Mobius iLearn Interactive.............................................................................. 37
Figure 3.12 Vibration

analysis

software

for

analysis,

training

and

preventive

maintenance: (a) ExpertALERT from Predict-DLI; (b) SpectraScope CAF

from Spectral Visualization and Development, SVD Inc.............................. 39
Figure 4.1 Schematic of a flight plan for helicopter RT&B ........................................... 44
Figure 4.2 RT&B Equipment setup configuration (AVA Technical Manual)................ 45
Figure 4.3 Main rotor pitch link adjustment (AVA Technical Manual) ......................... 46
Figure 4.4 Tab adjustment tool used to bed the tab of the helicopter blades for RT&B
(AVA Technical Manual) .............................................................................. 48
Figure 4.5 Trim tab pockets for a helicopter blade (AVA Technical Manual)............... 48
Figure 4.6 Data flow chart .............................................................................................. 50
Figure 4.7 VMU Data storage and directory configuration: on the VMEP server and on
the local computer.......................................................................................... 51
Figure 4.8 RT&B test flights identification .................................................................... 52
Figure 4.9 Historical vibration trends. ............................................................................ 53
Figure 4.10 Historical trends for vertical vibration for one aircraft and one particular test
state, showing an increased vibration over a couple of months .................... 53

xi

Figure 4.11 a) Polar plot for the vibration data between two RT&B flights b) Plot of the
amplitude values for the same flights for all test states. ................................ 54
Figure 4.12 Plot of vibration amplitudes showing an increased vibration level for the
three flights .................................................................................................... 55
Figure 4.13 RT&B flights showing how the vibration amplitudes reduces after making
recommended adjustments............................................................................. 56
Figure 5.1 A comparison of the DWT algorithm and the DWPT algorithm. Ai is
approximation at level i (low frequency) and Di is detail at level i (high
frequency). (Samuel et al., 1998)................................................................... 58
Figure 5.2 Mean square wavelet maps for day one and day nine. On day nine a
significant increase in the amplitude of neighboring frequency bands is
observed as the fault developed (Samuel et al., 1998) .................................. 59
Figure 5.3 Average normalized power index (Samuel et al., 1998) ............................... 59
Figure 5.4 a) Directional spectrogram: 10% crack with 5 % noise; b) Directional
harmonic wavelet map: 10% crack with 5% noise (Kim and Ewins, 1999) . 60
Figure 5.5 Accelerometer data for an undamaged gear. (Polyshchuck et al., 2000) ...... 61
Figure 5.6 Accelerometer data for damaged gear (Polyshchuck et al., 2000) ................ 61
Figure 5.7 Hybrid system, fault detection performance. 60-point discrete Fourier
transform (DFT) was performed for fault detection, 128-point and 256-point
DFT for fault identification. .......................................................................... 62
Figure 5.8 All analog system performance. For fault detection in the case of all analog
neural network. 60-point DFT was performed (Monsena et al., 1995) ......... 63
Figure 6.1 HUMS installation on Bell 412 helicopter .................................................... 70

xii

Figure 6.2 Sensors location on Bell 412 Helicopter ....................................................... 71

Figure 6.3 IMD HUMS hardware configuration; (a) Main CH-53E IMD HUMS display;
(b) Location of the IMD HUMS on the Army UH-60A (Hess et al. 2001) .. 73
Figure 6.4 VMEP functions ............................................................................................ 75
Figure 6.5 Vibration Management Unit .......................................................................... 77
Figure 6.6 VMEP configuration for AH-64A ................................................................. 78
Figure 6.7 Pictures of the accelerometer mounted on different components of the
helicopter ....................................................................................................... 78
Figure 6.8 PC-GBS Screens ............................................................................................ 79
Figure 6.9 Vibration data flow diagram showing downloading of data from the VMU to
the ground station and further to the USC teradata computer ....................... 80
Figure 6.10 AH-64A Mechanical Drive Schematic.......................................................... 81
Figure 6.11 Frequency spectrum for the tail gearbox sensor for the same aircraft, same
test state (FLIGHT), and the same sensor. .................................................... 84
Figure 6.12 Frequency spectrum for the intermediate gearbox sensor for the same aircraft,
same test state (FLIGHT), and the same sensor. ........................................... 85
Figure 6.13 Frequency spectrum for the #1 nose gearbox sensor for the same sensor, same
test state (FLIGHT) but different aircraft. ..................................................... 86
Figure 6.14 Frequency spectrum for the intermediate gearbox sensor for the same sensor,
same test state (FLIGHT) but different aircraft ............................................. 86
Figure 7.1 Stretching and compression of the cracked object. In stretching crack is
opening and in compression crack is closing ................................................ 89
Figure 7.2 Opening and closing crack under bending loading........................................ 89

xiii

Figure 7.3 Frequency change as the crack progresses .................................................... 91

Figure 7.4 Additional features present in the frequency spectrum ................................. 92
Figure 7.5 Flowchart diagram of the simulation strategy ............................................... 94
Figure 7.6 Block diagram of SIMULINK program ........................................................ 95
Figure 7.7 Time domain data: (a) pristine case (r=0) and (b) damaged case (r=0.6)...... 96
Figure 7.8 Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the MATLAB program (Gelman et al.
2001) .............................................................................................................. 97
Figure 7.9 WVD and STFT comparison for the pristine case, r = 0 ............................... 98
Figure 7.10 WVD and STFT comparison for small damage case, r = 0.1........................ 99
Figure 7.11 WVD and STFT comparison, damaged case r = 0.4. .................................. 100
Figure 7.12 WVD and STFT comparison for the damaged case, r = 0.6........................ 101
Figure 7.13 Damage detection effectiveness of the two methods, STFT and WVD, based
on the Fisher criterion .................................................................................. 103

xiv

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROBLEM DEFINITION

In the most general terms, damage can be defined as changes appearing in a
system that may affect its current or future performance. From this definition of damage
once can see that damage is not meaningful without a comparison between two different
states of the system, one of which is assumed to represent the initial (pristine) state, and
the other the damaged state. The definition of damage can also be limited to changes to
the material and/or geometric properties of the system, including changes to the boundary
conditions and system connectivity, which adversely affect the current or future
performance of that system.
The interest in the ability to monitor a structure and detect damage at the earliest
possible stage is persistent throughout the civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering
communities. Current damage-detection methods are either visual or localized
experimental methods such as acoustic or ultrasonic methods (Giurgiutiu, et al. 2000),
magnetic fields methods, eddy-current methods, and thermal methods (Doherty, 1987).
All these experimental methods have the disadvantage that the location of the damage
must be known a priori, and the portion of the structure that is being inspected must be
accessible.

The basic premise in vibration-based damage detection is that damage will

significantly change the stiffness, mass, or energy dissipation properties of a system,
which in turn, modifies the measured dynamic response of the system. One of the most
challenging aspects of vibration-based damage detection is that damage is typically a
local phenomenon and may not significantly influence the lower-frequency response of
the structure that is normally measured during vibration tests.

1.2 THESIS OVERVIEW

Chapter 2 presnts, the state of the art in machinery health monitoring and damage
detection. Studies conducted by various researchers to assess the damage and the health
of mechanical systems are discussed. Various signal processing techniques were used
such as short time Fourier transform (Kim and Ewins, 1999), wavelet transform
(Newland, 1994, Mallat, 1989), and Wigner-Ville distribution (Polyshchuk, 1998)
Chapter 3 give a description of the signal processing techniques currently used in
damage detection. Mathematical understanding and description of the principles behind
these techniques is given. Statistical analysis method to compare and classify the
outcome of the vibration-based methods for damage detection in rotating machinery is
presented.
Chapter 4 describes the helicopter vibration reduction through rotor track and
balance. The procedure for equipment installation, vibration data collection, and data
analysis is presented.
The vibration-based methods for damage detection and health monitoring for
helicopters are presented in Chapter 5. Applications of wavelet transform (WT), the

Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), neural network-based and neuro-fuzzy validation and

classification algorithms are described.
Chapter 6 presents an overview of health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS).
The meaning and description of HUMS systems is given, along with a review of the
current vibration HUMS systems installed on military and civilian helicopters. The main
part of the chapter emphasizes the Vibration Monitoring Enhancement Program (VMEP)
installed on the South Carolina Army National Guard helicopters. The main contractor of
this program is Intelligent Automation Corporation (IAC). University of South Carolina
is responsible for the cost benefit analysis of the VMEP program. The VMEP-HUMS
configuration, data collection, data analysis, and feature extraction are presented.
Analytical work on the damage detection of simulated a crack is presented in
Chapter 7. The vibration of a cracked component was simulated using MATLABSIMULINK. The signal-analysis and damage detection capabilities of two methods, the
short time Fourier transform (STFT) and the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), were
investigated. The cracked component was approximated with a single degree of freedom
nonlinear equation. Solving the equations of motion in the time domain generated the
structural response. The simulation was carried out for four relative crack sizes: r = 0
(pristine case), r = 0.1 (small crack), r = 0.4 (medium crack), and r = 0.6 (large crack).
The simulated time-domain responses for the pristine and damage cases were
analyzed in the frequency domain using STFT and WVD methods. The features
investigated were the change in the amplitude of the main frequency of the component
and the apparition of additional effects, i.e. higher order harmonics of the main

frequency. The comparison of the outcome of the two methods is based on a statistical
method, the Fisher criterion.
Chapter 8 presents the conclusion of the study and the future work that is needs to
be done to fully understand the mechanism of damage detection and health monitoring of
mechanical systems, using vibration signal and joint time-frequency signal processing
methods.

STATE OF THE ART IN MACHINERY HEALTH MONITORING

AND DAMAGE DETECTION
Machinery Failure Prevention is an important component of the maintenance

activity for most engineering systems. Helicopters are continuously subjected to periodic
loads and vibrational environments that initiate and propagate fatigue damage in many
components. Current helicopter maintenance practice requires a large number of parts to
be monitored and replaced at fixed intervals. This constitutes an expensive procedure that
adds considerably to the helicopter Operational and Support (O&S) costs.
Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) have been developed in recent
years to detect incipient damage in helicopter components, predict remaining life, and
create the premises for moving over from scheduled based maintenance to condition
based maintenance. Of prime importance in such a HUMS system is the capability to
evaluate the damage or undamaged state of a critical component using only the vibration
data signals recorded during flight and ground operation. With such capability, the need
for frequent disassembly and bench checking of certain critical components can be
reduced and ultimately eliminated, with important ancillary savings in the O&S costs.
However, to achieve such capability, advance vibration signal processing algorithms are
necessary that can distinguish the damage related features from the background and
system noise perturbations. Enhancements such as signal averaging, cepstrum and

kurtosis analysis, time-frequency domain analysis, Wavelet transform, neural network

systems have shown promising results (Randall, 1980; McFadden, 1985; Kemerait, 1987;
Monsena, 1994). However, the challenge remains to translate this knowledge into fault
prediction.
The earliest work toward detecting defects in helicopter gearboxes used a highresonance technique and was a off-line monitoring tool focused on finding the exact
location of the defect. Based on this technique, the frequency spectrum of the vibration
signal is search to find a change in the spectral line at one particular frequency associated
with any particular faults. This method has proved good results for simple bearing
configurations but is not satisfactory for complex configuration or for a large damage
(McFadden, 1984)
In 1980s several signal processing technique were introduced. One method
involves computing the time average of the vibration signal. This method removes all
signals not synchronous with the gear shaft frequency and reveals the individual tooth
deflection characteristics (Roe and Astridge, 1986).
Fraser and King in 1990 using kurtosis observed that when a gearbox component
is severely damaged multiple impulses will appear in the frequency domain, resulting in a
cumulative response that tend to reduce the kurtosis value. Another approach is to apply
cepstrum based techniques, in an attempt to condense the frequency domain information
into an easier to interpret form, thus providing a practical system for routine prognostic
monitoring (Kemerait, 1987).

Forester in 1990 demonstrates that time-frequency techniques, such as WignerVille distribution can describe how the spectral content of the signal is changing with
time and provided a framework for developing robust detection and classification
schemes for helicopter gearbox faults.

MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES FOR VIBRATION-BASED

DAMAGE

DETECTION/HEALTH

MONITORING

IN

ROTATING MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

The signal processing methods for machine-health monitoring can be classified
into the time-domain analysis, the frequency-domain analysis, and joint time-frequency
domain analysis. Some of the parameters (signal features) used in these methods are
FM0, FM4, NA4, NA4*, NB4 and NB48*.
Generally, the transient-state of a rotating structure during run-up or run-down
periods can be classified as non-stationary process with time-varying frequency content.
Customarily, for non-stationary processes the spectral analysis methods used for
analyzing the frequency content of the signal are namely: the short time Fourier
transform (STFT), the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), and wavelet analysis.
These methods will be briefly described next.

3.1 FOURIER TRANSFORM (FFT)

In conventional Fourier transform, the signal is compared to elementary complex
sinusoidal functions.
x(t ) =

X (w ) e

jtw

dw

(3.1)

1
X (w ) =
2p

x(t ) e

- jw t

dt

(3.2)

Of particular usefulness is the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) which is a highly

efficient algorithm for obtaining the Fourier transform of discretized time signals.
Various implementations of the FFT algorithm have become the workhorse of signal
analysis packages, while FFT chips are incorporated in portable signal analyzers.
The classical Fourier analysis applied to these signals do not provide an explicitly
dependency between the time change and the frequency content change.
Although the phase characteristic of X(w) contains the time information, it is
difficult to establish a relation between x(t) and X(w) based upon the conventional Fourier
analysis.

3.2 SIGNAL FEATURES EXTRACTION

Defects or damage that occurs in different parts of machinery will increase the
machinery vibration levels. These vibration levels are captured and converted into
electric signals for data measurements by accelerometers. The information concerning the
health of the monitored machine is contained in this vibration signature. Hence, the new
vibration signature could be compared with previous vibration signatures to determine
whether the component that is being monitored is behaving normally or signs of failure
are present in the signature.
In practice, although desired, the direct comparison of the signature is very difficult.
Instead, a technique that involves first the extraction of features from the vibration signal
and then comparison of the features could be used. The advantages in using features lies

in the fact that that ideally these features are more stable and well behaved then the raw
signature data and also provide a reduced data set for pattern recognition.
Before any feature can be calculated on the raw vibration data, the data must be
conditioned or preprocessed. Signal conditioning may involve the signal correction,
based on the data acquisition unit, mean value removal, time synchronous averaging, and
filtering.

Raw signal

Signal
Conditioning

DC Offset
Removal

Time Synchronous
Averaging

Tachometer

Rms
Kurtosis
Crest Factor
Enveloping

FM0
Remove
fundamental
shaft and mesh
frequencies and
harmonics

Band-pass around
fundamental mesh
frequency
including
sidebands

NA4

FM4
M6A
M8A

Figure 3.1

3.2.1

NB4
Remove 1st
order sidebands

Difference
Signal

Band-pass Mesh
Signal

Processing flow chart for feature extraction methods for vibration analysis (Lebold et al.
2000)

SIGNAL PREPROCESSING

Lebold et al. (2000) grouped the processing features for gearbox diagnostics and
prognostics into five processing groups. The five processing groups are:
10

1. Raw signal (RAW)

2. Time synchronous averaged signal (TSA)
3. Residual signal (RA)
4. Difference signal (DIF)
5. Band-pass mesh signal (BPM)
These five groups are shown in Figure 3.1
The Raw Signal Preprocessing (RAW): denotes features that are calculated from the
raw or conditioned data. The signal conditioning is achieved by multiplying the raw data
points with by a calibration constant.
Time Synchronous Average (TSA): signal processing technique used to extract the
repetitive signals from the additive noise. The raw data is divided into segments of equal
length related to the synchronous signal (tachometer) and then averaged together. In this
way after sufficient averages the random noise is canceled and only the desired signal is
left. The parameters involved with this technique that can affect the results are: the
interpolation factor, the number of revolutions concatenated, and the number of averages.
Increasing the interpolation factor will lead to large computational time. It is
recommended to use one revolution for data alignment, which will provide the most
accurate alignment with the shaft rate. Increasing the number of averages will enhance
the synchronous component of the signal but it will be more computational intensive.
Residual Signal (RES): this preprocessing technique calculates the residual signal
consisting of the time synchronous averaged signal including the mesh and shaft
components along with their harmonics removed. In practice this can be achieved by

11

using a high pass filter with the cut-off frequency lie somewhere between DC and the
fundamental mesh frequency.
Difference Signal (DIF): the difference signal is calculated by removing the regular
meshing components from the time synchronous averaged signal. The regular meshing
components consist of the shaft frequency and its harmonics, the meshing frequency and
its harmonics. Because the difference signal processing section comes after the residual
signal section in which the mesh and shaft components along with their components have
been removed, only the sidebands of the meshing frequency and its harmonics need to be
removed.
Band-Pass Mesh Signal (BPM): in this section the time synchronous averaged signal
is band pass filtered around the primary gear mesh frequency. Hilbert transform is then
applied to obtain the real and imaginary part of the signal, which represents the band-pass
signal and the Hilbert transform of the signal respectively. The envelope of the signal will
represent the amplitude modulation present in the signal due to the sidebands.
3.2.2

SIGNAL FEATURES

3.2.2.1 RMS
The root mean square (RMS) value of a vibration signal is a measure of the power
content in the vibration signature. This feature gives good results in tracking the overall
noise level in the signal but will not give any information about the component that is
going to fail.
To calculate the RMS value the following formula is used:

12

RMS =

2
k

k =1

(3.3)

3.2.2.2 Kurtosis
Is also known as the fourth moment of a distribution and measures the relative
peakedness or flatness of a distribution as compared to a normal distribution. It also
provides a measure of the size of the tail of a distribution and can be used as an indicator
of major peaks in the data set.
The equation to calculate the kurtosis is given by:
N

k=

[ x( n) - m ]
n =1

N (s 2 )2

(3.4)

where x(n) is the time series, m is the mean value of the data, s2 is the variance of the data
and N is the total number of data points.
3.2.2.3 Crest Factor
To observe the changes in the early stages of gear and bearing damage crest factor is
a useful feature. It is defined as the ratio of the peak level of the input signal to the RMS
value of the signal. If any peaks appears in the time domain signal will result in an
increase of the crest factor. Usual values of crest factor are between 2 and 6. Any values
above 6 are associated with possible machinery problems. The best results using this
feature are obtained in the case of impulsive vibration sources such as tooth breakage on
gears or bearing defects.
The equation for the crest factor is given below:
Crest Factor =

13

Peak Level
RMS

(3.5)

where Peak Level is the peak level of the raw time signal, and RMS is the root mean
square of the raw data.
3.2.2.4 Enveloping
Enveloping is used to monitor the high-frequency response of the mechanical
systems to periodic impacts such as gear or bearing faults. The envelope or high
frequency technique focuses on the structure resonance to determine the health of a gear
or a bearing. The technique consists of processing structure resonance energy with an
envelope detector (Lebold et al. 2000).
3.2.2.5 FM0
FM0 is defined as the peak-to-peak level of the time synchronous averaged signal
divided by the sum of the amplitude at the gear-mesh frequency and its corresponding
harmonics. It is a simple method used to detect major changes in the meshing pattern.
FM 0 =

App
n

A( f )

(3.6)

i =1

where App is the peak-to-peak amplitude and A(fi) is the amplitude of the gear-mesh
fundamental and its harmonics.
3.2.2.6 NA4
NA4 is calculating by dividing the fourth statistical moment of the residual signal
by the time-averaged variance of the residual signal, raised to the second power. It is used
to detect the initiation of damage and to react to the growth of the damage. The equation
is

14

NA4 =

N ( ri - r )

i =1

1 m N
2
( rij - rj )

m j =1 i =1

(3.7)

where r is the residual signal, r is the mean value of the residual signal, N is the total
number of data points, and m is the current time record.
3.2.2.7 FM4
FM4 was developed to detect changes in the vibration pattern resulting from
damage on a limited number of gear teeth (Zakrajsek et al. 1993). The equation to
calculate FM4 is

FM 4 =

1
N

(d

- d )4

i =1

2
(di - d )
i =1

(3.8)

where d is the difference signal, d is the mean value of difference signal, and N is the
total number of data points.
3.2.2.8 NB4
NB4 is similar to FM4 except that instead of using the residual signal, NB4 uses
the envelope of a band-pass segment of the time synchronous averaged signal. It is
calculated by dividing the fourth statistical moment of the envelope signal to the current
run time averaged variance of the envelope signal raised to the second power, as shown
in Equation (3.9)

15

NB 4 =

N ( Ei - E )

i =1

1 m N
2
( Eij - E j )

m j =1 i =1

(3.9)

where E is the envelope of the band-passed signal, E is the mean value of the envelope
signal, N is the total number of data points, and m is the current time record.

3.3 JOINT TIME-FREQUENCY ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

The majority of signal in the real life are non-stationary. Machinery operating in
non-stationary mode generates a signature, which at each instant of time has a distinct
frequency (Shin et al. 1993). It is desired in such cases to use a joint time-frequency
analysis technique that will give an inside of how frequency changes with time.
The frequency contents of the majority of signals in our daily life change over
time. Some of these signals are speech signals, vibration signals, and biomedical signals.
Because the sinusoidal basis functions vary over the entire time domain and are not
concentrated in time, it is hard to indicate how a signals frequency contents changes with
time by using the conventional Fourier transform. It comes naturally to try to characterize
a signal simultaneously in the time and frequency domains by comparing them with
elementary functions that are concentrated in both time and frequency domains, such as
the frequency modulated Gaussian functions (Qian and Cheng, 1996). Thus, in order to
overcome the deficiency of the classical Fourier analysis, the simplest way would be to
compare the signal with elementary functions that are localized in both time domain and
frequency domain simultaneously. Three signal processing techniques are described in
the following sections: Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT); Wigner-Ville Distribution
(WVD), and Wavelet Transform (WT).
16

3.4 SHORT TIME FOURIER TRANSFORM (STFT)

The short time Fourier transform is the most widely used method for studying
non-stationary signals. The basic idea of the short time Fourier transform is to break up
the initial signal into small time segments and apply the Fourier transform to each time
segment to ascertain the frequencies that existed in that segment. The totality of such
spectra indicates how the spectrum is varying in time.
The limitation of the short time Fourier transform lies in the impossibility to
achieve finer and finer time localization by using a smaller window functions. As the
time becomes smaller, the information content of the resulting spectrum decreases. In the
end, by decreasing the time interval, the answer that we get for that particular spectrum
becomes meaningless. The representation of the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT)
using localized elementary functions is:
STFT (t , w ) =

x(t )g

(t - t )e- jw t dt

(3.10)

where: x(t) is the initial signal, and g * (t - t )e - jw t is the elementary function.

Generally the function g(t) has a short time duration thereby it is also called the
window function. Equation (3.10) is called short time Fourier transform or windowed
Fourier transform (Qian and Cheng, 1996). To understand the procedure for computing
STFT we will use the following steps presented in Figure 3.2:
1. Multiply the signal s(t) with the window function g(t)
2. Compute the Fourier transform of the resulting signal
Because the window function g(t) has short time duration, the Fourier transform
of the product x(t )g * (t - t ) will reflect the signals local frequency content. In this case
17

by moving the window function g(t) and repeating the steps mentioned above, it is
possible to obtain information about how the signals frequency content evolves over
time. This can be clearly seen in Figure 3.2.

x(t)
g(t)

FT

FT

frequency

FT

time

STFT
time

Figure 3.2

Short-Time Fourier Transform (Qian and Cheng, 1996)

To get from the frequency domain to the time domain, the inverse Fourier transform can
be applied with respect to Equation (3.10). This will yield (Qian and Cheng, 1996):
1
2p

STFT (t ,w )e

j mw

dw =

1
2p

x(t )g (t - t )e

j ( m -t )w

= x(t )g (t - t )d ( m - t )dt =

(3.11)

= x( m )g ( m - t )
where
1 for m = t
d (m - t ) =
0 otherwise

(3.12)

is the Dirac function

Let m = t, we have
+

1
x(t ) =
STFT (t , w )e jtw dw

2pg (0) -
18

(3.13)

Equation (3.13) implies that if STFT (t,w) is given for all t and w, the signal x(t) can be
completely recover.
Another way to look at the short time Fourier transform (STFT) is to view STFT
as a mapping from time domain to time-frequency domain as shown in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3

STFT(t,w) as a subset of the entire two-dimensional functions (Qian and Cheng, 1996)

For any time domain function x(t) and window function g(t), such mapping
always exists. It is true in this direction but the inverse may not be true. Given a window
function g(t) and an arbitrary two-dimensional function B(t,w), there may be no signal
x(t) whose STFT is equal to B(t,w). In this case, B(t,w) is not a valid short time Fourier
transform for the signal x(t) (Qian and Cheng , 1996).
For digital signal processing applications, the STFT is discrete in both time and
frequency. A general formula for its implementation is:
L -1

STFT [k , n] = x[i ]g [i - k ]WL- ni

(3.14)

i =0

where
STFT [k , n] STFT (t , w )

t = k Dt ,w = 2p n /( LDt )

19

, WL = e

2p
L

(3.15)

where Dt denotes the sampling interval in the time domain, and g[k] = g(kDt) is the Lpoint window function.

3.4.1 GENERAL PROPERTIES OF SHORT TIME FOURIER TRANSFORM

a) Total energy
The total energy of a signal is obtained by integrating over all time and frequency.
Considering an initial signal x(t) if the properties of the signal at time t are of interest then
the original signal is multiplied by a window function, g (t), centered at the time t. The
modified signal is then

xt (t ) = x(t )g (t - t )

(3.16)

where t is the time of interest and t is the running time.

The Fourier transform of the signal will reflect the distribution of frequency around that
time

X t (w ) =

1
2p

- jwt

xt (t )dt =

1
2p

- jwt

x(t )g (t - t )dt

(3.17)

The energy density spectrum at time t is

2

PSP (t , w ) = X t (w ) =

1
2p

- jwt

x(t )g (t - t )dt

(3.18)

The total energy in the signal becomes

2

E = PSP (t , w )dtdw = x(t ) dt g (t ) dt

(3.19)

Equation (3.19) shows that if the energy of the window is one, then the energy of the
spectrogram is equal to the energy of the signal.
b) Time-frequency marginal conditions

20

The time marginal condition is obtained by integrating over the frequency domain. After
computations we get (Cohen, 1995)

X (w )
t

dw = x(t ) g (t - t ) dt

(3.20)

Similarly, the frequency marginal condition is obtained by integrating over the time
domain:

x (t )
t

dw = X (w1 ) g (w1 - w ) dw1

(3.21)

3.5 WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION (WVD)

The Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) is a joint time-frequency signal analysis
method. The WVD is one of the most general time-frequency analysis techniques, as it
provides excellent resolution for accurate examination in both time and frequencies
domains. Some of the problems encounters in using WVD are related to the aliasing
arising in the computation of WVD and to its nonlinear behavior. To avoid the aliasing
problem, the original real signal is transformed into a complex analytical signal.
The Wigner distribution was developed by Eugene Wigner in 1932 to study the
problem of statistical equilibrium in quantum mechanics and was first introduced in
signal analysis by the French scientist, Ville 15 year later. It is commonly known in the
signal processing community as the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD).
The behavior of the frequency of a signal can be of two types: linear representation such
as the Fourier transform (Short time Fourier transform) and quadratic representation such
as Wigner-Ville distribution.

21

Some success has been achieved by researchers who used the WVD of vibration
signals to detect gear-tooth faults. The joint time-frequency distribution of the faulty gear
shows the vibration energy dispersion at time when damaged gear teeth are in mesh. Such
energy change can also be detected by classical Fourier transform but only at an
advanced stage of gear-tooth damage (Polyshchuk et al., 1999)
Besides the advantages of the Wigner-Ville distribution, such as simplicity and
effectiveness, excellent accuracy, and invariant to the window effects, the Wigner-Ville
distribution also has drawbacks such as the so called cross-term or interference terms.
This issue will be addressed later in this chapter.
3.5.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION
The power spectrum of a signal, which is the square of the Fourier transform
characterizes the signals distribution in the frequency domain. According to the WienerKhinchin theorem, the power spectrum can be considered as the Fourier transform of the
auto-correlation function R(t):
2

PS (t , w ) = X (w ) =

R(t )e

- jw t

dt

(3.22)

where:
R(t ) =

x(t ) x (t - t )dt
*

(3.23)

The Fourier transform of the time-dependent auto-correlation function R(t,t) with respect
to the variable t is a function of time and frequency:
PS R (t , w ) =

R(t ,t )e

22

- jwt

dt

(3.24)

where the time-dependent auto-correlation function R(t,t) is given by:

R(t ,t ) =

1
2p

A ( v, t ) A ( v, t ) e

jvt

dv

(3.25)

where Ax(v,t) represents the ambiguity function of signal x(t) and Ag(v,t) represents the
ambiguity function in the window function g(t) (Qian and Chen, 1996).
In the WVD, the time-dependent auto-correlation function is given by
t t
R (t , t ) = x t + x* t -
2 2

(3.26)

where x(t) is the analytic signal and x*(t) is the complex conjugate of the analytic signal
x(t).
Substituting the above auto-correlation function into Equation. (3.22) yields
WVDxx (t , w ) =

x t + 2 x

t - jw t
t - e dt
2

(3.27)

where WVDxx(t,w) is the Wigner-Ville distribution of a complex continuous-time analytic

signal x(t).
Based on the Equation (3.27) the WVD of a signal can be calculated at any time
point t simply by shifting the time signal origin to that point (Polyshchuk et al., 1999).
WVDxx (0, w ) =

x 2 x

t - jw t
- e dt
2

(3.28)

Considering, as an example, a chirp signal with Gaussian envelope of the form

1

-a 2

t + jbt2
4

a 4
x(t ) = e
p

(3.29)

the WVD of the signal is

WVDx (t , w ) = 2e

23

- a t 2 + (w - 2 b t ) 2
a

(3.30)

and the plot of the WVD is presented in Figure 3.4

Figure 3.4

WVD representing the energy distribution of linear chirp with Gaussian envelope (Qian
and Chen, 1996)

3.5.2 PROPERTIES OF THE WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION

Some of the most important properties of the Wigner-Ville distribution as they
result from the literature survey are as follow:
a) Time and frequency shift invariant

If the time is shifted by t0 then the WVD is shifted accordingly. For a signal x(t)
the WVD of the time frequency shifted signal is
WVDx0 (t , w ) WVDx (t - t0 , w - w 0 )

(3.31)

b) Frequency modulation invariant

Lets consider the WVD of the signal x(t) as being WVDx(t,w). For the frequencymodulated signal x0(t)=x(t)exp{jw t} the WVD is a frequency-shifted WVD of x(t) i.e.,
WVDx0 (t , w ) = WVDx (t , w - w 0 )

(3.32)

c) Time-frequency marginal condition

The Wigner-Ville distribution satisfies both time and frequency marginal

conditions, that is

24

1
2p

WVD (t , w )dw = x(t )

(3.33)

WVD (t ,w )dt =
x

X (w )

(3.34)

As a consequence, using Parsevals relation, it can be shown that the energy contained in
the Wigner-Ville distribution, WVD(t,w), is equal to the energy possessed by the original
signal s(t).
3.5.3 THE WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SUM OF TWO SIGNALS
Considering a signal x(t) as a sum of two signals x1(t) and x2(t)
x(t) = x1(t) + x2(t)

(3.35)

Using Equation (3.27) to derive the WVD for the sum of the two signals yields
t t
WVD(t , w ) = x* t - x t - e - jtw dt =
2 2
= WVD1 (t , w ) + WVD2 (t , w ) + WVD12 (t , w ) + WVD21 (t , w )

(3.36)

t t
WVD12 (t , w ) = x1* t - x2 t + e - jtw dt
2 2

(3.37)

where

is called the cross-term Wigner-Ville distribution. Even though the cross-term is

complex, because the WVD is always real, the sum WVD12(t, w) + WVD21(t, w) is real
and therefore the WVD of the sum of two signals becomes

WVD(t , w ) = WVD1 (t , w ) + WVD2 (t , w ) + 2 Re {WVD12 (t , w )}

(3.38)

The WVD of the sum of the two signals is not simply the sum of the WVD of each signal
(auto-term) but has the additional term 2Re{WVD12(t,w)}, term called the interference
term or the cross-term. Because the cross-term usually oscillates and its magnitude is

25

twice as large as that of the auto-terms, it often reduces the useful patterns of the timedependent spectrum.
Some time, the cross-terms are referred to as undesirable effects of the WignerVille distribution. The cross-term in fact reflects the correlation of the corresponding pair
of auto-terms. Its location and rate of oscillation are determined by time and frequency
centers of the auto-terms. If the position of the auto-terms is known, then the position of
the corresponding cross-terms is precisely identified.

Figure 3.5

WVD cross-term at midway between the two auto-terms. It oscilates in both time and
frequency directions (Qian and Cheng, 1996)

3.6 WAVELET TRANSFORM

The wavelet transform is a joint time-frequency analysis method similar to
Wigner-Ville distribution. It is independent of time and thus can describe the local
behavior of the signal. Unlike the short time Fourier transform where complex sine and
cosine functions are used to map the time signal into the frequency domain, wavelet

26

transform uses a set of elementary functions that can be independently dilated and shifted
as a function of time, called wavelets.
By scaling the time variable t of a given elementary function y(t), a representation
of the signal in the frequency domain is achieved. If the center frequency or the mean
frequency of the elementary function y(t) at time zero is w0, and if the time is dilated by
b and the frequency shifted by a, then the center of the dilated and shifted elementary
t -b
function y
will be at time b and frequency w0/a. When the dilated and shifted
a
t -b
elementary function y
is used, the resulting presentation is called the continuous a

time wavelet transform and is defined as

W ( a, b) =

1
a

x(t )y

t -b

dt ,
a

a0

(3.39)

where y(t) is also called the mother function. The parameter a represents the scale index
and parameters b represents the time shifting. The quantity W(a,b) reflects the signals
behavior in the vicinity of (b, w0/a).
Figure 3.6 shows a comparison of the elementary functions for short time Fourier
transform and wavelet transform. Once an elementary function for the short time Fourier
transform is chosen, both the time and frequency resolution are fixed. For the wavelet
transform, the time resolution and the frequency resolution of the elementary function are
functions of the scaling factor.

27

(a)
Figure 3.6

(b)

Comparison of elementary functions for STFT (a) and WT (b). For STFT all elementary
functions have the same envelope, whereas the WT elementary functions have different
envelopes (Qian and Cheng, 1996).

In order to understand better the difference between the short time Fourier
transform and the wavelet transform, an example is considered. Suppose that we have a
signal that contains two pulses in the time domain, d(t-t1) and d(t-t2), and two pulses in
the frequency domain, e jw1t and e jw 2t , i.e.,
x(t ) = d (t - t1 ) + d (t - t2 ) + e jw1t + e jw 2t

(3.40)

The transformation of x(t) to the frequency domain yields

X (w ) = e jw t1 + e jw t2 + 2pd (w - w1 ) + 2pd (w - w 2 )

(3.41)

Figure 3.7 shows the comparison between short time Fourier transform (STFT) and the
wavelet transform (WT) for the signal described by Equation (3.40). A major difference
between the two methods can be observed. Time and frequency resolutions are constant
in both time and frequency domains in the case of STFT, while they vary in the case of
WT.
28

w2

w2

w1

w1

t1

t2

t1

(a)
Figure 3.7

t2

(b)

Comparisons of STFT and WT (a) For STFT time and frequency resolutions are uniform
for the entire time-frequency domain; (b) For WT there is good time resolution for high
frequencies, and good frequency resolution for low frequencies (Qiang and Cheng,
1996)

At high frequencies, the time resolution of the WT is better than the frequency resolution;
at low frequencies the frequency resolution is better than the time resolution. For STFT,
the time and frequency resolutions are the same for the entire time-frequency domain.
The time-frequency representation of the WT is called scalogram and is the
squared modulus of the wavelet transform.
From the wavelet transform, the original signal can be recovered by using
x(t ) =

1
Cy

t -b
W (a, b)y

(3.42)

where the constant Cy is defined by

1
Cy =
2p

Y (w )

29

dw

(3.43)

3.7 FISHER CRITERION

One widely used method for damage identification is the Fisher criterion. Fisher
criterion is a statistical analysis method used for discriminating between two statistical
distributions in the multidimensional space. For damage identification, Fisher criterion is
used in analyzing the statistical distribution of the signal features and deciding if damage
is present or not. This is achieved by comparing the statistical distribution of the signal
features measured on the current machinery with the statistical distribution of the same
signal features measured on a as new (pristine) machinery. If the Fisher criterion has a
low value, the current machinery is as new, i.e., no damage is present. However, if the
Fisher criterion exceeds a certain limit, the machinery can be classified as damaged or
faulty.
The Fisher criterion works as follows. Consider two distributions of a
multidimensional feature vector, one distribution corresponding to the pristine case, the
other to the damaged case (Figure 3.8). All points of the two distributions are projected
onto a line in the direction l, and this direction is varied, by modifying the slope of the
line (angle a) until the two samples are maximally separated, i.e. the distance between
the means of the two classes is maximized, while the variance in each class is minimized.
Figure 3.10 presents the case in 2-D, i.e., when the feature space consists of just
two classes C1 and C2. The features are projected onto the line y and form two samples of
projected data with the mean m1 and m2. The two means are separated by the distance d.
Figure 3.10 shows three cases, in which the parameter a varies and the dependency
between the angle a, the distance d that separates the two means, and the variance in the
two projected classes is illustrated.
30

Class 1
Class 2
line class1
line class 2
center
mean class 1
mean class 2

Class 1

1.8

Class 2

1.6
1.4
1.2
1

0.8

0.6
0.4
0.2

-4

-2

a = 5 F = 1.46, m1 = 0.76 , m2 = 2.49

0
-2

S1 = 0.98, S2 = 1.03

(a)

-2
8

y
6

Class 1
Class 2
line class1
line class 2
center
mean class 1
mean class 2

Class 1

1.8

Class 2

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6

0.4
0.2

-4

-2

a = 35 F = 8.92, m1 = 0.04 , m2 = 3.29

0
-2

S1 = 0.80, S2 = 0.81

(b)

-2

Class 1
Class 2
line class1
line class 2
center
mean class 1
mean class 2

Class 1

1.8

Class 2

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8

0.6
0.4
0.2

0
-4

-2

a = 77 F = 18.10, m1 = 0.97 , m2 = 2.28

0
-2

-2

S1 = 0.23, S2 = 0.23

(c)

31

Figure 3.8

Elementary illustration of Fisher Criterion showing how the projected distributions vary
o
with the projection angle a: (a) unfavorable projection angle a = 5 yields overlapping of
o
Class 1 and Class 2 projected distribution; (b) a more favorable angle a = 35 yields
better separation, but the variance S1 and S2 are still large; (c) optimal projection angle a
o
= 72 yields clearly separated sharp distributions with small variances

We can see from the above figure that as the angle a changes (increases) the means
of the two classes separates, the distribution of the data in the two sets becomes more
sharply which means that the standard deviation of the two means and thus the variance
is smaller.
The mathematical expression for the Fisher criterion for two classes C1 with N1
points and C2 with N2 is derived. A linear projection of the data onto a one-dimensional
space is considered so that an input vector x is projected onto a scalar value y as given by
y = w Tx

(3.44)

where w is the projection vector of unit length with adjustable weight parameters as
shown in Figure 3.8.
x2

C1
m1

C2
y

m2
w

m2

m1

x1
Figure 3.9

A schematic illustration of the two classes C1 and C2 their mean values and the
projection of the means onto the two axes (Bishop, 1995)

The two means m1 and m2 can be calculated as follows

m1 =

1
1
x( n ) , m 2 =

N1 nC1
N2

32

nC2

( n)

(3.45)

where m1 is the mean vector for class C1 and m2 is the mean vector for class C2. The
projected means for the two classes are given by
m1 = wTm1 , m2 = wTm2

(3.46)

Figure 3.8 shows that the two classes C1 and C2 are well separated in the original
two-dimensional space (x1, x2). The projection onto the x1-axis of the two classes gives a
much larger separation for the two projected means m1 and m2 than does projection onto
x2-axis. On the other hand the separation of data projected onto x2-axis is much better
than onto x1-axis due to the different within-class spread of the two classes along the two
axis. The solution proposed by Fisher is to maximize a function, which represents the
differences between the projected class means, normalized by a measure of the withinclass scatter along the direction w (Bishop, 1995).
The within-class covariance of the two classes is given by
s12 =

(y

nC1

( n)

- m1

, s 22 =

(y

nC2

( n)

- m2

(3.47)

where m1, m2, s1, s2, depend on w.

The total within-class covariance for the whole data set is s12 + s22 . By definition the
Fisher criterion can be written as

( m - m1 )
F (w ) = 2
s12 + s22

(3.48)

Using Equations (3.45), (3.46), and (3.47) Fisher criterion can be rewritten in the form
F (w ) =

w TSB w
w TS W w

33

(3.49)

This expression follows from Equation (3.48) since,

T

(m2 - m1 ) 2 = w T (m 2 - m1 ) w T (m 2 - m1 ) = w TS B w

(3.50)

where SB is the between-class covariance matrix, given by

S B = ( m 2 - m1 )( m 2 - m1 )

(3.51)

The total within-class covariance is

s12 + s22 = w TS W w

(3.52)

where SW is the total within-class covariance matrix and is given by

SW =

(x

(n)

)(

- m1 x(n) - m1

nC1

) + (x
T

(n)

)(

- m 2 x(n) - m 2

nC2

(3.53)

The maximum value for F(w) is calculated by differentiating Equation (3.49) with
respect to w, which leads to the following equation

(w S w)S
T

w = w TS W w S B w

(3.54)

From Equation (3.54) the optimum vector w that will give the maximum value for
the Fisher criterion is given by

w opt = S -1W ( m 2 - m1 )

(3.55)

In signal theory, this criterion is also known as the signal-to-interference ratio.

Maximizing this criterion will maximize the distance between the means of the two
classes while minimizing the variance within each class.
3.7.1 FISHER CRITERION EXAMPLE FOR TWO CLASSES C1 AND C2
A set of randomly uniform distributed data for two classes C1 and C2 was
generated. The number of points in each class is N = 200. The two sets of data are
presented in Figure 3.9.
34

Class 1

Class 2
mean class 1
mean class 2

0
-2

-2

Figure 3.10

Two classes of randomly uniform distributed data points

Using Equation (3.45) the mean vectors for the two classes were calculated
0.984
2.269
m1 =
, m2 =

1.55
6.812

(3.56)

The within-covariance for the two classes were calculated using Equation (3.55)
and the values are
2.28
192.964
213.344 -9.897
S W1 =
and S W2 =

179.283
-9.897 179.851
2.28

(3.57)

The total within-covariance is

406.309 -7.617
S W = S W1 +S W2 =

-7.617 359.135

35

(3.58)

Using Equations (3.55), (3.56), and (3.58) the optimum projection vector w is
found to be
0.003438
w opt =

0.015

(3.59)

The direction of the vector wopt is given by the angle a, which can be calculated, and the
value is
a = 76.858 @ 77 deg

(3.60)

3.8 VIBRATION ANALYSIS HEALTH MONITORING SOFTWARE

Successful predictive maintenance programs will enable an organization to reduce
maintenance cost, reduce unscheduled down time, reduce catastrophic failures, improve
safety and decrease maintenance man-hours. The keys to a successful conditionmonitoring program are accurate prediction of machine faults, accurate repair
recommendations, automation (to reduce human error), a refined reporting system and
ease of operation and use. Commercial vendors, realizing the importance of creating
sound maintenance programs, have introduced software programs and products to combat
the high cost and complexities involved with equipment maintenance. In recent years due
to the changes in technology, software now exists that is capable of exploiting vibration
analysis algorithms and data analysis functions, presenting data with a user-friendly
graphical user interface. Broadband and narrowband statistical analysis, complete
spectrum normalization, trending, automatic peak identification, user selectable
warning/alarm level functions are only some of the features offered in vibration analysis
software today. This section will comparatively examine three different packages that
allow vibration analysis, as well as a computer based training (CBT) programs.
36

3.8.1 MOBIUS ILEARN INTERACTIVE

In order to be more effective when monitoring a maintenance program, the end user
should understand the actual signals being collected to properly interpret the results. A
thorough understanding of the relationship between the machine and the characteristics
observed will enable the end user to make educated interpretations. Mobius iLearn
Interactive is a practical and theoretical training tool, useful to anyone interested in
condition monitoring and vibration analysis, regardless of his or her experience in the
field. The CBT is self-paced, incorporating simulations, animations, and samples of real
data and diagnostic requirements creating a realistic, interactive, and valuable learning
tool. The complete curriculum is split into five, non-progressive, separate modules,
which are available, together or purchased separately:

Figure 3.11 Mobius iLearn Interactive

iLearn Vibration condition monitoring and vibration analysis learning is narrated

while the end user interacts with diagrams and simulations.

37

iLearn Hands-On is a set of vibration measurements taken from a fault test rig.
Over two hundred tests covering dozens of fault conditions are analyzed. Analysis
can be done on the screen or downloaded into the end users data collector.

iLearn Case Histories is a library of spectra and waveforms taken from real
machines. Digital recordings enhance the vibration analysis experience. Analysis
can be done on the screen or downloaded into the end users data collector.

iLearn Signals is a virtual signal generator and spectrum analyzer. This software
program will generate simple signals to teach waveforms and spectra. Advanced
capabilities delve into signal processing.

iLearn Machine Faults allows the end user to model a machine to understand
frequencies. The ease of drag and drop technology enable the end user to create a
virtual machine and view simulated frequencies, waveforms and spectrum.

3.8.2 SPECTRAL VISUALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT, SVD INC.

SVD Inc. provides free online courses on their web site. The Canadian based
company manufactures vibration analysis software and devices. The courses range from
introductory maintenance philosophies to diagnostic methods. The only requirement for
the end users is a web browser and Macromedias Shockwave plug-ins (available as a
free Internet download). The curriculum currently consists of twelve courses and four are
described below:

38

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.12 Vibration analysis software for analysis, training and preventive maintenance: (a)
ExpertALERT from Predict-DLI; (b) SpectraScope CAF from Spectral Visualization and
Development, SVD Inc.

Introduction to Mechanical Vibrations the basic concepts of mechanical vibrations

are presented using a mass-spring-damper example of a vehicle suspension. End
users gain an understanding of mechanical vibration, linear systems and system
resonance while analyzing mechanical vibrations.

Introduction to Machinery Signals the end user is taught the basics of data
acquisition, such as when and how to take measurements, aliasing and the alias
foldover effect, and identifying time and stationary signals. Deterministic stationary
signals and the processes that generate them are covered as well.

Introduction to DSP (Data Signal Processing): Time and Frequency Domain are
two separate courses that are offered by SVD Inc. Data acquisition issues such as
single channel and multi-channel analysis are taught along with unit of measurement.
The concepts of mean, average and correlation, and how they relate to stationary
signals are presented. The basic types of spectral plots and spectral analysis and their
units of measurement are covered in frequency domain along with spectral estimators,
parametric and non-parametric.

39

3.8.3 PREDICT-DLI
Predict DLI provides onsite training at their Cleveland or Seattle training center or
customized training classes for companies interested in setting up their own onsite
training classes. Predict DLI offers training in vibration analysis, lubricant analysis,
thermography with digital imagery and visual inspections with digital imagery. The
vibration curriculum currently consists of three courses described below:

Vibration Analysis I and Machine Balancing is a beginners course for end users
who have little or no experience in vibration data analysis. The course emphasizes
vibration sources and measurement techniques as well as fundamental machine fault
recognition. This course is designed for a practical focus on vibration analysis to
detect major problems.

Vibration Analysis II and Laser Alignment this course is a follow-up to the basic
course described up above. Here emphasis is placed on single channel analysis of
vibration spectra. Problems found in gearboxes and belt driven machines are used for
examples. Alignment tools and techniques are covered to include laser pre-alignment
checks.

Expert ALERT for Voyager is designed for individuals who have purchased
vibration analysis equipment from Predict DLI. Software commands and functions
are discussed as well as analyzing, fine tuning data and manipulation of various
plotting and display functions. Emphasis is placed on setting up the database and
data collection communications and software interface.

40

HELICOPTER VIBRATION REDUCTION THROUGH ROTOR

TRACK AND BALANCE (RT&B)
In the military and civil helicopter community, one of the standard procedures

before an aircraft can be airborne and perform its mission is Rotor Track and Balance
(RT&B). The main reason for doing RT&B is to smooth the helicopter hover and in flight
vibrations. A low level of vibration is desired mainly because of the following reasons:

Increase components life: less vibrations induced from the rotor through the main
frame to the main components of the helicopter, will reduce the chances of
incipient damage to occur and hence will extend the life of components.

Increase maneuverability: a low level of vibration due to a good RT&B will make
the helicopter more maneuverable and will give pilots quicker time to react to the
environment in which they are flying.

Increase comfort of the pilots: a less shaking environment for the pilots will
make them more accurate in making decision and will have a reduced impact on
their health.

All the above advantages of a smooth aircraft, will also translate in long-time cost
savings for helicopters operators, increase readiness of the helicopters, and decreased
probability of catastrophic event.

41

4.1 RT&B PROCEDURE

In the military helicopter community, the procedures for RT&B are standardized.
In the Army the equipment used for generating the necessary adjustments is called
Aviation Vibration Analyzer (AVA).
According to the AVA technical manual, there is a sequence that must be
followed when doing RT&B. This sequence is presented in the Table 4.1. Each step in
this sequence is performed separately, as described next.
Table 4.1

Plan test for RT&B (AVA Technical Manual)

Flight Plan
GNDTRK
INITIAL
FLIGHT

TAIL

Test States
FPG 100
FPG 100
Hover
FPG 100
Hover
60 Kts
80 Kts
100 Kts
120 Kts
140 Kts
FPGTL

Test Condition
100 % NR, Flat Pitch
100 % NR, Flat Pitch
Hover
100 % NR, Flat Pitch
Hover
60 Kts Level Flight
80 Kts Level Flight
100 Kts Level Flight
120 Kts Level Flight
140 Kts Level Flight
Tail Balance Flat Pitch, 100 % NR

GNDTRK (Ground Track)

GNDTRK is a ground plan designed to get the rotor in a flyable track prior to
hovering. It consists of one measurement, and it adjusts the pitch links only. It should be
the first test that is performed after any component change or major work on the rotor.
INITIAL
INITIAL is a flight plan performed after the GNDTRK, and will balance the rotor
prior to flight. It will adjust weights to perform this goal.

42

FLIGHT
FLIGHT is a flight plan primarily designed to reduce the in-flight vertical
vibration using tabs only. It is to be used after the GNDTRK and INITIAL flight plans,
when smoothing an aircraft after a component change or for tuning up an aircraft.TAIL
TAIL is a flight plan designed to balance the tail rotor. It uses the optical RPM
sensor and one accelerometer. It should be performed after any rework/replacement of
tail rotor.

A RT&B scenario consists of the following operations. First the helicopter

performs on the ground with the blades having a flat pitch at 100 % nominal rotation
(NR) of the main rotor. When the rotor has reached 100 % NR, data is collected from the
two accelerometers placed in the cockpit for measuring the vertical and lateral vibration.
If the vibration level is within the limits, then the next task will be performed. If not, a set
of adjustments will be generated to reduce vibration at FPG 100. After making the
recommended adjustments the rest is repeated.
The next task is hover, when the helicopter takes off from the ground and hovers
above the ground. Data is collected and, if needed adjustments, are made and then the test
is repeated.
After hover, the next task is flight. During this task the aircraft is performing a
forward flight at different air speeds varying from 60 Kts (Knots) to 140 Kts. Data is
collected during the flight and, if the vibration levels are above the allowable values, the
AVA software is used to generate a set of adjustments that will bring the vibration level
into the acceptable vibration domain.
A schematic of the RT&B test plan is presented in the following Figure 4.1:

43

FPG 100

Vibration
amplitudes

Adjustments

Figure 4.1

Vibration
amplitudes

Hover

Adjustments

Flight
FPG 100
Hover
60-140Kts

Vibration
amplitudes

Adjustments

Schematic of a flight plan for helicopter RT&B

To perform RT&B, the following adjustments can be made:

Pitch link adjustments: brings the blade in track by moving the entire blade up or
down by a specified amount. Pitch link adjustments will affect all the test states.

Trim tab adjustments: consists of bending thin aluminum tabs (pockets) located
on the trailing edge of the blade. The tabs are adjusted up or down with a
specified angle. This will make the blade to go up or down at certain air speeds.
Certain trim tab adjustments are targeting particular air speeds.

Hub weight adjustments: addresses changes in weights locate at the root of the
blade by adding or subtracting a specified amount. It will change the balance of
the blades. It is desired that the blades that are in pairs be balanced in the same
way.

The tasks performed when doing RT&B are as follows:

3. Test equipment installation/checkout
4. Flat track main rotor on the ground
5. Balance main rotor on the ground
6. Track main rotor in flight
7. Balance tail rotor

44

4.1.1

TEST EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION/CHECKOUT

Test equipment installation/checkout refers to all the steps necessary for RT&B

prior to flight and data acquisition. Detailed installation procedure is given for those parts
that are of importance for the safety of the flight.
A typical RT&B setup configuration, illustrated in Figure 4.2, consists of the
following: Data Acquisition Unit (DAU); Universal Tracking Device; Magnetic rpm
sensor; Vertical and lateral accelerometer: Crew Chief Laptop

Universal Tracking
Device (UTD)

Magnetic RPM
Sensor
Accelerometers

Figure 4.2

RT&B Equipment setup configuration (AVA Technical Manual)

45

4.1.2 FLAT TRACK MAIN ROTOR ON THE GROUND

Track and balance of the main rotor should be performed when any of the
following occurs: one or more blades have been changed; one or more tip caps have been
changed; one or more pitch control rods or rod end bearings have been changed; the main
rotor blades have been removed and the hub has been disassembled. The procedure
consists of:

Preparation: this phase includes equipment installation, applying aircraft power

via the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), and operate the aircraft at 100% Nr, flat
pitch

Perform GNDTRK measurements: consists of track and vibration data acquisition

and data processing. If measured values exceed specifications recommended
corrections will be performed.To flat track the main rotor on the ground, the main

correction that is performed is the main rotor pitch link adjustment. The main rotor pitch
link assembly is presented in Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3

Main rotor pitch link adjustment (AVA Technical Manual)

46

The standard procedure for pitch link adjustment is as follows: first the barrel and
upper rod end needs to be marked with a single vertical line. Next, the upper and lower
jam is loosed. Turn the barrel the amount specified in the smoothing solution provided by
the RT&B algorithm. Last, tighten and secure the jam nuts.
4.1.3 BALANCE MAIN ROTOR ON THE GROUND
The procedure to balance the main rotor on the ground is as follows:

Preparation: first, flat track the main rotor on the ground as described in the
previous section

Perform INITIAL measurement: this consists of track and vibration data

acquisition and data processing. If the measured values exceed specifications
perform the recommended corrections

4.1.4 TRACK MAIN ROTOR IN FLIGHT

Main rotor in-flight vertical tracking should be performed when any of the
following occurs: 1/REV in-flight vibration is unacceptable; changes have been made to
the track of one or more main rotor blades as a result of performing ground tracking
adjustments. The procedure to track main rotor in flight is:

Equipment installation

Perform FLIGHT measurements: when aircraft is at the required test state

(FPG100, Hover, 60 Kts, 80 Kts, 100 Kts, 120 Kts, or 140 Kts) track and
vibration data are acquired. If the measured values exceed specifications perform
recommended corrections

To track the main rotor in flight, the adjustments

47

that are mare are the trim tab adjustments. To perform these adjustments a special tool,
presented in Figure 4.4, is used:

Figure 4.4

Tab adjustment tool used to bed the tab of the helicopter blades for RT&B (AVA
Technical Manual)

An example to illustrate the trim tab maneuver is presented next. Suppose that the
recommended adjustments are 1 degree up at pocket 4/10. The tab adjustment tool should
be positioned as indicated in Figure 4.5 along the tab of the blade. The bend should start
at pocket 4 and continue bending up 1 degree through pocket 10.

Figure 4.5

Trim tab pockets for a helicopter blade (AVA Technical Manual).

48

4.1.5 TAIL ROTOR BALANCE

Tail rotor balance should be performed after any rework/replacement of tail rotor
system components or anytime a medium to high frequency vibration is felt in the
aircraft. The procedure is as follow:

Equipment installation: install the vibration measuring equipment and the optical
rpm sensor.

Perform tail measurements: operate aircraft at 100% NR flat pitch; acquire tail
rotor vibration data and process the data. If the results are less than the values
specified for the amplitudes of vibration, no corrections are required. If not
perform the suggested corrections.

4.2 RT&B VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION

The data acquired from the accelerometers mounted on the helicopter structure is
preprocessed in the Data Acquisition Unit (DAU). The resulting data is divided into two
domains: synchronous order domain data (SOD) and asynchronous frequency domain
data (AFD).
For RT&B, the data used is the synchronous order domain. Raw data is acquired
from two accelerometer mounted in the cockpit, one for vertical vibrations and one for
lateral vibrations. The raw data is first preprocessed in the DAU where it is divided into
segments of equal length related to the synchronous signal (tachometer) and averaged
together. The synchronous signal is then transferred from the DAU to the crew chiefs
laptop and then to the ground base station (GBS). On the GBS the synchronous signal is
processed using a neural network. The solution of the neural network is a set of

49

recommended adjustments that will best reduce the vibration level (if high), using a
reduced number of RT&B flights. This process is presented in Figure 4.6:
Recommended
Adjustments
Raw data

Ground Station

SOD data

Crew chiefs
laptop

Data
desensitizing

Raw data
SOD data

USC-VMEP
server

Crew chiefs
laptop

Figure 4.6

Data flow chart

The synchronous order domain data from the crew chef laptop is transferred to the
VMEP server located at the University of South Carolina, Department of Mechanical
Engineering. During the transfer process data is being desensitize by removing all the
sensitive information. From the VMEP server, each user can download the data of
particular interest, and perform specific analysis on local computers. In this way the
integrity of the data is kept intact and the possibility to alter the data is minimized. For
security reasons the users have been divided into categories and each one of the
categories have specific privileges on the data. The VMEP directory structure for the
VMU data, and the locally stored structure are presented in Figure 4.7.

50

VMEP Server
VMU Data Directory

Locally stored
VMU data

Figure 4.7

VMU Data storage and directory configuration: on the VMEP server and on the local
computer

4.3 RT&B VIBRATION DATA ANALYSIS

The first task to perform when studying the RT&B vibration data is to identify
which flight is a RT&B flight. In the first phase, this task is done manually by looking at
the different types of files that are stored in a particular flight folder. For example if we
look at Figure 4.8b for the flight ID 1002035095 there are three files: FLIGHT,
FPG100_SOD, and FPG100_TRK. The three files contains the following information:

FLIGHT: general information about the flight that was performed: aircraft type,
flight date and time, mode name

FPG100_SOD: vibration data collected from the three accelerometers located in

the cockpit, nose, lateral and vertical. Amplitude and phase of vibration are
recorded from 1/rev up to 12/rev. The state of the test is flat pitch ground 100

51

(FPG100) as explained in Table 4.1. Notice that the state of the test is also the
name of the file

FPG100_TRK: track data for the four blades. Also includes general identification
data about the flight

a)

b)

c)

Figure 4.8

RT&B test flights identification

A complete RT&B flight is assumed to contain data for all the flight tests, starting
with FPG100 and continue up to 140 Kts air speed, as shown in Figure 4.8c. Based on
this assumption, the RT&B flights were identified and stored separately for further
analysis.
The historical trend for vibration over a period of time is expected to behave as
presented in Figure 4.9. For a smooth helicopter the vibration level is low. As the flight
hours for that particular helicopter increases, the vibration level gradually increases above
the desired level low-vibration. When the vibration level reaches the level of allowable
maximum vibration, it is time for a new RT&B. After the new RT&B is performed, the
vibration level dramatically decreases below the desired level. This process is shown in
Figure 4.9.

52

Allowable max vibration level

Desired level for low vibration

RT&B

Figure 4.9

RT&B

Historical vibration trends.

In our analysis of the vibration data, we tried to see the trend described above. We
looked at the vibration data acquired for one particular aircraft, and for one particular test
state (FPG100) over several months. The results presented in Figure 4.10 represent the
vibration amplitudes versus time. The time is represented by the date in (yy/mm/dd)
format.
RT&B, Vert, 1/rev, FPG 100, AH64_E1
0.45
0.4
0.35

Amplitude [ips]

0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
010502

010502

010601

010816

010816

011009

Date

Figure 4.10 Historical trends for vertical vibration for one aircraft and one particular test state,
showing an increased vibration over a couple of months

53

Figure 4.10 shows that the experimental data collected over a period of time is in
concordance with the theoretical behavior of the vibration level between RT&B flights.
The vibration level is low in the first month, May 02, 2001 (015002) and gradually
increases as time increases eventually crosses the desired level for vibration, which is 0.3
ips (inch per second). We conclude that it might be it time for a new RT&B of the
helicopter to bring down the vibration level below the desired level.
Of interest in the analysis of the vibration data is the polar plot. A polar plot is a
graphical representation of the amplitudes of vibration with respect to a certain phase
angle. Knowing the exact position of the magnetic sensor mounted on the main rotor with
respect to the blades, the location and the blade where the high vibration occurred can be
determined.
Polar plot, Vert, 1/rev, Tail, AH64_D1
0.6

RT&B, Vert, 1/rev, AH64_D1

011005_155459

0.4

011004_141920

011005_155459

011004_141920
0.7
0.6

-0.4

0.5

0.4

0.6

100K

140K

-0.2

Amplitude [ips]

-0.6

0.2
120K
Hover
140K
100K
0
-0.2
0
0.2

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1

-0.4

120K
0

Hover

FPG 100

-0.6

Hover

60K

80K

100K

120K

140K

Test state

(a)

(b)

Figure 4.11 a) Polar plot for the vibration data between two RT&B flights b) Plot of the amplitude
values for the same flights for all test states.

When looking at a polar plot, there are two things of interest: how spread out the
points are, and how far away from the origin. If we look at the Figure 4.11a we can see
that for the first flight (triangles) the points are scattered and out of the circle that delimit

54

the 0.3 ips vertical vibration level. The VMEP neural network algorithm generates
adjustments that will try to bring the vibration amplitudes towards the origin. After the
recommended adjustments were made, in the next flight (diamonds) we can see how the
points had moved towards the center indicating a low vibration level. The same
information is given in Figure 4.11b where, for the first flight the vibration levels at
hover, 100 kts, 120 kts, and 140 kts are all above the desired level of 0.3 ips. After
making two adjustments, the vibration level decrease dramatically and the result is a
smooth helicopter.
In the analysis performed, we were also interested to see how the RT&B
adjustments will affect the vibration level at different test states. The goal of the RT&B
VMEP algorithm is to bring down the vibration level to a desired limit by using fewer
adjustments and thus less RT&B flights. A reduced number of RT&B flights will
translate into an increase mission capabilities of the helicopter and in cost savings.
RT&B, Vert, 1/rev, AH64_D1
011002_152713

011004_113937

011004_141920

1.6
1.4

Amplitude [ips]

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
FPG 100

Hover

60K

80K

100K

120K

140K

Test state

Figure 4.12 Plot of vibration amplitudes showing an increased vibration level for the three flights

55

In Figure 4.12 we can see that the two flights performed on October 2, 2001 and
on October 4, 2001 have a significant increase in the vibration level, especially at high
speeds (80 Kts to 140 Kts). These are strong indicators that a new rotor track and balance
is needed.
RT&B, Vert, 1/rev, AH64_D1
011005_110733
011005_145818

011005_115451
011005_155459

011005_140905

1
0.9
0.8

Amplitude [ips]

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
FPG 100

Hover

60K

80K

100K

120K

140K

Test state

Figure 4.13 RT&B flights showing how the vibration amplitudes reduces after making recommended
adjustments

After the first set of adjustments the vibration level for 60 Kts, and 80 Kts is below the
desired level for vertical vibration of 0.3 ips. However is still above the desired level for
hover, 100 Kts, and 140 Kts (triangles) as it can be seen in Figure 4.13. The next set of
adjustments brought most test states below the desired level, with the exception of (120
Kts and 140 Kts) (doted line). The final adjustments that were made brought the vibration
amplitudes for all test states to a very low level (blue circle line).
In conclusion, with the VMEP neural network algorithm, it took only three RT&B
flights to bring the vibration level down to a desired low level for vibration.
56

VIBRATION-BASED

DAMAGE

DETECTION/HEALTH

MONITORING METHODS FOR HELICOPTERS

5.1 WAVELET TRANSFORM METHODS

FOR

HELICOPTER HEALTH

MONITORING
The wavelet transform is a signal-processing tool, which allows both the time
domain and frequency domain properties of a signal to be viewed simultaneously.
Performing a wavelet transform consist of convolving the signal with time shifted and
dilated. The result of wavelet transform will be a set of coefficients, which are function of
time and frequency, also called scale. These coefficients can be used to form a unique
mean square wavelet map, a time-frequency representation of the signal.
Mallat (1988) discovered a recursive algorithm to compute the DWT consisting in
basic wavelet function to form sets of filters, each one consisting of lowpass and highpass
filter. The signal is pass through the first set of filters and the result will be two signal
each with half of number of coefficients as the original signal. The signal formed using
the lowpass filter and thus containing the low frequency information is known an the
approximation, and the second signal formed using the high pass filter and thus
containing the high frequency information is known as the detail. For the second
recursion the approximation is passed through the next set of filters and so on until an
approximation and detail each consisting of one coefficient are formed.
57

Newland (1993) presented the harmonic wavelet basic function, which is a

smooth wavelet providing high numerically accuracy in signal reconstruction and it is
completely band limited in the frequency domain. A consequence of the above is that
DHWT need not be restricted to octave frequency bands. This form of DWT is known as
the discrete harmonic wavelet packet transformation (DHWPT). The algorithm to
compute DHWPT is the Mallat recursive algorithm and a comparison between the two
algorithms is presented in Figure 5.1
Wavelet Decomposition

Wavelet Packet Decomposition

Signal

A1
A2

A2

D1

A2

D2

Figure 5.1

Signal

A1
AA2

D1
DA2

AD2

DD2

AAA3 DAA3 ADA3 DDA3 AAD3 DAD3 ADD3 DDD3

A comparison of the DWT algorithm and the DWPT algorithm. Ai is approximation at

level i (low frequency) and Di is detail at level i (high frequency). (Samuel et al., 1998)

Samuel et al. (1998) collected and analyzed data from an OH-58A main rotor
transmission. The test was run at 6060 rpm (100% of the maximum speed), which
resulted in a mesh frequency of 573 Hz, for nine days, eight hours per day at a 117%
design torque as part of an accelerated fatigue test. The results were represented in mean
square DHWPT maps Figure 5.2

58

Figure 5.2

Mean square wavelet maps for day one and day nine. On day nine a significant
increase in the amplitude of neighboring frequency bands is observed as the fault
developed (Samuel et al., 1998)

The mean square wavelet maps clearly shown the presence of the fault in day nine. Using
the normalized power computed for the mash frequency and its accompanying frequency
bands the evolution of the fault from day one to day nine is presented in Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3

Average normalized power index (Samuel et al., 1998)

Kim and Ewins (1999) applied the directional harmonic wavelet transform
(DHWT) to investigate the transient vibration response using a numerical simulation of a
rotor system during the run-up period with a speed ramp rate of 100[rpm/sec] for the case

59

of a rotor with 10% crack (transverse) depth relative to its diameter. To validate the
advantages of DHWT, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) has been applied to the same
set of data (noise contaminated signal) and the results are presented as follows:

Figure 5.4

a) Directional spectrogram: 10% crack with 5 % noise; b) Directional harmonic wavelet

map: 10% crack with 5% noise (Kim and Ewins, 1999)

The results presented in Figure 5-4 reveal the advantage of DHWT over the STFT,
because the results from DHWT are insensitive to the random noise while the STFT
provides noise-contaminated results (Kim and Ewins, 1998).

5.2 JOINT TIME-FREQUENCY WIGNER-VILLE DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS

TECHNIQUES FOR HELICOPTER HEALTH MONITORING
Polyshuchuk and Choy, (1998) used the WVD techniques, introducing a new
parameter NP4, to experimental data obtained from a helicopter tail gear transmission.
The damage introduced is a single-tooth damage in the tail gear. Figure 5.5 shows the
WVD and the instantaneous power plot for an undamaged gear. The two large
components are the first and second harmonics of the gear-mesh frequency. The WVD
and the instantaneous power plot for a damaged gear are shown in Figure 5.6

60

Figure 5.5

Accelerometer data for an undamaged gear. (Polyshchuck et al., 2000)

Figure 5.6

Accelerometer data for damaged gear (Polyshchuck et al., 2000)

Those results proved that the use of WVD could be a good tool in fault detection and
failure prevention.

61

5.3 NEURAL NETWORK-BASED

AND

NEURO-FUZZY METHODS FOR

HELICOPTER HEALTH MONITORING

Monsena and Dzwonczyc (1995) proposed a hybrid (digital/analog) neural system
as an accurate off-line monitoring tool used to reduce helicopter maintenance costs, and
an all analog neural network as a real time helicopter gearbox fault monitoring. The
hardware platform used is an analog neural network platform, Integrated Neural
Computing Architecture (INCA/1). The vibration data were generated using an
intermediate gearbox known as the Hollins TH-1L 42-deg tail rotor. Vibration data was
recorded from two Endeveco 2220C accelerometers. A low pass filter with a cutoff
frequency of 10 kHz was applied when data was generated. The main objectives of the
hybrid and analog neural network are: fault detection, fault classification and fault
identification. A comparison between the capability of the hybrid neural network to
detect faults and the analog neural network is presented in Figure 5.7 and Figure 5.8.

Figure 5.7

Hybrid system, fault detection performance. 60-point discrete Fourier transform (DFT)
was performed for fault detection, 128-point and 256-point DFT for fault identification.

62

Figure 5.8

All analog system performance. For fault detection in the case of all analog neural
network. 60-point DFT was performed (Monsena et al., 1995)

The results indicate that a system employing 60-point DFT was capable of solving the
fault detection problem. For the fault classification and identification problem, a 256point DFT was required for perfect system performances. The performance results by
using the all analog neural network suggest that it is possible to achieve 100% fault
detection with 0% false alarm rate.
Essaway et al. (1998) presented an automated predictive diagnosis (IPD)
technique for monitoring the health of helicopter gearboxes. This technique is based on
neuro-fuzzy algorithms for pattern clustering, pattern classification, and sensor fusion
(Cho, 1997). The vibration data used was obtained from an aft main power transmission
of a CH-46E helicopter. Frequency domain and wavelet analysis techniques were used to
analyze the data and prepare them for the neural network inputs. To train the neural
network, a non-supervised learning algorithm known as Self Organizing Maps (SOM)
was used. A feedforward backpropagation neural network was used to classify the
different faults. In the preprocess part of the vibration data, both auto power spectral
63

density (APSD) and wavelet coefficients were used [12]. A list of the fault types is
presented in Table 1.
Table 5.1

List of the fault types created in the test gearbox (Essaway et al., 1998)

Fault #
Fault 2

Fault type
Planetary bearing corrosion

Fault #
Fault 6

Fault 3

Input pinion bearing corrosion

Fault 7

Fault 4

Spiral bevel input pinion

spalling
Helical input pinion chipping

Fault 8

Fault type
Helical idler gear crack
propagation
Collector gear crack
propagation
Quill shaft crack propagation

Fault 9

No defect

Fault 5

The results obtained using the first feature extraction method (129 points APSD) and
second extraction method (wavelet transform) are promising and they are presented in
Table5.2 and Table 5.3.

Table 5.2

Neural Network Classification results using APSD features at 100% load (Essaway et
al., 1998)

Fault
Fault 2

Load
100%

Fault 3

100%

Fault 4

100%

Fault 5

100%

Fault 6

100%

Fault 7

100%

Fault 8

100%

Fault 9

100%

Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test
Train
Test

Acc1
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Acc2
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Acc3
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

64

Acc4
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Acc5
100%
100%
93.3%
90.9%
86.7%
81.8%
70%
72.7%
80%
27.3%
100%
100%
96.7%
81.8%
90%
63.6%

Acc6
100%
100%
90%
100%
100%
100%
93.3%
100%
76.6%
90.9%
93.3%
90.9%
83.3%
63.6%
93.3%
100%

Acc7
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Acc8
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
90.9%
96.7%
100%
100%
100%
100%
90.9%
100%
100%
100%
81.8%

Table 5.3

Neural network classification results using wavelet features (Essaway et al., 1998)

Accelerometer#
Acc 1
Acc 7 (14x14 SOM)
Acc 7 (9x9 SOM)

Fault2
100%
100%
100%

Fault3
100%
88.89%
88.89%

Fault4
66.67%
88.89%
44.44%

Fault5
100%
100%
100%

Fault6
100%
100%
100%

Fault7
100%
100%
100%

Fault8
100%
100%
100%

Fault9
88.89%
100%
100%

From the above results it can be seen that the neuro-fuzzy technique using both APSD
and wavelet transform, even though classification results was not perfect for all sensors,
produced 100% classification for all cases.

65

HELICOPTER

HEALTH

AND

USAGE

MONITORING

SYSTEMS (HUMS)
6.1 WHAT IS HUMS?
In the past 10 years, the movement for Health and Usage Monitoring Systems
(HUMS) has become a hot topic in the helicopter community. This movement started in
the United Kingdom with systems being fitted to helicopters operating in hostile
environment of the North Sea. The driving force for behind the introduction of such
systems has been the need for improved helicopter safety and reliability. The HUMS are
providing valuable information about the health of the helicopters engines, drive train
and rotor systems. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), 63
airworthiness related arisings were detected on the North Sea helicopters, where an
arising is defined as an event, which has led to significant maintenance actions. The
installed HUMS detected 70% of these arisings (Larder, 1999).
Some of the HUMS characteristics and benefits as described in literature, are
listed below (Larder et al., 2000):

Health: focus on giving early indications of potential problems for maintenanceplanning purposes

Usage: manage the usage of the aircraft and controls life-expired component
replacement
66

Monitoring: main focus is directed toward providing diagnostic and prognostic

data for future maintenance actions

Information: HUM systems will convert monitoring data into information to

facilitate the management and maintenance of the helicopters

Integrated: HUMS will be an integral part of the aircraft maintenance and logistic
system, and the HUMS outputs will be fully integrated into the aircraft
maintenance policy

Due to some time and resources related restriction, civil operators have not been able
to gather cost related data to prove the benefits of HUMS. However there is no doubt that
HUMS is providing worthwhile maintenance benefits. A few of these benefits as
described by Larder (2000) are:
-

Simplified rotor track and balance procedures and reduced RT&B flights;

Reduced airframe vibration levels, resulting in fewer avionics faults and other
faults, and hence less maintenance and downtime;

More pro-active maintenance as a result of being able to track the developing

trends of HUMS indicators and take appropriate actions in a timely manner;

Better targeted maintenance as a result of more accurate exceedance

information and improved troubleshooting; reduced disruption to operating
schedule due to unscheduled maintenance and aborted flights

6.1.1 VIBRATION HUMS PROGRAMS

JAHUMS ACTD (Joint Advanced Health and Usage Monitoring System

Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration) is a joint Army/Navy program
that is intended to generate a dynamic change in the maintenance philosophy. The
67

program is sponsored by Army/Navy, and the main contractor is Goodrich

Aerospace. The objective is to demonstrate the utility of advance HUMS
technology in an operational environment and to demonstrate and validate on
open systems approach for technology insertion (Haas et al., 2000)

VMEP (Vibration Management Enhancement Program). The US Army and

South Carolina Army National Guard have developed an automated vibration
monitoring and fault diagnostic tool used to find faults in the helicopter rotors,
engines, and drive train. The main contractor is Intelligent Automation
Corporation (IAC). The goal of the system is to reduce unscheduled maintenance
and the total number of maintenance test flights required to complete maintenance
activities (Grabill et al., 2001)

HOMP (Helicopter Operations Monitoring Program) is a version of a

commercial-airline Operational Flight Data Monitoring (OFDM) program that
enables proactive safety intervention based on analysis of exceedances and trends
in flight data obtained on a routine basis from line operations. The main
contractor is Stewart Hughes Ltd. The program improves safety by continuously
monitoring operations, detecting adverse trends in operational behavior, and
detecting weaknesses in crews and aircraft (Larder and Norman, 2000)

IMD HUMS (Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics Health and Usage Monitoring

System). This project is a Stage I prototype demonstration under the Office of the
Secretary of Defenses (OSD), Joint Dual use Program Office Commercial
Operations and Support Savings Initiative (COSSI). The main contractor is
Goodrich Aerospace. The goal of the IMD HUMS project is to integrate and test a

68

commercial/military dual use mechanical diagnostic system on the H-53 and H60 helicopters (Hess et al 2001).

TAIMS (Teledynes Aircraft Integrated Monitoring System). TAIMS is a

program designed specifically for monitoring small to medium size helicopters.
The main contractor is Teledyne Controls. TAIMS provides operational usage
monitoring and recording, flight analysis, incident investigation and crew
performance tracking-with the principal goal of reducing operational cost and
increasing flight safety.GenHUMS Generic HUMS,. A multi-aircraft generic
health and usage monitoring system using field proven, off-the-shelf, airborne and
ground-base technology, offered by Smiths Industries Aerospace under
sponsorship of the UK Ministry of Defense. The GenHUMS is intended to
improve airworthiness, improve reliability, and reduce aircraft cost of ownership
by detecting and diagnosing potential and actual failures, monitoring usage, and
providing alerts for potential maintenance actions (Trammel et al., 1997).

6.1.2 CURRENT HUMS PRODUCTS

Bell Helicopter HUMS Teledyne Controls
Bell, Teledyne Controls, and Stewart Hughes have developed the 412 Bell
HUMS. The 412 Bell provides the essential tools for reducing direct operating costs,
enhancing safety and improving availability.
The key features of the 412 Bell HUMS are: flight data recorder crash survivable
memory; stand-alone or network configuration; health monitoring/early fault detection on
dynamic components; vibration monitoring of the drive train and engines; fully
integration of the Rotor Analysis and Diagnostic System-Advanced Technology (RADS69

AT) rotor track and balance system, including rotor fault diagnostic; monitoring and
capturing of aircraft limit exceedances; electronic log book data, including power
assurance; power assurance check.
The potential benefits of the 412 Bell Hums can be listed as follows: reduced nonrevenue maintenance flights; insurance savings; log book accuracy; reduced false
removals; reduced helicopter maintenance; reduced mission aborts.
The configuration of the 412 Bell helicopter HUM system is presented in Figure
6.1. The system architecture can be divided into to parts: on-board equipment and
ground-based equipment.

Figure 6.1

HUMS installation on Bell 412 helicopter

The vibration data acquired from the accelerometers, and data from the Air Data
Computer are stored in the HUMS Processor Unit. Pilots have the possibility at any time

70

to monitor the functionality of the helicopter using the HUMS Display Panel. Optional
the data can be stored on a solid state Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder.
After landing the helicopter, data can be transferred from the HUMS Display
Panel through a PC card to the HUMS Ground Station, or from the Processor Unit to the
HUMS Ground Station through the HUMS Data Retrieval Unit. From here, the data is
then processed and analyzed.
The number of sensors and data sources on the Bell 412 helicopter HUMS are:
accelerometers up to 30 per aircraft; tachometers up to 5 per aircraft; chip detectors; air
data recorder; engine, gearboxes and rotors vibration.
A typical installation diagram for Bell 412 HUMS showing the location of the
sensors, and the data collecting and display hardware is presented in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2

Sensors location on Bell 412 Helicopter

71

Other HUMS products developed by Teledyne Controls and Stewart Hughes

currently in service in North America, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, are: North
Sea HUMS, EuroHUMS and AHUMS.

IMD HUMS Goodrich Aerospace

The IMD HUMS system developed by Goodrich Aerospace provides an extensive
set of functions for rotorcraft health and diagnostics. These functions support RT&B
operations, gearbox and drivetrain mechanical diagnostics, operational and structural
usage, exceedance detection and processing and engine power assurance checks (Hess et
al., 2001).
The typical IMD HUMS functions are: engine performance assessment (EPA);
rotor track and balance; absorber tuning using the vibration information collected from
the accelerometers mounted in the cabin; mechanical diagnostics of the vibration data
acquired from the drivetrain; exceedance monitoring; usage monitoring.
The hardware consist of the Data Transfer Unit and Cockpit Display Unit (DTU
& CDU), the Main Processor Unit (MPU), and the Remote Data Concentrator (RDC) as
shown in Figure 6.3.

72

(a)
Figure 6.3

(b)

IMD HUMS hardware configuration; (a) Main CH-53E IMD HUMS display; (b) Location
of the IMD HUMS on the Army UH-60A (Hess et al. 2001)

The IMD HUMS is composed of two major elements: the on-board acquisition
and process system (OBS) and the ground station (GS).
The On-Board System is responsible for collecting, processing, analyzing, and
storing data obtained from sensors located throughout the aircraft. The principal element
of the OBS is the Main Processing Unit (MPU), which analyzes the input data for
exceedances and events, calculates various flight regimes, performs various diagnostic
algorithms, and stores the data to an onboard data cartridge. The Remote Data Collector
(RDC) is another element of the OBS system. It is used for the aircraft that do not support
modern avionics bus communication to collect the data from the sensors.
The Ground Station (GS) is the primary user interface with the HUMS system. It
is responsible for logging and maintaining all flight and maintenance data, generating
maintenance-due lists based on flight data, performing aircraft configuration and pars
tracking, generating engineering and managements reports, and archiving data (Hess et
al., 2001).

73

The IMD HUMS program is currently in progress on the Navy CH-53E, and the
Navy SH-60B. The CH-53E IMD HUMS was transitioned from development test into
operational test phase. It completed a 97 hours development test program in 2000 with
emphasize on functional evaluation and demonstration of IMD HUMS. The SH-60B
IMD HUMS transition from the development test phase to the operational test phase was
scheduled to occur in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2001.
Other IMD HUMS programs will target the Army UH-60A and HH-60L, the
Marines AH-1Z and the UH-1Y.

VMEP South Carolina-Army National Guard

The VMEP system was intended primarily as an aid to the Army aviation
maintainer. The goal is to reduce unscheduled maintenance and the total number of
maintenance test flights required to complete maintenance activities. The intent of the
system is to capture, during operational flights activities, the vibration environment of the
major components of the helicopter. The vibration data is analyzed by the embedded
system to produce a set of specific machinery health indicators. These indicators are
stored for post flight use by the aircraft maintainers. Maintenance action are correlated to
these health indicators and communicated so that actions can be scheduled (Grabill et al.,
2001)
The VMEP functions are:

Rotor smoothing also known as Rotor Track and Balance (RT&B), which, is a
function that minimizes the fundamental harmonic of main rotor and tail rotor
vibration. Adjustments for weight, trim tab and/or pitch link length are provided.

74

Drive Train Diagnostics accelerometers measurements for all drive train

components are provided. The components that can be monitored include:
transmission, auxiliary drives, tail-rotor drive shaft hangar bearings, intermediate
gearbox, and tail rotor gearbox. Classical machinery monitoring algorithms are
applied to the acquired accelerometer data.

Vibration Survey is a function available for diagnosis of abnormal vibration

measurements made with the installed transducers.

These functions are shown in Figure 6.4

Smart Rotor
Smoothing
Algorithms

Gear and Drive

Train Monitoring

Figure 6.4

Vibration
Management Unit
(VMU)

Engine Vibration
Health Monitoring

VMEP functions

The goals and objectives of the VMEP program are as follows: to reduce rotor
track and balance maintenance test flights; mitigate Apache Readiness Improvement
Program (ARIP) problems; reduce aircraft operation costs; increase aircraft availability;
increase aircraft safety.
To achieve the above stated goals and objectives, the methods and approach used
in the VMEP program are: to measure and record in-flight vibrations, process vibration

75

data, apply signal analysis methods and identify hot-spots, fine-tune track and balance
to reduce vibrations, and identify incipient failures and anticipate maintenance actions
The design and impact of the VMEP system on the aircraft must be minimal. The
requirements are to provide a system with open architecture, using Commercial off-TheShelf (COTS) hardware components and COTS software components. The key features
of the VMEP program are:

PC based software for at-Aircraft Diagnostics

Data Downloaded via serial link from VMU to PC-GBS

Software can run on SPORT or any laptop / desktop computer

Data at-Aircraft used for Rotor Smoothing and vibration diagnostics

Neural Network algorithms calculate optimum adjustments to reduce rotor

vibrations

Data can be transferred from Laptop/SPORT to Facility Computer for status

monitoring

Data can be transferred to WEB-GBS for long term trends and aircraft
comparison

6.2 VMEP HUMS CONFIGURATION AND VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION

6.2.1 VMEP HUMS CONFIGURATION
The VMEP HUMS consist of two systems, the On-board System and the PC
Ground Base Station (PC-GBS).
On-board System includes the accelerometers, tachometers, cables, and various
sensors that are connected to the Vibration Management Unit (VMU). The VMU is fully
76

integrated and qualified with the Army airframe. The VMU is a stand-alone system that
does not depend on, or adversely interact with, any other system on the aircraft. On the
helicopter airframe there are 18 accelerometers mounted, three tachometers and a blade
tracker.
The VMU is a lightweight acquisition and processing unit, open architecture
hardware and software, which provides a low cost, easily upgradeable system for onboard diagnostic such as rotor track and balance, drive train vibration monitoring, turbine
engine diagnostics, and gear box monitoring. The total weight of the VMU is 4 lbs and 5
oz. Figure 6.5 shows a picture of the VMU.

Figure 6.5

Vibration Management Unit

The VMEP on-Board configuration and location of the sensors and tachometers is
presented in Figure 6.6

77

Figure 6.6

VMEP configuration for AH-64A

Figure 6.7

Pictures of the accelerometer mounted on different components of the helicopter

78

PC-Ground Based Station (PC-GBS) uses a Windows based software that

receives measured data from the on-board system, stores this data into a database and
performs analysis of the data producing easy to understand corrective actions for the
maintenance personnel. The PC-GBS is also designed to operate on any computer with a
Pentium 133 MHz or faster processor. The PC-GBS transfers the aircraft data from the
VMU for at-aircraft maintenance. The PC-GBS uses a neural network based rotor
smoothing algorithm to calculate the maintenance actions required to optimize the rotor
1/rev vibration levels.
Diagnostic algorithms are used to automatically analyze the acquired vibration
data to provide a comprehensive indication of the health of the aircraft machinery such as
engine, drive-shafts, gearboxes, bearings, pumps, and generators (Grabill et al., 2001).

Figure 6.8

PC-GBS Screens

Figure 6.8 shows a few screens from the PC-GBS. The user-friendly interface
requires the user a minimum training to operate the software and perform the basic
functions without any prior expertise in rotor track and balance and vibration analysis.

79

6.2.2 VMEP HUMS VIBRATION DATA COLLECTION

The data collection process starts in the cockpit when the pilot/copilot interacts
with the VMU by selecting a data collection MODE and aircraft STATE and
pressing the data collection DO button. An indication of the status of the data
acquisition process is provided to the operator via the cockpit display.
After completion of the flight the vibration data stored in the VMU is transferred
via the crew chief laptop to the PC-Ground Based Station (PC-GBS) as shown in Figure
6.9.

Raw data

Raw data

Raw data

Data Desensitizing

Ground station

USC Teradata Computer

Figure 6.9

Vibration data flow diagram showing downloading of data from the VMU to the ground
station and further to the USC teradata computer

From the PC-GBS the data will be transferred to USC for cost benefit analysis.
Before transfer, the data is being desensitized to eliminate sensitive operations-related
components. After the desensitizing process is complete, the vibration data is transferred
80

to the USC teradata computer. From the secured server the data can be utilized by various
end users to perform specific analysis. It is important to mention that the raw data from
the VMU stored on the USC teradata computer is protected against any kind of
accidentally pollution of the data, i.e. deleting data or adding data, by hierarchiezd access
levels of the users.

6.3 VMEP HUMS VIBRATION DATA ANALYSIS

The first step when dealing with the vibration analysis of complex machinery like
helicopters is to devide the whole assembly into components, and to identify the main
vibration features of each component. Using the mechanical drive schematic presented in
Figure 6.10, the major vibration sources can be identified: gear-clashing tones, bearing
frequencies, shaft frequencies and structural natural resonances.

Figure 6.10 AH-64A Mechanical Drive Schematic

81

Based on the information furnished by the mechanical drive schematic, the shaft
frequencies and the mesh frequencies of the components can be calculated. A list of the
components and their frequencies for the AH-64A mechanical drive system is presented
in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1

Shaft frequencies and mesh frequencies for the main components of the mechanical
drive shaft of AH-64A helicopter
Gearbox

Tail Gearbox
Intermediate Gearbox
#1 & #2 Nose Gearbox

#1 & #2 Engine
Hydraulic Pump
AC Generator
Aft & Fwd Hanger Bearing

Component
shaft1
gear1
tail rotor drive shaft
gear
shaft
gear
shaft
gear
shaft
hydr. pump shaft
gear
AC gen shaft
gear
tail rotor drive shaft

APU
Main transmission

APU shaft
gear
shaft2
gear

rpm/
Mesh Frequency Shaft Freq
nr. of teeth
Hz
Hz
3636
1333.2
60.6
22
4815.25
2969.4
80.3
37
20952
10825.2
349.2
31
9841
10661.1
164.0
65
20952
349.2
12635
6738.7
210.6
32
12251
6738.1
204.2
33
4815.25
0.0
80.3
8251
49
4757
82

6738.3

137.5

6501.2

79.3

Having this information, the spectral analysis of the vibration data recorded by
particular sensors is possible. In the frequency spectra, each component can be easily
identified using its characteristic frequency. Changes in the frequency spectra at certain
frequencies can be an indication of a wear process, or of the initiation of a failure process.
Monitoring changes in the frequency spectra can give indication about the life and health
of the components being monitored.
Diagnostics algorithms that are embedded into the VMEP software generate
Condition Indicators (CI) based on known information about rotational speed,
mechanical construction, as well as on information on the structural vibration or acoustic

82

resonance of the system. A condition indicator uses a set of measured data as input and
produces a single real number as output. This single number can be thresholded, trended,
or analyzed, to provide an indication a fault presence, the location and the type of the
fault.

6.4 VMEP HUMS FEATURE EXTRACTION

The data downloaded from the Vibration Monitoring Unit (VMU), is of two
types: synchronous order domain data (SOD) and asynchronous frequency domain data
(AFD). In the SOD data file are stored twelve vibration amplitudes acquired from three
sensors, nose, lateral and vertical located in the cockpit of the helicopter. The 12
vibration amplitudes correspond to the rotor frequency, 1/rev up to 12/rev. The AFD data
file contains 400 data points for a frequency range from 0 to 1000 Hz. The data is
collected from 18 sensors. The location of sensors is presented in Figure 6.6.
The feature investigated in the present work is the amplitude of the frequency of
particular components. As mentioned in section 6-3, the rotational speed for each rotating
component was identified and the corresponding frequencies were calculated. The mesh
frequencies of the major assemblies were also calculated.
By plotting the vibration information from each sensor in the frequency domain, a
frequency spectrum is generated where the components can be identified based on their
own frequency.
Because there is no baseline to compare with the data collected from the
accelerometers, first we tried to look on how the frequencies of the components modify
in time and so to establish a baseline. To do so we identify the variables that are part of

83

the feature extraction as being: aircraft ID, state status, and the sensor. Base on these
variables the following two cases were analyzed:

Case 1: same aircraft, same state, and same sensor

Case 2: different aircraft, same state, and same sensor

6.4.1 CASE 1: SAME AIRCRAFT, SAME STATE, AND SAME SENSOR

As Figure 6.11 and Figure 6.12 show, the main frequencies of the components
and their harmonics can be clearly identified in the frequency spectrum. The
abbreviations used in these plots are: tail rotor drive shaft (TRDS), engine drive shaft
(EDS), and drive shaft (DS).
Tail Gearbox

0.6

E1_988820742 FL_010502_122600

E1_988855674 Fl_010502_220812

E1_997985420 Fl_010816_141038

E1_997986362 Fl_010816_143003

E1_991416342 Fl_010601_132610

80.3 Hz
TRDS

0.5

Amplitude [g's]

0.4

0.3
164 Hz
Input DS

408 Hz
2 nd overtone of
AC Generator

0.2

591 Hz
7th overtone of
TRDS

490 Hz
3rd overtone of
Input DS
0.1

0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Frequency [Hz]

Figure 6.11 Frequency spectrum for the tail gearbox sensor for the same aircraft, same test state
(FLIGHT), and the same sensor.

Both, Figure 6.11 and Figure 6.12 shows that the amplitude of vibration for the
components is changing over time. After sufficient data has been collected a baseline for
the allowable amplitudes of the vibrations can be establish and each frequency can be
84

compared to the baseline. If damage will occur in any of the components being
monitored, the frequency spectrum will change and looking at the frequency at which the
change is present, the component can be identified and appropriate maintenance action
can be taken.
Intermediate Gear Box
E1_988820742

E1_988855674

E1_991416342

E1_997985420

E1_997986362

80.3 Hz
TRDS

2.5

Amplitude [g's]

1.5

164 Hz
Input DS

325 Hz
EDS

975 Hz
3 rd overtone of
EDS

408 Hz
2 nd overtone of AC
Generator

0.5

0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Frequency [Hz]

Figure 6.12 Frequency spectrum for the intermediate gearbox sensor for the same aircraft, same
test state (FLIGHT), and the same sensor.

6.4.2 CASE 2: DIFFERENT AIRCRAFT, SAME STATE, AND SAME SENSOR

The second case considered is to analyze the vibration data for the same test state,
the same sensor but different aircraft. By doing so we are interested to see if the
frequency spectrum for each sensor is changing from one aircraft to another aircraft and
if so how does it change.
Figure 6.13 and Figure 6.14 show that the frequency spectrum for the two sensors
considered is not changing (shifting of main frequencies), except for changes in the
amplitudes of the vibrations.
85

#1Nose Gearbox
S1_989075061

B1_1001517808

H1_1003954857

L1_1004623237

700 Hz
2 nd overtone of
Engine Drive
Sh ft

2.5

Amplitude [g's]

2
656 Hz
4 th overtone of
Input Drive Shaft

1.5
350 Hz
EDS
1

534 Hz
3 rd overtone of
Fuel Boost Pump

164 Hz
Input DS
0.5

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

1000

Frequency [Hz]

Figure 6.13 Frequency spectrum for the #1 nose gearbox sensor for the same sensor, same test
state (FLIGHT) but different aircraft.
Intermediate Gearbox
S1_989075061
4

D1_1002050757

F1_1005231900

J1_1003879568

P1_1003506805

S1_989075061

80.3 Hz
TRDS

3.5

Amplitude [g's]

3
2.5
2
803 Hz
10 th overtone of
TR Driveshaft

1.5
241 Hz
3 rd overtone of
TR Driveshaft

1
23.5 Hz
TR 1/rev

0.5

883 Hz
11 th overtone of
TR Driveshaft

405 Hz
5 th overtone of
TR Driveshaft

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

1000

Frequency [Hz]

Figure 6.14 Frequency spectrum for the intermediate gearbox sensor for the same sensor, same
test state (FLIGHT) but different aircraft

86

DAMAGE DETECTION OF A SIMULATED CRACK USING

SHORT TIME FOURIER TRANSFORM AND WIGNER-VILLE
DISTRIBUTION

Currently many digital signal-processing techniques are being developed and

applied to fault detection and machine-health diagnosis. The signal processing methods
for machine-health diagnosis can be classified into time-domain analysis, frequency
domain analysis, and joint time-frequency analysis.
Forced oscillation diagnostic method with non-stationary excitation and variable
frequency is presented. This method was investigated theoretically and experimentally
using only Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT). The spectral analysis developed for
stationary processes is not localized in time, thus it becomes inappropriate for a
physically meaningful description of signals from non-stationary processes. Based on
these arguments a new approach is considered for machine health diagnosis for nonstationary signals, namely Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD). An extensive work was
done in the past years by various authors using WVD mainly for gearboxes diagnostics
and prognostics, with encouraging results. Only a few work has been done using WVD
for crack detection, therefore not too many results are available.

87

The purpose of this work is to perform a comparison between diagnostic features

based on the new WVD approach and the traditional power spectral density (PSD) of the
short time Fourier, transform for fatigue crack diagnostic.

7.1 DYNAMIC MODEL OF A CRACKED OBJECT

The basis for using the forced oscillation method for the fatigue crack diagnostics
lies in the fact that in a cracked object the stiffness is nonlinear and the nonlinearity level
changes with the crack size (Gelman et al. 2000). Assuming that the object under analysis
can be approximated with a single degree of freedom nonlinear oscillator, the equations
of motion can be expressed as follows (Bouraou and Gelman, 1997):
X&& + 2z Sw S X& + w S X = A sin(w f t + j ), x 0,

X&& + 2z w X& + w X = A sin(w t + j ), x < 0,

C C
C
f

where X =

(7.1)

x
, x is displacement, m and c are the object mass and damping coefficient
m

respectively, k S and k C are stiffness at stretching (crack opening) and compression

(crack closing), z S and z C are damping ratios

wS =

kS
k
c
c
, wC = C , z S =
, zC =
.
m
m
2 kS m
2 kC m

(7.2)

At compression, the crack is closed and the material behaves like a continuum;
hence, the compression stiffness is the same as that of the material without crack,
kC = k

At stretching, the crack is opened and the material is discontinuous, therefore the stiffness
decreases with the quantity:

88

Dk = k - k S

as shown in Figure 7.1

Stretching

Crack opening

Compression

Crack closing

Figure 7.1

Stretching and compression of the cracked object. In stretching crack is opening and in
compression crack is closing

Beam with crack

Crack opening under

bending

Crack closing under

reversed loading

Figure 7.2

Opening and closing crack under bending loading

89

For the axial loading case considered in the present work, the stiffness change due
to the crack is related to the width of the object (cross section area) hence the linear
approximation holds. For bending, the linear approximation is not true anymore, the
stiffness change being proportional to the width of the object raised to the power of three
(moment of inertia).
The variables w f and j are the constant excitation frequency and random initial
phase (Gelman et al. 2000). The random initial phase is uniformly distributed in the
interval [0; 2p ] . The frequency of the cracked object depends on the crack size a
w s2
a
= 1- = 1- r
2
wc
h

(7.3)

where r is the relative crack size,

r=

a
h

(7.4)

The period of oscillation for the cracked object is given by:

T=

2p T1 T2 1 2p
= + =
w
2 2 2 ws

1 2p
+
2 wc

p
p
+
=
ws wc

(7.5)

Hence,
w =2

w S wC
,
w S + wC

(7.6)

Using Equation (7.3) the frequency of the cracked object becomes:

w =w n

2 1- r
1+ 1- r

where w n is the natural frequency of the un-cracked object, w n =

relative crack size.

90

(7.7)

k
, and r is the
m

The relation between the frequency and the relative crack size is shown in Figure
7.3. As the crack size increases the frequency of the structure decreases, as a consequence
of the change in stiffness.

Frequency of cracked object

Frequency [Hz]

25
20
15
10
5
0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Relative crack size [%]

Figure 7.3

Frequency change as the crack progresses

91

0.8

7.2 DAMAGE DETECTION STRATEGY

The damage detection strategy used in the present work is based on the forced
oscillation response and spectral analysis features. Crack presence in the structure
modifies (decreases) the effective stiffness and hence the main frequency as shown in
Figure 7.4. In addition, the nonlinear character of the equations leads to parametric
resonances, which appear as additional features in the frequency spectrum. Higher order
harmonics of the main frequency will be present in the frequency spectrum.
Main frequency
1st and 2nd harmonic
of main frequency

Figure 7.4

Additional features present in the frequency spectrum

The stiffness and the nonlinearities also change with the crack size. In our
investigation, we tracked the main frequency changes for increasing relative crack size (r
= 0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.6). For each relative crack size, the nonlinear time-response signal was
generated using numerical solution of Equation (7.1). The, the power spectral density
(PSD) of the signal was computed using two methods: (a) short time Fourier transform
(STFT); and (b) Wigner-Ville distribution.
92

After computing the power spectral density (PSD), the peaks in the frequency
spectrum were observed. Changes in amplitude magnitude, shifting of the main
frequency, and apparition of higher harmonics in the frequency spectrum were
investigated.

7.3 NUMERICAL SIMULATION

The entire numerical simulation was carried out using MATLAB SIMULINK
software package. MATLAB is a powerful numerical simulation toll that integrates
mathematical computing, visualization, and a powerful programming language to provide
a flexible environment for technical computing. The MATLAB open architecture makes
it easy to use in conjunction with its companion products to explore data, generate
algorithms, and create custom tools. MATLAB includes tools for: data acquisition, data
analysis and exploration, visualization and image processing, algorithm prototyping and
development, modeling and simulation, programming and application development.
The toolboxes used in the present work were: the signal processing toolbox, the
digital signal processing (DSP) toolbox, and the statistics toolbox.
7.3.1 MATLAB SIMULINK SIMULATION
7.3.1.1 Simulation Flowchart
Before starting writing the program codes in MATLAB language and perform the
simulation in SIMULINK, an understanding of the general purpose and steps that must be
followed was needed. First, a flow chart of the road map for the entire simulation was
developed. Next a list of variables was generated. The SIMULINK simulation started by
generating the time domain data for the pristine and damaged structures, followed by the
93

frequency domain analysis and finally the application of statistical methods to interpret
the results. These steps are presented in Figure 7.5

(jn)

Monte Carlo
n = 1, .., 1000

Input
Variables

Time
Domain
Simulation

Frequency
Domain
Analysis

2
Statistical (m,s )r
Analysis

Fisher
Criterion

(m,s2)pristine

Damage Level
r = 0, ,1

Figure 7.5

Flowchart diagram of the simulation strategy

Figure 7.5 also shows that a Monte Carlo loop was applied to the simulated data.
For each crack size the simulation was run 1000 times, each time with a different
randomly selected initial phase, j. The phase selected in each of the iteration was
randomly selected in the interval [0:2p] by a random white nose generator. In this way a
large data set with built-in statistical variation was generated.
The frequency domain analysis consisted of two methods: the first method was
the short time Fourier transform (STFT), the second method was the Wigner-Ville
distribution (WVD).
Statistical analysis was used to compare the results by obtained by using the two
methods, STFT and WVD. The statistical method used for classification was Fishers
linear discriminant criterion.

94

7.3.1.2 MATLAB SIMULINK Simulated Time Domain Data

The input variables for the simulation are presented in Table 7.1.
Table 7.1

Input variables for SIMULINK simulation

MATLAB
Variable
delta_C/C ratio
h_compress
h_stretch
Self frequency
Initial frequency
Final frequency
Sampling interval
Start time
Target time
Number point
FFT

Description of variable

Relative crack size

Damping coefficient at compression
Damping coefficient at stretching
Natural frequency of the undamaged structure
Initial frequency of the signal generator, by default set to be 20 Hz
Final frequency of the signal generator, by default set to be 20 Hz
Time interval for sampling
Starting time of simulation
Targeted time for simulation
Number of points for fast Fourier transform (FFT)

Default
Values
0
1
1
20
20
20
0.002
0
2
256

The simulation program was based on Equation (7.1). A screen capture of the
SIMULINK environment showing the block diagram of the simulation program is
presented in Figure 7.6

Figure 7.6

Block diagram of SIMULINK program

95

Figure 7.6 shows that the simulation starts with the generation of time domain
signal. The signal generated is a constant amplitude sine wave. The frequency of the
signal changes as the crack progresses. The signal is then split in two; one branch goes to
the workspace and is saved as the time domain data for the undamaged case, and the
other branch enters the block diagram where the crack is present, hence the time domain
data for the damage case is generated.
The natural frequency of the object without crack is fn = 20 Hz (wn=40p rad/s) and
the damping coefficients for stretching and compression are zsws =zc wc = 10 rad/s. The
relative crack size values investigated here are r = 0; 0.1; 0.4; 0.6
The time domain data for two cases, pristine (r = 0), and damaged (r = 0.6) is
presented in Figure 7.7

(a)
Figure 7.7

(b)

Time domain data: (a) pristine case (r=0) and (b) damaged case (r=0.6)

For the frequency domain analysis, the transitory part of the time domain signal
was not taken into consideration. After the transitory part, the data was stored, and further
applied to it frequency domain analysis technique.

96

7.3.1.3 MATLAB SIMULINK Graphical User Interface

A graphical user interface (GUI) was created to facilitate data entering and
interaction with the different MATLAB files created for time domain, frequency domain,
and statistical analysis.
The GUI was designed as a window where the user must enter the information
need by the program to run. It has also press buttons that allow the user to select the type
of analysis to be performed. Graphical display of the results is made possible by selecting
the type of plots of interest. The graphical user interface is shown in Figure 7.8

Figure 7.8

Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the MATLAB program (Gelman et al. 2001)

97

7.4 RESULTS
In the present work the simulation was carried out for relative crack size, r, starting
from zero (pristine case) and up to 0.6. In the next sections the results will be presented
for four cases: pristine case (r = 0), small crack (r = 0.1), medium crack (r = 0.4), and
large crack (r = 0.6).
7.4.1 CASE 1: PRISTINE STRUCTURE (r = 0)
The main frequency of the undamaged object is the same as the natural frequency
of the pristine object, fpristine = 20 Hz. The experimental results, Figure 7.9, show that
both, Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) and short time Fourier transform (STFT) predict
the main frequency of the pristine object at 20 Hz.
No other effects (interference or harmonics) are present in the frequency
spectrum, which is in concordance with the predictions of linear analysis.

(a)
Figure 7.9

(b)

WVD and STFT comparison for the pristine case, r = 0

98

7.4.2 CASE 2: SMALL CRACK (r = 0.1)

As the crack grows, the main frequency is changing. The calculated frequency for
the relative crack size of 0.1 is f0.1 = 19.5 Hz. The simulation results, Figure 7.10a and b,
show that in both spectrums (WVD and STFT) there is a small change in the peak of the
main frequency, indicating a shift of the frequency toward a smaller value.
Additional features start to appear in the frequency spectrum. For the WignerVille distribution spectrum, the half-tone interference is present (f1/2 @ 10 Hz). For short
time Fourier transform, the higher harmonic effects start to be noticeable. The first
harmonic of the main frequency appears in the spectrum (f2 @ 39 Hz).

(a)

(b)

Figure 7.10 WVD and STFT comparison for small damage case, r = 0.1

99

7.4.3 CASE 3: MEDIUM CRACK (r = 0.4)

At higher relative crack size, r = 0.4, the calculated main frequency is f0.4 = 17.5
Hz. The experimental results, Figure 7.11, show the change in the main frequency for
both methods WVD and STFT.
What is relevant in the frequency spectrum is the well-defined additional feature.
In the WVD spectrum, Figure 7.11a, the 1st and 2nd half-tone interferences are present at
f1/2 @ 9 Hz, f3/2 @ 26 Hz. The amplitude of the features is also more prominent. In the
STFT spectrum, Figure 7.11b, the 1st and 2nd higher harmonics of the main frequency are
present (f2 @ 35 Hz, f3 @ 53 Hz).
The only difference between the two spectra is that, while in the STFT spectrum
the 2nd higher harmonic of the main frequency is well delimited, in the WVD spectrum
the 2nd higher harmonic of the main frequency, f2, does not appear. Instead we notice the
presence of the 2nd half-tone interference, f3. This issue will be addressed later in the
discussion section.

(a)

(b)

Figure 7.11 WVD and STFT comparison, damaged case r = 0.4.

100

7.4.4 CASE 4: LARGE CRACK (r = 0.6)

For the last case, when the relative crack size reach 0.6, the calculated main
frequency is f0.6 = 15.5 Hz. The results show the decrease in the main frequency of the
damaged structure for both WVD and STFT methods.
Additional features are well represented in the frequency spectrum. Figure 7.12a
shows the additional features present in the WVD spectrum. The 1st and 2nd half-tone
interferences,(f1/2 @ 9 Hz, f3/2 @ 26 Hz) as well as the 1st higher harmonic of the main
frequency (f2 @ 35 Hz) appear in the power spectrum. Figure 7.12b shows additional
features present in the STFT spectrum. As anticipated, the 1st and 2nd higher harmonics of
the main frequency appear (f2 @ 35 Hz, f3 @ 53 Hz) in the power spectral density. It is also
noticeable that the amplitude of the harmonics as has grown considerable in comparison
with the previous cases that had a smaller relative crack size.

(a)

(b)

Figure 7.12 WVD and STFT comparison for the damaged case, r = 0.6

101

7.5 DIAGNOSTIC EFFECTIVENESS

The Fisher criterion, described in section 3.7, was used to compare the
effectiveness of the two methods investigated in the present work. The Fisher criterion
was calculated for pairs of classes representing the frequency of the main harmonic for
the pristine case and the frequency of the main harmonic for various damage cases. The
change in the criterion as the damage progresses was examined. Table 7.2 presents the
values of the Fisher criterion for the two methods, short time Fourier transform (STFT)
and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD).
Table 7.2

Fisher criterion calculated for STFT and WVD methods and the feature comparison.
Each of the the damaged cases were compared with the pristine case

Method
STFT
WVD

Fisher criterion value

Pristine vs.
0.4 relative crack
1.476
3.297

Pristine vs.
0.1 relative crack
0.001
0.666

Pristine vs.
0.6 relative crack
4.119
43.367

The results of Table 7.2 are plotted in Figure 7.13. It can be noticed that the damage
detection capabilities of WVD algorithm are definitely better than those of STFT

102

STFT

50

WVD

45
Fisher criterion

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 - 0.1

0 - 0.4

0 -0.6

Relative crack size

Figure 7.13 Damage detection effectiveness of the two methods, STFT and WVD, based on the
Fisher criterion

7.6 DISCUSSION
Damage detection and failure prevention of mechanical systems is of critical
importance. In the present chapter damage detection of a cracked component was
investigated using two signal-processing techniques: short time Fourier transform (STFT)
and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD).
The non-stationary time domain signal was simulated using MATLABSIMULINK. The damage was simulated as a change in stiffness of the component of
interest. Solving the equations of motion for a one degree of freedom oscillator generated
the time domain signal. The solution was obtained for four crack sizes: r = 0 (pristine), r
= 0.1 (small damage), r = 0.4 (medium damage), and r = 0.6 (large damage).
After the time domain signal was obtained, frequency domain analysis techniques
were used to investigate the change in frequency as a result of the crack growth. The
feature of interest was the amplitude of the main frequency as well as shifting of the other
frequencies in the frequency domain.
103

The results of this investigation showed that, as the crack progresses, the
frequency spectra changes. According to the non-linear analysis, when damage is present,
the frequency spectra will change and higher harmonics and subharmonics of the main
frequency will appear. Our results clearly indicate the changes due to the presence of the
crack. The appearance of higher harmonics as the crack grows is well indicated by the
STFT. The 1st and 2nd harmonic of the main frequency (f2 @ 35 Hz, f3 @ 53 Hz) could be
easily identified on the power spectra for r = 0.4 and r = 0.6 (Figure 7.12b).
While the STFT method can detect well the higher harmonics of the main
frequency, the WVD method is less sensitive to this feature. In WVD power spectrum,
the 1st higher harmonic of the main frequency appears only for large crack size (relative
crack size r = 0.6). It is interesting to notice that subharmonics generated by the
interference terms (cross-terms), are present in the frequency spectra of the WVD but do
not appear in the STFT. As the crack grows, the cross-terms are more visible and their
amplitudes are larger. This phenomenon led us to the idea of using the cross-terms as an
indicator of crack propagation. This idea is not investigate any further in the present
study, but can be the goal of future research area.
To classify the outcome of the two methods, a statistical tool was needed. The
Fisher linear discriminant method (Fisher criterion) was applied to classify the outcome
of the two damage detection techniques. The spectral features used in this classification
were chosen to be the change in amplitude of the main frequency for the pristine cases (r
= 0) and for the damaged case (r = 0.1), (r = 0.4), (r = 0.6). The main frequencies for the
damaged cases where compared one by one with the main frequency for the pristine case,
and the Fisher criterion was calculated for each case. This method was applied to the data

104

obtained using STFT and WVD. The results were plotted on the same graph and
presented in Figure 7.13.
Figure 7.13 shows that, for small cracks the detection of damage in the structure is
done poorly by both methods (STFT and WVD). As the crack size increases, the
detection of the damage becomes better, as indicated by the increase in the Fisher
criterion values. As expected, the best damage detection is achieved when the crack size
is large as shown for r = 0.6 in Figure 7.13. For small and medium crack sizes (r = 0.1
and r = 0.4) the two methods are comparable. For medium crack size (r = 0.4), the Fisher
criterion for STFT and WVD being FSTFT 0.4 = 1.5 and FWVD 0.4 = 3.3. For larger crack size
(r = 0.6), the WVD prediction is much better than the STFT, FSTFT 0.6 = 4.2 and FWVD 0.6 =
43.4. These results show that the overall the damage detection sensitivity using the WVD
method is much better than when using the STFT method.
In conclusion, both WVD and STFT methods predict the presence of the damage.
The STFT method gives a better indication of the higher harmonics of the main
frequency due to the crack growth On the other hand, WVD method gives stronger
sensitivity to the crack presence based on the changes in the main frequency. This latter
observation has also been substantiated by statistical analysis using Fisher criterion.
The method to be used for damage detection is entirely up to the person who is
performing the signal analysis. Its choice must be based on the application type, and on
the experience of the operator one method or the other can be used. The short time
Fourier transform method is a relative known method and is widely use in machinery
damage detection and health monitoring. Wigner-Ville distribution is a relative new
method and the full advantages it can offer are yet to be discovered. The present work is

105

only a small step taken on the long road, and further research needs to be conducted to
fully clarify these aspects.

106

CONCLUSIONS
This thesis has presented vibration-based methods used for damage detection and

health monitoring of mechanical systems. The review of the state of the art revealed that,
in the past years, damage detection and health and usage monitoring have been proactive
topics in the researchers community. Extensive work has been recently done to study
linear and non-linear vibration phenomena, using various signal processing techniques.
Although the traditional methods, i.e. fast Fourier transform and short time Fourier
transform are still used, the focus of recent research is shifting towards more advanced
methods and signal processing techniques such as wavelet transform and Wigner-Ville
distribution.
Studying the vibration response of rotating machinery with emphasis on the
vibration of helicopters was the focus of the present work. An understanding of the rotor
track and balance, the adjustments necessary to smooth the helicopter main and tail
rotors, and the procedures needed to be followed to achieve this goal have been
presented. Using VMEP neural network based algorithm for rotor smoothing, the
vibration levels of the helicopter are reduced by performing fewer adjustments and hence
less number of maintenance test flights. Maintaining a low vibration level increases the
operational time of helicopters, increases the life time of components, and reduces the
probability of an catastrophic event to take place.

107

The health and usage monitoring aspect has also been presented in this thesis.
Numerous programs are under development or undergoing, to equip military and
commercial helicopters with health and monitoring systems (HUMS) capable to provide
information about the health and the remaining useful life of major components. A brief
description of the programs that are currently in progress was given, with emphasis on
the Vibration Monitoring Enhancement Program (VMEP), program developed by the US
Army and South Carolina National Guard. The main contractor is Intelligent Automation
Corporation (IAC), and University of South Carolina is responsible with the cost benefit
analysis of the VMEP project. A description of the purpose of the project as well as the
software and hardware configuration was given. The vibration data collection, the
transfer of the data from the helicopter to the ground based station and further to the USC
data repository, and the vibration data processing were described.
A simulation for a cracked component was designed and carried out using
MATLAB-SIMULINK. The forced oscillation method to generate the time response of
the structure for axial loading was used. The crack was simulated as a change in stiffness.
The signal processing techniques used for damage detection were short time Fourier
transform and Wigner-Ville distribution. The reason for using joint time-frequency
methods was the non-linearity of the structure response. The crack presence in the
structure modifies the effective stiffness and hence the main frequency. The relative
crack size considered in this study was r = 0 (pristine case), r = 0.1 (small crack), r = 0.4
(medium crack), and r = 0.6 (large crack). The natural frequency of the pristine object
was fn = 20 Hz. The results showed that both methods, short time Fourier transform and
Wigner-Ville distribution, predicted the presence and progress of damage. The feature

108

used to predict damage were, the change in the amplitude of the main frequency and
apparition of higher harmonics of the main frequency in the frequency spectrum. The
STFT method gives a better indication of the higher harmonics of the main frequency due
to the crack growth. On the other hand, WVD method gives stronger sensitivity to the
crack presence based on the changes in the main frequency.
To quantify the effectiveness of the outcome of the two methods, the Fisher
criterion was used. The results showed that the Fisher criterion values for the WignerVille distribution method were slightly higher than those for the short time Fourier for
small and medium crack size (FSTFT

0.4

= 1.5 and FWVD

0.4

= 3.3), and there was a

significant difference between the values for large crack size (FSTFT 0.6 = 4.2 and FWVD 0.6
= 43.4). This is an indication that the Wigner-Ville distribution method predictions are
more accurate than the predictions of the short time Fourier method. The Fisher criterion
was applied to the vibration data representing the changes in the amplitude of the main
frequency.
An interesting outcome of the Wigner-Ville distribution was observed, related to
the cross-terms apparition. For small crack size and medium crack size subharmonics
generated by the cross-terms are present in the frequency spectrum. Apparition of the
cross-terms in the frequency spectrum can be related to the apparition of damage in the
structure.
Further work needs to be done in order to better understand the outcome of the
Wigner-Ville distribution and to relate the apparition of cross-terms and the presence of
damage.

109

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bouraou, N., Gelman, L. Theoretical bases of the free oscillation method for acoustical
nondestructive testing, Proceedings of Noise-Con 1997, The Pennsylvania State
University, 1997.
Cho, S.B. Neural network classifiers for recognizing totally unconstrained handwritten
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