Applied Acoustics 44 (1995) 61-71

0 1994 Elsevier Science Llmited

Printed in Great Britain. All rights resewed
0003-682X/95/$9.50

ELSEVIER

Application of Statistical Moments to

Bearing Failure Detection

H. R. Martin & F. Honarvar

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario. Canada N2L 3G I

(Received 14 February 1993; revised version received and accepted 20 April 1994)

ABSTRACT

Failure of rolling element bearings plays a sign$cant role in the breakdown

of industrial machinery. However, the analysis of signals resulting from
measurements taken from outer casings of equipment has proven to be an
eflective and powerful tool for the early detection of failure in bearings.
Although a number of techniques have been developed over the years
directed at warning of impending failure, in most cases these methods are
only eflective in the later stages of damage development. This paper looks
at variations of the statistical moment analysis method that show potentiul
for damage detection at a much earlier stage. This approach has several
advantages over other methods in that measurements taken are essentially
independent of load and speed. Data for the analysis is relatively easy to
collect using an accelerometer mounted near the bearing of interest and
can then be processed on a micro-computer using suitable software. An
important part of the processing is separating out unwanted data from
other energy sources within the machine. This is achieved by developing
selective digital filtering within the software. In this paper data from
damaged and undamaged bearings are compared on the basis of analyzing
both rectified and unrecttjied signals.

INTRODI-KTION

Bearings can be classified into rolling and sliding types, and their applica-
tion depends on the particular design they are to be used in. However,
one potential problem common to all types is that if failure occurs the
resultant repair can be costly, both financially and in lost production.
Normally, bearings with sliding contact emit much less vibrational
energy in operation than rolling contact designs; hence the latter are
68 H. R. Martin. F. Honarvar

much easier to monitor. The cause of significant vibrational energy being

transmitted through a machine structure in either type is due to a variety
of forms of surface damage. Even a new bearing will emit signals of this
type as a result of machining inaccuracies or clearances, and requires a
‘running-in’ before reliable data are available.
The signals collected from rolling contact bearings can be analyzed in
a number of ways, for example:‘,’

1. overall amplitude of vibration level based on time domain data;

2. transformation of the time signal into the frequency domain, usually
as spectrum plots, up to 25 kHz;
3. examination of the shock waves generated in the bearing housing
when rolling elements move over a damaged area;
4. statistical analysis applied to the time signal.3

Machined or ground surfaces are neither perfectly flat nor smooth. In

fact, when in contact only a small portion, about 0.1% of the nominal
contact area, actually touches under normal loading conditions. When
these surfaces are moving, the asperity tips are continuously welding as a
result of heating due to friction, then breaking off. In addition, loading
will tend to increase the contact area and hence the number of energy
transfer points.
Most bearing surfaces that have been formed by grinding exhibit a
random distribution of asperities in the direction of the machining
process. It has been well established in metrology that the distribution of
asperity heights for an undamaged surface of this type will exhibit a
Gaussian distribution, as shown in Fig. 1. This is the case at the micro
level of contact between a ball and itsretaining rings. However, at the
macro level, there are also deterministic components due to ball passing

Fig. 1. Example of two surfaces in contact

 Statistical moments for bearing failure detection 69

frequencies and ‘ringing’ of the retaining structure. It is therefore

necessary to introduce signal filtering to obtain optimum data for analysis.

THEORY

The Gaussian or normal distribution function is commonly identified

with many random signals, and is represented by the well-known ‘bell-
shaped’ curve. It has been well documented in surface metrology that the
height distribution of asperities of a good quality ground surface will
exhibit this characteristic. Various statistical moments can then be used
to describe the shape of distribution curves. For example, the third
moment, which is related to skewness, is used to identify lack of symmetry.
As the interface between two surfaces in motion begins to break down,
the shape of the probability density function (PDF) changes and tends to
become more peaky. This change can be monitored using the fourth
statistical moment. It is more useful to use the normalized form of this
moment, called kurtosis. For a good quality surface, it can be shown theor-
etically that the kurtosis coefficient takes on the numerical value of 3.O.“*5
In general, odd moments relate to information about the position of
the peak of the PDF in relation to the mean value, while even moments
indicate the characteristics of the spread of the distribution. For a
theoretically perfect normal distribution, all the odd moments will be
zero and the even moments take on finite values. If, on the other hand,
the time domain data is first rectified, then the odd moments are no
longer zero, and hence can be used to monitor the bearing condition.
The definition of the ith central moment for any data set is given by
N

ml =$(xr-r 1
X)’

Here N is the total number of data points; x, is the amplitude of the rth
data point and X is the mean value. So, for example,3 the fourth moment
can be computed from
N
M&$X;
1 I
-_
4
N
?c c
N
i=l
x,’ +; x2 x
i=l
xi’ - 3X4 (2)
and the normalized fourth moment, kurtosis, is determined from

N4 = ?!i (3)
W212

If the mean value is removed before rectification, the even central

moments of the original data and the even moments of the rectified data
 H. R. Martin. F. Honarvar

TABLE 1

Normal time data Rectified time data

_
Ni N4 iv; N;

Sine 0 1.5 1.2 1.5

Gaussian random 0 3.0 1.6 3.0
Uniform random 0 I.9 1.0 1.9

will be equal. However, the odd moments are no longer zero.4 Using this
approach to detecting the development of a bearing defect, it is found
that all the statistical moments will increase and not just the even
moments. Table 1 shows the results from a simulation.
The inclusion of data for sinusoidal behavior is because the actual data
detected at a bearing housing will have ball passing frequencies as well
as structural resonance frequencies present. Notice also the differences
between broadband random data and random data with a normal
distribution.

EXPERIMENTAL TESTING

Experimental testing was carried out using the rig shown in Fig. 2. The
bearings under test were housed in steel mountings, where the test bearing

r AbfPLFlER
II
LP.FILTER I BOARD

I
‘-

T
@
L-
0 ::
SCOP!

Fig. 2. Test rig used for bearing analysis.

 Statistical moments for bearing failure detection 71

was oil lubricated so that it could be easily flushed, while the support
bearing was grease filled. A variable speed DC motor was used to provide
power to the drive shaft, and a PCB 307A accelerometer was used to
collect the data. The signals from the sensor were processed through a
Metrabyte Dash 16F, A/D converter board mounted in a microcomputer.
A mechanical power screw attached to a load cell was used to load the
shaft through a well-lubricated journal bearing.

Bearing No. I
60,

Bearing No. 2

Bearing No. 3

40

20

-20

-401 1” ’

_-
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 1.00
Time (s)

Fig. 3. Time domain data for Table 2.

72 H. R. Martin, F. Honarvar

Bearing no. Condition Kurtosis value

I Good condition 2.9

2 Hair-line mark on outer race 3.8
3 Severe scratches on outer race 4.4

A sampling frequency of 40 kHz was used, and each data record

contained 4096 points. A speed controller on the motor was used to
select five test speeds between 1000 and 3000 rpm at 500 rpm intervals.
Five loads were used: 0, 345, 505, 666 and 827 N. A high-pass filter was
applied to attenuate all data below 4 kHz, so as to minimize the effects of
ball passing frequencies and other deterministic data. The upper analysis
frequency was limited to 20 kHz, that is half the sampling frequency, to
avoid aliasing. Data processing was carried using both MATLAB and
software written in house.
Figure 3 shows some typical time domain data for a bearing in three
stages of a simulated damage process. Details of the conditions are
shown in Table 2.
One significant advantage of using the statistical approach to analyzing
time domain data over conventional methods, is that the results from the
former are generally insensitive to changes in speed (Fig. 4) or loading.

RESULTS OF TESTING

Different failure modes were artificially introduced onto the inner race
(IRD), the outer race (ORD), and one of the ball bearings (BLD). The

l!loo 2ooo 3Goo 4ooo 5ooo*

Shaft speed (rpm)

Fig. 4. Kurtosis and acceleration level as a function of shaft speed.

 Statistical moments for bearing failure detection 73

TABLE 3

Parameter GBR IRD ORD BLD

K 3.1 3.9 3.5 7.1

S 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
K, 3.1 3.9 3.5 7.1
Sr 1.6 1.8 1.7 2.2

good bearing is identified by GBR. These typical defects provide a

discontinuity in the path of the rolling elements, and each time contact is
made, an impact is produced. The energy developed depends, of course,
on the severity of the defect, and the impulsive nature of the vibration
signature can be detected by kurtosis. If the signal is rectified, the skew
will also indicate this impulsive nature.
Table 3 shows a summary from these tests. Whereas a kurtosis value
of 3.0 has been shown to correspond to undamaged surfaces in contact,
the corresponding rectified skew value is 1.6. The good bearing results
were obtained4 after running a new bearing, just out of the box, for 4 h
at full speed and no load. Twenty-five data records were taken and the
mean of the data determined. Tests on the damaged bearings were
carried out, varying the speed and loading over the 25 datasets taken for
each case.
These results demonstrate that the skew of the rectified data is as good
an indicator of damage as the earlier method of using kurtosis of the
unrectified data. In either case these values represent mean values. If the
individual data records are plotted as shown in Fig. 5, it is seen that for

ORD +-
4.0 -
GBR t -
3.8 -

3.6 -
K
3.4 -

3.2 -

3.0 -
I I t I
2.8;
10 15 20 25
Data file number
Fig. 5. Plot of results based on individual records.
74 H. R. Martin, F. Honarvar

\ Cylindrical
I roller

I
I
- -- --
I
I
I
Contact
’ line

I3
Fig. 6. Ball and roller element bearings

a damaged bearing there is quite a variation in the data. The reason for
this is that if only one ball is damaged, the damaged portion may not
always contact the raceways, and hence the vibration signal will be very
similar to that obtained from a good bearing. Hence the need to average
the records. If, on the other hand, there is little change in the results after
averaging, this can indicate multiple ball damage.
For a roller element (Fig. 6) as opposed to a ball element in a bearing,
the situation will be different in that a roller is constrained. Hence if
there is a defect on one of the rollers, there will not be very significant
changes in the value of the statistical par,ameters for consecutively
collected data records.
Apart from the ball passing frequencies, it was found that the test rig
structure had a significant resonance around 3 kHz. A comparison of
data taken with and without the 4 kHz high-pass filter is shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4
.__~~ ._~_ ~~~_~_ _.
Parameter Original data Filtered data

K 2.9 3.1
S o-o 0.0
K, 2.9 3.1
S, 1.6 I.6
 Statistical moments for bearing failure detection 75

-
B 5 Lubricated
2.3 I I I I I I I I I II
0.15 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 D

Acceleration (gxlO-‘)
Fig. 7. Effect of lubrication of Kurtosis values.

It can be seen that the low frequency components in the unfiltered data
can cause considerable distortion of the results. Hence, the effect of
the presence of this sinusoidal component, with low values of statistical
moments (see Table l), causes a noticeable reduction in the value of the
statistical moments.
Previous investigations,’ using a kurtosis meter, showed that by plotting
kurtosis values against acceleration levels, a damage map could be
created. It was also found useful to divide up the data analysis into five
frequency bands ranging from 2.5 kHz up to 80 kHz. Typical results
are shown in Fig. 7, where it is seen that for the bearing in a correctly
lubricated condition the kurtosis value remains in the range 3-3.5. The
‘1’ indicates the lowest frequency band where the vibration is highest.

12.0
Limit of measured
lO.O- KA/5 values
9.0- - - -, - ---
I

(No activity) /

I 2 3 4 5 678910 I 3 4567891 2 3 4 567891

Acceleration (g)
Fig. 8. Damage map.
76 H. R. Martin, F. Honarvar

The bearing was then removed from the test rig, cleaned and replaced in
a dry condition. The plot now shows significant increase in vibration
level and in the corresponding kurtosis value.
Extensive testing6 over a range of simulated damage conditions
showed that the different types of damaging processes clump in
distinct areas of the damage map, as illustrated in Fig. 8. Abrasive wear
occurs in a distinctly different region to that of fatigue and adhesion
damage, which is in itself confined to the higher acceleration levels
of the map. There appears to be distinct limits to the range of kurtosis
values and vibration level, outside which damage activity was not
recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a wide range of methods of tracking bearing damage available,

each of which have their individual strengths and weaknesses. Equally
important is an understanding of the data processing methodology in
order to ensure valid interpretation of the results. The statistical approach
shows a great deal of promise in achieving tracking of bearing damage
from an early stage of its development, with results that are essentially
independent of both load and speed variations.
The use of the statistical moments of the rectified raw data, especially
the skew S,, are shown to be as effective for this purpose as the earlier
method of using unrectified data, and thus providing a simpler approach.
In using rectified data, both the odd and even moments can be used
effectively, giving more flexibility for field operation. The method provides
a low-cost tool for both maintenance and quality control applications. It
is also capable of characterizing surface finishes in addition to surface
damage, using the damage mapping approach.
There are many other applications for this technique, and current
investigation include the use of other types of distributions such as beta
and Weibull, and the application of the method to gear damage, and to
the detection of fretting in pipe work.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, Grant No. 0GP0007729,
and the contribution to this research area of Dr E. A. Volker.
 Statistical moments for bearing failure detection II

REFERENCES

1. Dyer, D. & Stewart, R. M., Detection of rolling element bearing damage by

statistical vibration analysis. J. Mech. Design., ASME., 100 (1978) 229-35.
2. Mitchell, J. S., Machinery Analysis and Monitoring. Pennwell Books? 1981.
3. Martin, H. R., Statistical moment analysis as a means of surface damage
detection. In Proceedings of the 7th ZMAC Moda/ Conference, Las Vegas,
1989, pp. 1016-21.
4. Honarvar, F., An investigation into rolling element bearing failure analysis.
MSc thesis, University of Waterloo, Canada, 1992.
5. Volker, E. A. & Martin, H. R., Application of kurtosis to damage mapping.
In Proceedings of the 4th IMAC Modal Conference, Los Angeles, 1986,
pp. 629-33.
6. Volker, E. A., Damage detection in rolling element bearings. PhD thesis,
University of Waterloo, Canada, 1983.