Predictive Analysis of Crack Growth in Bearings via Neural Networks

Abstract

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as the most advanced technologies today for solving issues as well as assessing and forecasting occurrences. The use of AI and ML in various organizations seeks to capitalize on the benefits of vast amounts of data based on scientific approaches, notably machine learning, which may identify patterns of decision-making and minimize the need for human intervention. The purpose of this research work is to develop a suitable neural network model, which is a component of AI and ML, to assess and forecast crack propagation in a bearing with a seeded crack. The bearing was continually run for many hours, and data were retrieved at time intervals that might be utilized to forecast crack growth. The variables root mean square (RMS), crest factor, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), skewness, kurtosis, and Shannon entropy were collected from the continuously running bearing and utilized as input parameters, with the total crack area and crack width regarded as output parameters. Finally, utilizing several methodologies of the Neural Network tool in MATLAB, a realistic ANN model was trained to predict the crack area and crack width. It was observed that the ANN model performed admirably in predicting data with a better degree of accuracy. Through analysis, it was observed that the SNR was the most relevant parameter in anticipating data in bearing crack propagation, with an accuracy rate of 99.2% when evaluated as a single parameter, whereas in multiple parameter analysis, a combination of kurtosis and Shannon entropy gave a 99.39% accuracy rate.