Intelligent fault diagnosis using image representation of multi-domain features

Abstract

Deep learning (DL) algorithms, especially the convolutional neural network (CNN), have been proven as a newly developed tool in machinery intelligent diagnosis. However, the current CNN-based fault diagnosis studies usually consider features or images extracted from a single domain as model input. This single domain information may not reflect fault patterns comprehensively, leading to low modeling accuracy and inaccurate diagnostic results. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a new CNN-based fault diagnosis approach using image representation considering multi-domain features of vibration signals. First, multi-domain features of vibration signals are extracted. These extracted features are then used to construct a n × n matrix, and subsequently to form images by RGB color transformations. This image transformation technique allows for capturing complementary and rich diagnostic information from multiple domains. At last, these images associated with different mechanical defects are fed into a CNN model that is improved based on the classic LeNet-5 CNN architecture for fault diagnosis and identification. Comparative experiments with the traditional feature extraction methods as well as state-of-the-art CNN-based methods are also investigated. Experimental studies on rolling bearings validate the effectiveness and superiorities of the proposed approach.