Fault detection based on instantaneous angular speed measurement and variational mode decomposition

Rotating machinery encounter throughout their lifetime various problems. Among them, a rotor-stator rubbing problem is one of the most common. This paper proposes a procedure, which applies the instantaneous angular speed (IAS) measurement as a starting step for rotor-stator partial rub detection. There are various approaches regarding counting techniques and processing of signal. In this paper, an application of analog signals from toothed wheel encoder or zebra tape encoder is considered at low to moderate sampling rates. As the rubbing process is nonlinear, this paper is proposing a variational mode decomposition (VMD) as the second step of the detection procedure. The VMD is relatively new method with promising results especially interesting for machinery fault detection. Detection tool is tested on laboratory test rig at two different rotor operating conditions i.e. without rotor-stator rubbing and with light partial rotor-stator rub. Measurements were performed with non-contact eddy current displacement sensors pointed to toothed wheel encoder. Results are presented in the shape of rotor orbits, IAS signals, FFT spectra of IAS signals and VMD spectrograms. Developed fault detection procedure based on IAS measurement and VMD decomposition was successfully tested on laboratory test rig for no rubbing and light rotor to stator partial rub condition