A comparison of condition monitoring techniques applied to roller bearings

The vibration signal generated from a faulty roller bearing can be analysed by a variety of techniques. In order to ascertain the optimum method to apply to bearings associated with conveyor belts used by a pharmaceutical company, it was decided to study four different common faults in bearings on a suitably constructed rig. The seeded faults were damage to the rolling element, faults in the outer race and faults in the inner race respectively. Investigations were then carried out with Spectrum analysis, Cepstrum analysis, Envelope Signal Processing, Bispectrum Analysis and the Spectral Kurtosis Method. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique for the faults in question are discussed.