Bearing faults classification using novel log energy-based empirical mode decomposition and machine Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients

The accurate diagnosis of faults in bearing components is crucial for the safe and efficient operation of electrical and power drives. These machines generate sound and vibration signals that indicate their operational state. While vibration signals are often utilized for fault diagnosis, they require costly transducers. On the other hand, sound signal transducers are more affordable, but their lower signal-to-noise ratio complicates the differentiation between healthy and faulty bearings. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing a machine sound-based bearing fault diagnosis system. The proposed method employs a novel Log Energy-based Empirical Mode Decomposition and Reconstruction for advanced sound preprocessing. Feature extraction is performed using Machine Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients, with feature selection facilitated by a Genetic Algorithm. Classification is achieved through Support Vector Machines. The system demonstrated a high classification accuracy of 99.26% on the SUBF v2.0 dataset, outperforming other diagnostic methods, even in noisy conditions. This approach is particularly suited for industrial applications, offering a reliable solution for preventing downtime and ensuring the reliability of equipment. •Experimental setup emulates real-world faults, records dataset with low-cost microphone.•Novel Log Energy-based Empirical Mode Decomposition and Reconstruction (LEEMDR) for preprocessing.•Feature extraction with Machine Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MMFCCs) for bearing sound.•Intelligent fault diagnostic system achieves 99.26% accuracy, 99.07% sensitivity, and 99.63% specificity.