Intelligent Diagnosis of Bearing Failures Based on Recurrence Quantification and Energy Difference

Bearing health is key for maintaining good performance and safety in rotating machinery. As the diagnosis of mechanical faults develops toward intelligence and automation, accurate and systematic fault diagnosis algorithms are imperative. Focusing on the diagnosis of rolling bearing failures, this study utilizes a sliding time window to extract essential data segments. A series of signal processing techniques, including filtering, amplitude–frequency analysis, Hilbert envelope analysis, and energy analysis, is applied to establish a comprehensive dataset. For extraction of the hidden properties of the data, the recurrence quantity spectrum is defined for the input of the neural network. The goal is to obtain a cleaner dataset with enhanced features. A convolution neural network is constructed. Different activation functions in the activation layer are compared for better fault diagnosis algorithms. The established feature matrices are specifically defined to accurately identify the subtlest defects of bearings, thereby facilitating early detection. The proposed procedure distinguishes various fault modes. As for the multidimensional complexities of fault signals, this study carries out a comprehensive comparison of energies, recurrence quantification, and amplitude–frequency characteristics of bearing fault detection to assess the accuracy, computational efficiency, and robustness of bearing fault diagnosis. The proposed method and bearing fault detection procedures have potential in practical applications.