A Deep Autoencoder-Based Convolution Neural Network Framework for Bearing Fault Classification in Induction Motors

Fault diagnosis and classification for machines are integral to condition monitoring in the industrial sector. However, in recent times, as sensor technology and artificial intelligence have developed, data-driven fault diagnosis and classification have been more widely investigated. The data-driven approach requires good-quality features to attain good fault classification accuracy, yet domain expertise and a fair amount of labeled data are important for better features. This paper proposes a deep auto-encoder (DAE) and convolutional neural network (CNN)-based bearing fault classification model using motor current signals of an induction motor (IM). Motor current signals can be easily and non-invasively collected from the motor. However, the current signal collected from industrial sources is highly contaminated with noise; feature calculation thus becomes very challenging. The DAE is utilized for estimating the nonlinear function of the system with the normal state data, and later, the residual signal is obtained. The subsequent CNN model then successfully classified the types of faults from the residual signals. Our proposed semi-supervised approach achieved very high classification accuracy (more than 99%). The inclusion of DAE was found to not only improve the accuracy significantly but also to be potentially useful when the amount of labeled data is small. The experimental outcomes are compared with some existing works on the same dataset, and the performance of this proposed combined approach is found to be comparable with them. In terms of the classification accuracy and other evaluation parameters, the overall method can be considered as an effective approach for bearing fault classification using the motor current signal.