Bearing Performance Degradation Assessment Using Lifting Wavelet Packet Symbolic Entropy and SVDD

Bearing performance degradation assessment is of great significance for proactive maintenance and near-zero downtime. For this purpose, a novel assessment method is proposed based on lifting wavelet packet symbolic entropy (LWPSE) and support vector data description (SVDD). LWPSE is presented for feature extraction by jointing use of lifting wavelet packet transform and symbolic entropy. Firstly, the LWPSEs of bearing signals from normal bearing condition are extracted to train an SVDD model by fitting a tight hypersphere around normal samples. Then, the relative distance from the LWPSEs of testing signals to the hypersphere boundary is calculated as a quantitative index for bearing performance degradation assessment. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method were validated by the life-cycle data obtained from NASA’s prognostics data repository and the comparison with Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Finally, the assessment results were verified by the envelope spectrum analysis method based on empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert envelope demodulation.