Indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition (IRR-WD) for effective determination of bearing-induced vibration

Bearings are often the limiting factors for performance of rotor systems. There are various sources that contribute to rotor vibration due to bearing elements. These include the variable compliance effect, spinning and sliding motions of rolling elements, manufacturing anomalies in the form and finish of bearing elements and the out-of-centre assembly of shafts on bearing supports. Therefore, the signature of vibration is quite complex and its decomposition into its constituent contributory factors can be significant in fault diagnosis and for remedial actions. This paper highlights a novel method for acquisition of real-time vibration signature of rotor systems, based upon the decomposition of the indicated repeatable runout for synchronous components of vibration. It is shown that wavelet analysis can be employed to reduce the burden of long-record data manipulation. The methodology is termed “indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition”.