Identification Of Crack Location In A Rotor-Bearing System Using

Wavelet Transforms

S. Prabhakar

EACOE GE Aircraft Engines

Bangalore 560 066, India

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at detecting the location of a crack in a rotor system using continuous
wavelet transform (CWT). The rotor-bearing system is modelled using finite element
method (FEM) to find out the mode shapes. The fundamental mode shape of the cracked
rotor system is wavelet transformed to identify the crack location. The position of the
crack is located by the sudden change in the special variation of the wavelet-transformed
response of the rotor system.

1. INTRODUCTION

The dynamic behavior of structures in particular rotors, containing cracks is a subject

of considerable current interest. The presence of crack in a rotor system alters the
vibration behavior of the system and it can be used for crack detection. Numerous papers
on the vibrational behavior of the cracked rotors have been published since early 1970s as
given in reviews [1,2]. Various researchers have studied identification of crack location
and magnitude through measurement of changes in system characteristics. However, a
direct method of identifying the exact crack location in a rotor system is rarely found in
the literature.
In recent times a great deal of interest has been emerged in the application of
wavelets to damage detection [3]. Wavelets provide time/space-scale information of a
signal, enabling the extraction of features that vary in time or space. Continuous wavelet

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transform (CWT) has been suggested by Prabhakar et al [4] to detect cracks in a rotor
bearing system while it is passing through critical speed. Recently, Douka et al [5] have
developed a method to identify the location of open crack in beams using Continuous
Wavelet Transform (CWT). The method using wavelets for crack detection [5] is applied
to structures having open cracks. However, the application of wavelets for identification
of a crack location in a rotor-bearing system needs to be thoroughly explored.

In the present study, the rotor-bearing system is modelled using finite element method
(FEM) to find out the mode shapes. The fundamental vibration mode of the rotor system
is wavelet transformed to identify the crack location. The sudden change of wavelet
coefficients at the crack location is suggested for identification of crack location in a rotor
system.

2. CRACK MODELLING

Consider a rotor-bearing system with crack as shown in Fig. 1. The flexibility matrices
of the cracked section for flexural vibrations as given in Papadopoulos and Dimarogonas
[6] and utilized in FEM analysis of Sekhar and Prabhu [7] have been used for crack
modelling. Upon neglecting the shearing action and using the strain energy concept, the
flexibility coefficients can be derived for an element without a crack. The flexibility
matrix of the uncracked element [C0] is given as

l 3 / 3EI SYM

0 l 3 / 3EI
C0 = ,
0 l 2 / 2 EI l / EI
l 2 / 2 EI l / EI
0 0

where EI is the bending stiffness and l is the element length. A crack on the beam
element (shown in Fig. 1) introduces considerable local flexibility due to strain energy

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concentration in the vicinity of the crack tip under load. The additional strain energy due
to the open transverse crack results in a local flexibility matrix [C c ].

C11 R SYM

1 0 C 22 R
Cc = ,
F0 0 0 C 33 / R

/ R
0 0 C 43 / R C 44

where F0 = ER 2 /(1 2 ), R = D / 2 and = 0.3 .

The dimensionless compliance coefficients, cij , are computed from the derivations

discussed in reference [6]. The total flexibility matrix for the cracked section is given as
[C] = [C0] + [Cc]. From the equilibrium condition
( q1 , q 2, ...., q8 )T = [T] ( q5 ,...., q8 )T, (1)

where the transformation is

1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0

0 l 1 0

T= l 0 0 1
.
1 0 0 0

0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0

0 0 0 1

Using principle of virtual work, the stiffness matrix of the cracked element can be written
as
[Kc] = [T][C]-1[T]T (2)

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 When the crack is assumed to affect only the stiffness, the stiffness matrix of the
cracked element, [Kc], replaces the stiffness matrix of the element which was originally
uncracked, when assembling the stiffness matrix of the shaft, for [K] in the Eq. (3).

3. SYSTEM EQUATION OF MOTION

Nelson and McVaugh [8] presented a finite element model using Rayleigh beam
theory for a rotor bearing system consisting of rigid discs, distributed parameter finite
shaft beam elements and discrete bearings. The present study uses this model by
including the crack model. The equation of motion of the complete rotor system (see Fig.
1) in a fixed co-ordinate system can be written as

&& } + [D]{ q& }+ [K]{q} = {Q}

[M]{ q (3)

When the crack is assumed to affect only the stiffness, the stiffness matrix of the cracked
element replaces the stiffness matrix of the element which was originally uncracked,
when assembling the stiffness matrix of the shaft, for [K] in the above equation. The
eigenfrequencies and mode shapes are obtained by solving the eigenvalue problem [K] -
2[M] = 0, and [K] - 2[M] = 0, for uncracked and cracked rotor systems respectively.
The eigenvalue problem has been solved for non-gyro, undamped and stationary rotor.

4. CONTINUOUS WAVELET TRANSFORM

In recent times a great deal of interest has been emerged in the application of
wavelets, and they have been successfully implemented into many fields. Wavelets
provide a time/space-scale information of a signal, enabling the extraction of features that
vary in time or space. This property makes "wavelets" an ideal tool for analyzing signals
of a transient or nonstationary nature. This property of CWT has been used in the present
study to identify the crack location in a rotor system.

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 The continuous wavelet transform of a function f (x), where the variable x is time or
space, can be defined as the sum over all space/time of the signal multiplied by scaled,
shifted versions of the wavelet function (x). Mathematically,

1 * xb
CWT (s,b) =
|s|
f ( x)


s
dx (4)

Where (x) denotes the mother wavelet. The parameter s represents the scale index,
which is reciprocal of frequency. The parameter b indicates the space/time shifting (or
translation).

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A steel shaft supported on two isotropic flexible bearings at both ends and having a
disc at center and crack at different locations, with the following data is considered for
the analysis: shaft diameter 20 mm, length 500 mm; disc mass 5.5 kg, polar moment of
inertia = 0.01546 kg m 2 , bearing stiffness = 10 5 N/m.

Rotor system is discretized into several finite beam elements. Natural frequencies and
mode shapes can be obtained by solving the eigenvalue problem. The fundamental mode
shape of uncracked rotor system is plotted as shown in the Fig. 2 (a). The fundamental
mode shape is then wavelet transformed and the CWT coefficients are plotted against the
rotor length as shown in Fig.2 (b). Daubechies 2 mother wavelet with a scale of 30 is
used in this work. Similarly, the fundamental mode shape and its wavelet transform of the
cracked rotor system are plotted with rotor length as shown in Fig. 3 (a & b) respectively.
Here a shaft crack is considered at a distance of 0.2 m from the left hand bearing (Brg. #
1). Since crack induces local flexibility in the rotor system and this local phenomenon
can be extracted by wavelets. The location of the crack can be identified by the sudden
change of CWT coefficients (a peak) at crack location and is clear in the Fig 3(b). This
peak is not present in Fig 2(b), the wavelet transformed mode shape of uncracked rotor-

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bearing system. The sudden change of wavelet coefficients at the crack location can be
used for detection and identification of crack location in a rotor system.

0.5 m

Brg # 1 Crack

Figure 1. A typical Rotor Bearing system with crack

1.05 1.6E-03
(b)
CWT Coefficients

1.00 (a) 1.2E-03

Amplitude

0.95
0.90 8.0E-04
0.85
4.0E-04
0.80
0.75 0.0E+00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Distance from Brg # 1 (m) Distance from Brg # 1 (m)

Figure 2. (a) Fundamental Mode shape and its (b) Wavelet Transform of an uncracked rotor
system

1.05 2.0E-03 Crack Location

(a)
CWT Coefficients

1.00 (b)
1.5E-03
Amplitude

0.95
0.90 1.0E-03
0.85
0.80 5.0E-04

0.75 0.0E+00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Distance from Brg # 1 (m) Distance from Brg # 1 (m)

Figure 3. (a) Fundamental Mode shape and its (b) Wavelet Transform of a cracked rotor
system; Crack location = 0.2 m from Brg # 1; = 0.2

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6. CONCLUSIONS

In the present work, a method to identify the crack location in a rotor bearing system
based on wavelet transform is presented. The fundamental mode shape of the cracked
rotor system is wavelet transformed. The sudden change of wavelet coefficients at crack
location is suggested for identification of crack location in a rotor system. The present
method can be extended to on line identification of crack location in a rotor system and
the work is under progress.

REFERENCES
1. R. Gaush, A survey of the dynamic behavior of simple rotating shaft with a transverse
crack, Journal of Sound and Vibration, 160, 313-332, 1993.
2. A. D. Dimarogonas, Vibration of cracked structures: A state of the Art review,
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a rotor-bearing system using wavelet transforms, Journal of Mechanical Systems and
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Analysis, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 40, 3557-3569, 2003.
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vibration mode, ASME, Journal of Vibration, Acoustics, Stress and Reliability in Design,
110, 356-359, 1988.
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Finite elements, ASME Journal of Engineering for Industry, 98(2), 593-600, 1976.