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In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection

Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2018.

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Other Authors: Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2018
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
author_browse Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
author_facet Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:49.219Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/66240 In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus) u11017920@tuks.co.za Roos, Willem Abraham UCTD Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2018. Conveyor systems make use of idlers that support the belt and its payload as it is circulated. These idlers have bearings to ensure lower friction between the idlers and the belt. These bearings do become contaminated with dust and dirt and bearings tend to fail or even seize, adding unwanted strain and stress on the belt. These idlers are monitored and replaced when needed to minimize the damage to the belt. There are several methods used to monitor the condition of the idlers. Thermal cameras are used to identify failing bearings that tend to run hotter than healthy bearings. Acoustic equipment exist that can capture the sound produced by the idler and processes it to indicate whether an idler is still working properly or when it is failing. These methods require an operator to travel the length of the belt, monitoring the idlers along the way. Vibrations have been used, with great success, to monitor idlers. An accelerometer is attached to the structure of the conveyor and the vibration signals are processed and from this a possible failing idler can be identified, either by an operator or an automated artificial intelligence system. However, the sensor can only monitor a few idlers close by and the cost of installing accelerometers along the entire length of a conveyor does make such a system infeasible. A method of using an accelerometer attached to the moving belt that travels over the idlers is investigated in this study. The vibration signals of the idler are captured as the accelerometer passes it and are then analyzed and used in a decision making system to identify and classify the idler bearing conditions. The accelerometer is attached at different positions across the width of the belt to investigate the possibility of only using one or two sensors to monitor all the bearings of the idlers across the width of the conveyor. Healthy bearings are tested against bearings with inner raceway, outer raceway and rolling element defects. Contaminated bearings are tested as well. Wavelet package decomposition is used to extract the bearing features and presents it to the intelligent decision making system. Neural networks and support vector machines are used with great success to identify and classify faulty bearings. The support vector machine monitoring system has a 100% accuracy in identifying and classifying faulty bearings, regardless of the sensor position and even when a localized payload is added. The system could not only identify a faulty bearing, but also classify the fault with 100% accuracy. These accuracies were obtained in a controlled experimental environment with a simplified test setup. The self-developed data acquisitioning system costs as much as one meter of steel reinforced rubber belt. There are some improvements needed before it could be implemented into a working conveyor, adding to the cost. A working in-belt idler monitoring system is not only plausible, but will be affordable as well. Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering MEng Unrestricted 2018-08-17T09:42:46Z 2018-08-17T09:42:46Z 2005/03/18 2018 Dissertation Roos, WA 2018, In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection, MEng Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66240> A2018 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66240 en © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title_full In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title_fullStr In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title_full_unstemmed In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title_short In-belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
title_sort in belt vibration monitoring of conveyor idlers and using wavelet package decomposition and artificial intelligence for early fault detection
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66240