A TIME-DOMAIN METHOD FOR THE LOCALIZATION OF CRACKS IN ROTORS

This paper deals with the localization of cracks in rotating machinery , based on measured vibrations. The method used is a time domain ident ification algorithm: the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The localizatio n is performed by designing a bank of EKFs, in which each filter is tu ned to a different damage hypothesis: i.e., in this case the specific crack location. By calculating the probabilities of the different hypo theses, the crack can be localized and its depth can be determined. Th e procedure is applied to a simulated rotor and to a rotor test rig. ( C) 1996 Academic Press Limited