Enhancing Bearing Fault Diagnosis Using Transfer Learning and Random Forest Classification: A Comparative Study on Variable Working Conditions

Rotating machines require bearings to operate smoothly. However, wear, misalignment, and poor lubrication can degrade bearings over time. Fault diagnosis models identify and classify bearing faults. A fault diagnosis model trained in a specific working condition may not perform well in different working conditions. Real-world datasets are mixed with various work environment conditions; therefore, validating a model using different working conditions datasets is necessary. In this study, raw vibrational accelerometer data of variable working conditions is preprocessed using the window length and stride method to generate a data format suitable for evaluating the proposed model. This model employs the Transfer learning-based VGG16 model as the feature extractor and random forest as the classifier, and it has proven to be highly effective. This proposed fault diagnosis model adapts to different work environments and enhances fault classification at variable working conditions. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated using various metrics such as confusion matrix heatmap, t-SNE plot, precision-recall curve and learning curve. Results obtained from these metrics indicate that this model performs well compared to others. The overall accuracy of the model is 99.90%, and both the training and testing of this model are fast. It is evident from the learning curve evaluation that this model is free from over- or under-fitting issues. Overall, this model is reliable and suitable for classifying bearing faults at different working conditions and can be useable for real world purposes.