Uncertainty-aware order tracking using interval-valued spectral estimators

  • Sulieman Ibrahim Mohammad orcid

     Research Fellow, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia

  • Yogeesh N. orcid

     Research Fellow, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia; Department of Mathematics, Government First Grade College, Tumkur 572101, India

  • Mustafa Abdullah orcid

    Electric Vehicles Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan

  • Rosemary Varghese

    Department of Mathematics, Presidency University, Bengaluru 560064, India

  • Asokan Vasudevan orcid

    Faculty of Business and Communications, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia

  • Ashalatha K.S.

    Department of Mathematics, Vedavathi Government First Grade College, Hiriyur 577598, India

Article ID: 4071
Keywords: bounded uncertainty, interval analysis, interval-valued spectral estimation, tacholess speed estimation, set-membership uncertainty propagation, angle-domain resampling, order power spectral density (PSD), Welch estimator

Abstract

Order tracking is central to diagnosing rotating machinery under variable speed; however, both tachometer-based and tacholess pipelines typically return point estimates of the order spectrum and therefore under-represent uncertainty due to speed estimation error, phase integration drift, resampling jitter, and finite-record spectral variance. This study develops an uncertainty-aware order tracking framework in which the diagnostic output is an interval-valued order power spectral density (PSD) envelope. The angular speed is modeled as an unknown-but-bounded process , which induces bounds on angular position . These bounds are propagated through angle-domain resampling and a Welch-type spectral estimator to obtain order-wise PSD bounds , together with interval band metrics formed by order-band integration and log-level reporting. A numerical run-up case study with physically plausible harmonic content and broadband noise shows that low-order components can remain stable in peak location, whereas higher orders exhibit measurable peak-shift intervals consistent with phase-warp amplification under bounded mapping uncertainty. The results also quantify a practical coverage-width trade-off: fast endpoint envelopes can lose inclusion under larger uncertainty, indicating when multi-map sampling or tighter set membership bounding should be applied. Overall, the proposed interval-valued spectral estimators enable decision-relevant reporting of uncertainty for order-based health indicators and reduce the risk of overconfident fault declarations in variable-speed condition monitoring.

Published
2026-04-17
How to Cite
Ibrahim Mohammad, S., Yogeesh N., Abdullah, M., Varghese, R., Vasudevan, A., & K.S., A. (2026). Uncertainty-aware order tracking using interval-valued spectral estimators. Sound & Vibration, 60(2). https://doi.org/10.59400/sv4071

References

[1]Welch P. The use of fast Fourier transform for the estimation of power spectra: A method based on time averaging over short, modified periodograms. IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics. 1967; 15(2): 70–73. doi: 10.1109/TAU.1967.1161901

[2]Thomson DJ. Spectrum estimation and harmonic analysis. Proceedings of the IEEE. 1982; 70(9): 1055–1096. doi: 10.1109/PROC.1982.12433

[3]Borghesani P, Pennacchi P, Chatterton S, et al. The velocity synchronous discrete Fourier transform for order tracking in the field of rotating machinery. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2014; 44(1–2): 118–133. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2013.03.026

[4]Peeters C, Leclère Q, Antoni J, et al. Review and comparison of tacholess instantaneous speed estimation methods on experimental vibration data. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2019; 129: 407–436. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2019.02.031

[5]Lu S, Yan R, Liu Y, et al. Tacholess Speed Estimation in Order Tracking: A Review With Application to Rotating Machine Fault Diagnosis. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. 2019; 68(7): 2315–2332. doi: 10.1109/TIM.2019.2902806

[6]Combet F, Gelman L. An automated methodology for performing time synchronous averaging of a gearbox signal without speed sensor. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2007; 21(6): 2590–2606. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2006.12.006

[7]Schmidt S., Heyns PS, De Villiers JP. A tacholess order tracking methodology based on a probabilistic approach to incorporate angular acceleration information into the maxima tracking process. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2018; 100: 630–646. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2017.07.053

[8]Xu L, Chatterton S, Pennacchi P, et al. A Tacholess Order Tracking Method Based on Inverse Short Time Fourier Transform and Singular Value Decomposition for Bearing Fault Diagnosis. Sensors. 2020; 20(23): 6924. doi: 10.3390/s20236924

[9]Wang Y, Xu G, Luo A, et al. An online tacholess order tracking technique based on generalized demodulation for rolling bearing fault detection. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 2016; 367: 233–249. doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2015.12.041

[10]Hu Y, Tu X, Li F, et al. An adaptive and tacholess order analysis method based on enhanced empirical wavelet transform for fault detection of bearings with varying speeds. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 2017; 409: 241–255. doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2017.08.003

[11]Pan MC, Chu WC, Le DD. Adaptive angular-velocity Vold–Kalman filter order tracking—Theoretical basis, numerical implementation and parameter investigation. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2016; 81: 148–161. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2016.03.013

[12]Feng K, Ji JC, Wang K, et al. A novel order spectrum-based Vold-Kalman filter bandwidth selection scheme for fault diagnosis of gearbox in offshore wind turbines. Ocean Engineering. 2022; 266: 112920. doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.112920

[13]Urbanek J, Barszcz T, Antoni J. A two-step procedure for estimation of instantaneous rotational speed with large fluctuations. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2013; 38(1): 96–102. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2012.05.009

[14]Zhao M, Lin J, Wang X, et al. A tacho-less order tracking technique for large speed variations. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2013; 40(1): 76–90. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2013.03.024

[15]Abboud D, Antoni J, Sieg-Zieba S, et al. Envelope analysis of rotating machine vibrations in variable speed conditions: A comprehensive treatment. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2017; 84: 200–226. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2016.06.033

[16]Borghesani P, Pennacchi P, Randall RB, et al. Order tracking for discrete-random separation in variable speed conditions. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2012; 30: 1–22. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2012.01.015

[17]Borghesani P, Ricci R, Chatterton S, et al. A new procedure for using envelope analysis for rolling element bearing diagnostics in variable operating conditions. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2013; 38(1): 23–35. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2012.09.014

[18]Borghesani P, Pennacchi P, Randall RB, et al. Application of cepstrum pre-whitening for the diagnosis of bearing faults under variable speed conditions. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2013; 36(2): 370–384. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2012.11.001

[19]Borghesani P, Pennacchi P, Chatterton S. The relationship between kurtosis- and envelope-based indexes for the diagnostic of rolling element bearings. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2014; 43(1–2): 25–43. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2013.10.007

[20]Randall RB, Antoni J, Chobsaard S. The Relationship Between Spectral Correlation and Envelope Analysis in the Diagnostics of Bearing Faults and Other Cyclostationary Machine Signals. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2001; 15(5): 945–962. doi: 10.1006/mssp.2001.1415

[21]Chen B, Zhang W, Xi GJ, et al. Product envelope spectrum optimization-gram: An enhanced envelope analysis for rolling bearing fault diagnosis. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2023; 193: 110270. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2023.110270

[22]Wu K, Tong W, Xie J, et al. Optimal Weighted Envelope Spectrum: An enhanced demodulation method for extracting specific characteristic frequency of rotating machinery. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2024; 211: 111165. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2024.111165

[23]Schmidt S, Wilke DN, Gryllias KC. Generalised envelope spectrum-based signal-to-noise objectives: Formulation, optimisation and application for gear fault detection under time-varying speed conditions. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2025; 224: 111974. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2024.111974

[24]Kliemank ML, Rupprecht B, Ahmadzadeh M, et al. Online instantaneous angular speed estimation from vibration on low-power embedded systems evaluated on a gas foil bearing use case. Measurement: Sensors. 2025; 38: 101600. doi: 10.1016/j.measen.2024.101600

[25]Behrendt M, Dang C, Beer M. Projecting interval uncertainty through the discrete Fourier transform: Application to time signals with poor precision. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2023; 177: 109192.

[26]Behrendt M, Dang C, Beer M. Data-driven and physics-based interval modelling of power spectral density functions from limited data. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2024; 208: 111078. doi: 10.1016/j.ymssp.2023.111078

[27]Behrendt M, De Angelis M, Beer M. Uncertainty Propagation of Missing Data Signals with the Interval Discrete Fourier Transform. ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering. 2023; 9(3): 04023022. doi: 10.1061/AJRUA6.RUENG-1048

[28]Liu G, Kreinovich V. Fast convolution and Fast Fourier Transform under interval and fuzzy uncertainty. Journal of Computer and System Sciences. 2010; 76(1): 63–76. doi: 10.1016/j.jcss.2009.05.006

[29]Rodopoulos KI, Antoniadis IA. Instantaneous fault frequencies estimation in roller bearings via wavelet structures. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 2016; 383: 446–463. doi: 10.1016/j.jsv.2016.07.027

[30]Zeng R, Zhang L, Xiao Y, et al. A Method Combining Order Tracking and Fuzzy C-Means for Diesel Engine Fault Detection and Isolation. Shock and Vibration. 2015; 2015: 1–7. doi: 10.1155/2015/547238

[31]Zhang Y. Interpretable and Uncertainty-Aware Multi-Modal Spatio-Temporal Deep Learning Framework for Regional Economic Forecasting. HighTech and Innovation Journal. 2025; 6(4): 1300–1314. doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2025-06-04-010

[32]Naidu IES, Padmavathi T, Padmavathi SV, et al. Intelligence Based Controlling Models for Effective Power Tracking and Voltage Enhancement in Grid-PV Systems. Emerging Science Journal. 2025; 9(1): 261–283. doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2025-09-01-015

Most read articles by the same author(s)