Schmidt, StephanZimroz, RadoslawChaari, FakherHeyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)Haddar, Mohamed2021-04-082021-04-082020-04-09Schmidt, S., Zimroz, R., Chaari, F. et al. 2020, 'A simple condition monitoring method for gearboxes operating in impulsive environments', Sensors, vol. 20, art. 2115, pp. 1-18.1424-8220 (online)10.3390/s20072115http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79360Reliable condition indicators are necessary to perform effective diagnosis and prognosis. However, the vibration signals are often corrupted with non-Gaussian noise and rotating machines may operate under time-varying operating conditions. This impedes the application of conventional condition indicators. The synchronous average of the squared envelope is a relatively simple yet effective method to perform fault detection, fault identification and fault trending under constant and time-varying operating conditions. However, its performance is impeded by the presence of impulsive signal components attributed to impulsive noise or the presence of other damage modes in the machine. In this work, it is proposed that the synchronous median of the squared envelope should be used instead of the synchronous average of the squared envelope for gearbox fault diagnosis. It is shown on numerical and experimental datasets that the synchronous median is more robust to the presence of impulsive signal components and is therefore more reliable for estimating the condition of specific machine components.en© 2020 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Gearbox diagnosticsSynchronous median of the squared envelopeTime-varying operating conditionsEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-08SDG-08: Decent work and economic growthEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-09SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructureEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-12SDG-12: Responsible consumption and productionEngineering, built environment and information technology articles SDG-13SDG-13: Climate actionArticle