Systems and methods for detecting damage in rotary machines

A system for detecting damage in a gear of a rotary machine, the system comprising:

• one or more sensors for collecting vibration data relating to the gear;
• a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors, the controller configured to perform one or more operations, the one or more operations comprising:
• identifying at least one low-energy region within the at least one region;
• identifying energy of at least one harmonic or sideband series within the at least one region indicative of a damaged gear;
• identifying energy within the at least one region excluding the at least one harmonic or sideband series;
• determining at least one damage ratio based on the energy of at least one harmonic or sideband series within the at least one region indicative of the damaged gear and the energy within the at least one region excluding the at least one harmonic or sideband series;
• calculating a damage factor of the gear as a function of, at least, the at least one damage ratio;
• and,
• comparing the damage factor to a predetermined damage threshold, wherein a damage factor exceeding the predetermined damage threshold is indicative of the damaged gear.

A method for detecting damage in a gear of a wind turbine, the method comprising:

• collecting, via one or more sensors, vibration data relating to the gear;
• identifying at least one low-energy region within the vibration data;
• identifying energy of at least one harmonic or sideband series within the at least one region indicative of a damaged gear;
• identifying energy within the at least one region excluding the at least one harmonic or sideband series;
• comparing the energy of at least one harmonic or sideband series within the at least one region indicative of the damaged gear and the energy within the at least one region excluding the at least one harmonic or sideband series;
• calculating a damage factor of the gear based, at least in part, on the comparison;
• and,
• determining whether damage is present in the gear based on the damage factor.