Thermal Image-Based Fault Diagnosis in Induction Machines via Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks

Condition monitoring of induction machines is crucial to prevent costly interruptions and equipment failure. Mechanical faults such as misalignment and rotor issues are among the most common problems encountered in industrial environments. To effectively monitor and detect these faults, a variety of sensors, including accelerometers, current sensors, temperature sensors, and microphones, are employed in the field. As a non-contact alternative, thermal imaging offers a powerful monitoring solution by capturing temperature variations in machines with thermal cameras. In this study, we propose using 2dimensional Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks (SelfONNs) to diagnose misalignment and broken rotor faults from thermal images of squirrel-cage induction motors. We evaluate our approach by benchmarking its performance against widely used Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), including ResNet, EfficientNet, PP-LCNet, SEMNASNet, and MixNet, using a Workswell InfraRed Camera (WIC). Our results demonstrate that Self-ONNs, with their non-linear neurons and self-organizing capability, achieve diagnostic performance comparable to more complex CNN models while utilizing a shallower architecture with just three operational layers. Its streamlined architecture ensures high performance and is well-suited for deployment on edge devices, enabling its use also in more complex multi-function and/or multi-device monitoring systems.