Statistical Evaluation of Vibration Analysis Techniques

The planned use of small, high-speed components in the environmental control and life support systems of advanced spacecraft has prompted the investigation of techniques for enhancement of reliability and maintainability. An evaluation methodology is described and example results are presented for a selection of candidate vibration analysis techniques applied to representative machinery. Issues addressed include statistical analysis of small sample experiments, quantification of detection performance for diverse techniques by computation of probability of detection versus probability of false alarm, and quantification of diagnostic performance.