Influence of Sampling Frequency Ratio on Mode Mixing Alleviation Performance: A Comparative Study of Four Noise-Assisted Empirical Mode Decomposition Algorithms

Four noise-assisted empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithms, i.e., ensemble EMD (EEMD), complementary ensemble EMD (CEEMD), complete ensemble EMD with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN), and improved complete ensemble EMD with adaptive noise (ICEEMDAN), are noticeable improvements to EMD, aimed at alleviating mode mixing. However, the sampling frequency ratio (SFR), i.e., the ratio between the sampling frequency and the maximum signal frequency, may significantly impact their mode mixing alleviation performance. Aimed at this issue, we investigated and compared the influence of the SFR on the mode mixing alleviation performance of these four noise-assisted EMD algorithms. The results show that for a given signal, (1) SFR has an aperiodic influence on the mode mixing alleviation performance of four noise-assisted EMD algorithms, (2) a careful selection of SFRs can significantly improve the mode mixing alleviation performance and avoid decomposition instability, and (3) ICEEMDAN has the best mode mixing alleviation performance at the optimal SFR among the four noise-assisted EMD algorithms. The applications include, for instance, tool wear monitoring in machining as well as fault diagnosis and prognosis of complex systems that rely on signal decomposition to extract the components corresponding to specific behaviors.