INES 2016 • 20th Jubilee IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Engineering Systems • June 30-July 2, 2016 • Budapest, Hungary

Identification of nonlinearity in knocking

vibration signals of large gas engine by deep
learning

József Z. Szabó*- Péter Bakucz*

*Institute
of Mechatronics and Vehicle Engineering
Donát Bánki Faculty of Mechanical and Safety Engineering
Óbuda University
H-1081 Budapest, Népszínház u. 8
e-mail: bakucz.peter@bgk.uni-obuda.hu

neurocomputers, such as a synergetic computer by Haken

Abstract—Nonlinear knocking combustion analysis
based on vibration measurements of a Deutz MWM 8
cylinder large gas engine will be presented. The knocking
nonlinearity is identified by K-entropy and deep learning
technique. A framework for determining the knocking
nonlinearity of the vibration signals is discussed using deep
belief network (DBN) of the knocking probability sequences.
Keywords—knocking phenomena, nonlinearity, deep
learning, gas engine
I. INTRODUCTION
Today, designing large gas engine control systems it is
necessary to minimize exhaust emissions while
maximizing power and fuel economy. The capability to
maximize power and fuel budget by optimizing spark
timing for a specified air/gas ratio is restricted by engine
knock.
Knocking phenomena in combustion processes were
observed from the very beginning of the large gas engine
research [1]. Engine knock occurs when the temperature
or pressure in the unburned gas-air system exceeds a
threshold, causing chaotical ignition of the mixture. This
harvests a shock wave that creates a hasty escalation in
cylinder pressure. There are many factors that affect the
manifestation of knocking, including mechanical,
electrical, environmental and misuse [2].
A complicated issue of knocking combustion is the
unpredictable, chaotically nature of their occurrence.
Thoughtful of their heritages have been one of the major
question in large gas engine technology in the last century
[3].
The knocking system is taken as quasiperiodic and
chaotic, meanwhile the time-frequency representation is
tightfitting, because it illustrates when and how knocking
motion between adjacent signals can be trapped in some
resonance zones associated with quasi periodicity.
To the identify its chaotical environments it is obvious
to use neural networks. In the literature could be found
different varieties of self-organizational imaginary
[7], resonance neurocomputers by Grossberg [6], the
chaotic memory by Nicolis [8], chaotic information
processing and chaotic neural networks by Tsuda [8],
In the mechanical engineering literature widely used
approach to analyze the knock signal in large gas engines
is based on the signal to noise ratio (SNR). This
procedure contains analyzing the structural vibration of
the engine by using the time-frequency domain. The
time-frequency depiction of the signal is then used to
define numerous schemes characterized by a greater SNR
than recent procedures.
Contemporary publications concentrated on the
development and utilize of spectral models of the
knocking procedure. Among the different articles, [4]
analyzed the nonlinear facet of knocking and studied the
system of vibration fluctuations in a gas engine.
The industrial articles focused on four main methods in
knock detection analysis:
1. Band-pass filtering based methods.
2. Detection based on the Wigner-Ville
Distribution (WVD).
3. Detection using the cross WVD.
4. Detection schemes based on the Choi-Williams
distribution. [4].
In this paper the vibration signal analysis of a Deutz
MWM gas engine is based on the cognitive science; the
deep learning techniques [5].
We want to customize deep learning to determine the
nonlinearity of knocking for each working cycle.
In order to work on the deep learning system properly,
it is important defining the nonlinearity parameter that
can be applied under any conditions. This parameter is
derived by deep belief networks in possession of the
distribution of the intensity of gas engine knocking.
Deep learning has been used to analyze the knocking
system in [6] and in [7] where the main frequency was
extracted by computing the frequency curve where the
energy of the deep learning rate is maximum [8].

978-1-5090-1216-9/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE – 39 –

J. Z. Szabó, P. Bakucz • Identification of Nonlinearity in Knocking Vibration Signals of Large Gas Engine by Deep Learning
In our work in Sec. 2, we describe the deep learning
technique, in Sec. 3 we identify the chaos in vibration
knocking and in Sec. 4, we present our first results.
II. DEEP LEARNING
Deep learning could be defined as a part of the neural
network based identification schemes of multiple hidden
level input-output data series. In our case the input layer
contains working cycles of the Deutz MWM G234V8
large gas engine vibration signals, and the output layers
are the knocking combustion probabilities.
Between several deep learning techniques, for our
research the Deep Belief Networks (DBNs) have become
an attractive option for
1. data dimensionality reduction
2. collaborative filtering
3. feature learning
4. modeling and
5. solving classification problems [9].
Further deep learning constructions such as
Convolutional Neural Networks, Stacked Denoising
Autoencoders, and Deep Recurrent Neural Networks
have also expanded some purchase recently as they have
been exposed to overtake some neural network tools for
handling large data spaces to learn features in order to
perform detection, classification and prediction [10].
The basic key of the DBN deep learning method is to
using the Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM), where
multiple RBMs are weighted on upper of another to form
a deep network [11].
DBNs usually can be trained in an unsupervised
III. CHAOS AND KNOCKING
Large gas engine knocking is a nonlinear, complex
phenomena and could not be characterized by linear,
statistical parameters. In this study our aim is to define
and to learn the nonlinear characteristics via knocking
probabilities of the chaotical vibration data series.
In the mechanical engineering [1] for large gas engines
the knocking probabilities are characterized by SNR as
follows:
1. norm(SNR)  0.1 very weak knocking
2. 0.1 d norm(SNR)  0.2 weak knocking
3. 0.2 d norm(SNR)  0.6 knocking
4. 0.6 d norm(SNR) strong knocking
However, the knocking probabilities can give inaccurate
information about knocking resonance transitions, and
nonlinearities, therefore, we need further applicable
information of the knocking chaoticity is contained in the
vibration signals.
The main idea is: describing the chaoticity of the
knocking signals by the K2-entropy as follows
1. K2=0 in strong knocking system, (more than half
the working cycles contain knocking
combustions)
2. K2ofin purely random knocking system,
(weak knocking system)
3. 0 K2 fin chaotic knocking system [14].
The informal definition of K2 by means of correlation
integrals is:
manner: the first RBM layer is trained with the vibration K2 lim lim K2m r  (2)
m of r o0
signals (knocking working cycles and not-knocking
cycles in the crank angle [0-719°] subset together) as where
input. Through training, the first layer purchases an
image of the vibration signal by updating its weights and 1 P m (r )
K 2m ln m k (3)
biases between the input and hidden layers which in turn k't P r 
converts the input of the second layer [12].
The main task of the deep learning of the DBNs is to
k is adequately minor integer number, m is the embedded
catch the weights that maximizes the expected log
dimension, r is the discretized symbol sequence of the
likelihood logP(v) of the vibration signal data v:
knocking probabilities r  ^a, b, c, d ` (see Figure 2) and
ª º Pm(r) is the transition probabilities of the deep learning
arg max E «¦ log P(v)» (1)
matrix (see Figure 2).
Wights
¬ vV ¼
In order to decrease fluctuations and to recover the
statistics, we use averaging of Eq. (2) over 4 different
The optimization is resolved by gradient based transition values of the deep learning probability matrix
structures. Trusting the weights and biases of the input ( r  ^a, b, c, d ` ) and approximate dependence of the
layer constant after it is trained, the transformed input
from the first hidden layer is utilized to train the next knocking characteristic K2 on m by means of least-
hidden layer. This procedure is continued for the chosen squares fit by the function with the signal size L
number of hidden layers in the network with each
iteration spreading both the vibration values and the mean v L 1 § P m 2l (r ) · (4)
activations to higher levels, while the product of
K 2m (r ) ¦ ln¨ ¸
4 L't l 1 l ¨© P m (r ) ¸¹
probabilities allocated to the input is maximized [13].

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 INES 2016 • 20th Jubilee IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Engineering Systems • June 30-July 2, 2016 • Budapest, Hungary
IV. RESULTS
Our test engine is a Deutz MWM G234V8 large gas
engine.
Figure 1. Test engine Deutz MWM G234 V8
Figure 1. shows the basics of test gas engine and
generator used for the knocking analysis. The working
principle of the gas engine is the following: the gas is
burnt in the cylinders of the engine, the energy shifts a
crankshaft within the engine. The crankshaft shifts an
generator which results in the alternation of electricity.
Heat from the combustion process is discharged from
the cylinders, which must be either reclaimed and used in
a combined heat and power structure or dissipated via
heaters placed near the to the engine.
The background of the nonlinear knocking analysis by
deep learning scheme can be seen on Figure 2.
– 41 –
Figure 2. Background for determination the knocking nonlinearities
from mixed vibration signals (in this figure 13814 working cycles with
knocking and non-knocking vibrations around combustion (crank angle
-320°) and valve noises (crank angles -530° and 60°) ) using deep belief
network (DBN) followed by knocking probabilities symbol sequence
learned by probabilistic automata. The customer side for the K-entropy
is the transition matrix.
The framework of the system summarized as following:
AÆ The vibration working cycles are trained by the
DBN network with 31 hidden layers. The training set
contains of 917,000 training working cycles covering
461,000 knocking and 456,000 non-knocking working
cycles. A learning rate of 0.01 is used for the gradient
descent algorithm.
BÆ During supervised finetuning, based on the K-
Entropy knocking signals (Eq.4.) classification errors on
the validation vibration signals shall be related contrary
to the errors from training set as a degree to avoid
overtraining the network based on the chaoticity of the
working cycles.
CÆ The symbolic sequence signal is found erstwhile to
the point when the chaoticity of the knocking
characteristic dependably sophisticated than the training
error in following training iterations.
1. K2=0 means abs(b) t 150
2. K2ofmeans 87 d abs(c)  149
3. 0 K2 fmeans abs(a, d )  86
DÆ The symbol sequence is the input of the probabilistic
automata
EÆ the probability transition matrix is the input of the
determination of the K-entropy. (Eq.4.)
J. Z. Szabó, P. Bakucz • Identification of Nonlinearity in Knocking Vibration Signals of Large Gas Engine by Deep Learning
Figure 3. Weak knocking vibration signals of MWM G234V8 Deutz
large gas engine. Working cycles 288-336. SNR knocking probabilities
< 0.2
Figure 4. K-entropy of knocking of the vibration signals from 31 hidden
layered deep learning networks of the working cycles 288-336. The
system is weak knocking (<0.2) but strong chaotic.
Figure 5. Deep-learning bifurcation of K-entropy in the interval [2,..4]
versus SNR knocking probabilities of the working cycles 288-336
(weak knocking <0.2). The system is weak knocking but strong chaotic.
On the Figure 3 the weak knocking vibration signals
of the MWM Deutz engine between the working cycles
288-336 can be seen. The first and third beat junctions are
originated from valve effects, the second junction is the
combustion. The knocking combustion vibration energy
is comparable to the valve energy, but the chaoticity on
the Figure 4 presents strong chaos.
The evolution of dynamic chaotic processes is well
illustrated in Figure 5, where the modified K-entropy
weigths presented in the interval [2,…,4] versus the SNR
knocking probabilites can be seen.
– 42 –
At the beginning up K 2 = 2.9 the evolution process
converges to absolute stable points. At K 2 = 2.9 the
bifurcation of solution is caused. For higher values of
K 2 a cycled regime and period-doubling processes were
reached. Since K 2 = 3.4 a chaotic phenomenon is
dominated at the beginning in a narrow area, then after
very complex cycling window a wider area and at more
than K 2 = 3.6 the absolute chaotic regime emerges.
The K 2 entropy system correlates to the chaoticity of
the knocking system. For more than 50 hidden layered
deep learning architecture, analogous complex routes of
explanations in the K-entropy bifurcation take place only
they are a slight unpretentious. It is most likely that the
more considerable deep learning system, the more
decisive common compensation apparatus in competitive
systems happens, the less complaint performance
continues.
V. CONLUSION
In this paper we have introduced a deep learning based
system, based on vibration signals of a Deutz MWM 8
cylinder large gas engine to identify the chaoticity of the
knocking system. The main idea was, that in presence of
knocking combustion, the nonlinear spectra in the
vibration working cycle signals could be reached by the
deep-learned K-entropy. The evolution of the chaotic
processes is well present in the K-entropy weigths
depending on the knocking probabilities. These facts
demonstrate that the signal noise ratio and another linear
spetral metrics for the knocking probability could give
inaccurate information about knocking resonance
transitions, and nonlinearities.
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