A Graphical Introduction to Demodulation Using the Hilbert Transform

Fe Ar atu tic re le

Garrett Smith, P.E., Ball Spin Engineering, Inc. Bremerton, Washington

Summary The Hilbert Transform is useful in signal demodulation. In this article the Hilbert Transform is described graphically using a helical spring analogy and phased time waveforms.

The Hilbert Transform is used as a digital demodulation technique. Discussions of the Hilbert Transform contain such mathematical terms as analytical signal, complex domain, and convolution. Difficult mathematical concepts are sometimes best presented in graphic form. This article has to do with visualizing use of the Hilbert Transform in demodulating an amplitude-modulated signal. Use of the Hilbert Transform is first explained and then followed by a demodulation example. A pure (non-distorted) harmonic waveform (Figure 1) is used to describe steadystate harmonic vibratory motion. It is a two-dimensional plot of amplitude vs time.

wavelength. From the circular end-view of the coil spring, the transition would be equivalent to circle, or 90. The time axis shift is known as a 90 phase difference. The Hilbert Transform uses a Fourier Transform and an inverse Fourier Transform to produce the 90 phase shifted waveform. The imaginary waveform is the real waveform (see Figure 1) shifted along the time axis by waveform, or 90.The Hilbert Transform in effect creates a duplicate waveform, shifted 90.The real and imaginary waveforms are overlaid in the same display (Figure 3). The real waveform leads the imaginary waveform.

Figure 2. Coil Spring. Figure 1. Pure Harmonic Waveform. Think of the waveform as the side view of a coiled spring (Figure 2). If the coil were turned out of the page and viewed from the end, it would appear to be a circle like the end of a coil spring. From the end view, one could then see, like the cross-hairs of a riflescope, another time-amplitude plane in the horizontal direction. As drawn in Figure 1, this imaginary plane is sticking out of the paper along the 0 amplitude line; edge-on it cannot be seen. In a vibration analysis the complete waveform must be analyzed to obtain the correct solution. If the waveform in the imaginary plane could be flipped up so that it appeared in the real plane shown in Figure 1, the imaginary waveform would look identical except it would be offset from the actual data along the time axis by If the two waveforms are added, specifically if the two are added together in quadrature, their sum will be the line shown along the tops of the waveform peaks in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Real and Imaginary Waveforms within Quadrature Sum at Peaks.

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Quadrature means square the real part, square the imaginary part, add the two squared parts, and take the square root of the total. Quadrature addition is used to obtain the long side of a right triangle; i.e. the square root of the sum of the squares of the two sides, or the vector sum. Thus, the real and imaginary parts, when added in quadrature, result in a straight line along the top of the peaks. This line comprises a one-sided envelope of the signal. A waveform envelope is not very meaningful for constant-amplitude vibration, but it is useful and important for demodulation. In vibration analysis, important signals are sometimes carried out of the machine by high-frequency, highamplitude carrier signals. These important signals often have a very low amplitude and are barely detectable. The lowamplitude signals have been mechanically multiplied with the carrier signals; the result is a modulated carrier. Demodulation is a way of stripping the important lowamplitude signals out of the carrier signals and presenting them clearly. Typical low-level modulating signals include ball bearing impacts and gear-tooth impacts carried through the machine structure by high-amplitude ringing signals that are sometimes amplified by resonance. Figure 4 shows an amplitude-modulated carrier signal. The carrier is 40 Hz and has an amplitude of 0.5. The important, or modulating, signal is 10 Hz with an amplitude of 0.25.

Figure 5. Real and Imaginary Waveforms on the Real Axis.

Figure 6. Quadrature Sum of Real and Imaginary Waveforms Produces Envelope Waveform. Process the envelope through a Fourier Transform to obtain the spectrum and analyze the modulating signal. That is amplitude demodulation using the Hilbert Transform. When a constant-amplitude waveform is added in quadrature with a twin of itself shifted 90, the result is a straight line envelope. When an amplitude-modulated waveform is added in quadrature with a twin of itself shifted 90, the result is an envelope of the carrier; i.e., the modulating signal. Figure 7 shows the original amplitude-modulated waveform in the frequency domain. This is the original amplitude-modulated waveform shown in Figure 4 after it has been processed through a Fourier Transform.

Figure 4. Amplitude-Modulated Waveform. This modulated waveform will be analyzed through the steps of demodulation using the results of the Hilbert Transform to determine whether or not the modulating signal can be extracted. The steps are: 1. Use the Hilbert Transform to obtain the imaginary part of the signal (original signal shifted 90). 2. Add the two waveforms in quadrature: This produces the envelope of the original modulated waveform. 3. Analyze the envelope separately with a Fourier Transform. Figure 5 displays the two waveforms, real and imaginary, on the real axis. The zoom to about 0.4 second shows the 90 phase difference more clearly. Add the two waveforms in quadrature, and plot the result on the same graph. The envelope of the original signal is displayed in Figure 6.

Figure 7. Spectrum of Amplitude-Modulated Waveform.

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The original waveform has a magnitude of 0.5; the carrier (center) frequency is 40 Hz. The side bands show a modulating frequency of 10 Hz with an amplitude of 0.125; the energy from the modulating signal is split between two side bands. The original spectrum with that of the Hilbert Transform envelope is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Spectrum of Amplitude-Modulated Waveform (upper), Spectrum of Hilbert Transform Envelope (lower). The quadrature sum envelope produces a spectrum with a single peak at 10 Hz and an amplitude of 0.25. This is the original modulating signal. In summary, quadrature (vector) addition of the real and imaginary parts of a waveform will produce an envelope. A constant-amplitude vibration signal has a constant-amplitude envelope (zero frequency, no spectrum component). An amplitude-modulated waveform has an envelope that varies in amplitude (non-zero frequency with spectrum peaks). After the envelope of an amplitude-modulated signal has been obtained, it can be analyzed with a spectrum analyzer to determine the frequency and amplitude of the modulating signal. The Hilbert Transform is used for amplitude demodulation because it is a straightforward calculation of the envelope given the real and imaginary waveform components. It can also be used as a basis for performing frequency demodulation, but the procedure is much more complicated because a simple quadrature addition cannot be used to extract the envelope.

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