A Spectral Interpretable Bearing Fault Diagnosis Framework Powered by Large Language Models

Abstract

Most existing fault diagnosis methods, although capable of extracting interpretable features such as attention-weighted fault-related frequencies, remain essentially black-box models that provide only classification results without transparent reasoning or diagnostic justification, limiting users’ ability to understand and trust diagnostic outcomes. In this work, we present a novel, interpretable fault diagnosis framework that integrates spectral feature extraction with large language models (LLMs). Vibration signals are first transformed into spectral representations using Hilbert- and Fourier-based encoders to highlight key frequencies and amplitudes. A channel attention-augmented convolutional neural network provides an initial fault type prediction. Subsequently, structured information—including operating conditions, spectral features, and CNN outputs—is fed into a fine-tuned enhanced LLM, which delivers both an accurate diagnosis and a transparent reasoning process. Experiments demonstrate that our framework achieves high diagnostic performance while substantially improving interpretability, making advanced fault diagnosis accessible to non-expert users in industrial settings.