Nonlinear time series analysis of vibration data from a friction brake: SSA, PCA, and MFDFA

We use the methodology of singular spectrum analysis (SSA), principal component analysis (PCA), and multi-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA), for investigating characteristics of vibration time series data from a friction brake. SSA and PCA are used to study the long time-scale characteristics of the time series. MFDFA is applied for investigating all time scales up to the smallest recorded one. It turns out that the majority of the long time-scale dynamics, that is presumably dominated by the structural dynamics of the brake system, is dominated by very few active dimensions only and can well be understood in terms of low dimensional chaotic attractors. The multi-fractal analysis shows that the fast dynamical processes originating in the friction interface are in turn truly multi-scale in nature.