Today condition monitoring and fault detection systems are an essential part of many processes control systems. They also trend to become an integral component of many equipment modules like pumps or compressors that are used in the process industries. Most of today's available conditions monitoring systems have two common disadvantages. They have a high complexity of instrumentation which makes them self susceptible to faults and failures. Most of them are applicable only for one particular type of machine or equipment, which makes it difficult or even impossible to use them for any other machines or devices.Hence, the aim of the thesis was to make a contribution to simplify condition monitoring systems to make them available in the next future with less complexity for a broader range of application. To achieve this goal, the observation of structure-borne noise that is radiated on the surface of process equipment during irregular operating condition gets a key role.First, the state of the art and some fundamentals of the formation as well as for the observation of structure-borne noise are introduced, since these basics are essential for a correct understanting and interpretation of the phenomena that are presented in the second part of the theses.In the second part experimental investigations of the structure-borne noise radiation on two different centrifugal pumps (both radial impeller pumps), as well as on a downstream located cross-section constriction during irregular operating conditions, such as gas contents in the pumped media, part load operation, particles in the pumped media and cavitation are presented. Fault detection and fault diagnostics methods for these operating conditions, using only one single detector of structure-borne noise, are developed.Finally, the results of the investigations are validated on a pump installation using a positive displacement pump.