Decentralized Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis Scheme for Interconnected Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems

This paper deals with the design of a decentralized fault diagnosis and prognosis scheme for interconnected nonlinear discrete-time systems which are modelled as the interconnection of several subsystems. For each subsystem, a local fault detector (LFD) is designed based on the dynamic model of the local subsystem and the local states. Each LFD consists of an observer with an online neural network (NN)-based approximator. The online NN approximators only use local measurements as their inputs, and are always turned on and continuously learn the interconnection as well as possible fault function. A fault is detected by comparing the output of each online NN approximator with a predefined threshold instead of using the residual. Derivation of robust detection thresholds and fault detectability conditions are also included. Due to interconnected nature of the overall system, the effect of faults propagate to other subsystems, thus a fault might be detected in more than one subsystem. Upon detection, faults local to the subsystem and from other subsystems are isolated by using a central fault isolation unit which receives detection time information from all LFDs. The proposed scheme also provides the time-to-failure or remaining useful life information by using local measurements. Simulation results provide the effectiveness of the proposed decentralized fault detection scheme

Model based fault diagnosis and prognosis of nonlinear systems

Rapid technological advances have led to more and more complex industrial systems with significantly higher risk of failures. Therefore, in this dissertation, a model-based fault diagnosis and prognosis framework has been developed for fast and reliable detection of faults and prediction of failures in nonlinear systems. In the first paper, a unified model-based fault diagnosis scheme capable of detecting both additive system faults and multiplicative actuator faults, as well as approximating the fault dynamics, performing fault type determination and time-to-failure determination, is designed. Stability of the observer and online approximator is guaranteed via an adaptive update law. Since outliers can degrade the performance of fault diagnostics, the second paper introduces an online neural network (NN) based outlier identification and removal scheme which is then combined with a fault detection scheme to enhance its performance. Outliers are detected based on the estimation error and a novel tuning law prevents the NN weights from being affected by outliers. In the third paper, in contrast to papers I and II, fault diagnosis of large-scale interconnected systems is investigated. A decentralized fault prognosis scheme is developed for such systems by using a network of local fault detectors (LFD) where each LFD only requires the local measurements. The online approximators in each LFD learn the unknown interconnection functions and the fault dynamics. Derivation of robust detection thresholds and detectability conditions are also included. The fourth paper extends the decentralized fault detection from paper III and develops an accommodation scheme for nonlinear continuous-time systems. By using both detection and accommodation online approximators, the control inputs are adjusted in order to minimize the fault effects. Finally in the fifth paper, the model-based fault diagnosis of distributed parameter systems (DPS) with parabolic PDE representation in continuous-time is discussed where a PDE-based observer is designed to perform fault detection as well as estimating the unavailable system states. An adaptive online approximator is incorporated in the observer to identify unknown fault parameters. Adaptive update law guarantees the convergence of estimations and allows determination of remaining useful life --Abstract, page iv

A control-theoretical fault prognostics and accommodation framework for a class of nonlinear discrete-time systems

Fault diagnostics and prognostics schemes (FDP) are necessary for complex industrial systems to prevent unscheduled downtime resulting from component failures. Existing schemes in continuous-time are useful for diagnosing complex industrial systems and no work has been done for prognostics. Therefore, in this dissertation, a systematic design methodology for model-based fault prognostics and accommodation is undertaken for a class of nonlinear discrete-time systems. This design methodology, which does not require any failure data, is introduced in six papers. In Paper I, a fault detection and prediction (FDP) scheme is developed for a class of nonlinear system with state faults by assuming that all the states are measurable. A novel estimator is utilized for detecting a fault. Upon detection, an online approximator in discrete-time (OLAD) and a robust adaptive term are activated online in the estimator wherein the OLAD learns the unknown fault dynamics while the robust adaptive term ensures asymptotic performance guarantee. A novel update law is proposed for tuning the OLAD parameters. Additionally, by using the parameter update law, time to reach an a priori selected failure threshold is derived for prognostics. Subsequently, the FDP scheme is used to estimate the states and detect faults in nonlinear input-output systems in Paper II and to nonlinear discrete-time systems with both state and sensor faults in Paper III. Upon detection, a novel fault isolation estimator is used to identify the faults in Paper IV. It was shown that certain faults can be accommodated via controller reconfiguration in Paper V. Finally, the performance of the FDP framework is demonstrated via Lyapunov stability analysis and experimentally on the Caterpillar hydraulics test-bed in Paper VI by using an artificial immune system as an OLAD --Abstract, page iv