Online Condition Monitoring of Electric Powertrains using Machine Learning and Data Fusion

Safe and reliable operations of industrial machines are highly prioritized in industry. Typical industrial machines are complex systems, including electric motors, gearboxes and loads. A fault in critical industrial machines may lead to catastrophic failures, service interruptions and productivity losses, thus condition monitoring systems are necessary in such machines. The conventional condition monitoring or fault diagnosis systems using signal processing, time and frequency domain analysis of vibration or current signals are widely used in industry, requiring expensive and professional fault analysis team. Further, the traditional diagnosis methods mainly focus on single components in steady-state operations. Under dynamic operating conditions, the measured quantities are non-stationary, thus those methods cannot provide reliable diagnosis results for complex gearbox based powertrains, especially in multiple fault contexts. In this dissertation, four main research topics or problems in condition monitoring of gearboxes and powertrains have been identified, and novel solutions are provided based on data-driven approach. The first research problem focuses on bearing fault diagnosis at early stages and dynamic working conditions. The second problem is to increase the robustness of gearbox mixed fault diagnosis under noise conditions. Mixed fault diagnosis in variable speeds and loads has been considered as third problem. Finally, the limitation of labelled training or historical failure data in industry is identified as the main challenge for implementing data-driven algorithms. To address mentioned problems, this study aims to propose data-driven fault diagnosis schemes based on order tracking, unsupervised and supervised machine learning, and data fusion. All the proposed fault diagnosis schemes are tested with experimental data, and key features of the proposed solutions are highlighted with comparative studies.publishedVersio

Data-based fault detection in chemical processes: Managing records with operator intervention and uncertain labels

Developing data-driven fault detection systems for chemical plants requires managing uncertain data labels and dynamic attributes due to operator-process interactions. Mislabeled data is a known problem in computer science that has received scarce attention from the process systems community. This work introduces and examines the effects of operator actions in records and labels, and the consequences in the development of detection models. Using a state space model, this work proposes an iterative relabeling scheme for retraining classifiers that continuously refines dynamic attributes and labels. Three case studies are presented: a reactor as a motivating example, flooding in a simulated de-Butanizer column, as a complex case, and foaming in an absorber as an industrial challenge. For the first case, detection accuracy is shown to increase by 14% while operating costs are reduced by 20%. Moreover, regarding the de-Butanizer column, the performance of the proposed strategy is shown to be 10% higher than the filtering strategy. Promising results are finally reported in regard of efficient strategies to deal with the presented problemPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Online Tool Condition Monitoring Based on Parsimonious Ensemble+

Accurate diagnosis of tool wear in metal turning process remains an open challenge for both scientists and industrial practitioners because of inhomogeneities in workpiece material, nonstationary machining settings to suit production requirements, and nonlinear relations between measured variables and tool wear. Common methodologies for tool condition monitoring still rely on batch approaches which cannot cope with a fast sampling rate of metal cutting process. Furthermore they require a retraining process to be completed from scratch when dealing with a new set of machining parameters. This paper presents an online tool condition monitoring approach based on Parsimonious Ensemble+, pENsemble+. The unique feature of pENsemble+ lies in its highly flexible principle where both ensemble structure and base-classifier structure can automatically grow and shrink on the fly based on the characteristics of data streams. Moreover, the online feature selection scenario is integrated to actively sample relevant input attributes. The paper presents advancement of a newly developed ensemble learning algorithm, pENsemble+, where online active learning scenario is incorporated to reduce operator labelling effort. The ensemble merging scenario is proposed which allows reduction of ensemble complexity while retaining its diversity. Experimental studies utilising real-world manufacturing data streams and comparisons with well known algorithms were carried out. Furthermore, the efficacy of pENsemble was examined using benchmark concept drift data streams. It has been found that pENsemble+ incurs low structural complexity and results in a significant reduction of operator labelling effort.Comment: this paper has been published by IEEE Transactions on Cybernetic

Enhanced Industrial Machinery Condition Monitoring Methodology based on Novelty Detection and Multi-Modal Analysis

This paper presents a condition-based monitoring methodology based on novelty detection applied to industrial machinery. The proposed approach includes both, the classical classification of multiple a priori known scenarios, and the innovative detection capability of new operating modes not previously available. The development of condition-based monitoring methodologies considering the isolation capabilities of unexpected scenarios represents, nowadays, a trending topic able to answer the demanding requirements of the future industrial processes monitoring systems. First, the method is based on the temporal segmentation of the available physical magnitudes, and the estimation of a set of time-based statistical features. Then, a double feature reduction stage based on Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis is applied in order to optimize the classification and novelty detection performances. The posterior combination of a Feed-forward Neural Network and One-Class Support Vector Machine allows the proper interpretation of known and unknown operating conditions. The effectiveness of this novel condition monitoring scheme has been verified by experimental results obtained from an automotive industry machine.Postprint (published version

Support vector machine based classification in condition monitoring of induction motors

Continuous and trouble-free operation of induction motors is an essential part of modern power and production plants. Faults and failures of electrical machinery may cause remarkable economical losses but also highly dangerous situations. In addition to analytical and knowledge-based models, application of data-based models has established a firm position in the induction motor fault diagnostics during the last decade. For example, pattern recognition with Neural Networks (NN) is widely studied. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a novel machine learning method introduced in early 90's. It is based on the statistical learning theory presented by V.N. Vapnik, and it has been successfully applied to numerous classification and pattern recognition problems such as text categorization, image recognition and bioinformatics. SVM based classifier is built to minimize the structural misclassification risk, whereas conventional classification techniques often apply minimization of the empirical risk. Therefore, SVM is claimed to lead enhanced generalisation properties. Further, application of SVM results in the global solution for a classification problem. Thirdly, SVM based classification is attractive, because its efficiency does not directly depend on the dimension of classified entities. This property is very useful in fault diagnostics, because the number of fault classification features does not have to be drastically limited. However, SVM has not yet been widely studied in the area of fault diagnostics. Specifically, in the condition monitoring of induction motor, it does not seem to have been considered before this research. In this thesis, a SVM based classification scheme is designed for different tasks in induction motor fault diagnostics and for partial discharge analysis of insulation condition monitoring. Several variables are compared as fault indicators, and forces on rotor are found to be important in fault detection instead of motor current that is currently widely studied. The measurement of forces is difficult, but easily measurable vibrations are directly related to the forces. Hence, vibration monitoring is considered in more detail as the medium for the motor fault diagnostics. SVM classifiers are essentially 2-class classifiers. In addition to the induction motor fault diagnostics, the results of this thesis cover various methods for coupling SVMs for carrying out a multi-class classification problem.reviewe

Machine learning as an online diagnostic tool for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are considered a promising power supply system with high efficiency and zero emissions. They typically work within a relatively narrow range of temperature and humidity to achieve optimal performance; however, this makes the system difficult to control, leading to faults and accelerated degradation. Two main approaches can be used for diagnosis, limited data input which provides an unintrusive, rapid but limited analysis, or advanced characterisation that provides a more accurate diagnosis but often requires invasive or slow measurements. To provide an accurate diagnosis with rapid data acquisition, machine learning methods have shown great potential. However, there is a broad approach to the diagnostic algorithms and signals used in the field. This article provides a critical view of the current approaches and suggests recommendations for future methodologies of machine learning in fuel cell diagnostic applications