Industrial process monitoring by means of recurrent neural networks and Self Organizing Maps

Industrial manufacturing plants often suffer from reliability problems during their day-to-day operations which have the potential for causing a great impact on the effectiveness and performance of the overall process and the sub-processes involved. Time-series forecasting of critical industrial signals presents itself as a way to reduce this impact by extracting knowledge regarding the internal dynamics of the process and advice any process deviations before it affects the productive process. In this paper, a novel industrial condition monitoring approach based on the combination of Self Organizing Maps for operating point codification and Recurrent Neural Networks for critical signal modeling is proposed. The combination of both methods presents a strong synergy, the information of the operating condition given by the interpretation of the maps helps the model to improve generalization, one of the drawbacks of recurrent networks, while assuring high accuracy and precision rates. Finally, the complete methodology, in terms of performance and effectiveness is validated experimentally with real data from a copper rod industrial plant.Postprint (published version

A hybrid prognostics approach for motorized spindle-tool holder remaining useful life prediction

The quality and efficiency of high-speed machining are restricted by the matching performance of the motorized spindle-tool holder. In high speed cutting process, the mating surface is subjected to alternating torque, repeated clamping wear and centrifugal force, which results in serious degradation of mating performance. Therefore, for the purpose of the optimum maintenance time, periodic evaluation and prediction of remaining useful life (RUL) should be carried out. Firstly, the mapping model between the current of the motorized spindle and matching performance was extracted, and the degradation characteristics of spindle-tool holder were emphatically analyzed. After the original current is de-noised by an adaptive threshold function, the extent of degradation was identified by the amplitudes of wavelet packet entropy. A hybrid prognostics combining Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) i.e. AI-model with power regression i.e. statistical model was proposed to predict the RUL. Finally, the proposed scheme was verified based on a motorized spindle reliability test platform. The experimental results show that the current signal processing method based on wavelet packet and entropy can reflect the change of the degradation characteristics sensitively. Compared with other two similar models, the hybrid model proposed can accurately predict the RUL. This model is suitable for complex and high reliability equipment when Condition Monitoring (CM) data is scarcer

Application of EMD-WVD and particle filter for gearbox fault feature extraction and remaining useful life prediction

Fault feature extraction and remaining useful life (RUL) prediction are important to condition based maintenance (CBM). In order to realize the fault feature extraction of gearbox vibration signal presenting nonlinear and non-Gaussian, the integration of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) are proposed in this paper. Taking the kurtosis as standard, the WVD is applied to some IMFs with larger kurtosis to calculate the time-frequency distribution, with an effective suppress on mode mixing and the cross-term interference. Afterwards, particle filter (PF) with the state space model based on Wiener process is proposed to predict the RUL of gearbox considering degradation feature, gearbox teeth wear and nonlinear and non-Gaussian system. The gearbox life cycle test shows that the EMD-WVD method can extract the valued characteristics of vibration signal accurately, and the particle filter can provide an effective way to predict the RUL of gearbox

Numerical Fitting-based Likelihood Calculation to Speed up the Particle Filter

The likelihood calculation of a vast number of particles is the computational bottleneck for the particle filter in applications where the observation information is rich. For fast computing the likelihood of particles, a numerical fitting approach is proposed to construct the Likelihood Probability Density Function (Li-PDF) by using a comparably small number of so-called fulcrums. The likelihood of particles is thereby analytically inferred, explicitly or implicitly, based on the Li-PDF instead of directly computed by utilizing the observation, which can significantly reduce the computation and enables real time filtering. The proposed approach guarantees the estimation quality when an appropriate fitting function and properly distributed fulcrums are used. The details for construction of the fitting function and fulcrums are addressed respectively in detail. In particular, to deal with multivariate fitting, the nonparametric kernel density estimator is presented which is flexible and convenient for implicit Li-PDF implementation. Simulation comparison with a variety of existing approaches on a benchmark 1-dimensional model and multi-dimensional robot localization and visual tracking demonstrate the validity of our approach.Comment: 42 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables and 1 appendix. This paper is a draft/preprint of one paper submitted to the IEEE Transaction

Industrial time series modelling by means of the neo-fuzzy neuron

Abstract—Industrial process monitoring and modelling represents a critical step in order to achieve the paradigm of Zero Defect Manufacturing. The aim of this paper is to introduce the Neo-Fuzzy Neuron method to be applied in industrial time series modelling. Its open structure and input independency provides fast learning and convergence capabilities, while assuring a proper accuracy and generalization in the modelled output. First, the auxiliary signals in the database are analyzed in order to find correlations with the target signal. Second, the Neo-Fuzzy Neuron is configured and trained according by means of the auxiliary signal, past instants and dynamics information of the target signal. The proposed method is validated by means of real data from a Spanish copper rod industrial plant, in which a critical signal regarding copper refrigeration process is modelled. The obtained results indicate the suitability of the Neo-Fuzzy Neuron method for industrial process modelling.Postprint (published version

A Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Framework for Incipient Fault Detection and Remaining Service Life Prediction with Application to Industrial Rotating Machines

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Data-driven machine health monitoring systems (MHMS) have been widely investigated and applied in the field of machine diagnostics and prognostics with the aim of realizing predictive maintenance. It involves using data to identify early warnings that indicate potential system malfunctioning, predict when system failure might occur, and pre-emptively service equipment to avoid unscheduled downtime. One of the most critical aspects of data-driven MHMS is the provision of incipient fault diagnosis and prognosis regarding the system’s future working conditions. In this work, a novel diagnostic and prognostic framework is proposed to detect incipient faults and estimate remaining service life (RSL) of rotating machinery. In the proposed framework, a novel canonical variate analysis (CVA)-based monitoring index, which takes into account the distinctions between past and future canonical variables, is employed for carrying out incipient fault diagnosis. By incorporating the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) technique, a novel fault identification approach based on Pearson correlation analysis is presented and utilized to identify the influential variables that are most likely associated with the fault. Moreover, an enhanced metabolism grey forecasting model (MGFM) approach is developed for RSL prediction. Particle filter (PF) is employed to modify the traditional grey forecasting model for improving its prediction performance. The enhanced MGFM approach is designed to address two generic issues namely dealing with scarce data and quantifying the uncertainty of RSL in a probabilistic form, which are often encountered in the prognostics of safety-critical and complex assets. The proposed CVA-based index is validated on slowly evolving faults in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system, and the effectiveness of the proposed integrated diagnostic and prognostic method for the monitoring of rotating machinery is demonstrated for slow involving faults in two case studies of an operational industrial centrifugal pump and one case study of an operational centrifugal compressor

A intelligent particle swarm optimization for short-term traffic flow forecasting using on-road sensor systems

On-road sensor systems installed on freeways are used to capture traffic flow data for short-term traffic flow predictors for traffic management, in order to reduce traffic congestion and improve vehicular mobility. This paper intends to tackle the impractical time-invariant assumptions which underlie the methods currently used to develop short-term traffic flow predictors: i) the characteristics of current data captured by on-road sensors are assumed to be time-invariant with respect to those of the historical data, which is used to developed short-term traffic flow predictors; and ii) the configuration of the on-road sensor systems is assumed to be time-invariant. In fact, both assumptions are impractical in the real world, as the current traffic flow characteristics can be very different from the historical ones, and also the on-road sensor systems are time-varying in nature due to damaged sensors or component wear. Therefore, misleading forecasting results are likely to be produced when short-term traffic flow predictors are designed using these two time-invariant assumptions. To tackle these time-invariant assumptions, an intelligent particle swarm optimization algorithm, namely IPSO, is proposed to develop short-term traffic flow predictors by integrating the mechanisms of particle swarm optimization, neural network and fuzzy inference system, in order to adapt to the time-varying traffic flow characteristics and the time-varying configurations of the on-road sensor systems. The proposed IPSO was applied to forecast traffic flow conditions on a section of freeway in Western Australia, whose traffic flow information can be captured on-line by the on-road sensor system. These results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of using the proposed IPSO for real-time traffic flow forecasting based on traffic flow data captured by on-road sensor systems

Prognostics of Ball Bearings in Cooling Fans

Ball bearings have been used to support rotating shafts in machines such as wind turbines, aircraft engines, and desktop computer fans. There has been extensive research in the areas of condition monitoring, diagnostics, and prognostics of ball bearings. As the identification of ball bearing defects by inspection interrupts the operation of rotating machines and can be costly, the assessment of the health of ball bearings relies on the use of condition monitoring techniques. Fault detection and life prediction methods have been developed to improve condition-based maintenance and product qualification. However, intermittent and catastrophic system failures due to bearing problems still occur resulting in loss of life and increase of maintenance and warranty costs. Inaccurate life prediction of ball bearings is of concern to industry. This research focuses on prognostics of ball bearings based on vibration and acoustic emission analysis to provide early warning of failure and predict life in advance. The failure mechanisms of ball bearings in cooling fans are identified and failure precursors associated with the defects are determined. A prognostic method based on Bayesian Monte Carlo method and sequential probability ratio test is developed to predict time-to-failure of ball bearings in advance. A benchmark study is presented to demonstrate the application of the developed prognostic method to desktop computer fans. The prognostic method developed in this research can be extended as a general method to predict life of a component or system

Desenvolvimento de um sistema de visão artificial para um robô explorador

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Araranguá. Curso de Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação.Um rob^o m ovel explorador de ambientes deve ser dotado de um sistema de vis~ao arti cial que seja capaz de captar e processar imagens provenientes de uma c^amera a m de encontrar padr~oes que possam ser utilizados para identi car um ou mais objetos presentes no ambiente. Um rob^o m ovel equipado com um sistema de vis~ao arti cial e de grande utilidade, uma vez que o rob^o pode tomar decis~oes baseadas nas informa c~oes visuais recebidas e processadas. Este trabalho descreve um sistema de vis~ao arti cial para um rob^o explorador de ambientes indoor e outdoor. O sistema e baseado nas informa c~oes visuais lidas a partir de uma c^amera posicionada na parte superior do rob^o. As imagens s~ao processadas com o objetivo de calcular a trajet oria do rob^o at e um objeto mapeado, com base na trajet oria calculada o sistema determina um novo posicionamento para o robô.A rover should be equipped with an arti cial vision system that is able to capture and process images from a camera to nd patterns that can be used to identify one or more objects present in the environment. A mobile robot equipped with an arti cial vision system is useful, since the robot can make decisions based on visual information received and processed. This paper describes an arti cial vision system for a rover. The system is based on visual information read from a camera positioned on top of the robot. The images are processed in order to calculate the robot trajectory to an object, based on the calculated trajectory the system determines a new position to the robot