Profile control charts based on nonparametric LL-1 regression methods

Classical statistical process control often relies on univariate characteristics. In many contemporary applications, however, the quality of products must be characterized by some functional relation between a response variable and its explanatory variables. Monitoring such functional profiles has been a rapidly growing field due to increasing demands. This paper develops a novel nonparametric $L$-1 location-scale model to screen the shapes of profiles. The model is built on three basic elements: location shifts, local shape distortions, and overall shape deviations, which are quantified by three individual metrics. The proposed approach is applied to the previously analyzed vertical density profile data, leading to some interesting insights.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOAS501 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Detecting the harmonics of oscillations with time-variable frequencies

A method is introduced for the spectral analysis of complex noisy signals containing several frequency components. It enables components that are independent to be distinguished from the harmonics of nonsinusoidal oscillatory processes of lower frequency. The method is based on mutual information and surrogate testing combined with the wavelet transform, and it is applicable to relatively short time series containing frequencies that are time variable. Where the fundamental frequency and harmonics of a process can be identified, the characteristic shape of the corresponding oscillation can be determined, enabling adaptive filtering to remove other components and nonoscillatory noise from the signal. Thus the total bandwidth of the signal can be correctly partitioned and the power associated with each component then can be quantified more accurately. The method is first demonstrated on numerical examples. It is then used to identify the higher harmonics of oscillations in human skin blood flow, both spontaneous and associated with periodic iontophoresis of a vasodilatory agent. The method should be equally relevant to all situations where signals of comparable complexity are encountered, including applications in astrophysics, engineering, and electrical circuits, as well as in other areas of physiology and biology

Parametric, Nonparametric, and Semiparametric Linear Regression in Classical and Bayesian Statistical Quality Control

Statistical process control (SPC) is used in many fields to understand and monitor desired processes, such as manufacturing, public health, and network traffic. SPC is categorized into two phases; in Phase I historical data is used to inform parameter estimates for a statistical model and Phase II implements this statistical model to monitor a live ongoing process. Within both phases, profile monitoring is a method to understand the functional relationship between response and explanatory variables by estimating and tracking its parameters. In profile monitoring, control charts are often used as graphical tools to visually observe process behaviors. We construct a practitioner’s guide to provide a stepby- step application for parametric, nonparametric, and semiparametric methods in profile monitoring, creating an in-depth guideline for novice practitioners. We then consider the commonly used cumulative sum (CUSUM), multivariate CUSUM (mCUSUM), exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), multivariate EWMA (mEWMA) charts under a Bayesian framework for monitoring respiratory disease related hospitalizations and global suicide rates with parametric, nonparametric, and semiparametric linear models

Damage identification in structural health monitoring: a brief review from its implementation to the Use of data-driven applications

The damage identification process provides relevant information about the current state of a structure under inspection, and it can be approached from two different points of view. The first approach uses data-driven algorithms, which are usually associated with the collection of data using sensors. Data are subsequently processed and analyzed. The second approach uses models to analyze information about the structure. In the latter case, the overall performance of the approach is associated with the accuracy of the model and the information that is used to define it. Although both approaches are widely used, data-driven algorithms are preferred in most cases because they afford the ability to analyze data acquired from sensors and to provide a real-time solution for decision making; however, these approaches involve high-performance processors due to the high computational cost. As a contribution to the researchers working with data-driven algorithms and applications, this work presents a brief review of data-driven algorithms for damage identification in structural health-monitoring applications. This review covers damage detection, localization, classification, extension, and prognosis, as well as the development of smart structures. The literature is systematically reviewed according to the natural steps of a structural health-monitoring system. This review also includes information on the types of sensors used as well as on the development of data-driven algorithms for damage identification.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

General Profile Monitoring Through Nonparametric Techniques

This Ph.D. thesis is devoted to Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods for monitoring over time the stability of a relation between two variables (profile). Very often in literature the functional form of the relation is assumed to be known, whereas in this work we concentrated on generic and unknown relations which have to be estimated with the usual nonparametric regression techniques. The original contributes are two, resented in chapters 2 and 3 respectively. In Chapter 1 we make a brief overview on the topic in order to make you become familiar with these specific problems of Statistical Process Control (SPC) applications and we introduce you to the original parts of this work. In Chapter 2 we envelope and compare five new control charts for monitoring on-line unknown general, and not only linear, relations among variables over time under the assumption of the normality of the errors; these charts combine in an original way the following techniques: self-starting methods, useful to drop the distinction between Phase I and Phase II of the analysis; very known multivariate charting schemes as MEWMA and CUSCORE; nonparametric testing techniques as wavelet methods and kernel linear smoothing. In Chapter 3, instead, we construct a test statistic useful to check with a completely nonparametric procedure the stability of a process retrospectively, thus off-line. Both second and third chapters are structured in the following way: brief literature review; framework and model considered in our study; simulation study; a section with some useful complements on the topics and relative research carried out; conclusion and suggestions for future research

On monitoring of multiple non-linear profiles

Most state-of-the-art profile monitoring methods involve studies of one profile. However, a process may contain several sensors or probes that generate multiple profiles over time. Quality characteristics presented in multiple profiles may be related multiple aspects of product or process quality. Existing charting methods for simultaneous monitoring of each multiple profile may result in high false alarm rates. Or worse, they cannot correctly detect potential relationship changes among profiles. In this study, we propose two approaches to detect process shifts in multiple non-linear profiles. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed approaches in terms of average run length under different process shift scenarios. Pros and cons of the proposed methods are discussed. A guideline for choosing the proposed methods is introduced. In addition, a hybrid method combining the salient points of both approaches is explored. Finally, a real-world data-set from a vulcanisation process is used to demonstrate the implementation of the proposed methods

Sensor Fusion and Process Monitoring for Ultrasonic Welding of Lithium-ion Batteries.

Ultrasonic metal welding is used for joining lithium-ion batteries of electric vehicles. The quality of the joints is essential to the performance of the entire battery pack. Hence, the ultrasonic welding process that creates the joints must be equipped with online sensing and real-time process monitoring systems. This would help ensure the process to be operated under the normal condition and quickly address quality-related issues. For this purpose, this dissertation develops methods in process monitoring and fault diagnosis using online sensing signals for ultrasonic metal welding. The first part of this dissertation develops a monitoring algorithm that targets near-zero misdetection by integrating univariate control charts and a multivariate control chart using the Mahalanobis distance. The proposed algorithm is capable of monitoring non-normal multivariate observations with adjustable control limits to achieve a near-zero misdetection rate while keeping a low false alarm rate. The proposed algorithm proves to be effective in achieving near-zero misdetection in process monitoring in ultrasonic welding processes. The second part of the dissertation develops a wavelet-based profile monitoring method that is capable of making decisions within a welding cycle and guiding real-time process adjustments. The proposed within-cycle monitoring technique integrates real-time monitoring and within-cycle control opportunity for defect prevention. The optimal decision point for achieving the most benefit in defect prevention is determined through the formulation of an optimization problem. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated and demonstrated by simulations and case studies. The third part of this dissertation develops a method for effective monitoring and diagnosis of multi-sensor heterogeneous profile data based on multilinear discriminant analysis. The proposed method operates directly on the multi-stream profiles and then extracts uncorrelated discriminative features through tensor-to-vector projection, and thus preserving the interrelationship of different sensors. The extracted features are then fed into classifiers to detect faulty operations and recognize fault types. The research presented in this dissertation can be applied to general discrete cyclic manufacturing processes that have online sensing and control capabilities. The results of this dissertation are also applicable or expandable to mission-critical applications when improving product quality and preventing defects are of high interests.PhDIndustrial and Operations EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113405/1/graceguo_1.pd