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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records

Spatial-Temporal Recurrent Graph Neural Networks for Fault Diagnostics in Power Distribution Systems

Fault diagnostics are extremely important to decide proper actions toward fault isolation and system restoration. The growing integration of inverter-based distributed energy resources imposes strong influences on fault detection using traditional overcurrent relays. This paper utilizes emerging graph learning techniques to build new temporal recurrent graph neural network models for fault diagnostics. The temporal recurrent graph neural network structures can extract the spatial-temporal features from data of voltage measurement units installed at the critical buses. From these features, fault event detection, fault type/phase classification, and fault location are performed. Compared with previous works, the proposed temporal recurrent graph neural networks provide a better generalization for fault diagnostics. Moreover, the proposed scheme retrieves the voltage signals instead of current signals so that there is no need to install relays at all lines of the distribution system. Therefore, the proposed scheme is generalizable and not limited by the number of relays installed. The effectiveness of the proposed method is comprehensively evaluated on the Potsdam microgrid and IEEE 123-node system in comparison with other neural network structures.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

An Integrated Architecture for On-Board Aircraft Engine Performance Trend Monitoring and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

Aircraft engine performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostics are closely related technologies that assist operators in managing the health of their gas turbine engine assets. Trend monitoring is the process of monitoring the gradual performance change that an aircraft engine will naturally incur over time due to turbomachinery deterioration, while gas path diagnostics is the process of detecting and isolating the occurrence of any faults impacting engine flow-path performance. Today, performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostic functions are performed by a combination of on-board and off-board strategies. On-board engine control computers contain logic that monitors for anomalous engine operation in real-time. Off-board ground stations are used to conduct fleet-wide engine trend monitoring and fault diagnostics based on data collected from each engine each flight. Continuing advances in avionics are enabling the migration of portions of the ground-based functionality on-board, giving rise to more sophisticated on-board engine health management capabilities. This paper reviews the conventional engine performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostic architecture commonly applied today, and presents a proposed enhanced on-board architecture for future applications. The enhanced architecture gains real-time access to an expanded quantity of engine parameters, and provides advanced on-board model-based estimation capabilities. The benefits of the enhanced architecture include the real-time continuous monitoring of engine health, the early diagnosis of fault conditions, and the estimation of unmeasured engine performance parameters. A future vision to advance the enhanced architecture is also presented and discussed

Simon, Donald L.↗

Autonomous power expert fault diagnostic system for Space Station Freedom electrical power system testbed

The goal of the Autonomous Power System (APS) program is to develop and apply intelligent problem solving and control to the Space Station Freedom Electrical Power System (SSF/EPS) testbed being developed and demonstrated at NASA Lewis Research Center. The objectives of the program are to establish artificial intelligence technology paths, to craft knowledge-based tools with advanced human-operator interfaces for power systems, and to interface and integrate knowledge-based systems with conventional controllers. The Autonomous Power EXpert (APEX) portion of the APS program will integrate a knowledge-based fault diagnostic system and a power resource planner-scheduler. Then APEX will interface on-line with the SSF/EPS testbed and its Power Management Controller (PMC). The key tasks include establishing knowledge bases for system diagnostics, fault detection and isolation analysis, on-line information accessing through PMC, enhanced data management, and multiple-level, object-oriented operator displays. The first prototype of the diagnostic expert system for fault detection and isolation has been developed. The knowledge bases and the rule-based model that were developed for the Power Distribution Control Unit subsystem of the SSF/EPS testbed are described. A corresponding troubleshooting technique is also described.

Truong, Long V.↗

Graph-based real-time fault diagnostics

A real-time fault detection and diagnosis capability is absolutely crucial in the design of large-scale space systems. Some of the existing AI-based fault diagnostic techniques like expert systems and qualitative modelling are frequently ill-suited for this purpose. Expert systems are often inadequately structured, difficult to validate and suffer from knowledge acquisition bottlenecks. Qualitative modelling techniques sometimes generate a large number of failure source alternatives, thus hampering speedy diagnosis. In this paper we present a graph-based technique which is well suited for real-time fault diagnosis, structured knowledge representation and acquisition and testing and validation. A Hierarchical Fault Model of the system to be diagnosed is developed. At each level of hierarchy, there exist fault propagation digraphs denoting causal relations between failure modes of subsystems. The edges of such a digraph are weighted with fault propagation time intervals. Efficient and restartable graph algorithms are used for on-line speedy identification of failure source components.

Padalkar, S.↗

Sensor Selection for Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

This paper presents analytical techniques for aiding system designers in making aircraft engine health management sensor selection decisions. The presented techniques, which are based on linear estimation and probability theory, are tailored for gas turbine engine performance estimation and gas path fault diagnostics applications. They enable quantification of the performance estimation and diagnostic accuracy offered by different candidate sensor suites. For performance estimation, sensor selection metrics are presented for two types of estimators including a Kalman filter and a maximum a posteriori estimator. For each type of performance estimator, sensor selection is based on minimizing the theoretical sum of squared estimation errors in health parameters representing performance deterioration in the major rotating modules of the engine. For gas path fault diagnostics, the sensor selection metric is set up to maximize correct classification rate for a diagnostic strategy that performs fault classification by identifying the fault type that most closely matches the observed measurement signature in a weighted least squares sense. Results from the application of the sensor selection metrics to a linear engine model are presented and discussed. Given a baseline sensor suite and a candidate list of optional sensors, an exhaustive search is performed to determine the optimal sensor suites for performance estimation and fault diagnostics. For any given sensor suite, Monte Carlo simulation results are found to exhibit good agreement with theoretical predictions of estimation and diagnostic accuracies.

Gas Turbine Engines↗

Sensor Selection for Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

This paper presents analytical techniques for aiding system designers in making aircraft engine health management sensor selection decisions. The presented techniques, which are based on linear estimation and probability theory, are tailored for gas turbine engine performance estimation and gas path fault diagnostics applications. They enable quantification of the performance estimation and diagnostic accuracy offered by different candidate sensor suites. For performance estimation, sensor selection metrics are presented for two types of estimators including a Kalman filter and a maximum a posteriori estimator. For each type of performance estimator, sensor selection is based on minimizing the theoretical sum of squared estimation errors in health parameters representing performance deterioration in the major rotating modules of the engine. For gas path fault diagnostics, the sensor selection metric is set up to maximize correct classification rate for a diagnostic strategy that performs fault classification by identifying the fault type that most closely matches the observed measurement signature in a weighted least squares sense. Results from the application of the sensor selection metrics to a linear engine model are presented and discussed. Given a baseline sensor suite and a candidate list of optional sensors, an exhaustive search is performed to determine the optimal sensor suites for performance estimation and fault diagnostics. For any given sensor suite, Monte Carlo simulation results are found to exhibit good agreement with theoretical predictions of estimation and diagnostic accuracies.

Gas Turbine Engines↗

Sensor Selection for Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

This paper presents analytical techniques for aiding system designers in making aircraft engine health management sensor selection decisions. The presented techniques, which are based on linear estimation and probability theory, are tailored for gas turbine engine performance estimation and gas path fault diagnostics applications. They enable quantification of the performance estimation and diagnostic accuracy offered by different candidate sensor suites. For performance estimation, sensor selection metrics are presented for two types of estimators including a Kalman filter and a maximum a posteriori estimator. For each type of performance estimator, sensor selection is based on minimizing the theoretical sum of squared estimation errors in health parameters representing performance deterioration in the major rotating modules of the engine. For gas path fault diagnostics, the sensor selection metric is set up to maximize correct classification rate for a diagnostic strategy that performs fault classification by identifying the fault type that most closely matches the observed measurement signature in a weighted least squares sense. Results from the application of the sensor selection metrics to a linear engine model are presented and discussed. Given a baseline sensor suite and a candidate list of optional sensors, an exhaustive search is performed to determine the optimal sensor suites for performance estimation and fault diagnostics. For any given sensor suite, Monte Carlo simulation results are found to exhibit good agreement with theoretical predictions of estimation and diagnostic accuracies.

Diagnosis↗

An Integrated Architecture for Aircraft Engine Performance Monitoring and Fault Diagnostics: Engine Test Results

This paper presents a model-based architecture for performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostics designed for analyzing streaming transient aircraft engine measurement data. The technique analyzes residuals between sensed engine outputs and model predicted outputs for fault detection and isolation purposes. Diagnostic results from the application of the approach to test data acquired from an aircraft turbofan engine are presented. The approach is found to avoid false alarms when presented nominal fault-free data. Additionally, the approach is found to successfully detect and isolate gas path seeded-faults under steady-state operating scenarios although some fault misclassifications are noted during engine transients. Recommendations for follow-on maturation and evaluation of the technique are also presented.

propulsion system performance↗

An Integrated Architecture for Aircraft Engine Performance Monitoring and Fault Diagnostics: Engine Test Results

This paper presents a model-based architecture for performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostics designed for analyzing streaming transient aircraft engine measurement data. The technique analyzes residuals between sensed engine outputs and model predicted outputs for fault detection and isolation purposes. Diagnostic results from the application of the approach to test data acquired from an aircraft turbofan engine are presented. The approach is found to avoid false alarms when presented nominal fault-free data. Additionally, the approach is found to successfully detect and isolate gas path seeded-faults under steady-state operating scenarios although some fault misclassifications are noted during engine transients. Recommendations for follow-on maturation and evaluation of the technique are also presented.

propulsion system performance↗

An Integrated Architecture for Aircraft Engine Performance Monitoring and Fault Diagnostics: Engine Test Results

This paper presents a model-based architecture for performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostics designed for analyzing streaming transient aircraft engine measurement data. The technique analyzes residuals between sensed engine outputs and model predicted outputs for fault detection and isolation purposes. Diagnostic results from the application of the approach to test data acquired from an aircraft turbofan engine are presented. The approach is found to avoid false alarms when presented nominal fault-free data. Additionally, the approach is found to successfully detect and isolate gas path seeded-faults under steady-state operating scenarios although some fault misclassifications are noted during engine transients. Recommendations for follow-on maturation and evaluation of the technique are also presented.

systems health monitoring↗

Fault Diagnostics and Prognostics for Large Segmented SRMs

We report progress in development of the fault diagnostic and prognostic (FD&P) system for large segmented solid rocket motors (SRMs). The model includes the following main components: (i) 1D dynamical model of internal ballistics of SRMs; (ii) surface regression model for the propellant taking into account erosive burning; (iii) model of the propellant geometry; (iv) model of the nozzle ablation; (v) model of a hole burning through in the SRM steel case. The model is verified by comparison of the spatially resolved time traces of the flow parameters obtained in simulations with the results of the simulations obtained using high-fidelity 2D FLUENT model (developed by the third party). To develop FD&P system of a case breach fault for a large segmented rocket we notice [1] that the stationary zero-dimensional approximation for the nozzle stagnation pressure is surprisingly accurate even when stagnation pressure varies significantly in time during burning tail-off. This was also found to be true for the case breach fault [2]. These results allow us to use the FD&P developed in our earlier research [3]-[6] by substituting head stagnation pressure with nozzle stagnation pressure. The axial corrections to the value of the side thrust due to the mass addition are taken into account by solving a system of ODEs in spatial dimension.

Luchinsky, Dmitry↗

Fault diagnostic instrumentation design for environmental control and life support systems

As a development phase moves toward flight hardware, the system availability becomes an important design aspect which requires high reliability and maintainability. As part of continous development efforts, a program to evaluate, design, and demonstrate advanced instrumentation fault diagnostics was successfully completed. Fault tolerance designs for reliability and other instrumenation capabilities to increase maintainability were evaluated and studied.

Yang, P. Y.↗

An Integrated Approach for Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation and Fault Diagnostics

A Kalman filter-based approach for integrated on-line aircraft engine performance estimation and gas path fault diagnostics is presented. This technique is specifically designed for underdetermined estimation problems where there are more unknown system parameters representing deterioration and faults than available sensor measurements. A previously developed methodology is applied to optimally design a Kalman filter to estimate a vector of tuning parameters, appropriately sized to enable estimation. The estimated tuning parameters can then be transformed into a larger vector of health parameters representing system performance deterioration and fault effects. The results of this study show that basing fault isolation decisions solely on the estimated health parameter vector does not provide ideal results. Furthermore, expanding the number of the health parameters to address additional gas path faults causes a decrease in the estimation accuracy of those health parameters representative of turbomachinery performance deterioration. However, improved fault isolation performance is demonstrated through direct analysis of the estimated tuning parameters produced by the Kalman filter. This was found to provide equivalent or superior accuracy compared to the conventional fault isolation approach based on the analysis of sensed engine outputs, while simplifying online implementation requirements. Results from the application of these techniques to an aircraft engine simulation are presented and discussed.

imon, Donald L.↗

IoT-Based Comfort Control and Fault Diagnostics System for Energy-Efficient Homes

This project studies an Internet of Things (IoT)-based comfort control and fault diagnostics system (referred as iComfort in this report) for energy-efficient homes. The system delivers an occupant-comfort-oriented thermal environment adaptive to fault scenarios and achieves HVAC energy savings in a cost-effective and straightforward way. This smart iComfort home system consists of the following key features. 1) Cost-effectiveness and scalability of the entire hardware and software system: The system includes low-cost temperature, humidity, and airflow sensors, and a Raspberry Pi-based local hub that interfaces with the cloud and IoT-enabled devices. The cost is low, not only for sensors, but also the costs associated with sensor installation, system setup and commissioning, data communication and storage, and data analytics (e.g., the development of automated fault detection and diagnosis (AFDD), as well as adaptive control strategies that are both computationally efficient and practical to implement). 2) Energy performance and user satisfaction: The system delivers user satisfaction and energy savings. This includes a) ease of use, b) optimal occupant thermal comfort, and c) accurate system feedback (e.g., low false alarm of AFDD strategies). 3) Favorable demonstrated prototype performance: The prototype tested at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Lab Homes demonstrates the accuracy of fault detections and diagnoses and shows thermal comfort improvement and energy savings through adaptive and optimal HVAC operations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Nuclear Power Fault Diagnostics and Preventative Maintenance Optimization

Operation and maintenance costs for nuclear power plants are very large. Reactors are starting to shut down even after their operating licenses have been extended, because they are not price competitive compared to other energy sources. The nuclear industry is witnessing early closure of nuclear power plants due to economic reasons despite excellent safety records. Therefore, it is imperative to reduce costs to prevent these early closures. This paper showcases recent research into advanced fault diagnostics techniques and preventative maintenance optimization to reduce these maintenance costs. This report focuses on the condensate and feedwater system for both pressurized and boiling water reactor systems. The computerized maintenance management system, which contains the plant’s digital record of all the corrective- and preventative-maintenance work orders, was used as a ground truth to locate potential faults and label the process data as healthy or faulty. Various feature extraction techniques were utilized to further differentiate the faults from the healthy data. Support vectors machines were used to categorize other test sets of process data as healthy or faulty through a cross validation procedure. Similar faults were not found within this system leading to preventative maintenance optimization. Unnecessary amounts of preventative maintenance lead to inflated maintenance costs. This paper summarizes the steps for preventative maintenance optimization from component health determination to recommendation for action. This optimization was completed for condensate pumps, condensate booster pumps, and the respective motors that drive them.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Enhanced Bank of Kalman Filters Developed and Demonstrated for In-Flight Aircraft Engine Sensor Fault Diagnostics

In-flight sensor fault detection and isolation (FDI) is critical to maintaining reliable engine operation during flight. The aircraft engine control system, which computes control commands on the basis of sensor measurements, operates the propulsion systems at the demanded conditions. Any undetected sensor faults, therefore, may cause the control system to drive the engine into an undesirable operating condition. It is critical to detect and isolate failed sensors as soon as possible so that such scenarios can be avoided. A challenging issue in developing reliable sensor FDI systems is to make them robust to changes in engine operating characteristics due to degradation with usage and other faults that can occur during flight. A sensor FDI system that cannot appropriately account for such scenarios may result in false alarms, missed detections, or misclassifications when such faults do occur. To address this issue, an enhanced bank of Kalman filters was developed, and its performance and robustness were demonstrated in a simulation environment. The bank of filters is composed of m + 1 Kalman filters, where m is the number of sensors being used by the control system and, thus, in need of monitoring. Each Kalman filter is designed on the basis of a unique fault hypothesis so that it will be able to maintain its performance if a particular fault scenario, hypothesized by that particular filter, takes place.

Kobayashi, Takahisa↗

TROUBLE 3: A fault diagnostic expert system for Space Station Freedom's power system

Designing Space Station Freedom has given NASA many opportunities to develop expert systems that automate onboard operations of space based systems. One such development, TROUBLE 3, an expert system that was designed to automate the fault diagnostics of Space Station Freedom's electric power system is described. TROUBLE 3's design is complicated by the fact that Space Station Freedom's power system is evolving and changing. TROUBLE 3 has to be made flexible enough to handle changes with minimal changes to the program. Three types of expert systems were studied: rule-based, set-covering, and model-based. A set-covering approach was selected for TROUBLE 3 because if offered the needed flexibility that was missing from the other approaches. With this flexibility, TROUBLE 3 is not limited to Space Station Freedom applications, it can easily be adapted to handle any diagnostic system.

Manner, David B.↗

An expert systems approach to automated fault diagnostics

The implementation of the life support function on the Space Station will probably have to be based on regenerative life support techniques. It is essential that the regenerative subsystems operate with minimum attendance from the crew. However, the results of extensive testing show that uninterrupted subsystem operation over long periods of time (e.g., months) is not easy to achieve. In order to achieve longer periods of time on line for these subsystems, it is necessary that the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) designers focus their attention on technologies which will permit both increasing the mean time between shutdowns and decreasing the time for which a subsystem is down for fault diagnosis and maintenance. With the aim to be able to perform the fault diagnosis on line rather than after the subsystem has shut down, an expert systems approach to automated fault diagnostics is considered. A description is given of a program, designated CS-1 'FIXER' for fault isolation expert to enhance reliability.

Lance, N.↗