Surrogate Modeling Approaches for Use with Prognostics Models Package (INTERN NOTES)
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Here, this study presents a novel approach for the precise monitoring and prognosis of photovoltaic (PV) inverter status, which is crucial for the proactive maintenance of PV systems. It addresses the gaps in traditional model-based methods, which tend to neglect the overall reliability of inverters, and the limitations of data-driven approaches that largely depend on simulated data. This research presents a robust solution applicable to real-world scenarios. The proposed data-driven model for PV inverter failure prognosis employs actual inverter measurements, integrating various operational and weather-related factors based on domain knowledge. This approach effectively represents inverter stressors and operational status. Utilizing an Enhanced Siamese Convolutional Neural Network (ESCNN), the model merges operational data with domain knowledge features, redefining the prognosis challenge as a classification task. Furthermore, the paper discusses an ESCNN-based real-time inverter failure monitoring method developed on the well-trained model. The proposed models are rigorously trained and tested with real inverter data and a novel filtering method is included to address accidental failures in practical scenarios. The results validate the model's efficacy, and the directions for future research are also outlined.
A system of diagnostic equations for the velocity field, or wind laws, for a barotropic primitive-equation model of large-scale atmospheric flow is derived. Attention is given to the classical balance equation and its ellipticity condition. Numerical solutions of the diagnostic system are presented, including examples of cases of the mixed elliptic-hyperbolic type and cases with non-zero divergence. Procedures for implementing such a system are outlined, along with a review of factors in using the technique for operational numerical weather prediction.
Model-based prognostics approaches employ domain knowledge about a system, its components, and how they fail through the use of physics-based models. Component wear is driven by several different degradation phenomena, each resulting in their own damage progression path, overlapping to contribute to the overall degradation of the component. We develop a model-based prognostics methodology using particle filters, in which the problem of characterizing multiple damage progression paths is cast as a joint state-parameter estimation problem. The estimate is represented as a probability distribution, allowing the prediction of end of life and remaining useful life within a probabilistic framework that supports uncertainty management. We also develop a novel variance control mechanism that maintains an uncertainty bound around the hidden parameters to limit the amount of estimation uncertainty and, consequently, reduce prediction uncertainty. We construct a detailed physics-based model of a centrifugal pump, to which we apply our model-based prognostics algorithms. We illustrate the operation of the prognostic solution with a number of simulation-based experiments and demonstrate the performance of the chosen approach when multiple damage mechanisms are active
Model-based prognostics approaches use domain knowledge about a system and its failure modes through the use of physics-based models. Model-based prognosis is generally divided into two sequential problems: a joint state-parameter estimation problem, in which, using the model, the health of a system or component is determined based on the observations; and a prediction problem, in which, using the model, the stateparameter distribution is simulated forward in time to compute end of life and remaining useful life. The first problem is typically solved through the use of a state observer, or filter. The choice of filter depends on the assumptions that may be made about the system, and on the desired algorithm performance. In this paper, we review three separate filters for the solution to the first problem: the Daum filter, an exact nonlinear filter; the unscented Kalman filter, which approximates nonlinearities through the use of a deterministic sampling method known as the unscented transform; and the particle filter, which approximates the state distribution using a finite set of discrete, weighted samples, called particles. Using a centrifugal pump as a case study, we conduct a number of simulation-based experiments investigating the performance of the different algorithms as applied to prognostics.
In order to tackle and solve the prediction problem, it is essential to have awareness of the current state and health of the system, especially since it is necessary to perform condition-based predictions. To be able to accurately predict the future state of any system, it is required to possess knowledge of its current and future operations. Given models of the current and future system behavior, the general approach of model-based prognostics can be employed as a solution to the prior stated prediction problem. In case of electric aircrafts, computing remaining flying time is safety-critical, since an aircraft that runs out of power (battery charge) while in the air will eventually lose control leading to catastrophe. In order to tackle and solve the prediction problem, it is essential to have awareness of the current state and health of the system, especially since it is necessary to perform condition-based predictions. To be able to predict the future state of the system, it is also required to possess knowledge of the current and future operations of the vehicle. Our research approach is to develop a system level health monitoring safety indicator which runs estimation and prediction algorithms to estimate remaining useful life predictions at system as well as subsystem levels. Given models of the current and future system behavior, a general approach of model-based prognostics can be employed as a solution to the prediction problem and further for decision making. In addition a digital twin concept is being implemented in the framework to demonstrate verification and validation of developed algorithms.
Prognostic numerical models for atmospheric and oceanic circulations require initial fields, boundary conditions, and forcing functions in addition to a consistent set of partial differential equations, including a state relation and equations expressing conservation of mass, momentum, and energy. Depending on the horizontal domain to be modeled, the horizontal boundary conditions are either physically obvious or extremely difficult to specify consistently. If the entire atmosphere is modeled, periodic horizontal boundary conditions are appropriate. On the other hand, the physical horizontal boundaries on the entire ocean are solid walls. Obviously, the normal velocity at a solid wall is zero while the specification of the tangential velocity depends on the mathematical treatment of the horizontal viscous terms. Limitations imposed by computer capacity and cost, as well as research interests, have led to the use of limited area models to study flows in the atmosphere and ocean. The limited area models do not have physical horizontal boundaries, merely numerical ones. Correctly determining these open boundary conditions for limited-area numerical models has both intrigued and frustrated numerical modelers for decades. One common approach is to use the closed or solid wall boundary conditions for a limited-area model. The argument given for this approach is that the boundary conditions affect flow near the walls but that none of these effects are propagated into the interior. Therefore, one chooses a big enough domain that the central region of interest is not corrupted by the boundary flow. Research in progress to model the North Atlantic circulation vividly illustrates the pitfalls of this approach. Two model runs are compared: (1) the southern boundary at 20S between latitudes 0 and 40W is artificially closed; and (2) the same boundary is specified as open with an inward transport of 15 Sv (determined from a global model with the same physics) uniformly spread across the boundary. A comparison of both runs is presented.
Model-based prognostics has become a popular approach to solving the prognostics problem. However, almost all work has focused on prognostics of systems with continuous dynamics. In this paper, we extend the model-based prognostics framework to hybrid systems models that combine both continuous and discrete dynamics. In general, most systems are hybrid in nature, including those that combine physical processes with software. We generalize the model-based prognostics formulation to hybrid systems, and describe the challenges involved. We present a general approach for modeling hybrid systems, and overview methods for solving estimation and prediction in hybrid systems. As a case study, we consider the problem of conflict (i.e., loss of separation) prediction in the National Airspace System, in which the aircraft models are hybrid dynamical systems.
Model-based prognostics captures system knowledge in the form of physics-based models of components, and how they fail, in order to obtain accurate predictions of end of life (EOL). EOL is predicted based on the estimated current state distribution of a component and expected profiles of future usage. In general, this requires simulations of the component using the underlying models. In this paper, we develop a simulation-based prediction methodology that achieves computational efficiency by performing only the minimal number of simulations needed in order to accurately approximate the mean and variance of the complete EOL distribution. This is performed through the use of the unscented transform, which predicts the means and covariances of a distribution passed through a nonlinear transformation. In this case, the EOL simulation acts as that nonlinear transformation. In this paper, we review the unscented transform, and describe how this concept is applied to efficient EOL prediction. As a case study, we develop a physics-based model of a solenoid valve, and perform simulation experiments to demonstrate improved computational efficiency without sacrificing prediction accuracy.
This tutorial will cover the basics of model-based prognostics, and include concepts such as modeling approaches, estimation and prediction algorithms, and how uncertainty is represented and quantified. Other topics covered will include structural model decomposition, system-level prognostics, prognostics of hybrid systems, and distributed prognostics. Several case studies, such as water recovery systems to the prediction of safety margins in the national airspace system will be used to explain different concepts of prognostics and demonstrate their application to real-world systems.
Within the area of systems health management, the task of prognostics centers on predicting when components will fail. Model-based prognostics exploits domain knowledge of the system, its components, and how they fail by casting the underlying physical phenomena in a physics-based model that is derived from first principles. Uncertainty cannot be avoided in prediction, therefore, algorithms are employed that help in managing these uncertainties. The particle filtering algorithm has become a popular choice for model-based prognostics due to its wide applicability, ease of implementation, and support for uncertainty management. We develop a general model-based prognostics methodology within a robust probabilistic framework using particle filters. As a case study, we consider a pneumatic valve from the Space Shuttle cryogenic refueling system. We develop a detailed physics-based model of the pneumatic valve, and perform comprehensive simulation experiments to illustrate our prognostics approach and evaluate its effectiveness and robustness. The approach is demonstrated using historical pneumatic valve data from the refueling system.
Prognostic cloud schemes are increasingly used in weather and climate models in order to better treat cloud-radiation processes. Simplifications are often made in such schemes for computational efficiency, like the scheme being used in the National Centers for Environment Prediction models that excludes some microphysical processes and precipitation-radiation interaction. In this study, sensitivity tests with a 2D cloud resolving model are carried out to examine effects of the excluded microphysical processes and precipitation-radiation interaction on tropical thermodynamics and cloud properties. The model is integrated for 10 days with the imposed vertical velocity derived from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment. The experiment excluding the depositional growth of snow from cloud ice shows anomalous growth of cloud ice and more than 20% increase of fractional cloud cover, indicating that the lack of the depositional snow growth causes unrealistically large mixing ratio of cloud ice. The experiment excluding the precipitation-radiation interaction displays a significant cooling and drying bias. The analysis of heat and moisture budgets shows that the simulation without the interaction produces more stable upper troposphere and more unstable mid and lower troposphere than does the simulation with the interaction. Thus, the suppressed growth of ice clouds in upper troposphere and stronger radiative cooling in mid and lower troposphere are responsible for the cooling bias, and less evaporation of rain associated with the large-scale subsidence induces the drying in mid and lower troposphere.
This paper proposes first principles based modeling and prognostics approach for electrolytic capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors have become critical components in electronics systems in aeronautics and other domains. Degradations and faults in DC-DC converter unit propagates to the GPS and navigation subsystems and affects the overall solution. Capacitors and MOSFETs are the two major components, which cause degradations and failures in DC-DC converters. This type of capacitors are known for its low reliability and frequent breakdown on critical systems like power supplies of avionics equipment and electrical drivers of electromechanical actuators of control surfaces. Some of the more prevalent fault effects, such as a ripple voltage surge at the power supply output can cause glitches in the GPS position and velocity output, and this, in turn, if not corrected will propagate and distort the navigation solution. In this work, we study the effects of accelerated aging due to thermal stress on different sets of capacitors under different conditions. Our focus is on deriving first principles degradation models for thermal stress conditions. Data collected from simultaneous experiments are used to validate the desired models. Our overall goal is to derive accurate models of capacitor degradation, and use them to predict performance changes in DC-DC converters.
The generation of data-driven prognostics models requires the availability of datasets with run-to-failure trajectories. In order to contribute to the development of these methods, the dataset provides a new realistic dataset of run-to-failure trajectories for a small fleet of aircraft engines under realistic flight conditions. The damage propagation modelling used for the generation of this synthetic dataset builds on the modelling strategy from previous work [1] and incorporates two new levels of fidelity. First, it considers real flight conditions as recorded on board of a commercial jet [2]. Secondly, it extends the degradation modelling by relating the degradation process to the operation history. The dataset was generated with the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation (C-MAPSS) dynamical model [3]. More details about the generation process can be found in [4].
This article discusses several aspects of uncertainty representation and management for model-based prognostics methodologies based on our experience with Kalman Filters when applied to prognostics for electronics components. In particular, it explores the implications of modeling remaining useful life prediction as a stochastic process and how it relates to uncertainty representation, management, and the role of prognostics in decision-making. A distinction between the interpretations of estimated remaining useful life probability density function and the true remaining useful life probability density function is explained and a cautionary argument is provided against mixing interpretations for the two while considering prognostics in making critical decisions.
This article discusses several aspects of uncertainty representation and management for model-based prognostics methodologies based on our experience with Kalman Filters when applied to prognostics for electronics components. In particular, it explores the implications of modeling remaining useful life prediction as a stochastic process, and how it relates to uncertainty representation, management and the role of prognostics in decision-making. A distinction between the interpretations of estimated remaining useful life probability density function is explained and a cautionary argument is provided against mixing interpretations for two while considering prognostics in making critical decisions.
Pneumatic-actuated valves play an important role in many applications, including cryogenic propellant loading for space operations. Model-based prognostics emphasizes the importance of a model that describes the nominal and faulty behavior of a system, and how faulty behavior progresses in time, causing the end of useful life of the system. We describe the construction of a testbed consisting of a pneumatic valve that allows the injection of faulty behavior and controllable fault progression. The valve opens discretely, and is controlled through a solenoid valve. Controllable leaks of pneumatic gas in the testbed are introduced through proportional valves, allowing the testing and validation of prognostics algorithms for pneumatic valves. A new valve prognostics approach is developed that estimates fault progression and predicts remaining life based only on valve timing measurements. Simulation experiments demonstrate and validate the approach.
This work proposes a fast Monte Carlo method to solve differential equations utilized in model-based prognostics. The methodology is derived from the theory of stochastic calculus, and the goal of such a method is to speed up the estimation of the probability density functions describing the independent variable evolution over time. In the prognostic scenarios presented in this paper, the stochastic differential equations describe variables directly or indirectly related to the degradation of a monitored system. The method allows the estimation of the probability density functions by solving the deterministic equation and approximating the stochastic integrals using samples of the model noise. By so doing, the prognostic problem is solved without the Monte Carlo simulation based on Euler's forward method, which is typically the most time consuming task of the prediction stage. Three different prognostic scenarios are presented as proof of concept: (i) life prediction of electrolytic capacitors, (ii) remaining time to discharge of Lithium-ion batteries, and (iii) prognostic of cracked structures under fatigue loading. The paper shows how the method produces probability density functions that are statistically indistinguishable from the distributions estimated with Euler's forward Monte Carlo simulation. However, the proposed solution is orders of magnitude faster when computing the time-to-failure distribution of the monitored system. The approach may enable complex real-time prognostics and health management solutions with limited computing power.