Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “failure detection”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8

Failure detection of liquid cooled electronics in sealed packages

The theory and experimental verification of a method of detecting fluid-mass loss, expansion-chamber pressure loss, or excessive vapor build-up in NASA's Airborne Information Management System (AIMS) are presented. The primary purpose of this leak-detection method is to detect the fluid-mass loss before the volume of vapor on the liquid side causes a temperature-critical part to be out of the liquid. The method detects the initial leak after the first 2.5 pct of the liquid mass has been lost, and it can be used for detecting subsequent situations including the leaking of air into the liquid chamber and the subsequent vapor build-up.

Hoadley, A. W.↗

Bearing Failure Detection

Shaker Research Corporation, under a contract with NASA, produced a test vehicle that measures resonant frequency of railroad roller bearings to identify source of bearings defects. Marshall scientists have developed a detection concept based on fact that bearing defects themselves excite resonant frequency of rolling elements of bearing as they impact the defect. By detecting resonant frequency and subsequently analyzing character of the signal, bearing defects may be detected and identified as to source. The bearing fault detector will help eliminate this cause of derailments.

Source record↗

Systems, methods, and devices for failure detection of one or more energy storage devices

An energy storage device management system can include a management portion for charging/discharging an energy storage device and an ultrasound interrogation portion for passing ultrasound energy through the energy storage device during charge/discharge cycles. A memory stores a stream of capture data instances derived from ultrasound energy exiting the energy storage device and baseline ultrasound data instances corresponding with the energy storage device during normal charging/discharging thereof. A processor can compare each capture data instance with the baseline ultrasound data and detect abnormal operating states of the energy storage device. A warning system can issue a notification when abnormal operating states are detected.

Kowalski, Jeffrey A.↗

Detection of system failures in multi-axes tasks

The effects of the pilot's participation mode in the control task on his workload level and failure detection performance were examined considering a low visibility landing approach. It is found that the participation mode had a strong effect on the pilot's workload, the induced workload being lowest when the pilot acted as a monitoring element during a coupled approach and highest when the pilot was an active element in the control loop. The effects of workload and participation mode on failure detection were separated. The participation mode was shown to have a dominant effect on the failure detection performance, with a failure in a monitored (coupled) axis being detected significantly faster than a comparable failure in a manually controlled axis.

Ephrath, A. R.↗

Restructurable controls for aircraft

Future aircraft with highly sophisticated controls are likely to have multiple interdependent failure modes which will be difficult for the pilot to recognize. Such failures may lead to unanticipated sequences of events from which the pilot cannot intuitively recover. Advances in the state-of-the-art in failure detection, failure identification, and control system technology suggest it may be feasible to detect and identify potentially catastrophic failures in flight controls and to restructure the controls in real time to execute a safe landing. Two accidents are reviewed, one in which the pilot successfully restructured the controls and one in which he did not, but for which a solution existed. The problem requirements and potential theoretical techniques which apply are also discussed.

Howell, W. E.↗

Some new control theoretic models for human operator display monitoring

Control theoretic techniques are applied to develop two new models for predicting human operator performance when monitoring an automatically controlled system. In one case it is assumed that the human monitors the instruments in order to rapidly detect failures. The second approach assumes that the instruments are sampled to best reconstruct the system status information. The relation of these models to existing prediction schemes, e.g., equal attention and the Sender's (1964) model is explored. It is concluded that a combination of failure detection and status estimation models offers the best potential for human operator application.

Kleinman, D. L.↗

Some new control theoretic models for human operator display monitoring

Control theoretic techniques are applied to develop two new models for predicting human operator performance when monitoring an automatically controlled system. In one case it is assumed that the human monitors the instruments in order to rapidly detect failures. A second approach assumes that the instruments are sampled to best reconstruct the system status information. The relation of these models to existing prediction schemes, e.g., equal attention and the Senders model is explored. It is concluded that a combination of failure detection and status estimation models offers the best potential for human operator application.

Kleinman, D. L.↗

Fault tolerant navigation in a Microwave Landing System environment

This paper describes the failure detection and isolation performance of a sensor fault tolerant system for the NASA Terminal Configured Vehicle (TCV) research aircraft in a Microwave Landing System (MLS) environment. The objective of the fault tolerant system is to detect failures in navigation-aid instruments and on-board sensors and to provide reliable estimates for the aircraft states in the possible presence of these sensor malfunctions. Analytic redundancy, which exists between the various sensor outputs due to the aircraft point mass equations of motion, is used to identify sensor failures. State estimates are used by an automatic guidance and control system to land the aircraft along a prescribed path.

Caglayan, A. K.↗

Intelligent failure-tolerant control

An overview of failure-tolerant control is presented, focusing on the control of continuous-time dynamic systems (or plants) whose motions can be represented by integrals of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Failure tolerance may be called upon to improve system reliability, maintainability, and survivability, and the issues attached to achieving these goals are examined. Robustness, which is required in some degree by all failure-tolerant systems, is discussed. The use of parallel redundancy is examined. Analytical redundancy, the principal functions of which are failure detection, failure identification, and control-system reconfiguration, is also considered. The use of expert systems and neural networks is discussed.

Stengel, Robert F.↗

Detecting servo failures with software

Program detects hardware failure in servosystems by comparing actual servo valve position with predictions of software model. In addition, system will also pick up most computer input/output failures. Process presents faster and more reliable results than previous failure detection methods.

Lew, D.↗

Detection by pilots of system failures during instrument landings

The effects of gust disturbances and the pilot's participation mode in the control task on his work-load level and failure detection performance during a simulated low visibility landing approach are examined. We found that the participation mode had a strong effect on the pilot's work load, the induced work load being lowest when the pilot acted as a monitoring element during a coupled approach and highest when the pilot was an active element in the control loop. The effects of differential work load and participation mode on failure detection were separated. The participation mode was shown to have a dominant effect on the failure detection performance, with a failure in a monitored (coupled) axis being detected significantly faster than a comparable failure in a manually controlled axis.

Ephrath, A. R.↗

More About Detecting Sensor Failures In A Turbofan Engine

Advanced Detection, Isolation, and Accommodation (ADIA) algorithm helps digital electronic multivariable-control system of advanced turbofan engine cope with failures of sensors in real time. Algorithm includes four major elements: hard-sensor-failure detection-and-isolation logic, soft-sensor-failure detection-and-isolation logic, accommodation filter, and interface switch matrix.

Delaat, John C.↗

Robust detection, isolation and accommodation for sensor failures

The objective is to extend the recent advances in robust control system design of multivariable systems to sensor failure detection, isolation, and accommodation (DIA), and estimator design. This effort provides analysis tools to quantify the trade-off between performance robustness and DIA sensitivity, which are to be used to achieve higher levels of performance robustness for given levels of DIA sensitivity. An innovations-based DIA scheme is used. Estimators, which depend upon a model of the process and process inputs and outputs, are used to generate these innovations. Thresholds used to determine failure detection are computed based on bounds on modeling errors, noise properties, and the class of failures. The applicability of the newly developed tools are demonstrated on a multivariable aircraft turbojet engine example. A new concept call the threshold selector was developed. It represents a significant and innovative tool for the analysis and synthesis of DiA algorithms. The estimators were made robust by introduction of an internal model and by frequency shaping. The internal mode provides asymptotically unbiased filter estimates.The incorporation of frequency shaping of the Linear Quadratic Gaussian cost functional modifies the estimator design to make it suitable for sensor failure DIA. The results are compared with previous studies which used thresholds that were selcted empirically. Comparison of these two techniques on a nonlinear dynamic engine simulation shows improved performance of the new method compared to previous techniques

Emami-Naeini, A.↗

Robust detection, isolation, and accommodation for sensor failures

Recent advances in multivariable robust control system design are extended to sensor failure, detection, isolation, and accommodation (FDIA) and estimator design. A new concept called threshold selector is introduced. It represents a significant and innovative tool for the analysis and synthesis of FDIA algorithms. Analytical results are obtained for the SISO case to compute optimal thresholds and size of minimum detectable failures, and a computer-aided technique is developed for the multivariable case. The techniques have been applied to sensor FDIA for an aircraft turbine engine control system.

Emami-Naeini, A.↗

Threshold computations for detection of failures in SISO systems with transfer function errors

The author considers the problem of detecting failures in SISO systems using analytic redundancy concepts. Since the models used are subject to error, a method of determining the detection thresholds that account for these errors is sought. The methodology presented utilizes a straightforward application of Parseval's relation to develop a threshold computation that is performed online as a function of the input signal. The threshold is set at a quiescent value to account for sensor noise and is adjusted (upward) according to the activity of the input signal. An application to detection of actuator failures is presented.

Weiss, Jerold L.↗

Detecting Solar-Cell Failures

Circuit identified malfunctioning photovoltaic array. Cell-failure detection circuit compares output of photovoltaic array to control cell. If any module fails, activates light-emitting diode. Circuit could also sound alarm.

Maloney, T. J.↗

Health management system for rocket engines

The functional framework of a failure detection algorithm for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) is developed. The basic algorithm is based only on existing SSME measurements. Supplemental measurements, expected to enhance failure detection effectiveness, are identified. To support the algorithm development, a figure of merit is defined to estimate the likelihood of SSME criticality 1 failure modes and the failure modes are ranked in order of likelihood of occurrence. Nine classes of failure detection strategies are evaluated and promising features are extracted as the basis for the failure detection algorithm. The failure detection algorithm provides early warning capabilities for a wide variety of SSME failure modes. Preliminary algorithm evaluation, using data from three SSME failures representing three different failure types, demonstrated indications of imminent catastrophic failure well in advance of redline cutoff in all three cases.

Nemeth, Edward↗