|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Hybrid Modeling Improves Health and Performance Monitoring
Computer Technology
Originating Technology/NASA Contribution
Scientists and engineers have long used computers to model
physical systems. Physical modeling is a major part of
design and development processes, as well as failure analysis.
At NASA, scientists and engineers rely heavily on physical
modeling to evaluate
the overall health and performance of all mission-related
flight vehicles.
Hidden in the architecture of flight vehicles are computers
to control and monitor their health and performance. Early
versions of these computers lacked the ability to evaluate
all of the operating and environmental conditions, which
is important to fully understand the response of the equipment.
Furthermore, traditional physical modeling methods necessitated
significant computing power, making the process fairly
complicated.
NASA scientists and engineers needed a simplified, but
more complete, understanding of the health and performance
of flight vehicles during their operation in near-real
time. The comparison would allow the users to understand
if the equipment was performing as expected.
Partnership
|
I-Trend
comes with a configurable interface, and easy-to-use
back-end analysis tools to simplify Six Sigma analysis
of equipment health and performance. Control charts,
regression fit charts, usage charts, and many other
tools provide information in an easily recognizable
format. |
Scientific
Monitoring Inc. specializes in condition monitoring
and equipment health software and services for a wide range
of equipment applications. NASA’s Dryden Flight Research
Center awarded the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company a
Phase I Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) contract
to create a new, simplified health-monitoring approach
for some of the Agency’s flight vehicles and flight equipment.
The main objective of the SBIR project was to create a
simple software-based model that used the principles of
physics, but did not require large amounts of data or computing
resources to make accurate assessments in a timely fashion.
During the project, Scientific Monitoring developed a hybrid
physical model concept that provided a structured approach
to simplifying complex design models for use in health
monitoring. The modeling approach used a simplified analytical
model and a classical data analysis technique to assess
the performance of a piece of equipment and determine if
it was within an expected range for the environmental and
operating conditions. It allowed the output or performance
of the equipment to be compared to what the design models
predicted, so that deterioration or impending failure could
be detected before there would be an impact on the equipment’s
operational capability.
The hybrid physical model was successful, as it made health
and performance analyses of complicated equipment possible
in near-real or real time for rapid diagnosis. Scientific
Monitoring quickly realized its resulting software had
broad application for many industries beyond the aerospace
sector. Medical health monitoring, security, and financial
transactions, for example, are other areas of application
the company thought might be fitting for its new development,
since each contains an underlying physical basis or characterized
relationship which can be used to ensure that the behavior
or performance is within expectations for the operational
conditions.
Product Outcome
Marking the successful completion of the NASA-funded research
project—and subsequent maturation of the model from U.S.
Air Force funding—Scientific Monitoring released a commercial
health- and performance-monitoring software product, based
on the original modeling technology it developed for NASA.
The company calls the software I-Trend for its intelligent
trending, diagnostic, and prognostic capabilities.
|
I-Trend
is a Web-based condition-monitoring application specifically
developed for analysis, trending, and alert functions
on a wide range of equipment types. |
I-Trend uses the hybrid physical model to better characterize
the nature of health or performance alarms that result
in “no fault found” false alarms. Additionally, the use
of physical principles helps I-Trend identify problems
sooner. According to Scientific Monitoring, I-Trend represents
the state of the art in condition-monitoring software.
It is part of the company’s complete ICEMS (Intelligent
Condition-based Equipment Management System) suite of software
targeted for customers who have important equipment and
require accurate monitoring and advanced alerting. I-Trend’s
advanced alerting module provides forecast capabilities
that allow maintenance for many types of problems to be
scheduled and planned in a proactive way, eliminating reactive
behavior that occurs when alarm bells sound.
I-Trend comes with a configurable interface and easy-to-use
analysis tools to simplify Six Sigma analysis of equipment
health and performance. (Six Sigma is a highly structured
process-improvement methodology that utilizes data and
statistical analysis to gauge and enhance a company’s operational
performance, practices, and systems. It identifies, prevents,
and eliminates defects in manufacturing and in service-related
processes.) I-Trend can be used as a Web application, or
specific interfaces can be tailored to allow it to operate
with existing applications. It is built in a Java J2EE
framework with XML (eXtensible Markup Language) interfaces
to allow platform portability. Control charts, regression
fit charts, usage charts, and many other charts and tools
provide information in an easily understood graphical format.
I-Trend technology is currently in use in several commercial
aviation programs, and the U.S. Air Force recently tapped
Scientific Monitoring to develop
next-generation engine health-management software for monitoring
its fleet of jet engines. As for the medical, security,
and financial applications that Scientific Monitoring envisioned
upon completing the NASA-funded project, they just might
come to fruition one day.
“The benefits of the hybrid modeling technology used in
I-Trend for equipment monitoring are clear,” said Dr. Link
Jaw, president and chief executive officer of Scientific
Monitoring. “It’s the potential use in non-equipment applications
which we find intriguing. It could easily evolve to allow
people to monitor their own health and physical performance.”
After development of the I-Trend software, the company
continued the original NASA work, this
time under a Phase III SBIR contract with a joint NASA-Pratt & Whitney
aviation security program on propulsion-controlled aircraft
under missile-damaged aircraft conditions.
I-Trend™ and ICEMS™ are trademarks of Scientific Monitoring
Inc.
Six Sigma®/SM is a registered trademark and service mark
of Motorola Inc.
Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.
|
|
|
|
