Fault Diagnostics, Prognostics, and Self-Healing Control of Navy Electric Machinery

The proposed work will provide highly reliable electrical machinery systems by developing fault diagnostics, prognostics, and self-healing control capability. In most power systems, individual components have their own fault protection controls built in. The fault protection is not controlled by the larger system power management controls. These component level controls are designed to protect the individual component from damage without regard to the consequence of such a shutdown on the larger power system. A component shutdown could happen in a mission critical system although the component could continue to operate in a reduced performance mode with a different control. In this project, we will develop and demonstrate a power system controller that is able to recognize the component fault conditions and compensate by modifying the component control allowing the component to continue to operate in a reduce performance mode. This type of reduced performance operation of faulted components, instead of full shut down, can provide the capability for the power system to gracefully degrade in the face of detected battle damage or other fault condition, so that power is able to be maintained to mission critical systems. This ability will improve warfighting effectiveness and ensure a "limp home" capability.BENEFITS: This technology has commercialization potential in the both the DOD and commercial settings for providing highly reliable electrical machinery. The ability to operate at reduced capacity despite a faulted condition will allow a system to be fielded without necessarily requiring the same amount of redundancy in the design. This will reduce both cost and size of fielded systems. Adjustable speed drives are found in all branches of DOD and have numerous industrial applications as well. Failure of drives or motors may have a significant economic impact on industrial applications. Industrial processing lines can have hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue for every hour of down time.