More Like this

1. A Robust Online Diagnostic Strategy of Inverter Open-Circuit Faults for Robotic Joint BLDC Motors

   https://doi.org/10.3390/machines12070430  

   Metwly, Mohamed Y; Logan, Victor M; Clark, Charles L; He, Jiangbiao; Xie, Biyun (July 2024, Machines)

   As robots are increasingly used in remote, safety-critical, and hazardous applications, the reliability of robots is becoming more important than ever before. Robotic arm joint motor-drive systems are vulnerable to hardware failures due to harsh operating environment in many scenarios, which may yield various joint failures and result in significant downtime costs. Targeting the most common robotic joint brushless DC (BLDC) motor-drive systems, this paper proposes a robust online diagnostic method for semiconductor faults for BLDC motor drives. The proposed fault diagnostic technique is based on the stator current signature analysis. Specifically, this paper investigates the performance of the BLDC joint motors under open-circuit faults of the inverter switches using finite element co-simulation tools. Furthermore, the proposed methodology is not only capable of detecting any open-circuit faults but also identifying faulty switches based on a knowledge table by considering various fault conditions. The robustness of the proposed technique was verified through extensive simulations under different speed and load conditions. Moreover, simulations have been carried out on a Kinova Gen-3 robot arm to verify the theoretical findings, highlighting the impacts of locked joints on the robot’s end-effector locations. Finally, experimental results are presented to corroborate the performance of the proposed fault diagnostic strategy. 

   more » « less
2. Deep learning based mechanical fault detection and diagnosis of electric motors using directional characteristics of acoustic signals

   https://doi.org/10.3397/NC_2023_0066  

   Ippili, Srinivasa Rao; Russell, Matthew; Wang, Peng; Herrin, David (May 2023, INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings)

   Early identification of rotating machinery faults is crucial to avoid catastrophic failures upon installation. Contact-based vibration acquisition approaches are traditionally used for the purpose of machine health monitoring and end-of-line quality control. In complex working conditions, it can be difficult to perform an accurate accelerometer based vibration test. Acoustic signals (sound pressure and particle velocity) also contain important information about the operating state of mechanical equipment and can be used to detect different faults. A deep learning approach, namely one-dimensional Convolution Neural Networks (1D-CNN) can directly process raw time signals thereby eliminating the human dependance on fault feature extraction. An experimental research study is conducted to test the proposed 1D-CNN methodology on three different electric motor faults. The results from the study indicate that the fault detection performance from the new acoustic-based method is very effective and thus can be a good replacement to the conventional accelerometer-based methods for detection and diagnosis of mechanical faults in electric motors. 

   more » « less
3. Empirical Characterization of a High-performance Exterior-rotor Type Brushless DC Motor and Drive

   https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS40897.2019.8967626  

   Lee, Ung Hee; Pan, Chen-Wen; Rouse, Elliott J. (November 2019, Proceedings of the IEEE Conference of Intelligent Robots and Systems)

   null (Ed.)

   Recently, brushless motors with especially high torque densities have been developed for applications in autonomous aerial vehicles (i.e. drones), which usually employ exterior rotortype geometries (ER-BLDC motors). These motors are promising for other applications, such as humanoids and wearable robots; however, the emerging companies that produce motors for drone applications do not typically provide adequate technical specifications that would permit their general use across robotics-for example, the specifications are often tested in unrealistic forced convection environments, or are drone-specific, such as thrust efficiency. Furthermore, the high magnetic pole count in many ER-BLDC motors restricts the brushless drives able to efficiently commutate these motors at speeds needed for lightly-geared operation. This paper provides an empirical characterization of a popular ER-BLDC motor and a new brushless drive, which includes efficiencies of the motor across different power regimes, identification of the motor transfer function coefficients, thermal response properties, and closed loop control performance in the time and frequency domains. The intent of this work is to serve as a benchmark and reference for other researchers seeking to utilize these exciting and emerging motor geometries. 

   more » « less
4. WAMs Based Eigenvalue Space Model for High Impedance Fault Detection

   https://doi.org/10.3390/app112412148  

   Paramo, Gian; Bretas, Arturo S. (December 2021, Applied Sciences)

   High impedance faults present unique challenges for power system protection engineers. The first challenge is the detection of the fault, given the low current magnitudes. The second challenge is to locate the fault to allow corrective measures to be taken. Corrective actions are essential as they mitigate safety hazards and equipment damage. The problem of high impedance fault detection and location is not a new one, and despite the safety and reliability implications, relatively few efforts have been made to find a general solution. This work presents a hybrid data driven and analytical-based model for high impedance fault detection in distribution systems. The first step is to estimate a state space model of the power line being monitored. From the state space model, eigenvalues are calculated, and their dynamic behavior is used to develop zones of protection. These zones of protection are generated analytically using machine learning tools. High impedance faults are detected as they drive the eigenvalues outside of their zones. A metric called eigenvalue drift coefficient was formulated in this work to facilitate the generalization of this solution. The performance of this technique is evaluated through case studies based on the IEEE 5-Bus system modeled in Matlab. Test results are encouraging indicating potential for real-life applications. 

   more » « less
5. Fault Detection and Diagnostic Method Based on Evolving Datadriven Model for Radiant Heating and Cooling Systems

   Dahal, Sujit; Wang, Liping; Braun, James (January 2022, International High Performance Buildings Conference)

   Faults in components (valves, sensors, etc.) of radiant floor heating and cooling systems affect the efficiency, cooling and heating capacity as well as the reliability of the system. While various fault detection and diagnostic (FDD) methods have been developed and tested for building systems, FDD algorithms for radiant heating and cooling systems have previously not been available. This paper presents an evolving learning-based FDD approach for a radiant floor heating and cooling system based on growing Gaussian mixture regression (GGMR). The experimental space was controlled with a building automation system (BAS) in which the operating conditions can be monitored, and control parameters can be overridden to desired values. Trend data for normal operation and faulty operation were collected. A total of six fault types with different severities in a radiant floor system were emulated through overriding control parameters. An FDD model based on the GGMR approach was developed with training data and the performance of the model was tested for "known" faults that were including in the training and new "unknown" faults that were implemented in the fault testing. The prediction accuracy for each known fault was extremely high with the lowest prediction accuracy of 98% for one of the faults. The algorithm was successful in detecting the new fault as an unknown state before evolving the model and in diagnosing it as a new fault after evolving the model. 

   more » « less