A Real Time Fault Detection and Diagnosis System for Automotive Applications

Abstract

Since its inception in the nineteenth century, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) remains the most prevalent technology in transportation systems to date. In order to minimize emissions, it is important that ICE is operated according to its optimized design conditions. As such, condition monitoring and Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) tools can play an important role in detecting conditions that would affect the operability of the engine. In this research, different signal-based Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) techniques are researched and implemented for fault condition monitoring of ICE. The implementation of prognostics for the engine in an automated form has important consequences that include cost savings, increased reliability, reduction of GHG emissions, better safety, and extended life for the vehicle. In this research, in order to carry out FDD onboard, a low-cost and flexible internet-based data-acquisition system (DAQ) was designed and implemented. The main part of the system is an embedded hardware running a full desktop version of Linux. This sensory system leverages the positive aspects of both real-time and general-purpose architectures to ensure engine monitoring at high sampling rates. Unlike other commercial DAQ systems, the software of this device is open-source, free of charge, and highly expandable to suit other FDD applications. In addition to data collection at high sampling rates, the FDD system includes advanced FDD strategies. The Fault Detection and Diagnosis strategies considered use a combination of Fourier Transforms (FT), Wavelet Transforms (WT), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Meanwhile, Fault Classification was carried using Neural Networks consisting of the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP). Three strategies were comparatively considered for the training of the Neural Network (NN), namely the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM), the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and the Smooth Variable Structure Filter (SVSF) techniques. The proposed FDD system was able to achieve 100% accuracy in classifying a set of engine faults.