Autonomous remaining useful life estimation
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. An evaluation system for materials comprising:
- at least one computer;
a material features acquisition system operable to receive signals indicative of a plurality of material features while said material is not in operation;
utilizing a plurality of identifier equations and coefficients for analyzing said signals;
at least one database comprising at least one of constraints and material historical data;
wherein said at least one computer is programmed to utilize said plurality of identifier equations and coefficients and said at least one database to estimate a remaining useful life of a material under evaluation.
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Abstract
Autonomous remaining useful life estimation equipment interacts with the operator through natural speech, voice and sound and provides active failure prevention through automatic and/or continuous remaining useful life estimation of a material under evaluation. The equipment comprises at least one computer and a material features acquisition system operable to detect a plurality of material features. The features are then evaluated according to rules that capture the multidiscipline knowledge of experts and are already inputted into the computer. The computer iterations are processed until an acceptable conclusion is made regarding the condition of the material under evaluation, thus alleviating the need for multidiscipline experts to examine and analyze all the material data manually, a very slow and expensive process. Further, the natural speech and voice interaction preferably allows the operator to operate the equipment while wearing gloves or with dirty hands as he/she will not need to constantly physically manipulate the equipment. The remaining useful life estimation capability may also be retrofitted into conventional inspection systems by extracting pertinent features through spectral frequency analysis and sensor normalization and utilizing those features in the autonomous remaining useful life estimation system.
70 Citations
52 Claims
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1. An evaluation system for materials comprising:
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at least one computer; a material features acquisition system operable to receive signals indicative of a plurality of material features while said material is not in operation; utilizing a plurality of identifier equations and coefficients for analyzing said signals; at least one database comprising at least one of constraints and material historical data; wherein said at least one computer is programmed to utilize said plurality of identifier equations and coefficients and said at least one database to estimate a remaining useful life of a material under evaluation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method to evaluate material comprising:
- removing said material from operation;
detecting an output of at least one sensor, said output comprising signals indicative of material feature from a material under evaluation, in a time-varying electrical form;
converting said signals to a digital format producing digital signals;
recognizing a material feature by programming said a at least one computer to analyze said digital signals; and
programming said at least one computer to calculate a remaining useful life of said material under evaluation. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42)
- removing said material from operation;
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43. A method to evaluate material comprising:
- removing said material from operation;
detecting an output of at least one sensor comprising at least one of echo, reluctance, resistance, impedance, absorption, attenuation, magnetic-flux-leakage, eddy-current or ultrasonic signals indicative of features from a material under evaluation, regardless of whether said material is rotating or non-rotating;
decomposing in frequency said signals, wherein said decomposing comprises passing said signals through at least one filter, producing decomposed in frequency signals;
converting said decomposed in frequency signals to a digital format producing digital signals;
recognizing a feature by utilizing at least one computer to analyze said digital signals; and
programming said at least one computer for calculating a remaining useful life of said material under evaluation. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
- removing said material from operation;
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47. A method to evaluate material comprising:
- detecting an output of at least one sensor, said output comprising signals indicative of features from the material under evaluation, in a time-varying electrical form;
converting said signals to a digital format producing digital signals;
recognizing a material feature by utilizing at least one computer to analyze said digital signals;
programming said computer to estimate a remaining useful life of said material;
establishing communication with an identification system affixed to said material under evaluation utilizing said at least one computer; and
reading and/or writing into a storage device of said identification system utilizing said at least one computer. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49)
- detecting an output of at least one sensor, said output comprising signals indicative of features from the material under evaluation, in a time-varying electrical form;
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50. A method to calculate a material remediation for a material, comprising:
- programming at least one computer to operate a material features acquisition system to detect a plurality of material features;
recognizing a material feature utilizing said at least one computer;
utilizing said computer to determine a remaining useful life based on detection of at least one material feature; and
programming said at least one computer for determining a material remediation path to increase said remaining useful life of said material. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52)
- programming at least one computer to operate a material features acquisition system to detect a plurality of material features;
Specification