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Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks

Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007.

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Other Authors: Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
author_browse Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
author_facet Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © University of Pretor
description Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/29028
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:27.509Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/29028 Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus) michael.herzog@thyssenkrupp.com Herzog, Michael Andreas Condition monitoring data Neural networks Residual life UCTD Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. Analysis of reliability data plays an important role in the maintenance decision making process. The accurate estimation of residual life in components and systems can be a great asset when planning the preventive replacement of components on machines. Artificial intelligence is a field that has rapidly developed over the last twenty years and practical applications have been found in many diverse areas. The use of such methods in the maintenance field have however not yet been fully explored. With the common availability of condition monitoring data, another dimension has been added to the analysis of reliability data. Neural networks allow for explanatory variables to be incorporated into the analysis process. This is expected to improve the quality of predictions when compared to the results achieved through the use of methods that rely solely on failure time data. Neural networks can therefore be seen as an alternative to the various regression models, such as the proportional hazards model, which also incorporate such covariates into the analysis. For the purpose of investigating their applicability to the problem of predicting the residual life of machines and components, neural networks were trained and tested with the data of two different reliability related datasets. The first dataset represents the renewal case where repair leads to complete restoration of the system. A typical maintenance situation was simulated in the laboratory by subjecting a series of similar test pieces to different loading conditions. Measurements were taken at regular intervals during testing with a number of sensors which provided an indication of the test piece’s condition at the time of measurement. The dataset was split into a training set and a test set and a number of neural network variations were trained using the first set. The networks’ ability to generalize was then tested by presenting the data from the test set to each of these networks. The second dataset contained data collected from a group of pumps working in a coal mining environment. This dataset therefore represented an example of the situation encountered with a repaired system. The performance of different neural network variations was subsequently compared through the use of cross-validation. It was proved that in most cases the use of condition monitoring data as network inputs improved the accuracy of the neural networks’ predictions. The average prediction error of the various neural networks under comparison varied between 431 and 841 seconds on the renewal dataset, where test pieces had a characteristic life of 8971 seconds. When optimized the multi-layer perceptron neural networks trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and the general regression neural network produced a sum of squares error within 11.1% of each other for the data of the repaired system. This result emphasizes the importance of adjusting parameters, network architecture and training targets for optimal performance The advantage of using neural networks for predicting residual life was clearly illustrated when comparing their performance to the results achieved through the use of the traditional statistical methods. The potential of using neural networks for residual life prediction was therefore illustrated in both cases. Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering MEng unrestricted 2013-09-07T14:43:16Z 2007-11-27 2013-09-07T14:43:16Z 2007-04-20 2007-11-27 2007-10-25 Dissertation Herzog, MA 2007, Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks, MEng Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29028> Pretoria http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29028 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10252007-131736/ © University of Pretor application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Condition monitoring data
Neural networks
Residual life
UCTD
Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title_full Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title_fullStr Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title_full_unstemmed Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title_short Machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
title_sort machine and component residual life estimation through the application of neural networks
topic Condition monitoring data
Neural networks
Residual life
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29028
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10252007-131736/