Sensor Validation Using Nonlinear Minor-Component Analysis

Aconcept of sensor validation using nonlinear minor-component analysis (NLMCA) has been proposed as a theoretical basis of a sensor fault-detection-and isolation (FDI) module in a fault-tolerant control system of an aircraft jet engine or other complex physical plant. As used here, “sensor validation” signifies, loosely, analysis of the readouts of all the sensors in such a system for the purpose of identifying which (if any) sensors are faulty and, if possible, the magnitudes of the faults. Once a fault in a sensor or any other component was detected and isolated, the fault-tolerant control system would automatically reconfigure itself to compensate for the effect of that and any other faults so as to maintain acceptable (or as nearly acceptable as possible) control performance of the plant even in the presence of the faults. In the case of a faulty sensor, the system would utilize any available analytical redundancy among all sensor signals to estimate the value of the physical quantity desired to be measured by that sensor, and that value would then be used for feedback control.