Multimode Process Fault Detection Using Local Neighborhood Similarity Analysis

Abstract

Traditional data driven fault detection methods assume unimodal distribution of process data so that they often perform not well in chemical process with multiple operating modes. In order to monitor the multimode chemical process effectively, this paper presents a novel fault detection method based on local neighborhood similarity analysis (LNSA). In the proposed method, prior process knowledge is not required and only the multimode normal operation data are used to construct a reference dataset. For online monitoring of process state, LNSA applies moving window technique to obtain a current snapshot data window. Then neighborhood searching technique is used to acquire the corresponding local neighborhood data window from the reference dataset. Similarity analysis between snapshot and neighborhood data windows is performed, which includes the calculation of principal component analysis (PCA) similarity factor and distance similarity factor. The PCA similarity factor is to capture the change of data direction while the distance similarity factor is used for monitoring the shift of data center position. Based on these similarity factors, two monitoring statistics are built for multimode process fault detection. Finally a simulated continuous stirred tank system is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The simulation results show that LNSA can detect multimode process changes effectively and performs better than traditional fault detection methods.