Optimal sensor placement based on multiattribute decision-making considering the common cause failure

Abstract

A new optimal sensor placement is developed to improve the efficiency of fault diagnosis based on multiattribute decision-making considering the common cause failure. The optimal placement scheme is selected based on the reliability of the top event on condition that the number of sensors is preset. Specifically, a β-factor model is introduced to deal with the common cause failure, and dynamic fault tree is used to describe the dynamic failure behaviors. Besides, a dynamic fault tree is converted into a dynamic Bayesian network to calculate the reliability parameters, which construct the decision matrix. Furthermore, an efficient TOPSIS algorithm is adopted to determine the potential locations of sensors. In addition, a diagnostic sensor model is developed to take into account the failure sequence between a sensor and a component using a priority AND gate, and the failure probability of the top event for all sensor placement scenarios is calculated to determine the optimal sensor placement. Finally, a case is provided to prove that the common cause failure has made a considerable impact on the sensor placement.