Abstract
The reliability of technical systems can be greatly reduced if possible faults cannot be accommodated but lead to system shut-down with sometimes catastrophic consequences. The algorithms and systems of fault-tolerant control were developed in the last years into a powerful tool to accommodate such faults. Additionally, it became obvious that the design of a technical system can ease or hinder the application of these tools and can also lead to the accommodation of faults be itself. This kind of design – fault-tolerant design – and its components are presented in this paper on the example of a shifting system for the gear box an autonomous driving race car. This race car competes in the well-known formula student driverless competition; in such competitions the reliability of the car and the capability to accommodate not avoidable faults is of paramount importance. The different elements of fault-tolerance incorporated in the design of the gear shifting system are explained on the basis of an established model of product concretization.
Highlights
This paper is focusing on the methods and tools of fault-tolerant design applied to a gear shifting system
The main objective of the strategies, methods, tools and algorithms as well as general insights of fault-tolerant design is the support of engineers in the development of technical systems, which are fault-tolerant as a consequence of their controllability and diagnosability and as a consequence of their inherent fault-tolerant design qualities [50]
A new direction is the evaluation of the reliability of technical systems already in the conceptual design phase based on effect chains [8]
Summary
This paper is focusing on the methods and tools of fault-tolerant design applied to a gear shifting system. It is important to note that it is impossible for current complex technical systems to avoid faults completely The accommodation of these faults can be a decisive approach to increase the reliability of the systems. This accommodation can be based on the numerous research works concerning fault-tolerant control (a concise overview is given by Blanke et al [6]). It is important to note that this field is strongly connected with fault-tolerant control, as fault-tolerant design can be an important enabler for these algorithms and systems These two concepts in combination have the potential to enhance to fault-tolerance and with this the reliability on many levels. The last section concludes the discussion and gives an outlook on future research activities
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