The PHM2023 Proceedings is now published!

Tutorials

One of the unique features of the PHM conferences is free technical tutorials on various topics in health management taught by industry experts. As educational events, tutorials provide a comprehensive introduction to the state-of-the-art in the tutorial’s topic. Proposed tutorials address the interests of a varied audience: beginners, developers, designers, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers who wish to learn a given aspect of prognostic health management. Tutorials will focus both on theoretical aspects as well as industrial applications of prognostics. These tutorials reach a good balance between the topic coverage and its relevance to the community. This year’s tutorials cover a range of topics.

Date and Time: Monday, October 30 | 9:15 am – 10:45 am
Tutorial Session 1: Assessment of Fault Severity Towards Prediction of the Remaining Useful Life
Presenter: Renata Klein, R.K. Diagnostics

 

Slides:

(Click on the image for tutorial slides)

Description: The main challenge of PHM is to predict the remaining useful life of components (RUL).  This is a three-step process. The first step is the detection of the fault, including the identification of the failure mode.  The second step is the assessment of the fault severity. The third step is the prediction of the RUL. Predicting the RUL requires a good understanding of the fault propagation mechanism for the specific failure mode, an assessment of the fault severity trend, and a definition of the critical point that marks the end of life (the critical fault severity). The tutorial will focus on the second step – the assessment of fault severity, in the context of rotating machines. For rotating components, the assessment of the fault severity and the determination of the critical severity are extremely challenging.

Two main approaches are mostly investigated. The first approach involves techniques that rely on the physical understanding of the changes in the vibration signature, with respect to the fault severity. The second approach encompasses a range of data-driven methods, including statistical modeling, supervised learning, and unsupervised learning. Lately, some studies have proposed hybrid methods that take advantage of the strengths of both approaches. The tutorial will present and compare the different approaches and their possible application in the research of PHM, focusing on rotating components. The presentation will explain and illustrate the important role of physical models in different research phases, the development of new Condition Indicators that can bring essential enlightenment to the task of prognostics in mechanical systems, as well as the possibilities to incorporate machine learning algorithms in hybrid methods.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Renata Klein received her Ph.D. in the field of Signal Processing from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. For 17 years she managed the Vibration Analysis department at ADA-Rafael, the Israeli Armament Development Authority. Later, as the Chief Scientist in RSL- Electronics, she invented and led the development of a vibration-based diagnostics and prognostics system that is used successfully in combat helicopters and UAVs of the Israeli Air Force.  Renata is the CEO and owner of R.K. Diagnostics. In this role, and per invitation from Safran Aircraft Engines, she developed a full set of vibration-based diagnostics and prognostics algorithms for jet engines.  These algorithms are being integrated into the next generation of CFM jet engines. In recent years, Renata has focused on supervising academic research programs in the area of rotating machinery prognostics. Jointly with Prof. Jacob Bortman, she co-manages the BGU PHM Lab at Ben Gurion University of the Negev and teaches and provides supervision to MSc and PhD students.

 

Date and Time: Tuesday, October 31 | 9:15 am – 10:45 am
Tutorial Session 2: Technical Language Processing
Presenters: Sarah Lukens, LMI

Slides:

(Click on the image for tutorial slides)

 

Video Recording:

[Part 1]            [Part 2]             [Part 3]

Description:

Technical Language is highly contextual communications found in industry, academia, and other scientific domains where terms may have very different uses or implications than more common natural language. This tutorial introduces participants to Technical Language Processing (TLP), an engineering-oriented approach that leverages AI tools, including Natural Language Processing (NLP), for effective processing of technical language data. Central components of TLP will be covered, starting with engineering use cases related to Prognostics and Health Management (PHM). The tutorial will provide an overview of fundamental concepts from mainstream NLP, including NLP pipelines, pre-processing techniques, and word representation methods with a clear emphasis on the applications and risks of using them in TLP. This tutorial will also highlight existing tools and procedures that aid in cleaning, processing, and analyzing information contained within technical documents of various sizes. We will conclude with a TLP Q&A addressing successes, challenges, and next steps for the community.

This tutorial will make use of a code workbook in Python with a dataset for someone who wishes to get started with Technical Language Processing on Maintenance Work Orders with an emphasis on handling dirty data.  The code workbook covers basic data handling (such as parsing data types and manipulating dates), handling missing data, and an introduction to inferring structured fields from unstructured text.

Speaker Bios:

Dr. Sarah Lukens is a Data Scientist at LMI. Her interests are focused on data-driven modeling for reliability applications by combining modern data science techniques with current industry performance data. This work involves analyzing asset maintenance data and creating statistical models that support asset performance management (APM) work processes using components from natural language processing, machine learning, and reliability engineering. Sarah completed her Ph.D. in mathematics in 2010 from Tulane University with a focus on scientific computing and numerical analysis. Sarah is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP).

 

Date and Time: Wednesday, November 1 | 9:15 am – 10:45 am
Tutorial Session 3: Data-driven Vibration Modeling
Presenter: Manu Krishnan, Joby Aviation

Description: In the domain of aerospace engineering, assessing system health through vibration modeling stands as a cornerstone. Vibrational patterns, as vital indicators of system integrity, demand precise baseline modeling to identify any deviations effectively. However, intricacies in modeling the baseline, particularly in complex systems like turbofan engines, pose significant challenges.

This tutorial delves into the heart of these challenges, offering comprehensive insights into the integration of operational data, including variables such as temperature and pressure. Through this integration, a robust data-driven model emerges, serving dual roles: encapsulating baseline vibrations and providing an understanding of the modal characteristics of the system.

The tutorial’s focal point lies in exploring cutting-edge data-driven modeling strategies, with a specific emphasis on time domain methods like Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD). Par: participants will receive an in-depth understanding of the mathematical foundations of DMD. Moreover, the tutorial will offer practical implementation guidance, presenting working code for DMD and recently developed wavelet-based DMD.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Manu Krishnan is a senior Data Scientist at Joby Aviation, CA, USA. He earned his masters in structural engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (2017) and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech (2021). During his Ph.D., he collaborated with Rolls-Royce and researched various dynamic data-driven modeling methodologies for vibrations in turbofan engines. Soon after his Ph.D., he joined Joby Aviation as a prognostics and diagnostics engineer and transitioned into a senior data scientist role at Joby Aviation. He currently leads a team in developing strategies for real-time issue detection, and predictive maintenance, ensuring the smooth operation of Joby eVTOL aircraft.