Track 1 Session 13

2:20 to 3:20 p.m. Thursday, June 17, 2010

Improving Electronic and Power System Reliability Through Prognostic Methods

Aggressive design for reliability goals have resulted in lower defects and longer MTBFs, yet systems still fail for a variety of reasons. The pervasiveness of electronics in medical, aerospace and industrial control applications has compelled the development of advanced prognostic methods to determine key parameters such as state of health (SoH) and remaining useful life (RUL). These prognostic methods can be non-intrusively detected or determined algorithmically using existing sensors or data buses. The SoH and RUL parameters provide the foundation for an effective condition-based maintenance (CBM) system. The early detection of degradation through electronic prognostics can provide significant benefits for overall operational readiness in critical systems. With a focus on high efficiency power converters and electromechanical actuator drives, this presentation will provide examples of extracting SoH and RUL and discuss how this information can improve overall system reliability objectives and fit within a performance based logistics (PBL) system to reduce field support costs.

Key Words: Reliability, Prognostics, Condition-Based Maintenance, CBM, Performance Based Logistics, PBL

Doug Goodman

Ridgetop Group, Inc.

Tucson, Arizona