Method of monitoring reliability of system including electrical components

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

• for each electrical component of a plurality of electrical components of a system:
• receive input data including at least two of a voltage across the electrical component, a current through the electrical component, and an electrical resistance value of the electrical component, and
• process the input data using a stored thermal model representing heat transfer for the electrical component to determine a temperature difference of the electrical component relative to a reference temperature, wherein the heat transfer refers to heat flow between a first point of the electrical component, where a temperature is to be estimated, and a second point at the reference temperature;
• monitor reliability of the system based on output data of the processing;
• compare output data from processing the input data with a threshold value to detect an abnormality in the system;
• and
• in response to detecting the abnormality in the system, turn off at least one electrical component of the plurality of electrical components,
• wherein the processing is first performed for a first electrical component of the plurality of electrical components and includes estimating an electrical current value based on the determined temperature difference of the first electrical component, and
• wherein the processing is then performed for a second electrical component of the plurality of electrical components using the estimated electrical current value as input data.

A monitoring device configured to monitor reliability of a system including a plurality of electrical components, the monitoring device comprising:

• a memory configured to store instructions;
• and
• at least one processor configured to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions include:
• for each electrical component of the plurality of electrical components:
• receiving input data including at least two of a voltage across the electrical component, a current through the electrical component, and an electrical resistance value of the electrical component, and
• processing the input data using a stored thermal model representing heat transfer for the electrical component to determine a temperature difference of the electrical component relative to a reference temperature, wherein the heat transfer refers to heat flow between a first point of the electrical component, where a temperature is to be estimated, and a second point at the reference temperature;
• monitoring the reliability of the system based on output data of the processing;
• comparing output data from processing the input data with a threshold value to detect an abnormality in the system;
• and
• in response to detecting the abnormality in the system, turning off at least one electrical component of the plurality of electrical components,
• wherein the processing is first performed for a first electrical component of the plurality of electrical components and includes estimating an electrical current value based on the determined temperature difference of the first electrical component, and
• wherein the processing is then performed for a second electrical component of the plurality of electrical components using the estimated electrical current value as input data.