Wear monitoring for electrical actuators
AssigneeGarrett Transportation I Inc.
InventorsMartin Prochazka, David Hriadel, Matej Pcolka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems that monitor an actuator state of wear. One or more observations are made as to one or more extremum positions of the actuator to determine a reference extremum position when the actuator is not worn. As the actuator becomes worn, the difference between a present extremum position and the reference is used to monitor actuator wear. Actuator wear may be observed to identify or predict a need for maintenance or replacement, and/or may be used in determining health impacts of control system solutions.
Claims20
A method of monitoring an actuator comprising:
- during a first period of time, observing a plurality of activations of the actuator and calculating at least a first reference value for a first extremum position of the actuator from the observed plurality of activations;
- during a second period of time after the first period of time, observing an actuation of the actuator, calculating a second value for the first extremum position for the actuator, and comparing the second value to the reference value to calculate a first difference, and using the first difference to determine a state of wear of the actuator;
- and
- storing the state of wear of the actuator.
A configurable controller for controlling a physical plant having associated therewith a plurality of actuators for controlling operation of the physical plant and a plurality of sensors for observing a plurality of characteristics of the physical plant operations, the configurable controller comprising:
- a state observer configured to capture a current state of the physical plant by communication with the plurality of sensors;
- and
- an optimizer configured to optimize behavior of the physical plant using at least the actuators;
- wherein the state observer is configured to determine a state of wear of a selected one of the actuators by:
- during a first period of time, observing a plurality of activations of the selected one of the actuators and calculating at least a first reference value for a first extremum position of the selected one of the actuators from the observed plurality of activations;
- and
- during a second period of time after the first period of time, observing an actuation of the selected one of the actuators, calculating a second value for the first extremum position for the selected one of the actuators, and comparing the second value to the reference value to calculate a first difference, and using the first difference to determine a state of wear of the selected one of the actuators.
A configurable controller for controlling an engine system including an engine having an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold, the engine system having associated therewith at least one actuator for controlling operation of a component of the engine system and a sensor for sensing position of the at least one actuator, the configurable controller comprising:
- a state observer configured to capture a current state of the engine system plant by communication with at least the sensor;
- and
- an optimizer configured to optimize behavior of the engine system using the at least one actuator;
- wherein the state observer is configured to determine a state of wear of the at least one actuator by:
- during a first period of time, observing a plurality of activations of the at least one actuator and calculating at least a first reference value for a first extremum position of the at least one actuator from the observed plurality of activations;
- and
- during a second period of time after the first period of time, observing an actuation of the at least one actuator, calculating a second value for the first extremum position for the at least one actuator, comparing the second value to the reference value to calculate a first difference, and using the first difference to determine a state of wear of the at least one actuator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.