A comparative study of energy graph-based fault detection and isolation techniques applied to a lignite plant.

Energy and exergy interactions in industrial systems hold meaning across physical domains. This paper builds on the notion that capturing the energy and exergy interactions of a system, while retaining physical structural context, enables fault detection and isolation. To this end, three energy graph-based visualisation methods were developed for the purpose of fault detection and isolation. This paper presents a comparative study of the three analysis methods designated the 1) distance parameter method, 2) eigenvalue decomposition method, and 3) residual method. The study utilises data from a physical lignite plant in Janschwalde, Germany, in combination with simulation data of specific faults in order to compare the sensitivity and robustness of the three methods. The comparison is done firstly in terms of detection and secondly in terms of isolation. The distance parameter and eigenvalue decomposition methods showed high sensitivity and robustness for fault detection, while the residual method showed moderate comparative performance. In terms of fault isolation, the distance parameter method showed high sensitivity and robustness, while the eigenvalue decomposition method had irregular isolation performance. The residual method isolation results proved inconclusive.