JP7675900B2 - Equipment maintenance support method - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for supporting maintenance of equipment.

Factories and other facilities with equipment for manufacturing products own mechanical and electrical equipment, such as power plants and substations. Many of these facilities perform maintenance management to ensure stable operation of the equipment. The above-mentioned mechanical and electrical equipment requires stable operation over a long period of time, so technologies such as predictive maintenance are applied to continuously measure and monitor the condition of the equipment and, if signs of an abnormal event are detected before it occurs, to take prompt action.

Patent No. 6984786 Patent No. 6264473 Patent No. 6856443

When an abnormality occurs, it has been proposed to compare the equipment setting information before and after the occurrence, extract and display the changes, and take action or provide support (Patent Document 1), or to identify the fault location and cause based on past data and develop an inspection plan (Patent Document 2). In addition, a diagnostic system has been proposed that creates a database that stores in advance the normal and abnormal behavior of the equipment, and a database of simulated abnormal data created by setting abnormal conditions in a mathematical or physical model of the equipment, and performs abnormality diagnosis and comparison (Patent Document 3).

Furthermore, the aforementioned predictive maintenance requires many measuring devices to detect signs of abnormal events (failures). If the signs are not detected properly, an abnormal event will occur. When an abnormal event occurs, if there is insufficient past operating data or failure history, or if there is no database of abnormal equipment behavior, it may take a long time to determine the cause.

The embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an equipment maintenance support method that can identify the cause of an abnormal event that occurs in equipment and present countermeasures without using past operation data or failure history of the equipment.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the equipment maintenance support method creates a digital model in advance for equipment composed of multiple element devices that output in response to input while being related to each other, which has multiple element device models that model the element devices with characteristic values that are set and controlled within a range of minimum and maximum values, and when an abnormal event occurs in the equipment, the digital model is used to perform a normal event simulation of the equipment using information including at least one of the design documents, specifications, and catalogs of the element devices, with the characteristic values of the element device models as variables, and an abnormal event simulation of the equipment using the characteristic values of the element device models as variables based on information regarding the behavior of the equipment when an abnormal event occurs and the failure of the element devices, and in the abnormal event simulation, the characteristic values of the element device models are determined so that the simulation result is close to the behavior when an abnormal event occurs in the equipment, the characteristic values of the element device models obtained from the simulation results of normal events and abnormal events are compared, and the element device models whose characteristic values are different are determined to be the element device models in an abnormal state, and the element device corresponding to the determined element device model is identified as the element device that caused the abnormal event.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to investigate the cause of an abnormal event that occurs in equipment and present countermeasures without using past operation data or failure history of the equipment.

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams showing an equipment to be maintained and a digital model thereof when implementing an equipment maintenance support method according to a first embodiment, in which (A) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the equipment, and (B) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital model. 13A and 13B are block diagrams showing an outline of an equipment to be maintained and its digital model when implementing an equipment maintenance support method according to a second embodiment, in which FIG. 13A is a block diagram showing the configuration of the equipment, and FIG. 13B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital model.

Below, the embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

[A] First embodiment (FIG. 1)
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a facility to be maintained and its digital model when implementing a facility maintenance support method according to a first embodiment, in which (A) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the facility, and (B) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital model.

As shown in FIG. 1(A), the equipment 1 to be maintained is configured to have at least one, for example, one or more, element devices 2 (element devices 2A, 2B, 2C). Each element device 2 is related to the others and outputs an output in response to an input. This input/output can take various forms, such as an output in response to an input of an electrical signal, an output of a product in response to an input of a part, or even power generation as an output in response to an input of a fluid such as a liquid or gas.

Each element device 2 has a characteristic value, such as heat output for a heater, opening for a valve, and discharge flow rate and discharge pressure for a pump. These characteristic values are set and controlled within a range of minimum and maximum values so that the element device 2 obtains an output that suits the purpose. The element device 2 does not have to have just one type of characteristic value; for example, in the case of a pump, one element device may have multiple characteristic values, such as discharge pressure and discharge flow rate.

Furthermore, each element device 2 is connected by connecting members 4 such as pipes and electric wires to form a system 3. By monitoring process values such as temperature, pressure, current, and voltage in each element device 2 or connecting members 4, it becomes possible to monitor the state of the system 3. When the state of the facility 1 and the system 3 is normal, the characteristic values of each element device 2 are set to predetermined values within the specification range.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the digital model 5 of the facility 1 has element equipment models 6 (element equipment models 6A, 6B, 6C) that model element equipment 2 (element equipment 2A, 2B, 2C) that make up the facility 1, and a connection member model 7 that models the connection member 4, and is created in advance. This digital model 5 has at least one element equipment model 6, for example, one or more (element equipment models 6A, 6B, 6C). The digital model 5 also has a system model 8 in which the element equipment models 6 are connected by connection member models 7. In such a digital model 5, the characteristic values of the element equipment models 6 can be set arbitrarily beyond the range of the specifications of the actual element equipment 2.

Next, a method for supporting maintenance of the facility 1 using the digital model 5 when an abnormal event occurs in the facility 1 will be described.
When an abnormal event occurs in the equipment 1, the output of the equipment 1 or the process value of the system 3 exhibits a value different from normal. Therefore, first, when an abnormal event occurs in the equipment 1, the characteristic values of the element device model 6 are changed as variables using the digital model 5 to simulate normal and abnormal events in the equipment 1.

The simulation of a normal event in equipment 1 (i.e., a simulation that mimics (reproduces) a normal event in equipment 1) is performed without using information on the operation history of equipment 1 before an abnormal event occurred in equipment 1. In other words, the simulation of a normal event in equipment 1 does not include time-series information, but uses information including at least one of the design documents, specifications, and catalogs of element equipment 2, and is performed by changing the characteristic values of element equipment model 6 as variables.

The simulation of an abnormal event in equipment 1 (i.e., a simulation that mimics (reproduces) an abnormal event in equipment 1) is performed by changing the characteristic values of element equipment models 6 as variables using the behavior of equipment 1 when an abnormal event occurs, without using information on the operation history of equipment 1 before the abnormal event occurred in equipment 1 or the past failure history of element equipment 2. In this simulation of an abnormal event, the characteristic values of element equipment models 6 are determined so that the simulation results of the output of digital model 5 and the process value of system model 8 are close to the behavior of equipment 1 when an abnormal event occurs (output of equipment 1, process value of system 3). In addition, in the above-mentioned simulation of an abnormal event, it is possible to respond to, for example, complex abnormal events by changing not only the characteristic values of one element equipment model 6 but also the characteristic values of multiple element equipment models 6.

Next, the characteristic values of the element equipment model 6 obtained from the simulation results of the normal event and the abnormal event obtained as described above are compared. At this time, if the characteristic value of the element equipment model 6 obtained from the simulation result of the abnormal event differs from the characteristic value of the element equipment model 6 obtained from the simulation result of the normal event, it is determined that the element equipment model 6 with the different characteristic value is the element equipment model in an abnormal (fault) state. Then, the element equipment 2 corresponding to the element equipment model 6 determined to be in an abnormal (fault) state is identified as the element equipment 2 that caused the abnormal event of the facility 1. Therefore, it becomes possible to present countermeasures such as replacing the identified element equipment 2 or adjusting the setting value of this element equipment 2.

In addition, in the method of supporting maintenance of equipment 1 using digital model 5, for example, when it is necessary to replace element device 2 of equipment 1 but it is difficult to obtain the same model of element device 2, the following maintenance support is provided.

In other words, one or more of the element equipment models 6 in the digital model 5 of the equipment 1 are replaced with another element equipment model with different specifications or bypassed via a bypass line to modify the digital model 5. Then, using this modified digital model 5, a simulation of a normal event in the equipment 1 is performed, and whether or not the digital model 5 operates normally is confirmed by the simulation. This makes it possible to present countermeasures such as replacing an element equipment 2 in an abnormal (failed) state of the equipment 1 with another element equipment 2 with different specifications, or bypassing an element equipment 2 in an abnormal (failed) state via a bypass line.

As configured as above, the first embodiment provides the following advantages (1) and (2).
(1) According to the first embodiment, a digital model 5 of the equipment 1 having an element equipment model 6 that models an element equipment 2 is used to simulate normal and abnormal events of the equipment 1, and characteristic values of the element equipment model 6 obtained from the simulation results of the normal and abnormal events are compared to determine which element equipment model 6 is in an abnormal (failed) state, thereby identifying the element equipment 2 that caused the abnormal event. As a result, it is possible to investigate the cause of an abnormal event that occurred in the equipment 1 and present a countermeasure against it without using past operation data or failure history of the equipment 1. This makes it possible to reduce the cost and time required for disassembly and inspection of the equipment 1 in which an abnormal event occurred.

(2) Among the element equipment models 6 held by the digital model 5 of the facility 1, one or more element equipment models 6 are replaced with other element equipment models 6 having different specifications or bypassed via a bypass line to modify the digital model 5, and this modified digital model 5 is used to simulate normal events of the facility 1 to confirm whether the digital model 5 operates normally. Therefore, for an element equipment 2 that needs to be replaced but is difficult to obtain of the same model, it is possible to propose measures to replace this element equipment 2 with another element equipment 2 or to bypass it. This makes it possible to quickly present a provisional proposal, although it is not permanent.

[B] Second embodiment (FIG. 2)
2A and 2B are block diagrams showing the configuration of the digital model of the equipment to be maintained when implementing the equipment maintenance support method according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are used to simplify or omit the description of the same parts as in the first embodiment.

The equipment maintenance support method of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it simulates an abnormal event in the equipment 1 by reflecting information about the failure of the element equipment 2 in the equipment 1 stored in the database 11.

The database 11 stores information about failures of element devices 2 constituting the facility 1 for each element device 2, and is created and prepared in advance. The information about failures of the element devices 2 described above is information about the element devices 2, such as the failure probability and service life of the element devices 2, and the behavior of the element devices 2 when a failure occurs. This information about failures of element devices 2 does not need to be information obtained from the element devices 2 of the facility 1 that is the subject of maintenance, but may be information about the general failure probability and service life of element devices 2 of the same model, or information about failures that have occurred in element devices 2 that constitute other facilities.

In the second embodiment, the simulation of an abnormal event in the facility 1 is performed by changing the characteristic values of the element equipment models 6 in the digital model 5 as variables, and is performed by reflecting information about failures of the element equipment 2 stored in the database 11. For example, when selecting an element equipment model 6 for changing the characteristic value in the digital model 5, priority is given to selecting an element equipment model 6 corresponding to an element equipment 2 with a high failure probability stored in the database 11 or an element equipment model 6 corresponding to an element equipment 2 with a short useful life. Furthermore, in order to reproduce the "behavior of the element equipment 2 when a failure occurs" stored in the database 11, the element equipment model 6 corresponding to that element equipment 2 is selected with priority in the digital model 5.

As configured as described above, the second embodiment provides the same effects as the effects (1) and (2) of the first embodiment, as well as the following effect (3).

(3) The simulation of an abnormal event in the facility 1 is performed by reflecting information about the failure of the element devices 2 stored in the database 11, i.e., by giving priority to the element device model 6 corresponding to the element device 2 about which failure information is stored in the database 11, and changing its characteristic values. Therefore, it is possible to quickly select a combination of element devices 2 with a high probability of failure from the large number of combinations of failures of the element devices 2 in the facility 1, and perform a simulation of an abnormal event. As a result, it is possible to quickly identify the element device 2 that caused the abnormal event in the facility 1, and present a countermeasure.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, such substitutions, changes, and combinations are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

1...Facility, 2...Component equipment, 5...Digital model, 6...Component equipment model, 11...Database

Claims (3)

For a facility that is composed of a plurality of element devices that are related to each other and produce an output in response to an input, a digital model is created in advance that has a plurality of element device models that model the element devices having characteristic values that are set and controlled within a range between a minimum value and a maximum value;
When an abnormal event occurs in the equipment, the digital model is used to perform a simulation of a normal event of the equipment using information including at least one of design drawings, specifications, and catalogs of the element equipment and characteristic values of the element equipment model as variables, and a simulation of an abnormal event of the equipment using information regarding the behavior of the equipment and a failure of the element equipment when the abnormal event occurs and characteristic values of the element equipment model as variables,
In the simulation of the abnormal event, characteristic values of the element equipment model are determined so as to produce a simulation result close to a behavior when an abnormal event occurs in the facility;
An equipment maintenance support method comprising the steps of: comparing characteristic values of the element equipment model obtained from simulation results of a normal event and an abnormal event; determining that the element equipment model for which these characteristic values are different is the element equipment model in an abnormal state; and identifying the element equipment corresponding to the determined element equipment model as the element equipment that caused the abnormal event. The equipment maintenance support method according to claim 1, characterized in that the simulation of the normal event of the equipment is performed without using information on the operation history before the abnormal event occurred in the equipment. preparing a database for storing information regarding failures of element devices in the facility for each of the element devices;
2. The facility maintenance support method according to claim 1, wherein a simulation of an abnormal event in the facility is performed by reflecting information on failures stored in the database and using characteristic values of element equipment models as variables.

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