Actuated Hydraulic System Fault Detection: A Fuzzy Logic Approach

Accurate detection of fault in a hydraulic system is a crucial and equally challenging task. A fuzzy logic topology is developed for the diagnosis of simulated faults in hydraulic power systems. The method proposed is a combination of analytical and fuzzy logic approach. Residuals generated by nonlinear observer are evaluated using fuzzy logic. The fault severity of the system is evaluated based on the membership functions and rule base developed by the fuzzy logic system. This paper demonstrates the use of fuzzy logic as an extension to analytical system to enhance the overall performance of the system. The decision of whether 'a fault has occurred or not?' is upgraded to 'what is the severity of that fault?' at the output. Simulation results showed that fuzzy logic is more sensitive and informative regarding the fault condition, and less sensitive to uncertainties and disturbances.