Machine Integrated Health Models for Condition-based Maintenance

Preliminary notes Machines undergo degradation as a result of both technical factors and non-technical factors that increase the potential for failures and deteriorate their health condition, and there is growing interest in new methods for health condition assessment. Currently, the inherent health of a machine is evaluated by monitoring of the data acquired by sensors. In other words, the evolution of the inherent health depends only on the evolution of technical factors, and therefore does not comprehensively represent the overall condition of the machine. This study introduces the concepts of "inherent health" and "integrated health" as well as their relationship. On the basis of inherent health assessment, the integrated health considers the non-technical factors related to the age, working conditions, and maintenance of a machine. By integrating a sequential imperfect maintenance policy into the maintenance strategy based on the integrated health conditions, the maintenance effectiveness is also considered. Through comprehensive assessment and real-time detection of the integrated health condition, this model may be used to support machine health management and maintenance decision-making. In case studies, the obvious differences between inherent health and integrated health are expected to appear under certain circumstances.