Methods and systems for fault diagnosis are described. The methods are in particular, although not necessarily exclusively, for the detection of faults in multi-component systems, typically power plant, whose performance is characterised by a series of indirectly measurable performance parameters. The methods proposed are based on "optimisation techniques", involving the optimisation of an objective function to obtain an estimate of performance parameters and operating parameters. In one aspect,...

A self-compensating fault locator (10) broadly comprises a testing unit (16) to take measurements across two test points (18), a processing unit (20) to locate faults by analyzing the measurements, and a switching unit (22) that can connect termination points (14) of an electrical circuit (12) to the test points (18) in a sequence controlled by the processing unit (20). The fault locator (10) may also include a harness (24) to connect the electrical circuit (12) to the switching unit (22). The p...

Faults occurring in a telecommunications system are monitored identifying their time of onset and reporting them to an operator through an interface if they have not cleared within a predetermined interval. Transient faults, which do clear within that interval, are not reported directly, but only if such faults occur more frequently than a predetermined rate. This is determined by establishing a scan interval, and an analysis period equal to a plurality of scan intervals, monitoring the system c...

In a first aspect, a method of synchronizing at least two computing elements that each have clocks that operate asynchronously of the clocks of the other computing elements includes selecting one or more signals, designated as meta time signals, from a set of signals produced by the computing elements, monitoring the computing elements to detect the production of a selected signal by one of the computing elements, waiting for the other computing elements to produce a selected signal, transmittin...

Methods for estimating performance of and/or detecting faults in components of a multi-component system, where the performance of each component is defined by one or more performance parameters x related to measurement parameters z that can be expressed as a function of the performance and operating parameters defining an operating condition of the system. The methods include: defining a series of fault classes corresponding to possible outcomes of faulty components; creating an initial populati...

A method and apparatus for diagnosing faults. A fault is detected. One or more process variables that contributed to the fault are determined. A relative contribution of each of the one or more process variables is determined. A determination is made as to which fault signatures match the fault, a match occurring when the relative contributions of the one or more process variables are within relative contribution ranges of the matching fault signature. Each fault signature is associated with at ...

Data transfer to computing elements is synchronized in a computer system that includes the computing elements and controllers that provide data from data sources to the computing elements. A request for data made by a computing element is intercepted and transmitted to the controllers. At least a first controller responds by transmitting requested data to the computing element and by indicating how a second controller will respond to the intercepted request.

At an end (11) of a power transmission line (10), a fault detecting system monitors variations resulting from a fault in voltage and current being transmitted through the line and calculates the distance between the end and location (20) of the fault by the use of the variations and a line constant inherent to the line, such as that given by the characteristic impedance and the propagation constant, to thereby locate the fault with a sufficient accuracy by directly using the commercial frequency...

A logic gate has a fault sensing circuit connected to each of its input terminals and connected to actuate a switching means that open circuits the gate output terminal when there is no current flow either into or out of each gate input terminal. A first embodiment includes a photosensitive type current sensing circuit connected to the input terminal of a NOT gate. When a fault occurs at this terminal, a switching transistor actuates to turn off two drive transistors in a buffer circuit, which o...

By forming current jump or surge signals and voltage jump or surge signals, in accordance with the changes as a function of time of the line current and line voltage in relation to the steady-state course of the current and voltage and comparison of such jump or surge signals with a threshold value, dependent upon the other jump or surge signal, or an appropriate threshold value function, there can be derived trip boundaries in the surge signal plane. Exceeding such trip boundaries in a directio...