"MIRCE Science is a theory of the motion of working systems through MIRCE Space, caused by any functionability action whatsoever, used for Managing In-service Reliability, Cost & Effectiveness. Dr J. Knezevic, 1999

Prognostics and Health Monitoring

by Professor Michael Pecht

Sometimes products fail too early. When they do, we hope that the failure does not affect our mission, prevent us from accomplishing a task or compromise our safety.
Product health monitoring and prognostics is a way to determine if a product is likely to fail prematurely. These methods are analogous to patients getting feedback from their physicians about their own health. For products, this feedback includes identification of how the product is degrading and the prediction of the remaining useful "life" of the product.
There has been a growing interest in monitoring the ongoing "health" of products and systems in order to receive an early warning to avoid catastrophic failureand to be able to schedule preventative maintenance. In this presentation, various prognostic methods to assess the health, as well as the remaining life, of products will be explained. These methods involve sensing and interpretation of the product’s operating parameters and environment to continuously assess the amount of a product’s degradation. Examples of prognostics and health monitoring being used in aircrafts, bridges, machine-tools, engines, and turbines will be discussed.
A case study to estimate the remaining life of a printed circuit board assembly in an automobile under-hood environment will be presented. Studies to assess the electronics in the NASA space shuttle arm and booster rockets will also be discussed. Some additional examples of in-situ semiconductor health monitors and MEMS sensors for health monitoring will then be given, along with concepts for future research development.

For further information about Professor Pecht or CALCE-EPSC please go to www.calce.umd.edu