Intelligent Techniques for Faults Diagnosis and Prognosis of CHP Plant with Gas Turbine Engine

Prognostic and Health Management (PHM) systems are used for the diagnosis and the prognosis of faults that affect the lifetime of dynamic processes. They can detect, identify and isolate fault mechanisms and predict their evolution in order to prevent them from causing system failures. When used in combination with Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM), they not only extend the system reliability, but significantly reduce operating costs and emergency response strategies through intelligent planning of maintenance. In this paper a CBM/PHM system for a cogeneration plant with gas turbine has been developed. Simulation trials have tested the performance and functionality of the system, showing how to produce useful information for health management and intelligent maintenance.