A Model-based Diagnosis with Fault Event Models

The causal chains between faults and symptoms include abnormal phenomena such as breakage and corrosion which cannot be represented in terms of physical parameters. Most of model-based diagnosis systems based on physical parametric models cannot cope with such phenomena, and thus the deeper causes underlying the faults remain untouched. This article describes a diagnosis method based on the fault event models, which represent generic abnormal transitions which could commonly occur in components in terms of conceptual attributes such as existence and shape. A framework and an example of the reasoning integrated with the conventional methods are presented. The integrated reasoning system can uncover the deeper causes underlying the faults detected by the conventional methods.