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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Industrial Technologies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 35173

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Justo García Sanz-Calcedo

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering Projects, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Interests: innovations in the research of healthcare buildings; healthcare engineering; buildings; project engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Producing consistent equipment requires planning for reliability from the earliest stages of system design. The use of probabilistic design for reliability allows comparing a component strength against the stress it will face in various environments. Failures do link hierarchically in terms of the system architecture, and in turn, a failure mode may cause failures in a higher-level subsystem or may be the result of a failure of a lower level component.

Reliability techniques in industrial design can substantially increase operational dependability through better system design and the selection of better parts and materials. In addition, there are practices that can improve reliability with respect to manufacturing, assembly, shipping and handling, operation, maintenance and repair.

Additionally, reliability in fact is extremely design-sensitive. A more reliable product needs less maintenance, so a design trade-off between reliability and maintainability is required. Very slight changes to the design of a component can cause profound changes in operational dependability, which is why it is important to specify product reliability and maintainability targets before any design work is undertaken.

This Special Issue includes new research and the latest technologies related to reliability techniques in industrial design. In particular, it includes a series of documents focused on:

Reliability; failure modes;
Design for reliability;
Maintenance;
Design for maintainability;
Resilient design;
Reliability techniques;
Reliability-centered maintenance;
Physics-of-failure-based approach;
Reliability prediction and improvement;
Statistics-based approach;
Reliability modeling;
Reliability testing;
Accelerated testing;

Fail-safe design. Redundancy;

Detectability and common cause failures;
Maintenance 4.0;
Built-in redundancy.

We hope this Special Issue will improve the overall efficiency of industrial design and help to minimize design failures.

Prof. Dr. Justo García Sanz-Calcedo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Reliability
failure modes
Design for reliability
Maintenance
Design for maintainability
Resilient design
Reliability techniques
Reliability-centered maintenance
Physics-of-failure-based approach
Reliability prediction and improvement
Statistics-based approach
Reliability modeling
Reliability testing
Accelerated testing
Fault tolerance systems
Detectability and common cause failures
Maintenance 4.0
Built-in redundancy

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

4 pages, 221 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design

by Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo, Gonzalo Sánchez-Barroso and Jaime González-Domínguez

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13010577 - 31 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1894

Abstract

Reliability engineering focuses on the ability of physical equipment to function without failure [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 4035 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Technical Specifications of Predictive Maintenance: A Case Study of Centrifugal Compressor

by Helge Nordal and Idriss El-Thalji

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1527; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041527 - 8 Feb 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6291

Abstract

Dependability analyses in the design phase are common in IEC 60300 standards to assess the reliability, risk, maintainability, and maintenance supportability of specific physical assets. Reliability and risk assessment uses well-known methods such as failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA), fault tree analysis (FTA), and event tree analysis (ETA)to identify critical components and failure modes based on failure rate, severity, and detectability. Monitoring technology has evolved over time, and a new method of failure mode and symptom analysis (FMSA) was introduced in ISO 13379-1 to identify the critical symptoms and descriptors of failure mechanisms. FMSA is used to estimate monitoring priority, and this helps to determine the critical monitoring specifications. However, FMSA cannot determine the effectiveness of technical specifications that are essential for predictive maintenance, such as detection techniques (capability and coverage), diagnosis (fault type, location, and severity), or prognosis (precision and predictive horizon). The paper proposes a novel predictive maintenance (PdM) assessment matrix to overcome these problems, which is tested using a case study of a centrifugal compressor and validated using empirical data provided by the case study company. The paper also demonstrates the possible enhancements introduced by Industry 4.0 technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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13 pages, 1606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parametric Analysis of Rotational Effects in Seismic Design of Tall Structures

by Milan Sokol, Rudolf Ároch, Katarína Lamperová, Martin Marton and Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020597 - 9 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2104

Abstract

This paper uses a parametric study to evaluate the significance of the rotational components of Earth’s motion in a seismic design. The parametric study is based on the procedures included in Eurocode 8, Part 6. Although the answer to the question of when the effects of rotational components are important is quite a complex one and requires a more in-depth study, our aim was to try to assess this question in a relatively quick manner and with acceptable accuracy. The first part of the paper is devoted to derivation of a simple formula that can be used for expressing the importance of rotational components in comparison with the classic seismic design without their usage. The quasi-static analysis, assuming inertial forces, is used. A crucial role plays the shape of the fundamental mode of the vibration. Due to simplicity reasons, well-known expression for estimation of the first eigenmode as an exponential function with different power coefficients that vary for different types of buildings is used. The possibility of changing the soil parameters is subsequently included into the formula for estimation of the fundamental frequency of tall buildings. In the next part, the overall seismic analyses of complex FEM models of 3D buildings and chimneys are performed. The results from those analyses are then compared with those from simplified calculations. The importance of the soil characteristics for determination of whether it is necessary to take into account the rotational effects is further discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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14 pages, 4322 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time Series RUL Estimation of Medium Voltage Connectors to Ease Predictive Maintenance Plans

by Álvaro Gómez-Pau, Jordi-Roger Riba and Manuel Moreno-Eguilaz

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(24), 9041; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10249041 - 17 Dec 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2993

Abstract

The ageing process of medium voltage power connectors can lead to important power system faults. An on-line prediction of the remaining useful life (RUL) is a convenient strategy to prevent such failures, thus easing the application of predictive maintenance plans. The electrical resistance of the connector is the most widely used health indicator for condition monitoring and RUL prediction, even though its measurement is a challenging task because of its low value, which typically falls in the range of a few micro-ohms. At the present time, the RUL of power connectors is not estimated, since their electrical parameters are not monitored because medium voltage connectors are considered cheap and secondary devices in power systems, despite they play a critical role, so their failure can lead to important power flow interruptions with the consequent safety risks and economic losses. Therefore, there is an imperious need to develop on-line RUL prediction strategies. This paper develops an on-line method to solve this issue, by predicting the RUL of medium voltage connectors based on the degradation trajectory of the electrical resistance, which is characterized by analyzing the electrical resistance time series data by means of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method. The approach proposed in this paper allows applying predictive maintenance plans, since the RUL enables determining when the power connector must be replaced by a new one. Experimental results obtained from several connectors illustrate the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed approach for an on-line RUL prediction of power connectors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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15 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stress-Based Weibull Method to Select a Ball Bearing and Determine Its Actual Reliability

by Baldomero Villa-Covarrubias, Manuel R. Piña-Monarrez, Jesús M. Barraza-Contreras and Manuel Baro-Tijerina

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(22), 8100; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10228100 - 16 Nov 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2965

Abstract

Since the designed bearing’s reliability of 90% was determined in a lab environment, it does not represent the actual used environment. In this paper, a new methodology to determine the actual reliability that corresponds to the use conditions is offered. This new method is based on the standard method used to select the ball bearing. The proposed method is based on the two parameters of Weibull distribution, where the shape (β) and scale (η) parameters are both determined from the Hertz contact stresses values, which are generated under the surface of the motionless outer race, and by the forces transmitted between the ball and the outer race. Therefore, the derived reliability is different from the 90% index offered by manufacturers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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12 pages, 25122 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Probabilistic Analysis of a Hospital Building Slab Foundation

by Norbert Jendzelovsky and Katarina Tvrda

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7887; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10217887 - 6 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2069

Abstract

This paper deals with the design of a five-storey hospital building, in which we focus on the deterministic and probabilistic analysis of its slab foundation. The hospital building bearing structure was modeled as a reinforced concrete skeleton. The Boussinesque model was selected for the subsoil under the plate foundation, which was a model of the elastic half-space, where properties of individual layers of the subsoil were entered according to the geological survey. The geological topology consisted of clay gravel and also included a layer of clay sand. In the stochastic solution, the variance of values was considered for individual mechanical properties of different types of soil. We analyzed the influence of the variance of input values on the resulting deflections, strain, and stress state of the plate foundation. Two variants of the solution were considered on the given numerical example. Probability calculations confirmed the probability of failure, which was allowed for the second limit state. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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17 pages, 2076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fatigue-Life Prediction of Mechanical Element by Using the Weibull Distribution

by Jesús M. Barraza-Contreras, Manuel R. Piña-Monarrez and Alejandro Molina

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(18), 6384; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10186384 - 13 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5688

Abstract

Applying Goodman, Gerber, Soderberg and Elliptical failure theories does not make it possible to determine the span of failure times (cycles to failure-

N_{i}

) of a mechanical element, and so in this paper a fatigue-life/Weibull method to predict the span of [...] Read more.

Applying Goodman, Gerber, Soderberg and Elliptical failure theories does not make it possible to determine the span of failure times (cycles to failure-

N_{i}

) of a mechanical element, and so in this paper a fatigue-life/Weibull method to predict the span of the

N_{i}

values is formulated. The input’s method are: (1) the equivalent stress (

σ_{e q}

) value given by the used failure theory; (2) the expected

N_{e q}

value determined by the Basquin equation; and (3) the Weibull shape β and scale η parameters that are fitted directly from the applied principal stress

σ_{1}

and

σ_{2}

values. The efficiency of the proposed method is based on the following facts: (1) the β and η parameters completely reproduce the applied

σ_{1}

and

σ_{2}

values. (2) The method allows us to determine the reliability index R(t), that corresponds to any applied

σ_{1 i}

value or observed

N_{i}

value. (3) The method can be applied to any mechanical element’s analysis where the corresponding

σ_{1}

and

σ_{2}

σ_{e q}

and

N_{e q}

values are known. In the performed application, the

σ_{1}

and

σ_{2}

values were determined by finite element analysis (FEA) and from the static stress analysis. Results of both approaches are compared. The steps to determine the expected

N_{i}

values by using the Weibull distribution are given. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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19 pages, 3165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Assessment of a Renovated Precast Concrete Bridge Using Static and Dynamic Tests

by Milan Sokol, Michal Venglár, Katarína Lamperová and Monika Márföldi

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(17), 5904; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10175904 - 26 Aug 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2540

Abstract

The article presents the development of a SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) strategy intended to confirm the improvement of the load-bearing capacity of a bridge over the Ružín Dam using static and dynamic load tests, as well as numerical simulations. The paper comprises measurements of the global response of the bridge to prepare a verified and validated FEM (Finite Element Method) model. A complex measuring system used for the tests consisted of two main parts: an interferometric IBIS-S (Image by Interferometric Survey-Structures) radar and a multichannel vibration and strain data logger. Next, structure–vehicle interactions were modelled, and non-linear numerical dynamic analyses were performed. As a result, the time histories of displacements of the structure from traffic effects were obtained. Their comparison with IBIS-S radar records proves that this method can be effectively used for assessing bridges subjected to common traffic loads. The results (measured accelerations) obtained by local tests in external pre-stressed cables are presented and a convenient method for acquiring the axial force in the cables is proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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15 pages, 2727 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Scheduling of Preventive Maintenance in Healthcare Buildings Using Markov Chain

by Jaime González-Domínguez, Gonzalo Sánchez-Barroso and Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(15), 5263; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10155263 - 30 Jul 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3698

Abstract

The optimization of maintenance in healthcare buildings reduces operating costs and contributes towards increasing the sustainability of the healthcare system. This paper proposes a tool to schedule preventive maintenance for healthcare centers using Markov chains. To this end, the authors analyzed 25 healthcare centers belonging to the three Healthcare Districts of Spain and built between 1985 and 2005. Markov chains proved useful in choosing the most suitable maintenance policies for each healthcare building without exceeding a specific degradation boundary, which enabled achieving an ideal maintenance frequency and reduced the use of resources. Markov chains have also proven useful in optimizing the periodicity of routine maintenance tasks, ensuring a suitable level of maintenance according to the frequency of the failures and reducing the cost and carbon footprint. The healthcare centers observed during the study managed to save more than 700 km of journeys, reduce emissions in its operations as a whole by 174.3 kg of CO₂ per month and increase the overall efficiency of maintenance operations by 15%. This approach, therefore, renders it advisable to plan the maintenance of healthcare buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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19 pages, 4357 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Unsupervised Fault Detection and Prediction of Remaining Useful Life for Online Prognostic Health Management of Mechanical Systems

by Francesca Calabrese, Alberto Regattieri, Lucia Botti, Cristina Mora and Francesco Gabriele Galizia

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(12), 4120; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10124120 - 15 Jun 2020

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3526

Abstract

Predictive maintenance allows industries to keep their production systems available as much as possible. Reducing unforeseen shutdowns to a level that is close to zero has numerous advantages, including production cost savings, a high quality level of both products and processes, and a high safety level. Studies in this field have focused on a novel approach, prognostic health management (PHM), which relies on condition monitoring (CM) for predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of a system. However, several issues remain in its application to real industrial contexts, e.g., the difficulties in conducting tests simulating each fault condition, the dynamic nature of industrial environments, and the need to handle large amounts of data collected from machinery. In this paper, a data-driven methodology for PHM implementation is proposed, which has the following characteristics: it is unsupervised, i.e., it does not require any prior knowledge regarding fault behaviors and it does not rely on pre-trained classification models, i.e., it can be applied “from scratch”; it can be applied online due to its low computational effort, which makes it suitable for edge computing; and, it includes all of the steps that are involved in a prognostic program, i.e., feature extraction, health indicator (HI) construction, health stage (HS) division, degradation modelling, and RUL prediction. Finally, the proposed methodology is applied in this study to a rotating component. The study results, in terms of the ability of the proposed approach to make a timely prediction of component fault conditions, are promising. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Techniques in Industrial Design)

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