Methodological Support for Applying the Method of Majority Reservation in Measuring Channels

Abstract

Introduction. For hazardous industries, the reliability of information and measuring equipment must ensure an almost complete absence of failure events, with their probability as low as 10-6. This requirement can be satisfied using various approaches, one of which is reservation. Reservation methods are classified into several types depending on such factors, as the operating mode of an object, failure types, frequency rate, etc. Majority redundancy schemes are rarely used in measuring equipment, particularly in measuring channels, largely because this method was initially aimed at improving the reliability of discrete digital devices. Thus far, no mathematical support for applying the method of majority reservation in measuring channels of analogue values has been developed. This gap determined the relevance of this study.Aim. To develop a methodological support for applying the method of majority reservation with the purpose of improving the level of measurement accuracy.Materials and methods. Both Russian and foreign sources published over the past 40 years on the topic of processing small samples when designing measuring channels for information and measuring systems were reviewed. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney rank test was applied to process small samples. Other research methods included mathematical modelling, as well as the mathematical apparatus of measurement theory andтsystems theory.Results. A measuring module with a redundant structure was simulated. Parametric and nonparametric rank criteria were considered. An algorithm allowing identification of the failure of a channel in a measuring module with a redundant structure was developed. The computational complexity of the developed algorithm is estimated by a polynomial of the second degree.Conclusion. The use of nonparametric rank criteria for processing small samples, as well as diagnostic situations for various combinations of these criteria, supports statistically grounded decision on the state of measuring channels. In the future, this method will be applied for diagnostic control of the serviceability of technological equipment used in fuel combustion, namely in boiler plants and installations for thermal waste destruction.

Keywords

• мажоритарное резервирование
• резервирование
• измерительный канал температуры
• модель измерительного канала
• непараметрические критерии