Fault propagation analysis of oscillations in control loops using data-driven causality and plant connectivity.

Oscillations in control loops are one of the most prevalent problems in industrial processes. Due to their adverse effect on the overall process performance, finding how oscillations propagate through the process units is of major importance. This paper presents a method for integrating process causality and topology which ultimately enables to determine the propagation path of oscillations in control loops. The integration is performed using a dedicated search algorithm which validates the quantitative results of the data-driven causality using the qualitative information on plant connectivity. The outcome is an enhanced causal model which reveals the propagation path. The analysis is demonstrated on a case study of an industrial paperboard machine with multiple oscillations in its drying section due to valve stiction. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.