A Condition-Based Maintenance Strategy for a Multi-Component System With Both Continuous and Discrete State Monitoring

State monitoring is the foundation for condition-based maintenance of systems, and advancements in sensor technology have enabled real-time monitoring of the degradation processes in many systems. However, many complex multi-component systems, such as aircraft engine systems and various mechanical systems, cannot rely on sensors for real-time monitoring of all components' degradation states and must instead rely on inspections for determination. To address this, we modeled a multi-component system with both real-time monitored components and components requiring inspections, and proposed a condition-based inspection-opportunistic maintenance strategy. Real-time monitored components are replaced as needed based on their condition, while components requiring inspection are replaced when specific maintenance opportunities arise. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the proposed maintenance strategy, and comparisons were made with purely real-time monitored systems and inspection-based systems.

Keywords: Condition-based maintenance, Condition monitoring, Periodic inspection.