Representation of process trends-IV. Induction of real-time patterns from operating data for diagnosis and supervisory control

A methodology for pattern-based supervisory control and fault diagonsis is presented, based on the multi-scale extraction of trends from process data described in Part III of this series (Bakshi and Stephanopoulos, Computers Chem. Engng 17, 1993). An explicit mapping is learned between the features extracted at multiple scales, and the corresponding process conditions, using the technique of induction by decision trees. Simple rules may be derived from the induced decision tree, to relate the relevant qualitative or quantitative features in the measured process data to process conditions. These rules are often physically interpretable and provide physical insight into the process. Industrial case studies from fine chemicals manufacturing, reactive crystallization and fed-batch fermentation are used to illustrate the characteristics of the pattern-based learning methodology and its application to process supervision and diagnosis.