Bus network decomposition for fault detection and isolation through power line communication

This paper deals with fault detection and isolation (FDI) in complex embedded wired communication networks. The considered faults are soft faults which do not prevent the communication, but may evolve into hard faults, i.e. short or open circuit. A novel FDI method based on power line communication (PLC) transmission systems is proposed. In these PLC systems, the transmission coefficients between the source and each receiver are estimated for communication purposes using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Health indicators and residuals are computed by comparing the online estimated transmission coefficients with the reference coefficients. A methodology for dealing with complex networks, such as bus networks, is proposed. It is based on the decomposition of the network into several Y-shaped sub-networks. Each of these sub-networks is monitored to detect the presence of a fault. The FDI method is first validated using real data extracted from a Y-shaped network test bench. Then, the proposed approach is validated on a more complex network using realistic simulated data.