Utilization of the sensor relationships in space power distribution system operations

A couple of features that are rather unique in space power system operational environments in comparison with their terrestrial counterparts make automated operations of the space power distribution systems particularly essential. A technique that can facilitate the automated operations of space power distribution systems is presented in this paper. The proposed technique utilizes the logical sensor relationships existing among the sensor values and a graph formulated from them, called the causal relations and the sensor redundancy graph respectively. The graph formulation enables one to systematically explore the embedded sensor redundancies in space power distribution systems and to maximize their utilizations in validating sensor values and fault diagnosis. Furthermore, fault locations can be identified with the physical ranges associated with the causal relations called the causal ranges. The robustness or the capability of a given sensor installation configuration whether it can still provide sufficient data under various sensor failure and system fault contingencies can also be checked. The effect of an addition or a deletion of a sensor on the overall sensor failure and fault detection capability can also be assessed, which can be helpful even from the space power system design stages. The proposed technique is currently being applied to the space power system test facilities installed at NASA