Dynamic database approach for fault tolerant control using dual heuristic programming

In this paper a hierarchical architecture that combines a high degree of reconfigurability and long-term memory is presented as a fault tolerant control algorithm for complex nonlinear systems. Dual heuristic programming (DHP) is used for adapting to faults as they happen for the first time in an effort to prevent the build up of a general failure and also as tuning device after switching to a known scenario. A dynamical database, initialized with as much information of the plant as available, oversees the DHP controller. The decisions of which environments to record, when to intervene and where to switch are autonomously made based on the specifically designed quality indexes. Results of the application of the complete algorithm to a proof-of-the-concept numerical example help to illustrate the fine interrelations between each of its subsystems.