Clustering methods - Cause-and-effect diagnosis - Root-cause diagnosis - Nonlinearity analysis - Signal entropy methods - Oscillation detection and diagnosis - Phase coherency analysis - Principal component analysis - Independent component analysis - Spectral analysis - Higher order statistical analysis - Valve stiction modelling and diagnosis

Dynamic signal analysis is our primary specialty. The methods achieve dramatic insights into the way that an operating process is performing, from oil and gas platforms though supply chains to electrical power transmission systems.

An underpinning theme is plant-wide, site-wide and system-wide diagnosis. The aim is to build a global picture using data from local measurements and track down the causes of propagating disturbances.

Sticking valves, a common cause of plant-wide disturbances, can now be easily diagnosed thanks to ideas developed in collaboration with the University of Alberta over the past few years. Now we are seeking to trace the sources of disturbances and inefficiencies that originate in other plant sub-systems particularly in rotating machinery such as compressors and pumps and the motors which drive them.

Selected publications

Book

Contact us

Nina Thornhill, ABB/RAEng Professor of Process Automation
Centre for Process Systems Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ

Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6622
Email: n.thornhill@imperial.ac.uk