WO2021150358A1 - Systems and method for predicting cavitation damage to a component - Google Patents

Abstract

A controller for estimating a remaining useful life of a component is disclosed. The controller comprises: a processor, and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations comprise: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR PREDICTING CAVITATION DAMAGE TO A COMPONENT

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present applications claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/965,397, filed January 24, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to control systems for predicting damage to a component associated with an engine to determine a remaining useful life (“RUL”) of the component.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Cavitation is a phenomenon where rapid changes of pressure within a liquid can lead to formation of bubbles or voids in the liquid, particularly at locations where the pressure is relatively low. When such bubbles or voids collapse, they can generate intense shock waves that can damage the component. Components susceptible to cavitation damage include those components associated with an engine such as fuel pumps, injection valves, and other components that have a fluid such as fuel, oil, or water flowing there-through. The amount of damage and wear experienced by the component results in a reduction in RUL of the component.

[0004] Typically, a remaining useful life of such components is determined based on the amount of time that the components has been operational and is generally defined by a linear decrease in remaining useful life based on the operational lifetime of the component when operating under typical operating conditions. However, the damage sustained by the component is generally not linear and typical methods can overestimate or underestimate the remaining useful life of the component. Repair or replacement of the component earlier than necessary increases maintenance costs, while allowing a component to run after its actual useful life has ended can lead to failure of the component that can make the engine inoperative or lead to cascading damages that can significantly increase maintenance costs.

SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for predicting or determining a remaining useful life of a component associated with an engine, and in particular, to a controller configured to determine an accumulated damage of the component based on operating conditions of the component at various operational events, and to determine a RUL of the component based on the accumulated damage.

[0006] One embodiment relates to a controller for determining a remaining useful life of a component is provided. The controller comprises: a processor, and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations comprise: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

[0007] In some embodiments, the damage prediction condition is enabled in response to the engine turning ON.

[0008] In some embodiments, the component comprises a pump; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, or a fluid temperature. [0009] In some embodiments, the component comprises an injection valve; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a fluid pressure of a fluid injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve.

[0010] In some embodiments, the memory is configured to store a cavitation damage map corresponding to the component, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform an operation comprising correlating the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter to the cavitation damage map at each operational event of the component to determine the plurality of estimated individual damages to the component.

[0011] In some embodiments, the operational events comprises predetermined time intervals at which the controller determines at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter.

[0012] In some embodiments, the operational events comprise at least one of a pumping event or an injection event.

[0013] In some embodiments, the operations further comprise: responsive to the determined remaining useful life being less than remaining useful life threshold, generating a fault code.

[0014] In some embodiments, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform operations comprising: estimating a component remaining run time based on the determined remaining useful life; and indicating the component remaining run time to a user.

[0015] In some embodiments, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform an operation comprising: performing a time projection based on the determined useful remaining life, the component remaining run time estimated based on the time projection. [0016] Another embodiment relates to a method for determining remaining useful life of a component, comprising: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

[0017] In some embodiments, a method for estimating a remaining useful life of a component, comprises: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

[0018] Still another embodiment relates to a system, comprising: a component coupled to or associated with an engine; and a controller configured to: enable a damage prediction condition, determine at least one of an engine operating parameter of the engine or a component operating parameter of the component, determine a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter, determine an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages, determine the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage, and indicate the remaining useful life of the component to a user. [0019] In some embodiments, the damage prediction condition is enabled in response to the engine turning ON.

[0020] In some embodiments, the component comprises a pump; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, or a fluid temperature.

[0021] In some embodiments, the component comprises an injection valve; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a fluid pressure of a fluid injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve.

[0022] In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to: correlate the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter to a cavitation damage map at each operational event of the component to determine the plurality of estimated individual damages to the component.

[0023] It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the subject matter disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0024] The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Understanding that these figures depict only several implementations in accordance with the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying figures. [0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system comprising a component associated with an engine and a controller, according to an example embodiment.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the component as a fuel pump, according to an example embodiment.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the component as an injection valve, according to an example embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a bar chart depicting a useful life of a component operated on a typical duty cycle, according to an example embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a bar chart depicting the useful life of the component when it is operated on a gentle duty cycle relative to the typical duty cycle, according to an example embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 6 is bar chart depicting the useful life of a component when operated on an aggressive duty cycle relative to the typical and gentle duty cycles, according to an example embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a damage map illustrating a first damage sustained by a component at a first operational event, and FIG. 8 shows the damage map of FIG. 7 illustrating the first damage and a second damage sustained by the fuel pump at a second operational event, according to an example embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 9 is a plot showing a first RUL of a component determined at a first time point and a second RUL of the component determined at a second time point, and a predicted component remaining run time that the component can be operated for based on the first and second RULs, according to an example embodiment.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of the controller of FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment.

[0034] FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of method for determining a RUL of a component associated with an engine, according to an example embodiment. [0035] Reference is made to the accompanying figures throughout the following detailed description. In the figures, similar symbols typically identify similar components unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative implementations described in the detailed description, figures, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other implementations may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and made part of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for predicting a remaining useful life of a component and, in particular, to a component associated with an engine. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a controller configured to determine an accumulated damage of the component based on the operating conditions of the component at various operational events of the component, and to determine a RUL of the component based on the accumulated damage.

[0037] The systems and methods described herein may provide several benefits including, for example: (1) estimation of a RUL of a component based on actual operating parameters of the component and/or an engine with which the component is associated, thus preventing underestimation or overestimation of the RUL; (2) allowing more accurate estimation of a RUL without using invasive techniques or periodic regular fluid monitoring techniques that add significant costs; (3) extending the life of a component being used in gentle duty cycles; (4) reducing maintenance costs and preventing equipment downtime or enhanced damage; and (5) allowing equipment owners to determine if certain operators are more abusive in operating the machine than others.

[0038] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic illustration of a system 100 comprising a component 110 associated with an engine 10, and controller 170 coupled to the component 110 is shown, according to an example embodiment. The engine 10 is coupled to a load 20 and configured to provide power to the load 20 based on a load demanded from the engine 10. In the example shown, the engine 10 and the system 100 is included in a vehicle, for example, a vehicle powered by the engine 10, or in an electrified vehicle (e.g., a hybrid vehicle, a plug-in-hybrid vehicle etc.). In this example, the load may comprise a transmission and/or wheels of the vehicle. For example, the system 100 may be an on-road or an off-road vehicle including, but not limited to, line-haul trucks, mid-range trucks (e.g., pick-up truck), cars (e.g., sedans, hatchbacks, coupes, etc.), buses, vans, refuse vehicles, delivery trucks, industrial vehicles (e.g., mining haul trucks, excavators, bull dozers, etc.) motorbikes, three wheelers, and/or any other type of vehicle.

[0039] In other embodiments, the engine 10 and the system 100 may be included in a stationary piece of equipment, such as an electrical power production system including, but not limited to, a backup grid power generation system or a portable power generation system (e.g., a residential backup power generation system). In such embodiments, the load 20 may comprise a generator. Thus, the present disclosure is applicable with a wide variety of implementations.

[0040] The engine 10 may be an internal combustion engine that converts fuel (e.g., diesel, gasoline, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol, liquid petroleum gas or any combination thereof) into mechanical energy. The engine 10 may include a plurality of piston and cylinders pairs (not shown) for combusting the fuel to produce mechanical energy.

[0041] The component 110 is coupled to the engine 10 and the controller 170. The component 110 may be a single part or an assembly of parts/components. The component 110 is configured to communicate a fluid (e.g., a fuel, oil, water, etc.) to the engine 10, receive a fluid from the engine 10, and/or manage fluid delivery or receipt from various assemblies or parts that are associated with the engine 10. Thus and as described herein, the component 110 may include, but is not limited to, fuel pumps, injector nozzles, and other parts which experience or may experience damage through cavitation. As such and while primarily described herein as the component experiencing cavitation from fuel fluid, this is not meant to be limiting as the present disclosure is equally applicable with components utilizing other fluids (e.g., hydraulic fluid pumps, oil pumps, etc.). FIGS. 2 (fuel pump) and 3 (injection valve) depict exemplary components 110. Thus and as described herein, the component 110 experiences wear and tear based on engine operating parameters of the engine 10 and/or component operating parameters of the component 110, and may be particularly susceptible to cavitation damage.

[0042] As alluded to above and in some embodiments, the component 110 may be a fuel pump. For example and with reference to FIG. 2, a side cross-section view of a fuel pump 210 (i.e., the component 110) that may be used with the engine 10. The fuel pump 210 may be a positive displacement pump that includes a piston cylinder 212 within which a piston 214 is configured to reciprocate. Fuel or air/fuel mixture may be metered into the piston cylinder 212 based on a load demanded from the engine 10.

The piston 214 translates within the piston cylinder 212 to compress the fuel or air/fuel mixture. The compressed mixture is then provided to the engine 10. While the motion of the piston 214 is generally small, the fuel pressure generated within the piston cylinder 212 can be in the order of hundreds to thousands of atm. The large pressure difference between the fuel or air/fuel mixture being communicated into the piston cylinder 212 and the pressure created within the piston cylinder 212 can lead to cavitation that can cause damage to the piston cylinder 212 and/or the piston 214.

[0043] In some embodiments and as described above, the component 110 may additionally or alternatively include an injection valve, for example, a check valve. Referring now to FIG. 3, a side cross-section view of an injection valve 310 is depicted. The injection valve 310 may be coupled to the fuel pump 210 and be, for example, located downstream of the fuel pump 210. The injection valve 310 includes a valve housing 312 defining a valve seat 313 on which a check valve 314 is seated such that a sealing surface 315 of the check valve 314 contacts the valve seat 313 in a closed position of the injection valve 310 so as to prevent flow of the fuel or air/fuel mixture there-through. [0044] In some embodiments, the injection valve 310 is configured to selectively move into an open position (e.g., in response to mechanical or electromagnetic actuation) in which the check valve 314 moves away from the valve seat 313 allowing the fuel or air/fuel mixture to flow through the injection valve 310. In other embodiments, the check valve 314 may be a spring loaded valve that is configured to move from the closed position to the open position in response to a fuel or air/fuel pressure (e.g., being provided by the fuel pump 210) being equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0045] As the piston 214 pumps the fuel, the fuel leaves the piston cylinder 212 through a flow path leading to the injection valve 310. When no fuel is flowing past the check valve 314, the sealing surface 315 of the check valve 314 is in contact with valve seat 313. When the fuel or air/fuel pressure (i.e., fuel pressure times the area of the check valve 314) of the fuel reaches a value larger than the spring force on the check valve (plus the pressure force on the backside of the check valve 314), the check valve 314 starts to move. A flow path for the fuel opens in the region of the valve seat 313. Combined with the torturous flow path of the fuel through the injection valve 310, when the flow path is relatively small, the velocity of the fuel tends to be very high.

This high velocity can cause regions of low pressure in the flow field.

[0046] In simple terms, when the conditions are right for cavitation, low pressure can cause fuel vapor bubbles to form (fuel moving from the liquid phase into the vapor phase). As those vapor bubbles flow to regions of higher static pressure in the flow field, the vapor can collapse back into liquid form very quickly. This collapse can be locally violent and cause fatigue damage to flow path surfaces, for example, the surfaces of the valve seat 313 the sealing surface 315, or other surfaces of the valve housing 312 and/or the check valve 314.

[0047] A specific failure damage mode like cavitation can cause accelerated damage to the component 110, for example, the pump 210 and/or the injection valve 310, and cause the component 110 to have a useable life that is significantly shorter than an overhaul life of the engine 10. Typically, such components come with recommendations that they be replaced after a specified number of hours of use, or after another simple timeframe-measure, for example, the number of gallons of fuel used by the engine 10.

[0048] These recommendations are based on a typical duty cycle of the operation of the component 110 or the engine 10, i.e., based on regular wear and tear experienced by the component 110 during normal operating conditions of the component 110. For example, FIG. 4 is a bar chart illustrating a useful life of a component (e.g., the fuel pump 210 or the injection valve 310) operated on a typical duty cycle. However, such components are operated in a variety of duty cycles or operating conditions depending on the task to be performed and the load that is applied on the engine.

[0049] In instances when the component 110 is operated on a gentle duty cycle (e.g., a vehicle including the engine 10 and the component 110 that is operated by a careful driver), the component 110 may experience relatively less cavitation and in turn be susceptible to relatively less wear and tear such that the useful life of the component 110 is relatively longer than the useful life of the component when the component is operated on relatively harder/more aggressive duty cycle, as shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand when the component 110 is operated on a more aggressive duty cycle, (e.g., a vehicle including the engine 10 and the component 110 is operated by an aggressive driver), the cavitation damage as well as the wear and tear experienced by the component 110 is greater relative to when the component 110 is operated on a typical duty cycle such that the component 110 has a shorter useful life.

[0050] For example, FIG. 6 is bar chart depicting the useful life of a component when operated on an aggressive duty cycle. In such instances, the component 110 may fail earlier than expected according to the predefined threshold thereby leading to expensive unscheduled service events. In this regard, the component 110 may be operated under different cycles over its lifetime, which can significantly affect its useful life. Thus, merely indicating to a user to change the component 110 after a specified number of hours is not optimal for total cost of operation and maintenance efforts. [0051] In contrast and according to the present disclosure, the controller 170 is configured to predict damage, particularly cavitation damage, caused to the component 110 based on operating conditions of the component 110 and/or the engine 10 so as to estimate a RUL of the component based on the actual operational conditions of the component 110. Thus, the RUL estimated by the controller 170 is significantly more accurate than the RUL determined using typical methods.

[0052] As alluded to above, it should be understood that the fuel pump 210 and the injection valve 310 are mere examples of the component 110. In this regard and as described herein, the component 110 can be or include any component that manages/controls fluid flow there-through (e.g., nozzles, valves, fluid conduits, etc.) that may experience cavitation damage. Accordingly, FIGS. 2 and 3 are intended to only illustrate examples of the component 110.

[0053] The controller 170 is coupled to the engine 10 and the component 110. In this regard, the controller 170 may be configured to receive signals, information, data, etc. (e.g., engine operating parameter signals and/or component operating parameter signals) from sensors such as speed sensors, pressure sensors, flow rate sensors, temperature sensors, and/or any other sensors associated with the engine 10 and the component 110 (or any other monitored component or system within the vehicle). The controller 170 may be coupled to the engine 10 and the component 110 using any type and any number of wired or wireless connections. For example, a wired connection may include a serial cable, a fiber optic cable, a CAT5 cable, or any other form of wired connection. Wireless connections may include the Internet, Wi-Fi, cellular, radio, Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc. In one embodiment, a controller area network (CAN) bus provides the exchange of signals, information, and/or data. The CAN bus includes any number of wired and wireless connections.

[0054] In some embodiments, the controller 170 may be configured to enable a damage prediction condition. Enabling the damage prediction condition causes the controller 170 to start determining damage to the component 110 and, particularly, damage caused by cavitation. For example, the damage prediction condition may be enabled in response to the engine 10 turning ON. When the engine 10 is turned OFF, but the controller 170 is turned ON (e.g., when a vehicle including the engine 10 is in an ON position without the engine 10 being started), no damage is occurring to the component 110. Therefore, the controller 170 may stop calculating damage to the component 110 unless the damage prediction condition is enabled. This may save computational power of the controller 170. Another condition may be an explicit user input, such as via a display device of the vehicle that is coupled to the controller 170.

In this way, a user (e.g., an operator or a technician) may affirmatively command operation of predicting or estimating the damage to the component 110. In still another example, the damage condition prediction or estimation may constantly or periodically be performed in real or near real time during operation of the engine 10 and system 100 (e.g., every hour, every few minutes, etc.). Thus, the frequency and triggering of when the damage is predicted or estimated is highly configurable.

[0055] The controller 170 determines an engine operating parameter of the engine 10 and/or a component operating parameter of the component 110. The engine operating parameter may include an engine speed and/or an engine torque. In some embodiments, the component 110 may include a pump (e.g., the fuel pump 210) and the component operating parameter may include a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid (e.g., a fuel or fuel/air mixture) being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, and/or a fluid temperature. In other embodiments, the component 110 may additionally or alternatively be or include an injection valve (e.g., the injection valve 310), and the component operating parameter may include a fluid pressure of a fluid (e.g., fuel or air/fuel mixture) injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, and/or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve. The engine operating parameter and/or the component operating parameter are indicative of an amount of cavitation damage occurring to the component 110 in real or near real time. For example, a high engine speed, fluid pressure, flow rate, fluid temperature, or a high number of injection events may lead to more frequent cavitation events causing greater damage to the component 110.

[0056] The controller 170 is configured to determine a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component 110 due to cavitation at various operational events of the component 110 based on the engine operating parameter(s) and/or the component operating parameter(s). The operational events may include predetermined time intervals at which the controller 170 determines the engine operating parameter(s) and/or the component operating parameter(s), for example, in a range of 1 seconds to 20 seconds (e.g., every 1, 5, 10, 15, or 20 seconds, inclusive).

[0057] The operational event may additionally or alternatively include a pumping event (e.g., a stroke of the piston 214 of the fuel pump 210), an injection event (e.g., opening of the valve 310), and/or any other operational event of the component 110 (i.e., non-time based events). For example, the controller 170 may determine the engine operating parameter and/or the component operating parameter after a predetermined number of pumping events (e.g., every 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 positive displacement cycles of the piston 214, inclusive), or a predetermined number of injection events (e.g., every 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 opening events of the valve 310, inclusive).

[0058] The controller 170 may include a plurality of cavitation damage maps corresponding to the component 110 (e.g., the plurality of cavitation maps may be stored in a memory of the controller 170). The controller 170 may be configured to correlate the engine operating parameter(s) and/or the component operating parameter(s) to the damage map at each time interval (or other non-time based interval) to determine the individual damage to the component 110 per designated interval. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates an example damage map corresponding to the component 110 that may be stored in the memory of the controller 170. While shown as a plot in FIG. 7, the damage map may alternatively be configured as one or more algorithms, equations or lookup tables corresponding to damage, particularly cavitation damage, obtained by the component 110 in response to various engine operating parameters and/or component operating parameters. A plurality of damage maps may be stored in the controller 170 with each damage map corresponding to specific individual components such as the component 110 or any other component whose RUL is intended to be determined.

[0059] The damage map shown in FIG. 7 may be determined using modeling data or empirical data corresponding to damage experienced by components similar to the component 110 (e.g., fuel pumps similar to the fuel pump 210 or injection valves similar to the injection valve 310) when operated at a various engine operating parameter(s) and/or component operating parameter(s). The various engine or component operating parameters may be sensed, measured, determined, or estimated. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the first parameter A may be an engine operating parameter (e.g., engine speed) and the second parameter B may be a component operating parameter (e.g., pump pressure, fluid pressure, fluid flow rate, fluid temperature, etc.). In other embodiments, the first parameter A may be a first component operating parameter and the second parameter B may be a second component operating parameter. Moreover, while FIG. 7 shows a two dimensional damage map configured to indicate damage to the component 110 based on only two parameters, the controller 170 may include damage maps that may correlate 3, 4 or an even higher number of engine operating parameters and/or component operating parameters to an amount of damage sustained by the component 110 at any given time point when operated under specific engine and/or component operating parameters.

[0060] The particular example shown in FIG. 7 illustrates a damage map for a fuel pump. An operational event is counted at a first operating condition (Bl, Al). This event may be a time-period, a movement of a mechanical component, or some other definable occurrence. In the case of a fuel pump, this could be a single pumping event. The first parameter A is the fuel pressure and the second parameter B is the pump speed. As described before, the damage map may have one, two, three, or more input dimensions and may be populated with number of events to failure (instead of damage) depending on the prior- and post-map determinations.

[0061] The controller 170 is configured to determine an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages, and determine the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage. The controller 170 indicates the remaining useful life of the component to a user. For example, the controller 170 may generate a RUL signal indicative of the RUL of the component 110. The RUL information may be stored in the memory of the controller 170 and may be selectively accessed by the user. In other embodiments, the controller 170 may be configured to display the RUL of the component 110 on a display, for example, a dashboard of a vehicle including the engine 10.

[0062] In some embodiments, in response to determining that the RUL of the component 110 is less than a RUL threshold, the controller 170 may generate a fault signal (cause activation of one or more fault codes), light a malfunction indicator lamp, generate datalink messages, indicate to the user that the component 110 should be changed, and/or control various systems of the engine 10. In yet other embodiments, the controller 170 may generate and send a signal over a network (e.g., Wi-Fi, Internet, etc.), such as via a telematics system, to a remote monitor regarding the determined condition of the component. Thus, remote monitoring of the system 100 may be accomplished. In combination with the other embodiments, the controller 170 may be structured to operate the component at higher pressure to mitigate the likelihood of the occurrence of cavitation (but still operable to meet the required demands of the component for operating the vehicle or equipment). Such a situation may prolong operation of the component until service is performed.

[0063] Referring back to FIG. 7 and as shown, the individual event corresponding to the first operating condition (Bl, Al) corresponds with the amount of damage experienced to be lxlO ⁶ (or 1/1, 000, 000^th of the life of the component) where the initial RUL of the component when the component is first installed is set at 1 or 100%. If the component experienced one million events at this operating condition, the life of the component would be consumed and would be expected to fail. In complex loading cases where the component does not operate solely at (Bl, Al), the experienced damage may be accumulated from each operating condition over time. Thus, using a static recommendation for when service of the component should occur is not ideal given the variable operation conditions that the component may experience. For example, FIG. 8 shows the damage map of FIG. 7 showing a second operational event of the fuel pump at a second operational condition (B2, A2). If the component experiences 10,000 events at the first operating condition (Bl, Al) and 1,000,000 events at the second operating condition (B2,A2), the controller 170 may calculate the accumulated damage as follows: [0064] One operational event at (Bl, Al) = 1/1,000,000 (or 0.0001%) life used.

[0065] One operational event at (B2, A2) = 1/10,000,000 (0.00001%) life used.

[0066] Total damage = 10,000 x (1/1,000,000) + 1,000,000 x (1/10,000,000) = 0.11 life used.

[0067] RUL = 1-0.11 = 0.89 or 89%

[0068] It should be understood that these formulas are exemplary only.

[0069] In some embodiments, the controller 170 may also be configured to perform a time projection to predict a component remaining run time in days or hours based on the RUL. Such a projection may be helpful in allowing maintenance efficiency. For example, if during a maintenance visit, a user observes that a certain component’s RUL is 207 hours, the user can then decide whether to immediately install a new component or to wait until the next scheduled maintenance visit. If the next scheduled visit is 1,000 hours from a present time, then an un-scheduled visit (and the associated downtime) may be avoided by changing the component now.

[0070] FIG. 9 shows an example plot of a time projection performed by the controller 170 to predict a component remaining run time of the component. The controller 170 determines the RUL of the component at a first time point and then at a second time point later than the first time point. In this example, the RUL at the second time point corresponds to a 1,750 hour run time of the component, which is 63%.

Using this RUL value and the RUL at the first time point, the rate of RUL decrease, i.e., the slope of the RUL can be calculated. This slope can be projected by the controller 170 so as to indicate the component run time at which the RUL will be 0%, which in the case of FIG. 9 is 4,400 hours. Therefore, the component remaining run time in hours after the second time point would be 4,400 - 1750 = 2,650 hours.

[0071] While FIG. 9 shows a straight lined slope, changes in operational conditions may change the slope. Thus, the controller 170 may be configured to update the component remaining run time calculations and update the predicted component remaining run time using the most recent or relatively newer duty cycle (damage model input) information.

[0072] Referring now to FIG. 10, a schematic block diagram of the controller 170 is shown, according to an example embodiment. The controller 170 may be structured as one or more electronic control units (ECU), such as an engine control module. The ECU may include a transmission control unit and any other control unit included in a vehicle (e.g., exhaust aftertreatment control unit, powertrain control module, etc.) or in a stationary piece of equipment, such as a genset. In the example shown, the controller 170 is included with the system 100 and, particularly, the vehicle including the component. Thus, the operations described herein are performed or facilitated to be performed by an on-board unit - the controller 170. In some embodiments, the controller 170 may comprise a broadcast gateway box to which the one or more sensors associated with the engine 10 and/or the component 110 are operatively coupled. In some embodiments, the controller 170 may be located in the cloud. In such embodiments, the gateway box may be configured to transmit signals to the cloud where the operations of the controller 170 as described herein are performed.

[0073] In another embodiment and as alluded to above, the system 100 may be a part of networked systems, such as an intelligent transportation system (e.g., a vehicle- to-vehicle or vehicle-to-“x” system). Thus, remote monitoring or control, and at least some or all of the operations described herein of the controller 170 may be performed by a remote computing system (e.g., a cloud computing system may receive information from the engine system and component and perform at least some of the determinations described herein). In this embodiment, a telematics unit may be included with the system 100 that transmits received or determined information to the remote computing system for performing at least some of the operations described herein. In this regard, certain functions attributed to certain circuits of the controller 170 may be performed by the remote computing system in order to save on-board computational resources. The remote computing system may include one or more servers, network interfaces, input/output devices, and so on. [0074] In the example shown, the controller 170 is shown to be an on-board controller included with the system 100, which in this embodiment, is a vehicle. Thus, the controller 170 may be one or more electronic control units of the vehicle.

[0075] The controller 170 is shown to include a processor 172, a memory 174, and a communication interface 176. The controller 170 further includes an engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, a component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and a RUL determination circuitry 174c. It should be understood that the controller 170 shows only one embodiment of the controller 170 and any other controller capable of performing the operations described herein can be used.

[0076] In one configuration, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c are embodied as machine or computer-readable media (e.g., stored in the memory 174) that is executable by a processor, such as the processor 172. As described herein and amongst other uses, the machine-readable media (e.g., the memory 174) facilitates performance of certain operations to enable reception and transmission of data. For example, the machine-readable media may provide an instruction (e.g., command, etc.) to, e.g., acquire data. In this regard, the machine- readable media may include programmable logic that defines the frequency of acquisition of the data (or, transmission of the data). Thus, the computer readable media may include code, which may be written in any programming language including, but not limited to, Java or the like and any conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program code may be executed on one processor or multiple processors. In the latter scenario, the processors may be connected to each other through any type of network (e.g., CAN bus, etc.).

[0077] In another configuration, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c are embodied as hardware units, such as electronic control units. As such, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c may be embodied as one or more circuitry components including, but not limited to, processing circuitry, network interfaces, peripheral devices, input devices, output devices, sensors, etc.

[0078] In some embodiments, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c may take the form of one or more analog circuits, electronic circuits (e.g., integrated circuits (IC), discrete circuits, system on a chip (SOCs) circuits, microcontrollers, etc.), telecommunication circuits, hybrid circuits, and any other type of “circuit.” In this regard, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c may include any type of component for accomplishing or facilitating achievement of the operations described herein. For example, a circuit as described herein may include one or more transistors, logic gates (e g., NAND, AND, NOR, OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc ), resistors, multiplexers, registers, capacitors, inductors, diodes, wiring, and so on.

[0079] Thus, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c may also include programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like. In this regard, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c may include one or more memory devices for storing instructions that are executable by the processor(s) of the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c. The one or more memory devices and processor(s) may have the same definition as provided below with respect to the memory 174 and the processor 172.

[0080] In the example shown, the controller 170 includes the processor 172 and the memory 174. The processor 172 and the memory 174 may be structured or configured to execute or implement the instructions, commands, and/or control processes described herein with respect to the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c. Thus, the depicted configuration represents the aforementioned arrangement of the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c where these circuitries are embodied as machine or computer-readable media. However, as mentioned above, this illustration is not meant to be limiting as the present disclosure contemplates other embodiments such as the aforementioned embodiment where the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c, or at least one circuit of the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b, and the RUL determination circuitry 174c are configured as a hardware unit. All such combinations and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0081] The memory 174 may comprise one or more storage devices (e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash Memory, hard disk storage, etc.) that store data and/or computer code for facilitating the various processes described herein. The memory 174 may be coupled to the processor 172 to provide computer code or instructions to the processor 172 for executing at least some of the processes described herein. Moreover, the memory 174 may be or include tangible, non-transient volatile memory or non-volatile memory. Accordingly, the memory 174 may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities and information structures described herein. The memory 174 may be configured to store look up tables, algorithms, or instructions

[0082] The communication interface 176 may include wired or wireless interface(s) (e.g., jacks, antennas, transmitters, receivers, communication interfaces, wire terminals, etc.) for conducting data communications with various systems, devices, or networks. For example, the communication interface 176 may include an Ethernet card and port for sending and receiving data via an Ethernet-based communications network and/or a Wi-Fi communication interface for communicating with the engine 10, the component 110, and/or any other sensors or measurement devices associated with the engine 10 and/or the component 110. The communication interface 176 may be structured to communicate via local area networks or wide area networks (e.g., the Internet, etc.) and may use a variety of communications protocols (e.g., IP, LON, Bluetooth, ZigBee, radio, cellular, near field communication, etc.).

[0083] The engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a is configured to determine an engine operating parameter of the engine 10. For example, the engine operating parameter determination circuitry 174a may receive an engine operating parameter signal from the engine 10 or one or more sensors associated with the engine 10, and determine the engine operating parameter (e.g., engine speed or engine torque) from the engine operating parameter signal.

[0084] The component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b is configured to determine a component operating parameter of the component 110. For example, the component operating parameter determination circuitry 174b may receive a component operating parameter signal from the component 110 or one or more sensors associated with the component 110, and determine the component operating parameter (e.g., pump speed, pump pressure, fluid pressure, fluid flow rate, fluid temperature, etc.) from the component operating parameter signal.

[0085] The RUL determination circuitry 174c is configured to determine the RUL of the component 110, as previously described herein. In some embodiments, the RUL determination circuitry 174c may also be configured to determine the component remaining run time of the component 110, as previously described herein. The RUL determination circuitry 174c may be configured to generate a RUL signal configured to indicate to a user the remaining RUL of component 110. In some embodiments, in response to determining that the RUL of the component is less than a RUL threshold, the RUL determination circuitry 174c may generate a fault signal configured to indicate to the user that the component 110 should be replaced. [0086] FIG. 11 is a schematic flow diagram of an example method 400 for determining a RUL of a component (e.g., the component 110) coupled to an engine (e.g., the engine 10). The method 400 is described with respect to the engine 10, the component 110 and the controller 170.

[0087] The method 400 includes enabling, by the controller 170, a damage prediction condition, at 402. For example, the controller 170 may enable the damage prediction condition in response to the engine 10 turning ON or according to another condition, as previously described herein.

[0088] At 404, the controller 170 determines an engine operating parameter and/or a component operating parameter. For example, based on signals received from the engine 10 and/or the component 110 and/or sensors associated with the engine 10 and/or the component 110, the controller 170 determines an engine operating parameter and/or a component operating parameter.

[0089] At 406, the controller 170 determines a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component 110 due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the engine operating parameter and/or the component operating parameter. At 408, the controller 170 determines an accumulated damage to the component 110 based on the plurality of estimated individual damages, as previously described herein. At 410, the controller 170 determines the RUL of the component 110 based on the accumulated damage. At 412, the controller 170 indicates the RUL of the component 110 to the user.

[0090] As utilized herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “substantially”, and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and claimed are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure as recited in the appended claims.

[0091] It should be noted that the term “exemplary” and variations thereof, as used herein to describe various embodiments, are intended to indicate that such embodiments are possible examples, representations, or illustrations of possible embodiments (and such terms are not intended to connote that such embodiments are necessarily extraordinary or superlative examples).

[0092] The term “coupled” and variations thereof, as used herein, means the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary (e.g., permanent or fixed) or moveable (e.g., removable or releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the two members coupled directly to each other, with the two members coupled to each other using one or more separate intervening members, or with the two members coupled to each other using an intervening member that is integrally formed as a single unitary body with one of the two members. If “coupled” or variations thereof are modified by an additional term (e.g., directly coupled), the generic definition of “coupled” provided above is modified by the plain language meaning of the additional term (e.g., “directly coupled” means the joining of two members without any separate intervening member), resulting in a narrower definition than the generic definition of “coupled” provided above. Such coupling may be mechanical, electrical, or fluidic. For example, circuit A communicably “coupled” to circuit B may signify that the circuit A communicates directly with circuit B (i.e., no intermediary) or communicates indirectly with circuit B (e.g., through one or more intermediaries).

[0093] While various circuits with particular functionality are shown in FIG. 10, it should be understood that the controller 170 may include any number of circuits for completing the functions described herein. For example, the activities and functionalities of the circuits may be combined in multiple circuits or as a single circuit. Additional circuits with additional functionality may also be included. Further, the controller 170 may further control other activity beyond the scope of the present disclosure. [0094] As mentioned above and in one configuration, the “circuits” may be implemented in machine-readable medium for execution by various types of processors. An identified circuit of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified circuit need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the circuit and achieve the stated purpose for the circuit. Indeed, a circuit of computer readable program code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within circuits, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.

[0095] The term “processor” and “processing circuit” are meant to be broadly interpreted. In this regard, the “processor” may be implemented as one or more processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other suitable electronic data processing components structured to execute instructions provided by memory. The one or more processors may take the form of a single core processor, multi-core processor (e.g., a dual core processor, triple core processor, quad core processor, etc.), microprocessor, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may be external to the apparatus, for example the one or more processors may be a remote processor (e.g., a cloud based processor). Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be internal and/or local to the apparatus. In this regard, a given circuit or components thereof may be disposed locally (e.g., as part of a local server, a local computing system, etc.) or remotely (e.g., as part of a remote server such as a cloud based server). To that end, a “circuit” as described herein may include components that are distributed across one or more locations. [0096] Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine- executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data, which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

[0097] Although the figures and description may illustrate a specific order of method steps, the order of such steps may differ from what is depicted and described, unless specified differently above. Also, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence, unless specified differently above. Such variation may depend, for example, on the software and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. All such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software implementations of the described methods could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule-based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps, and decision steps.

[0098] It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the systems and methods as shown in the various exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Additionally, any element disclosed in one embodiment may be incorporated or utilized with any other embodiment disclosed herein. Although only one example of an element from one embodiment that can be incorporated or utilized in another embodiment has been described above, it should be appreciated that other elements of the various embodiments may be incorporated or utilized with any of the other embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A controller for estimating a remaining useful life of a component, the controller comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the damage prediction condition is enabled in response to the engine turning ON.

3. The controller of claim 1, wherein: the component comprises a pump; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, or a fluid temperature.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein: the component comprises an injection valve; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a fluid pressure of a fluid injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve.

5. The controller of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store a cavitation damage map corresponding to the component, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform an operation comprising correlating the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter to the cavitation damage map at each operational event of the component to determine the plurality of estimated individual damages to the component.

6. The controller of claim 1, wherein the operational events comprises predetermined time intervals at which the controller determines at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter.

7. The controller of claim 1, wherein the operational events comprise at least one of a pumping event or an injection event.

8. The controller of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to the determined remaining useful life being less than remaining useful life threshold, generating a fault code.

9. The controller of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform operations comprising: estimating a component remaining run time based on the determined remaining useful life; and indicating the component remaining run time to a user.

10. The controller of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform an operation comprising: performing a time projection based on the determined useful remaining life, the component remaining run time estimated based on the time projection.

11. A method for estimating a remaining useful life of a component, the method comprising: enabling a damage prediction condition; determining at least one of an engine operating parameter of an engine or a component operating parameter of the component; determining a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter; determining an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages; determining the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage; and indicating the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the damage prediction condition is enabled in response to the engine turning on.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein: the component comprises a pump; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, or a fluid temperature.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein: the component comprises an injection valve; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a fluid pressure of a fluid injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: correlating the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter to a cavitation damage map at each operational event of the component to determine the plurality of estimated individual damages to the component.

16. A system, comprising: a component coupled to or associated with an engine; and a controller configured to: enable a damage prediction condition, determine at least one of an engine operating parameter of the engine or a component operating parameter of the component, determine a plurality of estimated individual damages to the component due to cavitation at various operational events of the component based on the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter, determine an accumulated damage to the component based on the plurality of estimated individual damages, determine the remaining useful life of the component based on the accumulated damage, and indicate the remaining useful life of the component to a user.

17 The system of claim 16, wherein the damage prediction condition is enabled in response to the engine turning on.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein: the component comprises a pump; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a pump speed, a fluid pressure of a fluid being pumped by the pump, a fluid flow rate, or a fluid temperature.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein: the component comprises an injection valve; the engine operating parameter comprises at least one of an engine speed or an engine torque; and the component operating parameter comprises at least one of a fluid pressure of a fluid injected through the injection valve, a fluid flow rate, a fluid temperature, or a number of injection events performed by the injection valve.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to: correlate the at least one of the engine operating parameter or the component operating parameter to a cavitation damage map at each operational event of the component to determine the plurality of estimated individual damages to the component.