THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GENERIC EXPERT SYSTEM FOR FAILURE ANALYSIS

This thesis describes work carried out from October 1993 to October 1996 on the
development of a generic expert system for failure analysis at Southampton University. The design and implementation of the expert system are discussed together with issues relating to the presentation of failure analysis expertise and diagnosis.
The aim of this project was to develop methodologies for the representation of failure analysis knowledge and information, within systems that aid the engineer to decide the reasons for the failure of engineering components and to suggest remedial actions. The building of a failure analysis expert system based on metallic materials failures was considered and found feasible, if undertaken by a hybrid approach of case based reasoning with additional rules. The collection and knowledge engineering of accurate and relevant information is central to this work, and methods of collection of this data through failure case histories and of checking their accuracy through expert system evaluation, data-mining of online data bases and a user survey are discussed. Methods of dissemination are presented and developed into applications using multimedia, and the world wide web. All these applications illustrate methods, styles, and technologies suitable for use by engineers and academia to use the engineered ‘failure analysis’ knowledge to develop this expert system or other applications of their own and extend the understanding of failure analysis and so to reduce the propensity for failures.