Diagnostic Tools for Shipboard Systems
Using Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring

Navy ships rely heavily on electrical systems, and thus also require high-quality electrical monitoring tools. Ideally, a simple monitoring tool will automate sensor data analysis and reduce the number of sensors needed.

MIT's ESRDC effort has been developing such a tool with Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), which can determine the operating schedule of all major loads as well as the "health" of all major loads. Some advantages of NILM: it requires a minimal suite of sensors; it combines automated data collection with automated data analysis; and it provides dual-use of electrical wiring.

MIT researchers have tested NILM on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter SENECA, diagnosing coupling failures and determining the presence of leaks in cycling systems, including the ship's vacuum-assisted waste disposal system. The success with these tests, as well as modeling efforts, indicate that NILM is capable of diagnosing problems in critical shipboard systems.

MIT's NILM research has been led by by Professor Steve Leeb of MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. These efforts have been closely coordinated with research of the Virtual Test Bed group at the University of South Carolina and research of Professor Steven Shaw at Montana State University. Professor Dale Word of the University of California, Chico, has also been a collaborator.