Assessment of Slow Feature Analysis and Its Variants for Fault Diagnosis in Process Industries

Accurate monitoring of complex industrial plants is crucial for ensuring safe operations and reliable management of desired quality. Early detection of abnormal events is essential to preempt serious consequences, enhance system performance, and reduce manufacturing costs. In this work, we propose a novel methodology for fault detection based on Slow Feature Analysis (SFA) tailored for time series models and statistical process control. Fault detection is critical in process monitoring and can ensure that systems operate efficiently and safely. This study investigates the effectiveness of various multivariate statistical methods, including Slow Feature Analysis (SFA), Kernel Slow Feature Analysis (KSFA), Dynamic Slow Feature Analysis (DSFA), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in detecting faults within the Tennessee Eastman (TE), Benchmark Simulation Model No. 1 (BSM 1) datasets and Beijing wastewater treatment plant (real world). Our comprehensive analysis indicates that KSFA and DSFA significantly outperform traditional methods by providing enhanced sensitivity and fault detection capabilities, particularly in complex, nonlinear, and dynamic data environments. The comparative analysis underscores the superior performance of KSFA and DSFA in capturing comprehensive process behavior, making them robust, cutting-edge choices for advanced fault detection applications. Such methodologies promise substantial improvements in industrial plant monitoring, contributing to heightened system reliability, safety, and overall operational efficiency.