Application of a Pattern-Recognition Neural Network for Detecting Analog Electronic Circuit Faults

Abstract

In this study, machine learning techniques based on the development of a pattern–recognition neural network were used for fault diagnosis in an analog electronic circuit to detect the individual hard faults (open circuits and short circuits) that may arise in a circuit. The ability to determine faults in the circuit was analyzed through the availability of a small number of measurements in the circuit, as test points are generally not accessible for verifying the behavior of all the components of an electronic circuit. It was shown that, despite the existence of a small number of measurements in the circuit that characterize the existing faults, the network based on pattern-recognition functioned adequately for the detection and classification of the hard faults. In addition, once the neural network has been trained, it can be used to analyze the behavior of the circuit versus variations in its components, with a wider range than that used to develop the neural network, in order to analyze the ability of the ANN to predict situations different from those used to train the ANN and to extract valuable information that may explain the behavior of the circuit.