Distributed fault-tolerant control approach for discrete event systems using timed automata with guards: application to an electric power network

Abstract This paper proposes a new distributed Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) method for discrete event systems based on timed automata with guards (TAGs) and min-plus algebra. The principle is to design FTC for subsystems that are synchronised by a coordinator to achieve the objectives of the global system. The local faults are dealt with at the subsystem level, while the global faults affecting more than one part are managed at a global level. This approach considerably reduces the size of the models compared to the centralized FTC method, and it is then suited to large-scale automated systems. Indeed, using timed TAG models and min-plus algebra, an appropriate reconfiguration path is automatically selected in real time in response to a detected fault. For the verification and validation of the theoretical results, the FTC methodology is applied to an automated electrical power supply grid for rail transport systems. In this study, we consider four types of faults: sensor faults, actuator faults, plant faults and controller faults that may appear on an electrical network.