Due to the complex static, dynamic, and large-scale characteristics for modern industrial processes, in this article, we propose a double-layer distributed monitoring approach based on multiblock slow feature analysis and multiblock independent component analysis. To this end, the processed dataset is divided into the static and dynamic blocks on the basis of the sequential information of each variable in the first layer. Considering the correlations between the variables in the large-scale processes, the sequential correlation matrices in two blocks are calculated, which serves as the second-layer block division rule. Then, the static and dynamic blocks are further divided into several static and dynamic subblocks in which the variables in each subblock are strongly correlated and in the same state. The slow feature analysis and independent component analysis monitoring models are, respectively, generated for the dynamic and static subblocks. Finally, the monitoring results in each subblock are integrated by Bayesian inference to get the final statistics. The average fault detection rate of the proposed method for the Tennessee Eastman process is 0.842, while those of the other traditional methods are lower than 0.75, which shows the advantages of the proposed method.

The overall performance of complex industrial systems using control and optimization strategies is often hampered by the lack of available measurements of key quality variables. The development of a soft sensor is a solution that allows for the necessary process information to be made available. Due to the nonlinear characteristics of industrial processes, a new soft sensor development approach that incorporates infrequent, variable time delayed measurements is proposed. Based on the fast-sampled measurement and the nonlinear, first principles model, the frequent and delay-free key performance indicator (KPI) estimation is realized using the square-root unscented Kalman filter (SR-UKF). Then, a modified Kalman Filter (MKF) algorithm is proposed to deal with those infrequent, but accurate measurements, whose values are variably delayed in time. These two types of estimates are fused and optimized to give an optimal, reliable KPI estimate based on the distributed state fusion UKF filter algorithm. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed approach are demonstrated by an experimental application for alumina concentration monitoring in the aluminum electrolysis industry.

Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II is a classical multi-objective optimization algorithm but it suffers from poor diversity and the tendency to fall into a local optimum. In this paper, we propose an improved non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, which aims to address the issues of poor global optimization ability and poor convergence ability. The improved NSGA-II algorithm not only uses Levy distribution for global search, which enables the algorithm to search a wider range, but also improves the local search capability by using the relatively concentrated search property of random walk. Moreover, an adaptive balance parameter is designed to adjust the respective contributions of the exploration and exploitation abilities, which lead to a faster search of the algorithm. It helps to expand the search area, which increases the diversity of the population and avoids getting trapped in a local optimum. The superiority of the improved NSGA-II algorithm is demonstrated through benchmark test functions and a practical application. It is shown that the improved strategy provides an effective improvement in the convergence and diversity of the traditional algorithm.