Remaining useful life in complex multi-component systems: taxonomy, review, and research directions

Abstract

Current research into remaining useful life (RUL) has a strong emphasis on single-component or simple multi-component systems. As such, it often fails to account for the interactions between components and systems, as well as the impact of high fluctuations in operating conditions. The existing body of literature on RUL is therefore only marginally applicable to researchers and asset managers dealing with complex, multi-component systems, such as cars, trains, or ships. At the same time, the substantial costs involved in acquiring and maintaining these complex systems make optimising maintenance management through a condition-based approach a potentially valuable avenue for improving life-cycle performance. In this paper, we firstly define and clarify the distinction between simple and complex multi-component systems. Secondly, we explore the consequences of this distinction for RUL estimation. Next, we review existing literature on RUL in the context of complex systems, and finally, we distil opportunities and gaps for further research into such systems. Our goal is to provide a reference point for more comprehensive research and better application development in the domain of RUL calculations for complex systems.