Applications of data compression in health management systems

The primary focus of this effort is to establish the backbone of a comprehensive data management system by developing various types of data compression algorithms. The specific intent of this project is the better management of aircraft engine usage data in real time making it more efficient, manageable and effective. Health management systems Currently rely on the monitoring of various parameters to accurately assess overall system performance. Sensor networks measure or estimate these various parameters in attempt to properly simulate the dynamics of the system. Aerospace OEM's use this information to provide significant enhancements to system reliability and life prediction algorithms. However, this improved capability comes at a cost in terms of bandwidth, data storage, and system complexity due to the high volume of recorded data. VEXTEC Corporation has developed intelligent data compression methods using the fundamental techniques of data compression and sequencing. These methods produce average compression ratios ranging from 27:1 to 200:1 while accurately matching the original signal within tolerance. This effort clearly demonstrates the ability to achieve high compression of engine usage data for use in a health management system. Further work in optimizing data set specific compression schemes will further enhance the utility of such systems.