Incorporating system dynamics in case-based reasoning for process operation support

Case-based reasoning (CBR) was proposed based on the concept that human memory is episodic in nature. It has been successfully applied to solving many different types of problems. However, CBR methods are mostly static in nature. Process operation support systems require a CBR method that can represent system dynamics and fault propagation phenomena. To solve this problem, a new CBR approach, namely dynamic case-based reasoning (DCBR), is developed. DCBR introduces a number of new mechanisms including time-tagged indexes, dynamic and composite features, and multiple indexing paths. As a result, it provides flexible case adaptation, timely and accurate problem solving, and ability to incorporate other computational and reasoning methods.