Expert system for insulation diagnosis and management

Based on the aging mechanism of insulation systems and service experiences, an expert system (ES) for insulation diagnosis and management is constructed with a new feature of object-oriented programming and software/code reuse. By applying the research achievements of artificial intelligence (AI) such as artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, etc., the inference engine of the ES could be more efficient and a higher diagnosis accuracy could be yielded. Up to now, expert systems with the mentioned features for some power distribution bureaus have been developed and put into service. With the rapid development of Intranet/Internet, ES is challenged by new requests such as data and knowledge sharing. Accordingly, the ES is adjusted to the well-known two-layered Client/Server (C/S) architecture or the three-layered Web application, where all the data and knowledge used in ES is managed by the database server as well as the services packages. With two or three layered open architecture, the ES is more flexible, extensible and compatible with other management information systems (MIS) in the enterprise Intranets also.