Prognostics: a literature review

Integrated systems health management (ISHM) is an enabling technology used to preserve safe and reliable operation of complex engineering systems. It also helps in reducing processing and operation time, manpower and cost, and increasing system availability and utility. ISHM includes various technologies ranging from design, analysis, build, and verify to operate and maintain. Prognostics is one of the most challenging and beneficial aspects of ISHM. Knowledge of the remaining useful life using prognostics can make a significant paradigm shift in ISHM. Researchers that have new interest in prognostics need to read hundreds of articles to have a complete picture about prognostics and its relation to other disciplines. Our contribution to solving this problem is by introducing the first comprehensive vision about prognostics as a part of ISHM in a single literature review paper. We focus on prognostics benefits, approaches, applications, and challenges. This paper can be considered as the starting point for studying prognostics and health management.