Monitoring system for detecting degradation of a propulsion subsystem

1. A system comprising:

a sensor configured to detect a parameter of a propulsion subsystem of a vehicle; and

one or more controllers,

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is configured to generate a first trip plan and to automatically control the vehicle according to the first trip plan;

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is operatively connected to the sensor and configured to receive the parameter of the propulsion subsystem, calculate a cumulative damage of a component of the propulsion subsystem based on the parameter, and determine an end of life of the component relative to the cumulative damage;

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is configured to generate a new trip plan or modify the first trip plan into a modified trip plan based on at least one of the cumulative damage or the end of life, where the new trip plan or the modified trip plan is configured, during operation of the vehicle according to the new trip plan or the modified trip plan, for at least one of an adjustment in velocity or avoiding one or more operating conditions of the vehicle, relative to the first trip plan, which results in less wear or use of the component relative to operation of the vehicle according to the first trip plan;

wherein the propulsion subsystem includes an oil filter, the one or more controllers configured to identify an amount of time between a shut down to reduce oil from passing through oil filter; and

wherein the one or more controllers are configured to use the amount of time to determine at least one of a clean oil filter, a mass on the oil filter, or damage to the oil filter.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to display a diagnostic message to alert for possible damage to the oil filter based on the amount of time, and the one or more controllers are configured to adjust at least one of a throttle of the vehicle or control settings of the first trip plan that applied to the vehicle during travel along a trip plan based on the damage to the oil filter.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to adjust one or more throttle settings that are designated in the first trip plan for controlling the vehicle during a trip plan, based on the cumulative damage of the component.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to adjust the one or more throttle settings or a schedule of the vehicle based on a component repair cost of the component.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to determine a usage duty cycle of the propulsion subsystem, and to determine the cumulative damage based on the usage duty cycle.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to determine the end of life based on a non-zero threshold, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to adjust a tractive effort of the propulsion subsystem based on the cumulative damage.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to calculate a rainflow cycle count matrix to determine a level of fatigue or stress exhibited by the propulsion subsystem based on a throttle of the vehicle, and the one or more controllers are configured to determine the cumulative damage based on the rainflow cycle count matrix.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to determine a non-zero threshold based on a rainflow cycle count matrix, and the one or more controllers are configured to determine the end of life based on the non-zero threshold.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to adjust at least one of a throttle, a brake, or a schedule of a trip plan of the propulsion subsystem to reduce damage of the component of the cumulative damage.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to determine the end of life based on a morphology of the parameter and another parameter that is detected by the sensor or another sensor.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to acquire at least one of a rotor speed, a pressure, or a temperature of the propulsion subsystem as the parameter.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the new trip plan or modify the first trip plan based on a projected life of a component of the propulsion subsystem, the one or more controllers set a non-zero threshold based on the projected life of the component, wherein the projected life represents an amount of operable life of the component prior to the end of life.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to calculate predicted cumulative damages of the component of the propulsion subsystem based on successive trip plans of the vehicle, the one or more controllers configured to determine different failure trajectories of the component to identify the end of life of the component based on the failure trajectories to determine the end of life.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate an alert on a display when the end of life is reached.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the alert is at least one of a visual or an audible alert, and the alert automatically schedules maintenance for the component.

16. A method comprising:

receiving from one or more sensors parameters measured from a propulsion subsystem of a vehicle, the propulsion subsystem including an oil filter;

calculating a cumulative damage of a component of the propulsion subsystem based on the parameters;

generating a first trip plan, wherein the first trip plan includes control settings to automatically control the vehicle during a trip plan;

determining an end of life of the component relative to the cumulative damage;

generating a new trip plan for controlling the vehicle during the trip plan or modifying the first trip plan into a modified trip plan responsive to and based on at least one of the cumulative damage or the end of life;

identifying an amount of time between a shut down to reduce oil from passing through oil filter; and

using the amount of time to determine at least one of a clean oil filter, a mass on the oil filter, or damage to the oil filter.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising, adjusting one or more throttle settings that are designated in the first trip plan for controlling the vehicle during a trip plan, based on the cumulative damage of the component.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising calculating a predicted cumulative damage of the component of the propulsion subsystem based on successive trip plans of the vehicle; and

determining different trajectories of the component to identify an end of life of the component based on a probability of failure representing the end of life, wherein the end of life represents an amount of operable life of the component prior to the end of life.

19. A system comprising:

a sensor configured to detect a parameter of a propulsion subsystem of a vehicle; and

one or more controllers,

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is configured to generate a first trip plan and to automatically control the vehicle according to the first trip plan;

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is operatively connected to the sensor and configured to receive the parameter of the propulsion subsystem, calculate a cumulative damage of a component of the propulsion subsystem based on the parameter, and determine an end of life of the component relative to the cumulative damage;

wherein at least one of the one or more controllers is configured to generate a new trip plan or modify the first trip plan into a modified trip plan based on at least one of the cumulative damage or the end of life, where the new trip plan or the modified trip plan is configured, during operation of the vehicle according to the new trip plan or the modified trip plan, for at least one of an adjustment in velocity or avoiding one or more operating conditions of the vehicle, relative to the first trip plan, which results in less wear or use of the component relative to operation of the vehicle according to the first trip plan;

wherein the one or more controllers are configured to calculate predicted cumulative damages of the component of the propulsion subsystem based on successive trip plans of the vehicle, the one or more controllers configured to determine different failure trajectories of the component to identify the end of life of the component based on the failure trajectories to determine the end of life.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the propulsion subsystem includes an oil filter, the one or more controllers configured to identify an amount of time between a shut down to reduce oil from passing through oil filter; and

wherein the one or more controllers are configured to use the amount of time to determine at least one of a clean oil filter, a mass on the oil filter, or damage to the oil filter.