A reinforcement learning agent for maintenance of deteriorating systems with increasingly imperfect repairs
提出一种基于双深度Q网络的强化学习智能体，用于生成退化系统的最优维护策略，该策略无需预设预防阈值，能处理连续退化状态，并显著降低长期成本。
Efficient maintenance has always been essential for the successful application of engineering systems. However, the challenges to be overcome in the implementation of Industry 4.0 necessitate new paradigms of maintenance optimization. Machine learning techniques are becoming increasingly used in engineering and maintenance, with reinforcement learning being one of the most promising. In this paper, we propose a gamma degradation process together with a novel maintenance model in which repairs are increasingly imperfect, i.e., the beneficial effect of system repairs decreases as more repairs are performed, reflecting the degradational behavior of real-world systems. To generate maintenance policies for this system, we developed a reinforcement-learning-based agent using a Double Deep Q-Network architecture. This agent presents two important advantages: it works without a predefined preventive threshold, and it can operate in a continuous degradation state space. Our agent learns to behave in different scenarios, showing great flexibility. In addition, we performed an analysis of how changes in the main parameters of the environment affect the maintenance policy proposed by the agent. The proposed approach is demonstrated to be appropriate and to significatively improve long-run cost as compared with other common maintenance strategies.