Hidden interactions in analog circuits

A model-based diagnosis procedure traces connections between components only where these are provided explicitly in the system description. Structure faults limit the scope of model-based diagnosis. In [Böttcher 95] we presented an approach to diagnose hidden interactions, a sub-type of structure faults. In [Böttcher, Schick 94] we successfully applied our strategy to treat leak interactions of a ballast tank system. On a first look our approach seems strikingly simple and further applications seem to be in reach. The strategy depends on certain presumptions, however. The paper reports on a series of experiments in the domain of analog electronic circuits, in order to further explore the range of applications for our approach. The experiments investigate how far the presumptions are met in this application field as well. It turned out, that as in conventional model-based diagnosis the quality of the model of correct behaviour has a crucial influence on the success.