Missing data filling in soft sensing using denoising diffusion probability model

Abstract With the aim of addressing the problem of degradation in soft measurement accuracy due to missing data in industrial processes, a filling method based on the denoising diffusion probability model (DDPM) is proposed here to improve the accuracy of soft measurement modeling. First, missing regions are detected with the help of an improved Isolation Forest algorithm to obtain information such as the locations and numbers of missing data regions. Next, a data generation model is constructed based on DDPM and new samples are obtained. By adjusting the threshold for normal operation of the system and the weight sampler, filler samples that are similar to the distribution of the original data can be filtered from the new samples to form a complete dataset. The feasibility of the proposed missing data filling method is explored through numerical simulations, and its superiority in terms of improving the prediction accuracy of soft measurements is verified in regard to the nickel flash smelting process.