Design of Linear Residual Generators for Combined Fault Detection and Estimation in Nonlinear Systems

Abstract

A systematic method for the design of linear residual generators for combined fault detection and estimation in nonlinear systems is developed. The proposed residual generator is a linear functional observer built for an extended system that incorporates the fault dynamics from a linear exo-system, and in addition possesses disturbance-decoupling properties. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of such residual generators for nonlinear systems are derived. As long as these conditions are satisfied, we obtain explicit design formulas for the residual generator. The results are illustrated through a chemical reactor case study, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.