Circle Criterion Based Nonlinear Observer Design For Leak Detection In Pipelines

This paper presents nonlinear observer design based on the circle criterion for the nonlinear model of a pipeline system, which can be used for leak detection of the pipeline. A nonlinear model of a pipe has been first established under the condition that leaks are uniformly distributed along the pipeline. For a specific case where only two leaks, at most, can occur in the pipeline, two types of observers are designed for the linearized model as well as for the nonlinear model, using linear system observer design technique and the circle criterion respectively. In the end, simulation results are provided to show that the observer designed using the circle criterion has a possible application for leak detection.