Observability and the design of fault tolerant estimation using structural analysis

Abstract

This chapter presents a structural analysis approach for the design of fault tolerant estimation algorithms. The general fault tolerance problem setting is first given, and structural analysis is presented in the component based modeling frame. An original condition for structural observability is developed, which is constructive, since it allows to identify those Data Flow Diagrams by which unknown variables can be estimated, both in healthy and in faulty conditions. The link with two basic dependability concepts, namely critical faults and reliability is shown. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.