Model-Based Fault Diagnosis and Fault Tolerant Control for Safety-Critical Chemical Reactors: A Case Study of an Exothermic Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor.

In safety-critical chemical reactors with potential hazards, reaction kinetics and heat transfer parameters are usually known, and a mathematical model is available. It is then meaningful to base fault detection and isolation algorithms on the first-principles model as opposed to statistics, so that physically meaningful residual signals are generated from material and/or energy balances not closing, leading to reliable fault diagnosis. Additionally, to maintain the safety of the entire system, it is necessary to take appropriate control action based on the mathematical model and the identified faults, to minimize their impact and thus ensure safe operation.