An Interval Estimator for Chlorine Monitoring in Drinking Water Distribution Systems Under Uncertain System Dynamics, Inputs and Chlorine Concentration Measurement Errors

The design of an interval observer for estimation of unmeasured state variables with application to drinking water distribution systems is described. In particular, the design process of such an observer is considered for estimation of the water quality described by the concentration of free chlorine. The interval observer is derived to produce the robust interval bounds on the estimated water quality state variables. The stability and robustness of the interval observer are investigated under uncertainty in system dynamics, inputs, initial conditions and measurement errors. The bounds on the estimated variables are generated by solving two systems of first-order ordinary differential equations. For that reason, despite a large scale of the systems, the numerical efficiency is sufficient for the on-line monitoring of the water quality. Finally, in order to validate the performance of the observer, it is applied to the model of a real water distribution network.