High order disturbance observer design for linear and nonlinear systems

In this paper, a disturbance observer is proposed for nonlinear systems with high order disturbance, where not only disturbance but also its high order derivatives are estimated. The relationship of the proposed observer with the existing results is discussed. Then, the result is further extended to the case of minimal-order output-based disturbance observer design for linear systems subject to high order disturbances. Two practical examples about actuator fault diagnosis for a nonlinear missile system and disturbance estimation for a double-effect pilot plant evaporator system with unobservable states are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.