On the sliding‐mode control of fractional‐order nonlinear uncertain dynamics

This paper deals with applications of sliding‐mode‐based fractional control techniques to address tracking and stabilization control tasks for some classes of nonlinear uncertain fractional‐order systems. Both single‐input and multi‐input systems are considered. A second‐order sliding‐mode approach is taken, in suitable combination with PI‐based design, in the single‐input case, while the unit‐vector approach is the main tool of reference in the multi‐input case. Sliding manifolds containing fractional derivatives of the state variables are used in the present work. Constructive tuning conditions for the control parameters are derived by Lyapunov analysis, and the convergence properties of the proposed schemes are supported by simulation results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SECOND‐ORDER TERMINAL SLIDING MODE CONTROL OF INPUT‐DELAY SYSTEMS

This paper proposes a second‐order terminal sliding mode control for a class of uncertain input‐delay systems. The input‐delay systems are firstly converted into the input‐delay free systems and further converted into the regular forms. A linear sliding mode manifold is predesigned to represent the ideal dynamics of the system. Another terminal sliding mode manifold surface is presented to drive the linear sliding mode to reach zeros in finite time. In order to eliminate the chattering phenomena, a second‐order sliding mode method is utilized to filter the high frequency switching control signal. The uncertainties of the systems are analysed in detail to show the effect to the systems. The simulation results validate the method presented in the paper.     

Sliding mode control approaches to the robust regulation of linear multivariable fractional‐order dynamics

Sliding mode control approaches are developed to stabilize a class of linear uncertain fractional‐order dynamics. After making a suitable transformation that simplifies the sliding manifold design, two sliding mode control schemes are presented. The first one is based on the conventional discontinuous first‐order sliding mode control technique. The second scheme is based on the chattering‐free second‐order sliding mode approach that leads to the same robust performance but using a continuous control action. Simple controller tuning formulas are constructively developed along the paper by Lyapunov analysis. The simulation results confirm the expected performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal discrete higher‐order sliding mode control of uncertain LTI systems with partial state information

The concept of discrete higher‐order sliding mode has received increased attention in the recent literature. This paper presents an optimal discrete higher‐order sliding mode control for an uncertain discrete LTI system using partial state information, which has been missing in literature. A new technique is proposed to design an optimal time‐varying higher‐order sliding surface and control input through the minimization of a quadratic performance index. Moreover, disturbance estimation technique is utilized to modify the control algorithm to reduce the width of the discrete higher‐order sliding mode band. The proposed algorithm is experimentally validated on a rectilinear plant. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Second‐order sliding mode controller design subject to mismatched unbounded perturbations

The dynamics of the second‐order sliding mode (SOSM) can be obtained by directly taking the second derivative on the sliding variable when it has a relative degree of 2 with respect to the control input. However, there will always appear some state‐dependent certain or uncertain terms in the first derivative of the sliding variable, and the derivative directly imposed on these terms could enlarge the uncertainties in the control channel. One method to reduce the uncertainties in the control channel is to hold this information in the dynamics of the first derivative of the sliding variable, while the original SOSM dynamics could be transformed to be a SOSM system with a mismatched unbounded perturbation. This paper focuses on the controller design problem for SOSM dynamics subject to mismatched unbounded perturbation. By using Lyapunov analysis, a novel backstepping‐like design methodology will be proposed. The rigorous mathematical proof will show that under the derived SOSM controller, the closed‐loop sliding mode dynamics is globally finite‐time stable. Meanwhile, the frequently used constant upper bound assumptions for the standard SOSM system can also be extended to the state‐dependent hypotheses in this paper. An academic example is illustrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heterogeneous consensus of higher‐order multi‐agent systems with mismatched uncertainties using sliding mode control

A robust consensus controller is proposed for heterogeneous higher‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems, when the agent dynamics are involved with mismatched uncertainties. A distributed consensus protocol based on a time‐varying nonhomogeneous finite‐time disturbance observer and sliding mode control is designed to realize the network consensus of higher‐order multi‐agent systems. The time‐varying finite‐time disturbance observer overcomes the problem of peaking value near the initial time caused by the constant gain one and is designed to estimate the uncertainties and to mitigate the effect of mismatched uncertainties during the sliding mode. To eliminate the chattering phenomenon and ensure finite‐time convergence to the sliding surface, the control law is designed by using the super twisting algorithm. Finally numerical simulations are given to illustrate the validity of the proposed method. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acceleration of finite‐time stable homogeneous systems

Stabilization rates of power‐integrator chains are easily regulated. It provides a framework for acceleration of uncertain multiple‐input–multiple‐output dynamic systems of known relative degrees (RDs). The desired rate of the output stabilization (sliding‐mode control) is ensured for an uncertain system if its RD is known, and a rough approximation of the high‐frequency gain matrix is available. The uniformly bounded convergence time (fixed‐time stability) is obtained as a particular case. The control can be kept continuous everywhere except the sliding‐mode set if the partial RDs are equal. Similarly, uncertain smooth systems of complete multiple‐input–multiple‐output RDs (ie, lacking zero dynamics) are stabilized by continuous control at their equilibria in finite time and are accelerated. Output‐feedback controllers are constructed. Computer simulation demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

Reduced‐order design of high‐order sliding mode control system

To design an rth (r>2) order sliding mode control system, a sliding variable and its derivatives of up to (r ? 1) are in general required for the control implementation. This paper proposes a reduced‐order design algorithm using only the sliding variable and its derivatives of up to (r ? 2) as the extension of the second‐order asymptotic sliding mode control. For a linear time‐invariant continuous‐time system with disturbances, it is found that a high‐order sliding mode can be reached locally and asymptotically by a reduced‐order sliding mode control law if the sum of the system poles is less than the sum of the system zeros. The robust stability of the reduced‐order high‐order sliding mode control system, including the convergence to the high‐order sliding mode and the convergence to the origin is proved by two Lyapunov functions. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed consensus control for multi‐agent systems using terminal sliding mode and Chebyshev neural networks

This paper investigates the problem of consensus tracking control for second‐order multi‐agent systems in the presence of uncertain dynamics and bounded external disturbances. The communication ?ow among neighbor agents is described by an undirected connected graph. A fast terminal sliding manifold based on lumped state errors that include absolute and relative state errors is proposed, and then a distributed finite‐time consensus tracking controller is developed by using terminal sliding mode and Chebyshev neural networks. In the proposed control scheme, Chebyshev neural networks are used as universal approximators to learn unknown nonlinear functions in the agent dynamics online, and a robust control term using the hyperbolic tangent function is applied to counteract neural‐network approximation errors and external disturbances, which makes the proposed controller be continuous and hence chattering‐free. Meanwhile, a smooth projection algorithm is employed to guarantee that estimated parameters remain within some known bounded sets. Furthermore, the proposed control scheme for each agent only employs the information of its neighbor agents and guarantees a group of agents to track a time‐varying reference trajectory even when the reference signals are available to only a subset of the group members. Most importantly, finite‐time stability in both the reaching phase and the sliding phase is guaranteed by a Lyapunov‐based approach. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controller and show that the proposed controller exceeds to a linear hyperplane‐based sliding mode controller. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization‐based adaptive sliding mode control with application to vehicle dynamics control

This paper presents the design of a new adaptive optimization‐based second‐order sliding mode control algorithm for uncertain nonlinear systems. It is designed on the basis of a second‐order sliding mode control with optimal reaching, with the aim of reducing the control effort while maintaining all the positive aspects in terms of finite‐time convergence and robustness in front of matched uncertainties. These features are beneficial to guarantee good performance in case of vehicle dynamics control, a crucial topic in the light of the increasing demand of semiautonomous and autonomous driving capabilities in commercial vehicles. The new proposal is theoretically analyzed, as well as verified relying on an extensive comparative study, carried out on a realistic simulator of a 4‐wheeled vehicle, in the case of a lateral stability control system.     

Impulsive second‐order sliding mode control in reduced information environment

The perturbed system with input‐output dynamics of arbitrary and well‐defined relative degree is considered in a reduced information environment. A novel impulsive second‐order sliding mode control in the reduced information environment is proposed. The almost instantaneous convergence to the origin is achieved via impulsive control acting in a concert with second‐order sliding mode control, specifically supertwisting and twisting algorithms. The impulsive actions are implemented in a piecewise constant format. Numerical examples illustrate the efficiency of the proposed control algorithms.     

Robust fault diagnosis and fault‐tolerant control for non‐Gaussian uncertain stochastic distribution control systems

The purpose of fault diagnosis of stochastic distribution control systems is to use the measured input and the system output probability density function to obtain the fault estimation information. A fault diagnosis and sliding mode fault‐tolerant control algorithms are proposed for non‐Gaussian uncertain stochastic distribution control systems with probability density function approximation error. The unknown input caused by model uncertainty can be considered as an exogenous disturbance, and the augmented observation error dynamic system is constructed using the thought of unknown input observer. Stability analysis is performed for the observation error dynamic system, and the H_∞ performance is guaranteed. Based on the information of fault estimation and the desired output probability density function, the sliding mode fault‐tolerant controller is designed to make the post‐fault output probability density function still track the desired distribution. This method avoids the difficulties of design of fault diagnosis observer caused by the uncertain input, and fault diagnosis and fault‐tolerant control are integrated. Two different illustrated examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sliding mode learning control of non‐minimum phase nonlinear systems

In this paper, a novel robust sliding mode learning control scheme is developed for a class of non‐minimum phase nonlinear systems with uncertain dynamics. It is shown that the proposed sliding mode learning controller, designed based on the most recent information of the stability status of the closed‐loop system, is capable of adjusting the control signal to drive the sliding variable to reach the sliding surface in finite time and remain on it thereafter. The closed‐loop dynamics including both observable and non‐observable ones are then guaranteed to asymptotically converge to zero in the sliding mode. The developed learning control method possesses many appealing features including chattering‐free characteristic, strong robustness with respect to uncertainties. More importantly, the prior information of the bounds of uncertainties is no longer required in designing the controller. Numerical examples are presented in comparison with the conventional sliding mode control and backstepping control approaches to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exact state estimation for linear systems with unknown inputs based on hierarchical super‐twisting algorithm

A robust hierarchical observer is designed for linear time invariant systems with unknown bounded inputs under conditions of strong observability, providing exact state estimation. The main condition for designing the state estimator is the, so‐called, strong observability condition. The supertwisting (second‐order sliding mode) algorithm is used in each step of the hierarchy; the continuity of the supertwisting output injection allows to reconstruct a vector formed by some full column rank matrix premultiplied by the state vector, and that vector is obtained in a finite time and without any sort of filtration. For the case when the unknown inputs are considered as constant uncertain parameters, the continuous version of the least‐square method is developed. Two numerical examples illustrate the efficiency of the suggested technique. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust sliding mode‐based extremum‐seeking controller for reaction systems via uncertainty estimation approach

This paper deals with the design of a robust sliding mode‐based extremum‐seeking controller aimed at the online optimization of a class of uncertain reaction systems. The design methodology is based on an input–output linearizing method with variable‐structure feedback, such that the closed‐loop system converges to a neighborhood of the optimal set point with sliding mode motion. In contrast with previous extremum‐seeking control algorithms, the control scheme includes a dynamic modelling‐error estimator to compensate for unknown terms related with model uncertainties and unmeasured disturbances. The proposed online optimization scheme does not make use of a dither signal or a gradient‐based optimization algorithm. Practical stabilizability for the closed‐loop system around to the unknown optimal set point is analyzed. Numerical experiments for two nonlinear processes illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed robust control scheme. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output‐feedback tracking in causal nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems using higher‐order sliding modes

Asymptotic output‐feedback tracking in a class of causal nonminimum phase uncertain nonlinear systems is addressed via sliding mode techniques. Sliding mode control is proposed for robust stabilization of the output tracking error in the presence of a bounded disturbance. The output reference profile and the unknown input/disturbance are supposed to be described by unknown linear exogenous systems of a given order. Local asymptotic stability of the output tracking error dynamics along with the boundedness of the internal states are proven. The unstable internal states are estimated asymptotically via the proposed multistage observer that is based on the method of extended system center. A higher‐order sliding mode observer/differentiator is used for the exact estimation of the input–output states in a finite time. The bounded disturbance is reconstructed asymptotically. A numerical example illustrates the efficiency of the proposed output‐feedback tracking approach developed for causal nonminimum phase nonlinear systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Passivity‐based sliding mode controller/observer for second‐order nonlinear systems

A passivity‐based sliding mode control for a class of second‐order nonlinear systems with matched disturbances is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a nonlinear sliding surface is designed using feedback passification, in which the passivity is employed to guarantee the closed‐loop system's stability. The passivity‐based controller comprising a discontinuous term guarantees globally asymptotical convergence to the sliding surface. A sliding mode‐based control law that satisfies the reaching and sliding condition is also developed. Moreover, the passivity‐based sliding mode observer is also developed to effectively estimate the system states. Compared with conventional sliding mode control, the proposed control scheme has a shorter reaching time; and hence, the system performance is less affected by disturbances, thus eliminating the need to increase the control input gain. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.     

SECOND‐ORDER NONSINGULAR TERMINAL SLIDING MODE DECOMPOSED CONTROL OF UNCERTAIN MULTIVARIABLE SYSTEMS

This paper proposes a second‐order nonsingular terminal sliding mode decomposed control method for multivariable linear systems with internal parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. First, the systems are converted into the block controllable form, consisting of an input‐output subsystem and a stable internal dynamic subsystem. A special second‐order non‐singular terminal sliding mode is proposed for the input‐output subsystem. The control law is designed to drive the states of the input‐output subsystem to converge to the equilibrium point asymptotically. Then the states of the stable zero‐dynamics of the system converge to the equilibrium point asymptotically. The method proposed in the paper has advantages for higher‐dimensional multivariable systems, in the sense that it simplifies the design and makes it possible to realize a robust decomposed control. Meanwhile, because of the adoption of the second‐order sliding mode, the control signal is continuous. Simulation results are presented to validate the design.     

Robust Adaptive Fractional‐Order Terminal Sliding Mode Control for Lower‐Limb Exoskeleton

This paper introduces a robust adaptive fractional‐order non‐singular fast terminal sliding mode control (RFO‐TSM) for a lower‐limb exoskeleton system subject to unknown external disturbances and uncertainties. The referred RFO‐TSM is developed in consideration of the advantages of fractional‐order and non‐singular fast terminal sliding mode control (FONTSM): fractional‐order is used to obtain good tracking performance, while the non‐singular fast TSM is employed to achieve fast finite‐time convergence, non‐singularity and reducing chattering phenomenon in control input. In particular, an adaptive scheme is formulated with FONTSM to deal with uncertain dynamics of exoskeleton under unknown external disturbances, which makes the system robust. Moreover, an asymptotical stability analysis of the closed‐loop system is validated by Lyapunov proposition, which guarantees the sliding condition. Lastly, the efficacy of the proposed method is verified through numerical simulations in comparison with advanced and classical methods.     

Robust control of multi‐axis magnetic bearing systems

This paper proposes robust control schemes for multi‐axis magnetic bearing systems under current control and voltage control. The control schemes are based on a model which characterizes not only the electromagnetic interaction but also secondary effects such as flux leakage, fringing fluxes, and finite core permeance in the magnetic bearing. In the current control case, a sliding‐mode‐based robust controller, whose control parameters have to be deliberately chosen to account for the uni‐directionality of magnetic forces, is proposed to provide robust performance against uncertain dynamics. In the voltage control case, a control scheme that combines the sliding methodology and the backstepping technique is used to provide robust performance under the influence of the electrical dynamics. It is demonstrated through simulations and experiments that, because the nonlinearity and the uncertainty inherently residing in the system behaviour are directly tackled, the proposed controllers achieve superior tracking performances compared to control lers based on linearization. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.