Sliding mode control in process industry

Sliding mode control (SMC) is a powerful robust nonlinear control (see Section 2.19) technique that has been intensively developed during the last 35 years. ^1,2 Sliding mode control has, for many years, been accredited as one of the key approaches for the systematic design of robust controllers for complex nonlinear dynamic systems operating under conditions of uncertainty. The most important advantage of sliding mode controllers is their innate insensitivity to parameter variations and disturbances once in the sliding mode, thereby eliminating the necessity of exact modeling. ¹ Another distinguishing feature is their capability of order reduction, which enables the simplification of design and the decoupling of the system. With these advantages, sliding mode control is a promising area of study for both theoretical and applicationoriented problems.