This thesis concerns the development of robust nonlinear control design for complex systems including nonholonomic systems and large-scale systems using sliding mode control (SMC) techniques under the assumption that all system state variables are accessible for design. The main developments in this thesis include:
1). The concept of generalised regular form and design of a novel sliding function. The mathematical definition of generalised regular form is proposed for the first time. It is an extension of the classical regular form, which makes SMC applicable to a wider class of nonlinear systems. A novel sliding function design, which is based on the global implicit function theorem, is proposed to guarantee unique sliding mode dynamics.
2). The development of decentralised SMC for large-scale interconnected systems. For systems with uncertain interconnections which possess the superposition property, a decentralised control scheme is presented to counteract the effect of the uncertainty by using bounds on uncertainties and interconnections. The bounds used in the design are nonlinear functions instead of constant, linear or polynomial functions. The design strategy has also been expanded to a fully nonlinear case for interconnected systems in the generalised regular form.
3). Robust decentralised SMC for a class of nonlinear systems with uncertainties in input distribution. A system with uncertainties in input distribution is full of challenges. A novel method is proposed to deal with such uncertainties for a class of nonlinear interconnected systems. The designed decentralised SMC enhances the robustness of the controlled systems.
This thesis also provides case studies of three applications for the proposed approaches. The existence of the generalised regular form is verified in the trajectory tracking control of a wheeled mobile robot (WMR) system. Both simulations and experiments on the WMR are given to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the generalised regular form-based SMC design. A continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system and a longitudinal vehicle-following system are used to test the proposed decentralised SMC schemes. An expanded vehicle-following system with both longitudinal and lateral controllers has been developed to demonstrate the robust control design for system with uncertainties in input distribution
