Stability of Sliding Mode ILC Design for a Class of Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Control Input Delay

This article studied the stability and convergence of a robust iterative learning control (ILC) design for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown control input delay. First, the iterative integral sliding mode (IISM) design was proposed, which comprised iterative actions. The iterative action made the convergence of the tracking error under the ideal sliding mode. Then, a suitable iterative update law was provided for the IISM-based robust ILC controller. The controller had the capability of both minimizing the steady tracking error and suppressing the unrepeatable disturbance. Using the controller, the closed-loop system stability was analyzed, and the stability conditions were given. Consequently, the sliding mode convergence in the iteration domain was proved by a composite energy function (CEF). In addition, by analyzing the influence of affection on the tracking error, several measures were taken to solve the chattering problem of the sliding mode control. Finally, a one-link robotic manipulator and a vertical three-tank system were used to verify the control design. The application simulations validated the performance of the proposed sliding mode iterative learning control (SMILC) design, which achieved the stability of the nonlinear system and overcame the control input time delay.