Sliding mode control with varying boundary layers for an electro-hydraulic position servo system

In this study, a new sliding mode control with varying boundary layers is proposed to improve the tracking performance of a nonlinear electro-hydraulic position servo system, which can be found in many manufacturing devices. The key feature of the proposed control scheme is the use of varying boundary layers instead of fixed boundary layers, which are usually employed in conventional sliding mode control. The validity of the proposed control scheme is verified through practical testing on an experimental electro-hydraulic positioning device. In the cases of step and sinusoidal command inputs, the experimental results strongly suggest that the proposed control scheme is capable of improving the tracking precision without causing any chattering. In addition, the new control scheme seems to be very robust against various set point conditions.