Recursive least squares based sliding mode approach for position control of DC motors with self-tuning rule

In this paper, a self-tuning rule-based position control algorithm is proposed for DC motors with system parameter estimation using the recursive least squares method. First, a mathematical model of the angular position control of a DC motor was derived. Next, the time-varying parameters including the rotational inertia in the model were estimated using the RLS method along with multiple forgetting factors without prior knowledge of the system. Based on the derived model and the parameter estimation, a sliding mode control algorithm was designed by applying a self-tuning rule that enables the magnitude of the voltage input to be adaptively adjusted for improvement of the energy efficiency. The performance of the designed control algorithm was then experimentally evaluated under several different load conditions. Finally, the evaluation results show that the designed controller achieves a satisfactory capability for a DC motor to deal with both tracking accuracy and energy efficiency without prior knowledge of the system.