Variable structure control of uncertain nonlinear system with a dead-zone input

In this paper, a novel variable structure model reference control design is presented for uncertain nonlinear systems containing a dead-zone and/or series nonlinearity in the input. Given a model with ideal reference characteristics, the developed variable structure model-following controller assures the global reaching condition of the sliding mode of the error system. It shows that the proposed controller can be applied to the systems either with or without series nonlinearity and/or dead-zone in the input. However, the traditional variable structure controllers cannot work effectively for systems with dead-zone in the input.