Adaptive super-twisting sliding mode altitude trajectory tracking control for reentry vehicle

This paper addresses the altitude trajectory tracking control problem of reentry vehicle subject to bounded uncertainty. A new continuous adaptive super-twisting sliding mode control (ASTSMC) method is developed based on conventional super-twisting sliding mode control (STSMC) and adaptive gain technique, which can improve tracking accuracy and achieve high control performance. Based on adaptive gain technique, the designed ASTSMC method requires no prior information on uncertainty and avoids the overestimation of control gain, then the unexpected chattering phenomenon is alleviated. By employing fast power rate reaching law and modified fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode (FNTSM) surface, the designed controller achieves faster convergence and stronger robustness than conventional STSMC methods. Furthermore, the finite-time stability of closed-loop system is proved through Lyapunov theory. Simulation results are executed to validate the superiority of the proposed controller.