A finite-time sliding mode control for hypersonic vehicle

In this paper, a finite-time control strategy based on back-stepping method combining with a terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) and a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDO) is proposed for the longitudinal dynamic model of hypersonic vehicle (HV). Firstly, the model of HV is transformed into two strict feedback subsystem: the mismatched subsystem of altitude and the matched subsystem of velocity. Then, the TSMC and back-stepping method is incorporated to cope with the unmatched issue in the HV altitude subsystem. In addition, a NDO based on a finite-time-convergent differentiator (FD) is proposed to estimate the lumped disturbances. The finite-time stability condition of the system is established via the Lyapunov theory. Finally, the robustness and effectiveness of the method are verified by simulations.