A SLIDING OBSERVER FOR NONLINEAR PROCESS-CONTROL

Sliding observers are considered as nonlinear state estimators with go od robustness to bounded modeling errors. In this paper we have develo ped sliding observers for process control. The observer is hence desig ned so as to possess invariant dynamic modes which can be assigned ind ependently to achieve the desired performance. Convergence of the esti mating algorithm is formulated by using Lyapunov stability theorems. C onditions for robustness to modeling errors are derived by analyzing t he norms of estimation errors. For process control, servo-tracking and disturbance rejection for chemical reactors have been discussed by ma king use of this sliding observer. Simulation examples to demonstrate the construction and performance of this proposed sliding observer for chemical process control are also presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd.