Abstract
This paper proposes an adaptive integral-type terminal sliding mode tracking control approach based on the active disturbance rejection for uncertain nonlinear systems subject to input saturation and external disturbances. Its main objective is to achieve zero tracking error in the presence of external disturbances, parametric uncertainties and input saturation; ubiquitous problems in most practical engineering systems. The proposed approach combines the robustness and chattering-free dynamics of adaptive integral-type sliding mode control with the estimation properties of a nonlinear extended state observer. It also assumes the bounds of the input saturation to be unknown. The asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system in the presence of disturbances, uncertainties and input saturation is proven using the Lyapunov theorem. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is assessed using a flexible-link robotic manipulator. The obtained results confirmed the robustness and god tracking performance of the proposed approach. Robustness, chattering-free dynamics and good tracking performance albeit input saturation are among the main features.