Sliding-Mode Control of Horizontal Coupled-Tank Systems using Variable-Speed Pump

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Mechatronics and Robotics, Faculty of Engineering, Egyptian Russian University

Abstract

In many chemical and food processing industries, liquid is pumped into and held in interconnected linked tanks. Nevertheless, due to the high non-linearity and complexity of that system, level and flow regulation among these tanks is a non-trivial task.  The current research focuses on the regulation of the liquid level in two horizontally linked tanks. The three most common sliding-mode control (SMC) algorithms that can be found in the literature—proportional-derivative SMC (PD-SMC), proportional-integral-derivative SMC (PID-SMC), and dynamic SMC—are compared. The impact of sensor noise on the functioning of the controller and the chattering phenomenon is highlighted in particular. Simulations are done for the proposed control algorithms. Using the MATLAB optimization toolbox, control parameters are chosen to improve the designed performance indices. Experiments are carried out on a designed test setup to investigate the effect of sensor noise. Results showed that PD-SMC has a superior performance over the other two algorithms, PID-SMC and dynamic-SMC both in simulation and experimental results.

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