This paper presents an analysis of Variable Structure Control (VSC) of a one-link flexible mechanical arm using sliding surfaces. Numerous authors have used variable structure techniques to control mechanical, distributed parameter systems under the guise of time optimal or ad hoc control. However, a complete analysis of variable structure control theory and the applicability of sliding mode control (SMC) to infinite dimensional systems is not available. The concepts of sliding surfaces and equivalent control are extended here to cover one-link mechanical arms with distributed flexibility. A procedure for deriving a switching algorithm based on modal information is presented. In addition, it is shown that, for this system, SMC will affect only the dominant system modes, ensuring closed loop stability when a suitably chosen switching hypersurface is employed.
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