Adaptive gain-based super-twisting sliding mode disturbance rejection fault-tolerant control for tri-rotor UAV

doi:10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.010

Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science)

2026, Vol. 60

Issue (7): 1475-1481 DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.010

Adaptive gain-based super-twisting sliding mode disturbance rejection fault-tolerant control for tri-rotor UAV

Jialei LI1(

),Wei HAO1,2,*(

),Shifa WANG1,Tong MEI1,Wenlai MA1,2

1. College of Flight, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256600, China
2. Shandong Provincial Engineering Research Center for General Aviation Operations and Manufacturing, Binzhou 256600, China

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Abstract

An adaptive gain-based super-twisting sliding mode (STSM) disturbance rejection fault-tolerant control strategy was proposed for tri-rotor UAV attitude regulation under actuator stuck faults and unknown disturbances. An attitude system fault model was established by incorporating external disturbances and actuator fault characteristics. Considering modeling uncertainties, the adaptive algorithm and the STSM algorithm were integrated to design the disturbance rejection fault-tolerant controller. Online estimation of the control allocation matrix was realized through the adaptive mechanism, while the STSM algorithm achieved adaptive adjustment of controller gains to enhance disturbance rejection capability. This design mitigated adverse effects from disturbances, uncertainties, and actuator faults on system stability, and improved the system convergence speed. Finite-time convergence of the closed-loop system was rigorously proven using Lyapunov theory. Finally, through the UAV flight control hardware-in-the-loop experimental platform, it was verified that the designed fault-tolerant control strategy exhibited superior fault tolerance performance compared to the conventional super-twisting algorithm (STA).

Key words： tri-rotor UAV super-twisting sliding mode adaptive control actuator stuck fault fault-tolerant control

Received: 14 April 2025 Published: 23 May 2026

CLC:

TP 393

Fund: 国家自然科学基金资助项目（62103060）；山东省自然科学基金资助项目（ZR2019PF021，ZR2020MF142）；山东省高等学校“青创团队计划”团队项目（2023KJ274）.

Corresponding Authors: Wei HAO E-mail: feng-ljl@sdua.edu.cn;whao@sdua.edu.cn

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Cite this article:

Jialei LI,Wei HAO,Shifa WANG,Tong MEI,Wenlai MA. Adaptive gain-based super-twisting sliding mode disturbance rejection fault-tolerant control for tri-rotor UAV. Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science), 2026, 60(7): 1475-1481.

URL:

https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.07.010 OR https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/Y2026/V60/I7/1475

基于自适应增益的三旋翼无人机超螺旋滑模抗扰容错控制

针对三旋翼无人机发生舵机卡死故障时的姿态控制问题，同时考虑未知外部扰动，提出基于自适应增益的超螺旋滑模(STSM)抗扰容错控制策略. 同时考虑外部扰动和舵机卡死故障，建立三旋翼无人机姿态系统故障模型. 考虑建模不确定性，融合自适应算法和超螺旋滑模算法设计抗扰容错控制器，自适应算法实现控制分配矩阵在线估计，超螺旋滑模算法通过设计控制器增益自适应率，抑制外部扰动、建模不确定性和舵机故障对系统稳定性的影响，提高系统收敛速度. 基于Lyapunov理论证明闭环系统有限时间收敛. 通过无人机飞控半实物实验平台验证了所设计容错控制策略相比于超螺旋算法(STA)具有更好的容错性能.

关键词： 三旋翼无人机, 超螺旋滑模, 自适应控制, 舵机卡死故障, 容错控制

Fig.1 Tri-rotor UAV coordinate system diagram

Fig.2 UAV flight control semi-physical experiment platform

Fig.3 Attitude angle tracking performance of tri-rotor UAV

Fig.4 Attitude angle error curves of tri-rotor UAV

Fig.5 Control input curves of tri-rotor UAV

Fig.6 Adaptation law curves of tri-rotor UAV

Fig.7 Adaptive disturbance estimation curves of tri-rotor UAV

Tab.1 Comparison of attitude control errors for tri-rotor UAV


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