State derivative-free variable structure model reference adaptive control of linear parabolic systems

The problem of constructing a model reference adaptive control law for an uncertain 1-dimensional parabolic system is considered in this article. The controller designed here involves only the plant state but no its derivatives. A priori bounds on the plant’s uncertain parameters are used to propose switching laws which serve as an adaptive mechanism. The exponential decay to zero of the state error with any prescribed rate is guaranteed by choosing a controller parameter correspondingly. Numerical studies are also presented to illustrate the applicability of the control law.