Sliding Mode Control of an Electromechanical Solenoid Actuator for Soft Landing

Electromechanical solenoid actuators are widely used in industrial applications that require fast and linear motion. High velocities can be achieved in small stroke lengths; in turn the motion results with high-velocity impacts, which may cause excessive noise and create mechanical damage to the parts. In this paper, three distinct position reference profiles are tested using Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control and Sliding Mode Control (SMC) in a closed loop to achieve the soft landing of the actuators plunger. The experimental results reveal that the SMC is robust and can be used to reduce the impact of the fast motion.