Abstract: An incremental sliding-mode control design method was proposed for a kind of spacecraft with fuel slosh. The whole system was divided into two parts. The incremental sliding-mode control method was mainly used for the states which are not relative equilibrium ones. Two state variables of a subsystem were chosen to construct the first-layer sliding surface, and then the first-layer sliding surface and one of the left state variables were used to construct the second-layer sliding surface. Using the Lyapunov method, a sliding-mode control law can be derived. When the states reach the equilibrium position, the incremental sliding-mode controller was degraded into the monolayer controller which ensured the system stabilized at the uppermost equilibrium position within 30 seconds. Simulation results are given to illustrate the validity.

Key words: Incremental sliding-mode, Variable structure, Attitude control, Sliding surface, Spacecraft with fuel slosh