Sliding Mode Control in Grid-Tied Inverters: Techniques, Applications, and Future Directions

Sliding mode control (SMC) has emerged as a robust and adaptive strategy for grid-tied inverters. It has unique attributes which make it an appropriate control choice under increasingly complex power systems. However, there are a limited number of review articles which comprehensively explore the true potential of SMC for grid-tied inverter applications. This systematic review has been structured to explore SMC techniques with respect to certain challenges, i.e., stability challenges, unbalanced conditions, low inertia scenarios, and harmonics distortion. The classification of various SMC techniques is presented with respect to their control law and sliding surfaces design. The comparative analysis indicates the dominance of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted control systems, which represent a paradigm shift in modern-era control systems. Key performance matrices, i.e., total harmonics distortion (THD) reduction, tracking accuracy, and response time, etc. are compared across various SMC techniques. Moreover, this review identifies possible research gaps regarding the conceptual integration of quantum computing with SMC. Furthermore, several future directions are presented in this article to make SMC more robust and reliable for the next generation of AI-dominated grid-tied inverter applications.