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Considering the backlash nonlinearity and parameter time-varying characteristics in electromechanical actuators, a chattering-free sliding-mode control strategy is proposed in this paper to regulate the rudder angle and suppress unknown external disturbances. Different from most existing backlash compensation methods, a special continuous function is addressed to approximate the backlash nonlinear dead-zone model. Regarding the approximation error, unmodeled dynamics, and unknown external disturbances as a disturbance-like term, a strict feedback nonlinear model is established. Based on this nonlinear model, a chattering-free nonsingular terminal sliding-mode controller is proposed to achieve the rudder angle tracking with a chattering elimination and tracking dynamic performance improvement. A Lyapunov-based proof ensures the asymptotic stability and finite-time convergence of the closed-loop system. Experimental results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]