Passivity-based coupling control for underactuated three-dimensional overhead cranes

Area of Science:

• Control Systems Engineering
• Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Overhead cranes are prone to payload oscillations, impacting efficiency and safety.
• Existing passivity-based control methods have limitations in enhancing closed-loop system stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel Lyapunov function candidate for controlling three-dimensional (3-D) overhead cranes.
• To design a nonlinear controller that injects active damping and enhances closed-loop passivity.

Main Methods:

• A new coupled-dissipation signal incorporating angular displacement and its integral is proposed.
• The control design is extended using a hyperbolic tangent function to prevent overdriving the trolley.
• Asymptotic stability is guaranteed using LaSalle's invariance principle.

Main Results:

• The proposed controller significantly enhances closed-loop passivity, leading to effective suppression of payload oscillations.
• Improved robustness and transit performance of the closed-loop system are demonstrated.
• The controller effectively prevents overdriving the trolley.

Conclusions:

• The novel Lyapunov-based controller offers superior performance in stabilizing 3-D overhead cranes.
• The enhanced passivity and robustness make the controller suitable for practical applications.
• Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness and stability of the proposed control strategy.