Fault-tolerant controller design based on adaptive backstepping for tower cranes with actuator faults

Area of Science:

• Control Engineering
• Robotics
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Tower cranes are critical industrial equipment requiring high safety and longevity.
• Existing fault-tolerant control methods often necessitate redundant actuators or complex designs, unsuitable for tower cranes.
• Unexpected faults can compromise crane operation and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a fault-tolerant controller for tower cranes that avoids complex designs and redundant actuators.
• To improve tower crane safety, position accuracy, and swing elimination.
• To ensure robust control performance during sudden fault occurrences.

Main Methods:

• System states were reconstructed into a cascade system.
• A fixed-time convergence optimized backstepping controller was designed for smooth operation.
• An adaptive approach was implemented for real-time fault parameter updates.

Main Results:

• The proposed controller achieved high position accuracy and effective swing elimination.
• Demonstrated satisfactory control performance despite sudden fault occurrences.
• Avoided sudden or abrupt control value generation.

Conclusions:

• The adaptive backstepping fault-tolerant controller is effective for tower cranes.
• The controller enhances operational safety and precision, even under fault conditions.
• This method offers a practical solution for tower crane fault tolerance without redundancy.