Modelling and Sway Control of a Double-Pendulum Overhead Crane System

Abstract

A crane system is very important in industries as the system is used to transport a heavy load from one place to another. A double-pendulum type overhead crane system is very difficult to control as it suffers from payload sway and double-pendulum dynamics. These affect the system performance and the safety of the operation. This paper focuses on the mathematical modelling and sway control of a double-pendulum overhead crane system. The mathematical model of a double-pendulum overhead crane system is obtained through the Euler-Lagrange methods. The dynamic model is then verified through simulations and experiments. The simulation is carried out using the Simulink block diagram in MATLAB whereas the experiment is carried out using a laboratory overhead crane. Upon obtaining an accurate dynamic model of the double-pendulum overhead crane system, controllers based on input shaping are designed to improve the system performance.

Keywords

• double-pendulum crane
• euler-lagrange
• modelling
• simulation
• sway control