Comparison of Adaptive Control Methods to Reduce Overhead Crane Load Fluctuations

In this study, we compare two approaches to adaptive control of the overhead crane drive in the presence of parametric disturbances. Due to the presence of disturbances, the quality of system management decreases. This leads to fluctuations in the transported cargo. Consequently, this can lead to wear and damage to the equipment, as well as reduce the safety and service life of the equipment. The proposed control law, based on the Slotin adapter, includes a generator of the reference trajectory, adapter, identifier, and controller. A reference integral curve is formed based on the desired task and the evolutionary trajectories of the bridge crane system. Then the adapter with the identifier determines the parameters, and on the basis of which the controller issues control actions on the actuator of the drive. We also consider an approach that includes a reference model and identifiers based on the recurrent least squares method with the effect of forgetting. The analysis was performed numerically in MATLAB Simulink on a two-mass cart-pendulum oscillatory model in comparison with another adaptation law. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach for reducing the vibrations of the transported load and, as a result, increasing the service life of the electric drive. The results of the study can be used to develop control systems for overhead crane drives, which will improve their reliability and safety, as well as reduce maintenance and repair costs.