Implementation of Constant Power Control for a Reamer Using a Fuzzy PID Algorithm

With the continuous development of the shipping industry, suction dredgers play a crucial role as functional vessels for channel dredging. The reamer, as the core component of a cutter suction dredger, significantly impacts the energy consumption of the entire vessel. Most suction dredger reamers are powered by three-phase asynchronous motors. To fully utilize the motor’s output power, there is an urgent need to design a constant power control system to ensure stable and consistent power output despite variations in system parameters. This paper proposes a fuzzy PID control algorithm to address the limitations of traditional PID control, such as slow and insufficient response times, in order to achieve smoother and faster reamer power regulation. The proposed control strategy is validated through both simulations and experiments. Results show that the fuzzy PID algorithm reduces overshoot by an average of 9.85%, rise time by 38.58%, and regulation time by 42%, compared to traditional PID control. Additionally, the fuzzy PID control demonstrates superior robustness in dynamic responses to system changes. Overall, the fuzzy PID control system outperforms traditional PID in maintaining constant power control of the reamer.