Generalized framework for designing a linear control scheme for regulating a sub-actuated overhead crane

Abstract Crane systems are crucial for industrial applications, efficiently moving heavy loads with minimal human intervention. Ensuring precise operation of these systems, whether through human operators or controllers, is crucial, given their unique characteristics and demanding tasks. This research presents a comprehensive methodology for designing a linear control scheme for an overhead crane with a single-pendulum structure. The framework develops linear controllers for regulating both trolley position and sway angle dynamics, treating control as a trajectory-tracking problem to ensure internal stability. An active damping technique is proposed to achieve an over-damped behavior in the payload dynamics, resulting in a 69.15% reduction in oscillations associated with this crane sub-system when such strategy is not applied. The control scheme is tested against measurement noise, external disturbances and parameter uncertainties based on digital simulations using crane nonlinear differential equations. These tests prove the robustness of the proposed scheme in real-world scenarios despite its simplicity.