Sway Reduction on Quay-side Container Cranes Using Delayed Feedback Controller: Simulations and Experiments

• Published in: Journal of vibration and control Vol. 11; no. 8; pp. 1103 - 1122
• Main Authors: Masoud, Ziyad N., Nayfeh, Ali H., Nayfeh, Nader A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01-08-2005; Sage Publications Ltd. (UK); SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Analysis; Containers; Cranes & hoists; Cranes, derricks, etc; Electric cranes; Experiments; Feedback control systems; Simulation; delayed feedback; sway control; container crane; Quay-side
• ISSN: 1077-5463; 1741-2986
• DOI: 10.1177/1077546305056300

Traditionally, a container crane is modeled as a simple pendulum with either a flexible or a rigid hoisting cable, and a lumped mass at the end of the cable. However, in the case of quay-side container cranes, the actual configuration of the hoisting mechanism is significantly different; it consists typically of a set of four hoisting cables. The cables are hoisted from four different points on a trolley and are attached on the load side to four points on a spreader bar used to lift containers. A controller design based on the actual model will most likely result in a response superior to those based on simple pendulum models. In this paper, we develop a mathematical model of the actual quay-side container crane. A simplified model is then used to obtain the gain and time delay for a delayed feedback controller, which will be used for the control of payload sway oscillation. Performance of the controller is simulated on a 1/10th scale computer model of a 65 ton container crane using the full model. Simulation results are verified experimentally on a 1/10th scale model of the same container crane.