Experiments on Motion and Oscillation Controls of a Gantry Crane System Using Parallel Proportional Controllers

Abstract

Abstract The purposes of this research are to formulate the mathematical model of the system, to propose an effective control scheme and to perform experiments on a laboratory scale. The system used in this paper consists of a trolley, a pendulum as load and a dc motor to drive the trolley. Mathematical model of trolley position and load angle were formulated considering voltage of the motor and damping constant of the air calculated specifically using energy balance. Two proportional (P) controllers were designed in parallel in such a way to drive the trolley and to reduce oscillation of the load. The system and the proposed control scheme were confirmed through experiments. The experimental results revealed that the motion and oscillation of the system can be controlled effectively.