Nonlinear modeling and control of overhead crane load sway

In this paper, we derive a nonlinear dynamical model for an overhead crane. The model takes into account simultaneous travel and transverse motions of the crane. The aim is to transport an object along a specified transport route in such a way that the swing angles are suppressed as quickly as possible. We develop an antiswing control system which adopts a feedback control to specify the crane speed at every moment. The gain matrix is chosen such that a desired rate of decay of the swing angles is obtained. The model and control scheme are simulated on a digital computer and the results prove that the feedback control works well.