This book introduces and develops the mathematical models used to describe crane dynamics, and explores established and emerging control methods employed for industrial cranes. It opens with a general introduction to the design and structure of various crane types including gantry cranes, rotary cranes, and mobile cranes currently being used for material handling processes. Mathematical models describing their dynamics for control purposes are developed via two different modeling approaches: lumped-mass and distributed parameter models. Control strategies applicable to real industrial problems are then discussed, including open-loop control, feedback control, boundary control, and hybrid control strategies. Finally, based on the methods covered in the book, future research directions are proposed for the advancement of crane technologies. This book can be used by graduate students, engineers, and researchers in the material handling industry including those working in warehouses, manufacturing, construction sites, ship building, seaports, container terminals, nuclear power plants, and in offshore engineering.

Boom cranes are one of the most dynamically complicated types of cranes because they possess rotational joints as opposed to the linear tracks of bridge and gantry cranes. In addition, if the boom crane is placed on a mobile base, additional complexity is added to the system. However, mobile boom cranes have huge potential benefits as they can be quickly transported from one location to another. Furthermore, if they utilize their mobile base during lifting operations, then they can have an extremely large workspace. All cranes share the same limiting weakness; the payload oscillates when the crane moves. A command-generation approach is taken to control the payload oscillation. Input shaping is one such command-generation technique that modifies the original reference command by convolving it with a series of impulses. The shaped command produced by the convolution can then move the crane without inducing payload oscillation. Input shaping can accommodate parameter uncertainties, nonlinearities, multiple modes of vibration, and has been shown to be compatible with human operators. This thesis focuses on three aspects of mobile boom cranes: 1) dynamic analysis, 2) input-shaping control, and 3) experimental testing. A majority of the thesis focuses on analyzing and describing the complicated dynamics of mobile boom cranes. Then, various input-shaping controllers are designed and tested, including two-mode shapers for double-pendulum dynamics. In order to experimentally verify the simulation results, a small-scale mobile boom crane has been constructed. The details of the mobile boom crane and its important features are presented and discussed. Details of the software used to control the crane are also presented. Then, several different experimental protocols are introduced and the results presented. In addition, a set of operator performance studies that analyze human operators maneuvering the mobile boom crane through an obstacle course is presented.

The rapid movement of machines is a challenging control problem because it often results in high levels of vibration. As a result, flexible machines are typically moved relatively slowly to avoid such vibration. Therefore, motion-induced vibration limits the operational speed of the system. Input shaping is one method that eliminates motion-induced vibrations by intelligently designing the reference command such that system vibration is cancelled. It has been successfully implemented on a number of systems, including bridge and tower cranes. The implementation of input shaping on cranes provides a substantial increase in the operational efficiency. Unfortunately, most cranes, once erected, have limited or no base mobility. This limits their workspace. The addition of base mobility could help extend the operational effectiveness of cranes and may also expand crane functionality. Mobile cranes may also be better suited for use in harsh and/or distant environments. Teleoperation of oscillatory systems, such as cranes, then becomes another avenue for advancement of crane functionality.

This volume is the first to present a unified perspective on the control of underactuated mechanical systems. Based on real-time implementation of parameter identification, this book provides a variety of algorithms for the Furuta pendulum and the inertia wheel pendulum, which are two-degrees-of-freedom mechanical systems. Specifically, this work addresses and solves the problem of motion control via trajectory tracking in one joint coordinate while another joint is regulated. Besides, discussions on extensions to higher degrees-of-freedom systems are given. The book, aimed at control engineers as well as graduate students, ranges from the problem of parameter identification of the studied systems to the practical implementation of sophisticated motion control algorithms. Offering real-world solutions to manage the control of underactuated systems, this book provides a concise tutorial on recent breakthroughs in the field, original procedures to achieve bounding of the error trajectories, convergence and gain tuning guidelines.

Provides comprehensive coverage of theory and hands-on implementation of computer vision-based sensors for structural health monitoring This book is the first to fill the gap between scientific research of computer vision and its practical applications for structural health monitoring (SHM). It provides a complete, state-of-the-art review of the collective experience that the SHM community has gained in recent years. It also extensively explores the potentials of the vision sensor as a fast and cost-effective tool for solving SHM problems based on both time and frequency domain analytics, broadening the application of emerging computer vision sensor technology in not only scientific research but also engineering practice. Computer Vision for Structural Dynamics and Health Monitoring presents fundamental knowledge, important issues, and practical techniques critical to successful development of vision-based sensors in detail, including robustness of template matching techniques for tracking targets; coordinate conversion methods for determining calibration factors to convert image pixel displacements to physical displacements; sensing by tracking artificial targets vs. natural targets; measurements in real time vs. by post-processing; and field measurement error sources and mitigation methods. The book also features a wide range of tests conducted in both controlled laboratory and complex field environments in order to evaluate the sensor accuracy and demonstrate the unique features and merits of computer vision-based structural displacement measurement. Offers comprehensive understanding of the principles and applications of computer vision for structural dynamics and health monitoring Helps broaden the application of the emerging computer vision sensor technology from scientific research to engineering practice such as field condition assessment of civil engineering structures and infrastructure systems Includes a wide range of laboratory and field testing examples, as well as practical techniques for field application Provides MATLAB code for most of the issues discussed including that of image processing, structural dynamics, and SHM applications Computer Vision for Structural Dynamics and Health Monitoring is ideal for graduate students, researchers, and practicing engineers who are interested in learning about this emerging sensor technology and advancing their applications in SHM and other engineering problems. It will also benefit those in civil and aerospace engineering, energy, and computer science.