Active disturbance rejection control with phase plane trajectory planning for overhead cranes

Abstract

This study proposes an active disturbance rejection control method integrated with phase plane trajectory planning (PPTP-ADRC) to address the coupled problem of load swing suppression and precise trolley positioning in underactuated overhead crane systems. A continuous three-step acceleration method is first introduced, and the PPTP method is employed to generate coordinated trajectories for both trolley displacement and load swing. To account for conditions with or without external disturbances, the intrinsic coupling between trolley motion and load swing is nominally decoupled by leveraging the disturbance estimation capability of ADRC. A nonlinear ADRC scheme is then designed to independently observe and reject disturbances, thereby enhancing control accuracy and robustness. Finally, comprehensive numerical simulations and experimental validations demonstrate that the proposed PPTP-ADRC approach effectively suppresses load swing and ensures precise trolley positioning under both nominal and disturbed operating conditions.