Using input shaping and pressure feedback to suppress oscillations in slewing motion of lightweight flexible hydraulic crane

This paper presents a method to actively reduce vibrations in the flexible mechanical structure of a hydraulically actuated vehicle loader crane. Based on information on the natural frequency and damping of a simplified model of the crane an input shaping scheme is set up to control the proportional valve leading to substantially reductions in oscillations. The method is compared and combined with a pressure feedback control of the proportional valve that actively suppresses transient variations in pressure. A full scale vehicle loader crane is used in the experimental verification of the method, and the motion of the tool point of the crane is measured by a high precision laser tracker. The results shown in this paper demonstrate that input shaping and pressure feedback are useful tools to minimize vibrations in hydraulically actuated flexible structures.