International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems (2012) 10(6):1204-1214 ISSN:1598-6446 eISSN:2005-4092

DOI 10.1007/s12555-012-0615-y http://www.springer.com/12555

Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with

Virtual Prototyping Technology
Hong-Soek Park and Ngoc-Tran Le*

Abstract: Virtual simulation of the real behaviour of mobile harbour crane (MHC) without using the
traditional build-and-test method is an imperative approach to the design stage that can increase the
quality of the product by reducing manufacturing cost and errors. This paper introduces an engineering
model that describes the mechanical behaviour of MHC, and the control design for increasing the posi-
tion accuracy. Based on a concept of the MHC, a virtual mechanical model was created using SO-
LIDWOKS, which was then exported to the Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System
(ADAMS) environment. This model was simulated to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the MHC
system. In addition, an adaptive siding mode PID controller was also developed in MATLAB/Simulink
to control the crane trolley position and suppress the swing angle of the load. This co-simulation de-
monstrates the reliability of the mechanical and control functionalities of the developed system.

Keywords: Adaptive sliding mode, mobile harbour crane, modeling and controlling, PID controller,
virtual prototype.

1. INTRODUCTION wave and wind. This is a serious problem, because it

The rapid growth of the world economy has resulted in
a high demand for freight transportation by large
container ships. However, the current capacity of
harbours is limited and due to the shallow waters and
narrow areas, large container ships cannot dock at these
ports. The solution to expand the capacity of the ports is
unfeasible due to lack of investment funds and the
negative impact on environmental sustainability. With
this regard, a MHC concept was proposed to maximise
the utilisation of container ships [1]. This solution allows
a container ship anchoring in deep water to load and
unload containers, then to transport them to their
destination irrespective of the depth or narrow areas of
any ports.
The MHC system is an overhead crane system which
is mounted on a mobile harbour to load and unload
containers from the container ship to vessels and vice
versa. Due to the harsh working environment, the MHC
experiences more problems than conventional cranes that
are fixed into the ground. One of the serious problems is
the swing of the load caused by improper control of the
trolley and influence of external disturbances such as the
__________
Manuscript received January 14, 2012; revised June 4, 2012;
accepted July 30, 2012. Recommended by Editorial Board mem-
ber Yangmin Li under the direction of Editor Hyouk Ryeol Choi.
This research was supported by the Ministry of Knowledge
Economy (MKE), under the Industrial Source Technology Devel-
opment Programs supervised by the Korea Evaluation Institute of
Industrial Technology (KEIT).
Hong-Seok Park and Ngoc-Tran Le are with the School of
Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan University, 102
Daehak-ro, Nam-gu, Ulsan 680-749, Korea (e-mails: phosk@
ulsan.ac.kr, lengoctran@mail.ulsan.ac.kr).
* Corresponding author.
could cause extensive damage to surrounding devices
and systems. Furthermore, if the swing of the container
extends up to the end of the transfer, it becomes quite
difficult to control the desired position of the container
[2]. In order to increase the productivity of the MHC
system, all the crane motions should execute at high
speed, and the load must be controlled to the desired
position accurately. However, it is difficult to satisfy
these requirements, because when the trolley is
accelerated or decelerated, the suspended load will be
swung undesirably. Moreover, the external disturbances
caused by the wind and wave, and the continuously
moving base make the trajectory of the load
unpredictable. Therefore, controlling the load to a
desired position is a challenge to solve.
In general, two mechanical and electrical solutions
have been proposed to anti-sway the load. The
mechanical solution was applied successfully to suppress
the longitudinal sway of the load in many tested cases.
However, this method generated vibration, slow response
time and high maintenance cost [3]. In most cases, the
Fig. 1. The mobile harbour crane system.

© ICROS, KIEE and Springer 2012

 Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with Virtual Prototyping Technology
electrical solution is popularly used to anti-swing the
load. This solution was further classified into two kinds
of control approach, open-loop control and closed-loop
control. The open-loop control scheme proposed in [4]
was not equipped with sensors. Its control objectives
were based on predetermined speed control and
trajectory, which have been simulated to dispose of the
swing. This method is economical and stable with cranes
that have a low natural frequency. However, it is
inefficient with unstable plants, which are affected by
disturbances. Meanwhile, the closed-loop control
schemes were proposed as an anti-swing for the cranes.
These schemes are equipped with many types of sensors
to detect the sway angle of the load in linear/nonlinear
controls [5-11]. The swing angle signal is processed by
observation and estimation models before being
transmitted to the controller. Several equipments were
proposed to measure the swing angle of the load.
Yoshida et al. [10] proposed to use cameras as a non-
contact sensor for visual feedback control of the crane. In
this case, a 3D camera was installed on the trolley to
measure the 3D position of the load. This approach is
effective for cranes that experience disturbances.
However, this vision system is cost consuming and
difficult to maintain. In addition, longevity of vision
devices is gradually reduced when they are exposed to
the sea environment. In order to replace the vision
system, Kim et al. [11] introduced a new vision sensor-
less anti sway control system for container cranes, which
uses an inclinometer that is placed on the spreader to
detect the sway angle of the load. However, the common
inclinometers lack high precision and have slow response
times. Therefore, an expensive inclinometer is needed to
achieve high precision. To achieve more economical,
precise and quick responses, Park et al. [12] introduced a
new approach, in which a tri-axial accelerometer was
used to estimate the swing. In this approach, the swing
angle is measured by the accelerometer based on the
difference of the fixed points between the trolley and the
spreader. Collaboratively, the above approaches were
aimed to detect the swing angle effectively and to design
a closed-loop control system to achieve an anti-swing of
the load. These approaches have achieved the desired
control objectives. However, the launch and deployment
of a new control product into a real work environment
require further time and cost for building, testing and
verifying on the physical model.
Hence, this paper proposes a virtual prototyping
simulation technology that integrates ADAMS and
MATLAB/Simulink. The ADAMS software is used to
create the virtual mechanical model, with the possibility
of virtual measurement of any parameters of any
components in the virtual model. MATLAB software is
well-known for designing a control system. Our co-
simulation model of both software has a merit in
simulating real behaviour of the mechanical system, and
implementing the closed-loop control of the whole
virtual prototype model. The simulations of results not
only help designers to modify mechanical design but also
improve the control method.
1205
2. COMPOSITION AND WORKING PRINCIPLE
OF THE MHC SYSTEM
The MHC is the crane system mounted on the floating
as shown in Fig. 2. It consists of a floating, frame system,
support frame, trolley, spreader and boom. The floating
can carry whole crane systems and the load. It works on
the sea and is swayed by the wind and wave. The frame
system is a firm structure to withstand the total load of
the crane. It moves along the floating and can be adjusted
horizontally to pick up a container. The support frame is
raised when the crane begins working and is lowered
when stopped. This function aims to collapse the crane
system for convenient traveling. The trolley moves on
the boom rail following the x-direction and is driven by a
motor force. It drives the spreader to the desired position
to pick and insert a container. The spreader is suspended
on the trolley by a four-cable mechanism, and its
function is to adjust the hooks of a container for lifting.
The clamping and positioning systems are used to locate
the container accurately.
Due to working on the sea, the MHC is influenced by
the wind and wave. According to Jang et al. [14], the
wind-induced drap force acting on the crane structures
over the seaway can be evaluated based on the
fundamental equation of drap force in aerodynamics:
1
FD (t ) = ρ CD AU 2 (t ) , (1)
2
where ρ = Air density,
CD = Drag coefficient,
A = Projected area of a structure,
U(t) = Incident wind speed,
U (t ) = U (t ) + w(t ) . (2)
The Ū is a constant wind speed depending on the
height above the sea level, and the w(t) is a randomly
fluctuating turbulent wind speed. The wind-induced drag
force, FD(t) can be written as follows:
1. Floating; 2. Frame; 3. Support frame; 4. Boom;
5. Trolley; 6. Spreader.
Fig. 2. The MHC modeling.
1206 Hong-Soek Park and Ngoc-Tran Le
1 1
FD (t ) = ρ CD AU 2 + ρ CD AUw(t ) + ρ CD Aw(t ) w(t ) .
2 2
(3)
The first term of (3) is called the mean drag force,
which is constant for a given mean wind speed. The
second and the third term of (3) are the forces associated
with turbulent winds. For evaluating the wind-induced
on structures, the third term of (3) is generally neglected.
The fluctuation of turbulent wind speed w(t) is a
Gaussian random process with zero mean. In this paper,
the MHC projected area and height structures are
negligibility. Therefore, the wind influences to the MHC
structure is neglected, and it is considered as a Gaussian
random disturbance of the control system.
Otherwise, the disturbance caused by sea wave is the
main influence to the floating motion. The description of
excitation due to sea wave is essential for modeling the
floating system. For the analysis of the nonlinear system,
the wave force is divided into two components: the
superposition of a harmonic force at the dominated
frequency and a small random component [15]. The sea
wave is represented by equation:
sw (t ) = f a sin(Ωt + Φ) + Bξ , (4)
where the harmonic component of the force is denoted
by f a sin(Ωt + Φ), and the random disturbance by Bξ;
fa, Ω, and Φ are amplitude, frequency, and phase of wave,
respectively.
According to Ngo et al. [9], the wave disturbance
induces the MHC to move following six degree of
freedom motions, including three translation motions
(surge, sway, and heavy) and three rotation motions (roll,
pitch, and yaw). The six degree of freedom motion is
shown in Fig. 2. In the literature, the conventional cranes
were studied in which the trolley and sway of container
motions are coplanar. The trolley motion is used to
suppress the container sway motion. In the MHC case,
the suspended load appears to have an additional lateral
sway, which is induced by the pitch motion of the
floating. Due to this sway component which is not
coplanar with the trolley moving direction, a new
mechanism for controlling the lateral sway was proposed
by the author.
Fig. 3. Proposed new mechanism for lateral sway
control of load.
Fig. 3 shows a new mechanism for lateral sway
control of the load. Two additional ropes with the
necessary pulleys and drums are attached to the
mechanism. The drums are needed to compensate for the
rope length differences between the additional ropes and
the main hoist ropes when the container is moved up and
down. In those additional ropes, hydraulic actuators
generate tension, through which lateral-sway-suppressing
moment can be imparted.
In this paper, some of the following assumptions
pertaining to the MHC system are considered.
1) The floating body was supposed to be relatively fixed
in the Cartesian coordinate. Hence, the drift of float-
ing and the yaw motion in absolute coordinates can
be neglected.
2) The trolley motion is considered along the X-
direction, and the sway motion of the load, which are
on the same plane.
3) The sway motions of the suspended load taking place
on the other planes can be considered as the distur-
bances of the control system.
4) The sway motion of load is considered similarly a
pendulum motion, and the friction force on the trolley
is negligible.
3. THE MHC SYSTEM MODELING
3.1. Necessity of developing a virtual prototyping for the
MHC system
Since the complexity of products has been increasing, in
order to increase competition in production, the
requirement of the product development cycle times
should be reduced. Therefore, building a hardware
prototype for testing has taken a majority of the time to
launch a new product. The simulation technique based on
the virtual prototype is proposed as an approach that
significantly reduces manufacturing cost and time
compared to the traditional build-and-test approach. The
virtual prototyping approach is an integrating software
solution that consists of modeling a mechanical system,
simulating, and visualizing its 3D motion behaviour
under real work operating conditions, and refining &
optimising the design through iterative design studies
[17]. The advantages of this simulation technique consist
of conceiving a detailed model that is used in a virtual
experiment in a similar way with a real scenario. The
possibility to perform virtual measurements of any
parameters and in any components of the mechanical
model can also be carried out conveniently. Fig. 4 shows
the creation of a virtual prototype for the testing of the
MHC system.
In the design process of a mechatronic system, the
mechanical design and control design stages are done
separately with different software tools however the
concept is the same. After the design, each separate
model should be tested and verified for fulfilling the
desired objectives, and finally a co-test should be
implemented on the physical prototype to verify the
proposed approaches. During testing on the physical
prototype, if a problem appears in the interaction
 Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with Virtual Prototyping Technology
Fig. 4. The creation of the virtual prototype model for
testing of the MHC system.
operation between two systems, the designer must refine
the mechanical design and/or the control design to
achieve a perfect system. In this method, the physical
testing process is more simplified. It saves time and cost
and reduces the risk of device damage caused by the
conflict between both systems.
3.2. The virtual prototyping platform
Fig. 5 shows a virtual prototyping platform which
includes the following softwares: CAD-Computer Aided
Design (SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, PROENGINEER);
MBS-Multibody systems (ADAMS, SD-EXACT,
PLEXUS); FEA- Finite Element Analysis (NASTRAN/
PATRAN, COSMOS, ANSYS) and Command &
Control (MATLAB, EASY5, MATRIX) [17].
The CAD software is used to create the geometric
model of the mechanical system. This model includes the
rigid parts with shape and dimension of the physical
prototype model, and it contains information about mass
and inertia properties of these rigid parts. The CAD
environment can perform simple motion testing with
forces and torques. The geometry model is then exported
from the CAD environment to the MBS environment
using a file format as STEP (CATIA) or Parasolid.x_t
(SOLIDWORKS). The MBS is the centre component of
the virtual platform, and it is used for analysing,
optimising, and simulating the kinematic and dynamic
behaviour of the mechanical system under real operating
conditions. The FEA software is used for modeling
flexible components. The MBS has an ability to transfer
loads to FEA and receive the flexible components
feedback from FEA. This feature enables the capturing
of inertia and compliance effects, and predicting loads
with greater accuracy, hence obtaining more realistic
results. Command & Control (C&C) is a software
product which is used to design the control system. This
software exchanges information with the MBS software.
The exchange process creates a closed loop in which the
outputs from the MBS model are the inputs for the
control system and vice-versa. The outputs from MBS
Fig. 5. The virtual prototyping platform.
1207
model are measured parameters that are necessary for
control, and the outputs from control system effect on the
MBS simulation.
3.3. Modeling a MHC mechanical system
In order to generate the mechanical model of the MHC
system, all components or elements which have the
shape and dimensions of the physical model are modeled
as 3D solid by SOLIDWORKS. These elements were
created with the geometric constraints showing the
characteristics of the MHC system. This mechanical
model tested and evaluated the “real” behaviour through
applying the torque and force to drive the elements of the
MHC model. It was then exported to ADAMS to execute
the dynamic simulation. In the ADAMS/view environ-
ment, a MHC modeling is created. The modeling process
is constructed as the following sequence for an easy
modification in the design phase. Firstly, the geometrical
parameters of the parts such as material, mass, and
density must be defined, and then mass and inertial
matrices are generated automatically. These parts are
connected one with other, respectively to the floating
coordinate, using the following geometric constraints.
These constraints are described as follows. The center of
floating mass coordinate (denoted by 1) is fixed on the
centre of the Cartesian coordinate in ADAMS using a
revolute joint. The floating motion is swayed based on
the wave disturbance function. The frame (denoted by 2)
is mounted on the floating and moved along the floating
using a translational joint. The trolley (denoted by 3),
which is driven by force that is generated from a motor,
is slid on the frame along the x direction using the
translational joint. The container (denoted by 4) is joined
to the trolley using a spherical joint, and is moved
following the trolley motion. Fig. 6 shows the virtual
prototyping of the mechanical model of the MHC system.
The simulation process on the virtual prototyping
model is implemented to investigate the real behaviour
of the mechanical MHC model. The parameter values
used in the Adams simulation are presented in Table 1.
The simulation results on the computer of the ADAMS
model will be checked and validated with the experiment
on the testbed to evaluate the accuracy of the ADAMS
model.
Figs. 7 and 8 show the comparison between the simu-
lation and experiment results of the trolley displacement
and the sway angle of the load, respectively. Through
these comparisons, we can evaluate that the curves of
both simulation and experiment are in good agreement.
Fig. 6. The Adams model of the MHC system.
1208 Hong-Soek Park and Ngoc-Tran Le

Table 1. The parameter values used in the simulation.

Parameters Values
Simulation time t = 50 sec
The trolley trajectory:
- Translation follows the x axis x = step(time,0,0,30,3.8)
- Translation follows the y axis y = step(time,30,0,50,3)
Crane height h=3m
Rope length l = 1.2 m
Trolley mass m = 127 kg
Container mass m = 148 kg
Wave disturbance function Sw(t) = 0.02sin(1.5time) rad Fig. 9. The connection of Adams and Matlab in the co-
4 .5
simulation model.
S im u latio n
4 .0 E xp erim en t

3 .5 ADAMS_uout

1
Trolley position [m]

3 .0 U To Workspace
Displacement
2 .5
1 Mux MSCSoftware Demux
2 .0
F_trolley
ADAMS Plant
1 .5
2
1 .0 theta
ADAMS_yout
0 .5
Mux Y To Workspace Demux
0 .0
0 10 20 30 40 50 ADAMS_tout
T im e [sec] Clock T To Workspace

Fig. 7. The comparison between simulation and experi- Fig. 10. The ADAMS block in adams_sys.
ment responses of the trolley displacement.
the input and output variables are firstly defined in the
0.10
Sim ulation ADAMS model. The input signal is the force that
0.08 E xperim ent
controls the trolley movement. Meanwhile, the output
0.06
signals are the measured parameters of the trolley
Longitudinal sway [rad]

0.04
0.02
0.00
-0.02
-0.04
-0.06
-0.08
-0.10
0 10
Fig. 8. The comparison between simulation and experi-
ment responses of the sway angle of load.
Therefore, the ADAMS model can be used to imitate the
characteristics of the MHC mechanical model. This
model also can be used to simulate, analyse, test, and
validate the behaviour of the mechanical and the control
systems.
4. DEVELOPING A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR
THE MHC MECHANISM
4.1. Creating an adams_sys in MATLAB/Simulink
Constructing a control system for the virtual MHC
model is necessary for co-simulation of the two separate
simulation programs into a whole system. The control
design is developed based on ADAMS/Control and
MATLAB/Simulink. To export the virtual MHC mech-
anical model from ADAMS to MATLAB environment,
position and the swing angle of the load, respectively.
Subsequently, this model is exported to MATLAB/
Simulink. Fig. 9 shows the connection between Adams
and Matlab in the co-simulation model.
In MATLAB environment, a .m file and an adams_sys
are created. The adams_sys presents the non-linear
MSC.ADAMS model (i.e., the MHC mechanical system)
as shown in Fig. 10. The ADAMS block is created based
20 30 40 50 on the information from the .m file [17].
T im e [sec] This adams_sys is used to build a control system in
MATLAB/Simulink in which the input signal is the
generated signal from the controller, and the output
signals are the measured values of the trolley
displacement and swing angle of the load, respectively.
4.2. Controller design
As analysed above, the MHC model is a nonlinear
system that is operated in harsh environments with
external disturbance and system parameter variations. In
this condition, a traditional PID controller, with three
PID gains (proportional gain KP, integral gain KI, and
derivative gain KD) are fixed, cannot be applied for
controlling the position and angle of the MHC system.
In order to achieve system robustness against param-
eter variations, this paper proposes an adaptive sliding
mode PID controller (ASMP), which combines the
advantages of PID and sliding mode controllers [18]. Fig.
11 shows the block diagram of the adaptive sliding mode
PID control system for the MHC.
 Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with Virtual Prototyping Technology 1209

From (5), the MHC system has two subsystems: the

positioning subsystem of the crane trolley, and the anti-
swing of payload.
The sliding surfaces of the two subsystems are defined
as:
sx = ex + λx ex ,
(6)
sθ = eθ + λθ eθ .

In this work, a control input u was designed to control

the trolley position and suppress the swing angle of the
load simultaneously. The design methods for these two
controllers are similar, hence the method for designing
the trolley position controller is presented.
The sliding surface of the trolley position controller is
rewritten as.
s x = ex + λx ex , (7)
Fig. 11. Block diagram of adaptive sliding mode PID where ex = xd − x, xd is the desired position; x is the
control system for the MHC.
measured position; and λx is a positive constant.
Derivating (7)
Several previous researchers applied the sliding mode
controller method for the uncertainty system [9,16,24]. sx = ex + λx ex = 
xd − 
x + λx ex . (8)
Sliding mode control (SMC) is a modern control method
that uses state-space approach to analyse such a system. Substituting x2 = x from (5) into (8), we have
The advantage of SMC is its robustness against system
parameter variations and external disturbances. The way sx = 
xd − f1 ( X ) − b1 ( X )u x − d1 (t ) + λx ex . (9)
SMC deal with uncertainty is to drive the plants state
trajectory onto a sliding surface and maintain the error The control input u of PID controller is designed based
trajectory on this surface for all subsequent times. The on (9)
sliding surface is defined such that the state tracking 1
error converges to zero with input reference [24]. An uPID = [ 
xd − f1 ( X ) − d1 (t ) + λx ex ] = AB + ε , (10)
additional adaptive law is developed in such a way that b1 ( X )
the PID control gains can be updated online with an
adequate adaptation mechanism that is adaptive with the where A = [KP KI KD]: vector of the gain of PID
T
variations of system parameters and external disturb- ⎡ ds ⎤
controller; B = ⎢ sx ∫ sx x ⎥ : basic vector of PID
ances. ⎣ dt ⎦
Based on the nonlinear systems that were defined in
controller; ε is an approximate error.
Wang’s study [16], this paper considers the MHC system
as a nonlinear system with a single-input and multi-
The control signal ux of the position controller is
output, and the assumption that the trolley motion along
determined as:
the X-direction, the couple systems can be expressed in
the following form: ˆ +u ,
u x = u PID + uh = ΑΒ (11)
h
x1 = x2 ,
where Α̂ is estimated value of vector A, Α̂ = [ Kˆ P Kˆ I
x2 = f1 ( X ) + b1 ( X )u x + d1 (t ),
(5) Kˆ ] ; uh is control signal of the auxiliary controller.
x3 = x4 , D
Substituting (11) into (9) yields:
x4 = f 2 ( X ) + b2 ( X )uθ + d 2 (t ),
ˆ + u ⎤ + λ e − d
xd − f1 − b1 ⎡⎣ ΑΒ
sx = 
where X = (x1, x2, x3, x4) is state variables vector that h⎦ x x 1
(12)
represents the position and velocity of trolley, the sway  B +bε −b u ,
= b1Α 1 1 h
angle and angle velocity of payload. The f1(X), f2(x),
b1(X ) and b2(X ) are the nonlinear functions. The d1(t) where Α  = Α−Α ˆ is estimation error.
and d2(t) are the bounded lumped disturbances which In order to prove the stability, the Lyapunov function
include the system parameter variations and external can be used.
disturbances (i.e., they satisfy |d1(t)| ≤ d1M and |d2(t)| ≤
d2M, where d1M, d2M are known non negative constants), 1 2 1 2
and u is the control input to control the crane trolley V= sx + Α (13)
2 2γ
position and sway angle of payload to achieve the
desired objectives. Derivating (13) yields:
1210 Hong-Soek Park and Ngoc-Tran Le

1   optimised by considering the following desired

V = sx sx + ΑΑ specifications:
γ
• Overshoot ≤ 2 %
 B +b ε −b u )+ 1  
= s x (b1Α 1 1 h ΑΑ • Settling time ≤ 5 s
γ (14) • Steady state error ≤ ±15 %.
⎛ 1  ⎞  On the other hand, in order to suppress the swing
= ⎜ s x b1 B + Α ⎟ Α + s x b1ε − b1uh s x angle quickly, the ASMP controller is optimised based
⎝ γ ⎠
on the following desired specifications:
≤ 0. • Settling time ≤ 5 s
• Residual swing ≤ ±0.05 rad.
From (14), we have
⎛ 1  ⎞ Table 2. The system parameters for simulation.
⎜ sx b1 B + Α ⎟ = 0 . (15)
⎝ γ ⎠ Parameters Values
Simulation time (t) 30 sec
Hence, Α

= −Α ˆ = −γ s b B. The control objectives:
x 1
The three PID controller gains including KP, KI, and - Desired trolley position (Xd) 2.0 m
- Desired sway angle of load (θd) 0 rad
KD are on-line updated by the following adaptive laws
Model parameters:
 - Crane height (h) 3m
Kˆ P = γ sx b1sx , - Rope length (l) 1.2 m; 1.5 m

Kˆ I = γ s x b1 ∫ s x ,
- Trolley mass (mt) 127 kg
(16) - Load mass (ml) 148 kg; 350kg
 ds Disturbance parameters:
Kˆ D = γ s x b1 x . - Sea wave height (hw) 0.02 m; 0.04 m
dt - Sea wave frequency ( fw) 1.5 rad/sec; 3 rad/sec
Considering (14) Control gains of the ASMP: λ = 200, γ = 1e − 15,
- Tracking the desired position b = 1/127, λ = 200,
V = b1ε sx − b1η sgn( sx ) sx - Tracking the desired angle γ = −1e − 9, b = 1
= b1ε sx − b1η sx < b1 sx ( ε − η ) < 0 (17)
2.5
⇒η > ε , A SM P control
N o control

where uh = η sgn( sx ) is the sign function. 2.0

]
⎧1 if sx > 0 [m 1.5
no
⎪ iit
sgn( sx ) = ⎨ 0 if sx = 0 (18) so
p
⎪−1 if s < 0 ye 1.0
ll
⎩ x or
T
Equation (14) proves that the sliding surface is stability. 0.5
The control input for controlling the MHC model is
composed of the trolley position control input ux and the 0.0
angle control input uθ as: 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Tim e [sec]
u = u x + uθ . (19) (a) Trolley motion.
1.0
A SM P control
0.8 N o control
5. SIMULATION RESULTS
0.6
0.4
In this section, the simulation is implemented in the ]

MHC virtual model under the condition of wave

d
a
r
[
0.2
e
0.0
l

disturbance and system parameter variations. The wave g

n
a

-0.2
y
disturbances are changed by the height and frequency of a
w
S

the sea wave. Meanwhile, the system parameters (load -0.4

and stretch of rope) are changed by the length and mass. -0.6
The values of these simulation parameters are given in -0.8
Table 2. -1.0
According to Solihin et al. [19], the control goals of 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec]
the ASMP controllers, including tracking the position of
the trolley and suppressing the sway angle of the load, (b) Sway motion.
are considered in the following criteria. Fig. 12. The position and angle responses of ASMP
In order to carry out quick motions with small control with hw = 0.02 m, fw = 1.5 rad/s, l = 1.2
overshoot, the ASMP controller for the trolley position is m, ml = 148 kg.
 Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with Virtual Prototyping Technology 1211

2 .5 2 .5

A S M P c o n trol A S M P con trol

N o c on tro l N o c on trol
2 .0 2 .0

] ]
[m 1 .5 [m
no no 1 .5

iit iit
so so
p p
eyll 1 .0 ye
llo 1 .0

roT rT

0 .5 0 .5

0 .0 0 .0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec] T im e [sec]
(a) Trolley motion. (a) Trolley motion.
1 .0 1 .0
A S M P c on trol A S M P con trol
0 .8 N o c on trol 0 .8 N o control
0 .6 0 .6
0 .4 0 .4
] ]

0 .2
d
0 .2
d
a a
r r
[ [
e e
l
0 .0
l
g
n 0 .0 g
n
a
a
y
-0 .2
y
a
w
-0 .2 a
w
S S

-0 .4 -0 .4
-0 .6 -0 .6
-0 .8 -0 .8
-1 .0 -1 .0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec] T im e [sec]
(b) Sway motion. (b) Sway motion.
Fig. 13. The position and angle responses of ASMP Fig. 15. The position and angle responses of ASMP
control with hw = 0.04 m, fw = 1.5 rad/s, l = 1.2 control with hw = 0.04 m, fw = 3 rad/s, l = 1.2 m,
m, ml = 148 kg. ml = 148kg.
2 .5 2.5
A S M P c on trol A S M P control
N o c on trol N o control
2 .0 2.0

] ]
[m 1 .5 [m 1.5
no no
iit iit
so so
p p
ye 1 .0 eyll 1.0
llo
rT roT

0 .5 0.5

0 .0 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [se c ] T im e [sec]
(a) Trolley motion. (a) Trolley motion.
1 .0 1 .0
A S M P con trol A S M P con trol
0 .8 N o con trol 0 .8 N o con trol
0 .6 0 .6
0 .4 0 .4
] ]

0 .2 0 .2
d d
a a
r r
[ [
e e
l
g
n 0 .0 l
g
n
0 .0
a a
y
a
w
-0 .2 y
a
w
-0 .2
S S
-0 .4 -0 .4
-0 .6 -0 .6
-0 .8 -0 .8
-1 .0 -1 .0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec] T im e [sec]
(b) Sway motion. (b) Sway motion.
Fig. 14. The position and angle responses of ASMP Fig. 16. The position and angle responses of ASMP
control with hw = 0.02 m, fw = 3 rad/s, l = 1.2 m, control with hw = 0.02 m, fw = 1.5 rad/s, l = 1.5
ml = 148 kg. m, ml = 350 kg.
1212 Hong-Soek Park and Ngoc-Tran Le

2 .5 2 .5
A S M P c on trol A S M P c on trol
N o c on trol N o con trol
2 .0 2 .0
] ]
m
[ 1 .5 [m 1 .5
no no
tii tii
so so
p p
eyll 1 .0 eyll 1 .0
roT roT

0 .5 0 .5

0 .0 0 .0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec] T im e [se c ]
(a) Trolley motion. (a) Trolley motion.
1 .0 1 .0
A S M P c on trol A S M P c on trol
0 .8 N o con trol 0 .8 N o c on trol
0 .6 0 .6
0 .4 0 .4
] ]
d
a
r
[
0 .2 d
a
r
[
0 .2
e e
0 .0
l
0 .0
l
g g
n n
a a

-0 .2
y
-0 .2
y
a a
w w
S S

-0 .4 -0 .4
-0 .6 -0 .6
-0 .8 -0 .8
-1 .0 -1 .0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec] T im e [sec]
(b) Sway motion. (b) Sway motion.
Fig. 17. The position and angle responses of ASMP Fig. 19. The position and angle responses of ASMP
control with hw = 0.04 m, fw = 1.5 rad/s, l = 1.5 control with hw = 0.04 m, fw = 3 rad/s, l = 1.5 m,
m, ml = 350 kg. ml = 350 kg.
2 .5
A S M P c o n tro l Through the comparison of the position and angle
N o c o n tro l
responses between no control and proposed ASMP
2 .0
control approach as shown in Figs. 12-19, the achieved
] performances on the virtual prototyping model are
[m 1 .5
no evaluated based on the above criteria. The trolley
iit
so
p
ye
position performances are evaluated in terms of settling
llo 1 .0 time, overshoot, and error. Meanwhile, the sway angle
rT
performances are evaluated based on sway amplitude and
0 .5 its settling time.
Tables 3, 4, 5, and 6 show the comparison of both
0 .0 positioning and angle performances between no control
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec ] and proposed ASMP control approach in all cases of
(a) Trolley motion. disturbance and system parameter variations.
1 .0 The evaluating for the positioning and angle
A S M P con trol
0 .8 N o con trol performances is based on comparison detail in Tables.
0 .6 In all simulation cases, the overshoot appears less than
0 .4 2%, settling time maintains in range 4-5 second, and
]
d
a
r
[
0 .2 steady state error approximately zero. The positioning
e
l
g
n
0 .0 response is tracking the desired position, and the
a
y
a
w
-0 .2
S

-0 .4 Table 3. Comparison of positioning performances.

-0 .6 Simulation Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.
-0 .8 Performance 12(a) 13(a) 14(a) 15(a)
-1 .0 No control
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
T im e [sec]
harmonic oscillation 0.06 0.12 0.06 0.12
with amplitude (m)
(b) Sway motion.
ASMP controller
Fig. 18. The position and angle responses of ASMP Overshoot (%) 1 1 1.5 1.5
control with hw = 0.02 m, fw = 3 rad/s, l = 1.5 m, Settling time (s) 4 4 4 4
ml = 350 kg. Error (m) 0 0 0 0
 Modeling and Controlling the Mobile Harbour Crane System with Virtual Prototyping Technology 1213

Table 4. Comparison of anti-swing performances.

Simulation Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.
Performance 12(b) 13(b) 14(b) 15(b)
No control
harmonic oscillation 0.1 0.12 0.43 0.75
with amplitude (rad)
ASMP controller
Amplitude (rad) 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.14
Settling time (s) 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6

Table 5. Comparison of positioning performance.

Simulation Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.
Performance 16(a) 17(a) 18(a) 19(a)
No control
harmonic oscillation 0.06 0.12 0.06 0.12
with amplitude (m) Fig. 20. The MHC tesbed at University of Ulsan.
ASMP controller
Overshoot (%) 1.4 1.8 1.1 1.5
Table 7. Parameters of prototype UOU crane.
Settling time (s) 5 5 5 5
Error (m) 0 0 0 0 Parameter Value
Base length 2.0m
Width 1.2m
Table 6. Comparison of anti-swing performance.
Height 3.2m
Disturbance Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Boom length 5.1m
Performance 16(b) 17(b) 18(b) 19(b) Total weight 700kg
No control
harmonic oscillation 0.14 0.18 0.20 0.34
with amplitude (rad)
be executed through co-simulation method that uses the
ASMP controller commercial software to replace the traditional build-and-
Amplitude (rad) 0.13 0.15 0.15 0.16 test approach. Significantly, this approach can support
Settling time (s) 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 the designers to modify the mechanical and control
designs to eliminate errors and increase the accuracy.
longitudinal sway component is perfectly eliminated.
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