An Active Cable-Driven Suppression Method for Crane Load with Large Swing Angle

In the construction of lunar bases and other space infrastructures, lifting and offloading operations will be essential. However, due to the lack of human assistance on the lunar surface, it is necessary to rely as much as possible on the actuation capabilities of the equipment itself to suppress load swing during operations. The nonlinear dynamic model of the cable-driven load swing system established in this paper reveals that pulling and releasing the cable in a proper manner can continuously perform negative work on the system, thereby dissipating its mechanical energy. Based on this principle, a control law has been designed and validated through numerical simulations and physical experiments. The results of both are highly consistent and indicate that under a large swing angle (about ±18°), the actuating actions with pull-release method of the crane cable can reduce the swing angle amplitude by half within 9 vibration periods. The pull-release operation is an inherent capability of cranes. By making slight adjustments to the traction parameters, targeted actuation can be effectively achieved. This demonstrates the strong feasibility of the swing suppression method with pull-release actuation.