Partial differential equation boundary control of a flexible manipulator with input saturation

In this study, we consider the boundary control problem of a flexible manipulator in the presence of input saturation and input disturbances. The dynamics of the flexible system are represented by partial differential equations (PDEs). Based on disturbance observers, a boundary control scheme is designed to regulate angular position and suppress elastic vibration simultaneously. The proposed control scheme allows the application of smooth hyperbolic functions, which satisfy physical conditions and input restrictions, easily be realised. It is proved that the proposed control scheme can be guaranteed in handling input saturation and external disturbances. The stability is achieved through rigorous analysis without any simplification of the dynamics. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.