A predictive control strategy of an active heave compensation system for an electric-driven marine winch based on dynamic analysis

With the influence of wave fluctuation, the engineering ship shows a complex motion with 6 degrees of freedom (6 DOF), which causes a series of problems for offshore operations. Aiming to address this engineering phenomenon, various research projects focusing on dynamics and control have been carried out. However, the relationship between dynamics and control has been severed. This work considers the shortcomings of a simplified model of wire rope and studies the dynamic characteristics of an active heave compensation (AHC) system based on flexible wire rope, as well as the control characteristics of an AHC system based on a marine winch. As a result, an AHC method with model predictive control (MPC) based on dynamic simulation results is proposed, which eliminates the sudden displacement of underwater equipment at the start-up moment of the dynamic, reducing the maximum heave displacement from −0.75 to −0.03 m, while the experiments also prove that the AHC system has the ability to reduce maximum heave displacement from 0.95 to 0.025 m. The overall work is conductive to the research and development of an AHC system and is of practical significance for the exploration of marine resources.