Residual vibration control of a single-link flexible manipulator with variable stiffness and damping magnetorheological joint

Abstract

Residual vibrations of large flexible manipulator can be easily excited due to large inertia and low damping, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the tasks. This paper describes an approach for the use of smart materials, specifically, magnetorheological fluid, in vibration control of a single-link flexible (SLF) manipulator. Considering that the systems with variable stiffness and damping have demonstrated excellent performance, a compact variable stiffness and damping magnetorheological joint (VSD-MRJ) was designed. A mathematical model of the SLF manipulator with a VSD-MRJ was established. Two independent fuzzy controllers were designed and applied to the stiffness and damping control of the joint. Finally, a test platform was built and the experimental results verified that the residual vibration suppression performance of the manipulator with the VSD-MRJ is better than the traditional rigid manipulator.