Mathematical modelling and virtual decomposition control of heavy-duty parallel$-$serial hydraulic manipulators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new Newton-Euler based model for heavy-duty parallel-serial hydraulic manipulators, incorporating actuator pressure dynamics, and develops a stable control law using virtual decomposition control.

Contribution

It presents a novel N-E dynamics model for complex hydraulic manipulators that includes actuator pressure dynamics and simplifies parameter requirements.

Findings

Derived actuator force expressions without assuming massless actuators.

Established Lyapunov stability for the entire manipulator system.

Proposed a control law based on the new model ensuring system stability.

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel modelling approach for a heavy-duty manipulator with parallel$-$serial structures connected in series. Each considered parallel$-$serial structure contains a revolute segment with rigid links connected by a passive revolute joint and actuated by a linear hydraulic actuator, thus forming a closed kinematic loop. In addition, prismatic segments, consisting of prismatic joints driven by hydraulic linear actuators, also are considered. Expressions for actuator forces are derived using the Newton$-$Euler (N$-$E) dynamics formulation. The derivation process does not assume massless actuators decoupled from manipulator links, which is common in the Lagrange dynamics formulation. Actuator pressure dynamics are included in the analysis, leading in total to a third-order system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The proposed model in the N$-$E framework, with fewer parameters than its predecessors, inspires revision of the virtual decomposition control (VDC) systematic process to formulate a control law based on the new model. The virtual stability of each generic manipulator revolute and prismatic segment is obtained, leading to the Lyapunov stability of the entire robot.