Modelling and control of terrestrial and sub-sea flexible manipulators

SUMMARY Modelling and Control of Terrestrial and Sub-sea Flexible Manipulators The usage fields of robots have increased rapidly due to the developing technology. Studies on this field have gained speed recently and the lightweight, fast and economic robots became more important. In this study, modeling and control of a three link robot manipulator whose first and second link are rigid and the third one flexible is considered and also a two link manipulator whose first link is rigid and the second one flexible working under the water environment is considered. The response of the systems is evaluated by applying some of the classical control methods which are known P and PD control. Governing equations of the systems are derived from Hamilton Principle and eigenvalue approximation method. The code that is written in MATLAB for system simulation has solved nonlinear ordinary differential equations defining the system dynamics by using Runge - Kutta algorithm. It is seen that, PD control gives faster response and is more effective in tip position control. In addition to this, it is found that increasing payload causes a decrease in the frequency of vibration meanwhile increasing the amplitude of it. Key Words: Flexible Manipulators, Sub-sea Robots, Modelling, P Control, PD Control VI