On Thursday, June, 18th ,2026 the department of Mechatronics engineering at Al-Khwarizmi College of engineering held a master thesis defense titled “Design a robust for an underactuated overhead crane system” for the master candidate (Jasim Muhammad Khalif) at the thesis defense hall, where a degree of passing with merit was awarded for her research findings.
The committee is composed of the following members:
- Professor Dr. Bushra Kadhim Alawi, Chair
- Professor Dr. Mahir Yahya Sallum, Examiner
- Assistant Professor Dr. Yarub Omer Naji, Examiner
- Professor Dr. Ali Hussein Muri, 1st Supervisor
- Assistant Professor Ahmed Abd Atiyeh, 2nd Supervisor
This thesis investigates the design of a robust controller for an underactuated overhead crane system, which is widely used in industrial material-handling applications and requires accurate positioning with minimal payload sway. The primary objective is to develop advanced control strategies capable of achieving precise trolley positioning while suppressing payload oscillations under external disturbances and system uncertainties.
Two control approaches are proposed. The first approach employs a Robust Fractional-Order PID (RFOPID) controller whose parameters are optimally tuned using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. A multi-objective cost function is formulated to improve tracking accuracy, reduce steady-state error, minimize overshoot, suppress oscillations, and enhance disturbance rejection.
The second approach combines Feedback Linearization with Energy-Based Compensation to address nonlinear dynamics and coupling effects. The controller parameters are optimized using PSO, while system stability is analytically verified through Lyapunov stability theory. Simulation studies conducted in MATLAB/Simulink demonstrate that the RFOPID controller outperforms conventional PID, PD, and LQR controllers in terms of tracking performance, oscillation suppression, and robustness.
Furthermore, the proposed composite controller based on Feedback Linearization and Energy-Based Compensation exhibits excellent disturbance rejection capability and maintains satisfactory performance under significant parameter uncertainties.
The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methods for improving the safety, accuracy, and robustness of underactuated overhead crane systems.
