Stability Study of Cable-Suspended Stewart Platform

The control stability of the end manipulator of a cable-suspended Stewart platform in disturbance was studied by combination of the multi-body system dynamics and control theory and the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA). The corresponding closed-loop vibration control strategies were suggested based on position prediction with PD (proportional plus derivative) control.Numerical simulation was made on a scale model to study the vibration control effects of the stewart platform with flexible suspension, including system response to step load, system response to cyclic load, and instability. Then, experiments for Stewart platform with cable suspension were designed to study the actual control effects and validate the validity of numerical simulation. The results show that the experimental results agree with the simulation results well, and the the system has a fairly good control effect to the end manipulator. Therefore, a preliminary conclusion can be made that it is feasible using the Stewart platform as the vibration control platform of the flexible support system, by position prediction of the base platform and PD feedback control law.