Regulation of a Two-Degree-of-Freedom Structure Using Internal Resonance

Abstract

In this paper, we present a first attempt at using an energy based control technique to regulate the oscillations of a flexible joint, flexible arm device, through computer simulation. This technique takes advantage of the Internal Resonance (IR) phenomenon. The plant is governed by two coupled linear differential equations. The control scheme is implemented by introducing two software based controllers which are coupled dynamically with the plant through a nonlinear feedback control law. At Internal Resonance, the nonlinear coupling generates an energy link between the plant and the controllers. Thus, energy is transferred from the plant to the controllers where two active damping mechanisms subsequently dissipate it. Here the response of the structure is regulated with a single input torque applied to one plant coordinate. The theoretical analysis is based on the two-variable expansion perturbation method. Thereafter, the analytical findings are verified numerically. Simulation results indicate that the IR control strategy is able to effectively quench the oscillations of the plant.