This thesis investigated a tip-over stability of mobile boom cranes with swinging payloads. Base and crane motion presents a tip-over problem. Attaching complex payloads further complicates the problem. They study began with a single-pendulum payload to analyze a tip-over stability characteristics under different conditions. A simple tip-over prediction model was developed with a goal of limiting a computational cost to a minimum. The stability was characterized by a tip-over stability margin method. The crane's tip-over stability was also represented by the maximum possible payload it can carry throughout the workspace. In a static stability analysis, mobile boom crane was assumed to be stationary, thus with no payload swing. The study provided basic understanding on the relationship between tip-over stability and boom configuration. In a pseudo-dynamic stability analysis, the method incorporated payload swing into the analysis by adding estimated maximum payload swing due to motions. To estimate the angles, differential equations of motions of payload swings were derived. The thesis extended the study to a double-pendulum payload. The maximum swing angles estimated in the single-pendulum case were directly applied to the double-pendulum case. To validate the analytical methods, a full dynamic multi-body simulation model of a mobile boom crane was developed. The predictions from the previous analysis were verified by the simulation results. The prediction model and the analytical methods in the thesis provide a significant tool for practical application of tip-over stability analysis on mobile boom cranes. The experimental results increase the confidence of the study's accuracy.

Millions of cranes are used around the world. Because of their wide-spread use in construction industries, boom cranes are an important class of cranes whose performance should be optimized. One limitation of most boom cranes is they are usually attached to a stationary base or a mobile base that is only used for initial positioning and not during operation. This limits the workspace of the boom crane significantly. If a boom crane was attached to a mobile base that could be safely used during lifting operations, then the boom crane workspace could be extended significantly. The problem with using cranes, and in particular mobile cranes, is the large oscillations of the payload that are typically induced when moving the crane. One control strategy that has been used to control oscillation on other types of cranes is called Input Shaping, a command filtering technique that reduces motion-induced vibration in oscillatory systems. This thesis develops a dynamics model for a mobile boom crane and analyzes the difficulty of controlling payload oscillation on a boom crane. Input shaping will shown to be effective for controlling oscillation on boom cranes. A new method for operating a boom crane in Cartesian coordinates will also be shown. This thesis will also detail the design of a small-scale mobile boom crane for experimental and research purposes. A substantial part of this thesis will also focus on the development of new input-shaping methods for nonlinear drive systems commonly found on boom and other types of cranes. An example application of a control system featuring input shaping for an industrial bridge crane will also be discussed.