Dynamics and control of mechanical and biomechanical systems

With the advances in mechanical and robotic systems in terms of light weights, high speeds, and precision comes a great demand for more effective vibration suppression and control schemes. This work presents a novel algorithm, called Optimal- SNC/Optimal-SNC-PID, for vibration suppression and control of mechanical and robotic systems for better accuracy. The proposed method has been tested and compared with traditional control algorithms on several multi-degree-of-freedom systems and a robotic arm under simulated random vibration signals in the vertical and horizontal directions. The proposed control scheme has the potential to be applied for high precision surgical and fabrication applications. Transmitted vibrations can affect human performance and comfort and can be a potential risk for injuries. According to the literature, vibration transmitted to seated humans would mostly affect their lumbar and cervical spine regions. Based on the structure of the proposed Optimal-SNC control algorithm, a human head-neck model is developed in this work to resemble the head-neck biodynamic response due to fore-aft whole-body vibration. The proposed model has the potential to be used for investigating head-neck discomfort and injury. It also has the potential to be used for the development of more effective seats in whole-body applications.