Modeling and compensation for biodynamic feedthrough in backhoe operation

Biodynamic feedthrough occurs in many types of operator controlled machines where the operator is a passenger and the motion of the controlled machine excites motion of the human operator, creating unwanted feedback. It is a significant cause for control performance degradation in backhoes. In this research, the problem of biodynamic feedthrough is investigated in a backhoe control system. For simplification, the system is limited to a single degree of freedom. Several controller based approaches are investigated to reduce cab vibration, while maintaining cylinder tracking performance. These controllers are tested in hardware, with and without the human operator and associated biodynamic feedthrough. The effect of this cab vibration reduction on biodynamic feedthrough is tested in a small set of human subject tests. The results indicate that some vibration reduction and improvement in the operator's control performance can be achieved by adding cab vibration compensation.M.S.Committee Chair: Book, Wayne J.; Committee Member: Jiang, Steven X.; Committee Member: Singhose, Willia