A PID-controlled lifting spreader designed to steady a suspended 70-ton turbine blade during offshore installation.
Wind and vessel motion leave a long blade moving beneath the crane just as technicians need to align it with the hub. Our team designed a spreader with four independently vectoring propellers, applying force and moment directly at the lifted blade instead of relying only on tag lines.
Mechanical layout, power demand and control authority were treated as one coupled problem. A dynamic model converted position and rotation error into thruster commands; structural and power checks kept the concept buildable. Estimated demand was 1.9 MW nominal and 2.5 MW at peak. The simulations compare the controller before and after cable sway was added.
A 1:100 ESP32 prototype with inertial sensing and four propellers tested control direction, sensor noise and command limits. It validated the control logic while showing where position tracking and a more representative suspended mass are needed next.
