Electrical Engineering in Japan, Vol. 134, No.

2, 2001
Translated from Denki Gakkai Ronbunshi, Vol. 120-D, No. 1, January 2000, pp. 5–10

Speed Control of Two-Inertia System with Gear Backlash Based on Gear Torque
Compensation

MASAKI ODAI and YOICHI HORI

The University of Tokyo, Japan

SUMMARY carried out actively [4–9]. The two-inertia system shown in

Section 2.1 is the simplest model considering the shaft
In this paper, we propose a novel speed control torsional vibration, and a controller based on this is often
method for a two-inertia system with gear backlash based designed. However, as shown in Fig. 1, when backlash is
on the gear torque compensator. The compensator consists present in the controlled system, it is often the case that the
of two elements: the gear torque observer and a feedback desired performance realized in the absence of backlash,
gain to be adjusted. The ideal gear torque compensation not only is prevented but also the stability way be damaged.
makes the characteristic from motor torque to motor speed On the other hand, several control techniques for
to that of one-inertia system. However, such a direct usage systems with backlash have been proposed. However, these
of the compensator causes harmful vibration due to the have shortcomings, such as that it is difficult to obtain quick
torsional shaft. To compromise, we introduce a feedback response because the controllers are switched depending on
gain and adjust it. Combining this method with a typical the gear conditions [10], and the relationships between
PID controller, we realized superior performances in vibra- parameters which must be adjusted are hard to understand
tion suppression and disturbance rejection. Its effectiveness
because the speed controller and the backlash compensator
is shown by simulations and experiments. © 2000 Scripta
are designed simultaneously [11]. Using the technique pro-
Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 134(2): 36–43, 2001
posed in this paper, these shortcomings are improved, and
the adjustment guideline is made as clear as possible and
the order of the controller is not made larger from the
Key words: Nonlinear element; backlash; gear
practical side.
torque observer; gear torque compensation; two-inertia sys-
tem; vibration suppression control.

1. Introduction

In industrial drive and high-speed positioning con-

trol, it has long been known that nonlinear elements such
as friction, saturation, and gear backlash in controlled sys-
tems are large obstacles which will deteriorate the control
performance. Among them, gear backlash is a nonlinear
element whose characteristic is the worst because its mod-
eling is difficult. To deal with this problem, we will propose
in this paper a new technique based on the concept of gear
torque compensation, and show its effectiveness by apply-
ing it to the speed control of a two-inertia system [1–3].
Owing to enhancement of the response speed of the Fig. 1. The harmful vibration caused by gear backlash.
speed control system in recent years, the stiffness of the (a) Step-response simulation of two-inertia system
shaft connecting motor and load can no longer be ignored, without backlash. (b) Step-response experiment of
and research on its vibration suppression control is being two-inertia system with backlash.

© 2000 Scripta Technica

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 2. Model of Two-Inertia System with Backlash

2.1 Model of two-inertia system

The model of the two-inertia system sham in Fig. 2

can be expressed by Eq. (1) if the friction terms Bm and Bl
are neglected. It has the resonance frequency Za / —CCq and
antiresonance frequency Za.

(1)

2.2 Model of gear with backlash

Paying attention to part of the gear, the backlash and

its behavior can be expressed as shown in Fig. 3.
By introducing moments of inertia of gear J1, J2, Fig. 3. Gear backlash.
elasticity of gear Kg, and backlash angle 'T, the gear with
backlash can be modeled as a two-inertia system with dead
zone as shown in Fig. 3(b) [12]. Here, the angular momen-
tum conservation law holds:

(2)
A dead zone is present in the backlash model of Fig.
3(b). In calculating the time response, it is used as a non-
linear element as is; however, when looking at the fre- (3)
quency response, it must be handled as an equivalent gain
Moreover, since the value which the amplitude A can take
by using a descriptive function.
is 0 d A  f, the value which Kl can take becomes
If the input is A sin Zt, the descriptive function Kl of
the dead zone can be given by
(4)
Hence, if the dead zone of Fig. 3(b) is expressed by
the descriptive function Kl, we obtain

(5)

2.3 Model of two-inertia system with backlash

When the above models of the two-inertia system and

the backlash are combined, a model of a two-inertia system
with backlash can be obtained; however, in addition to the
inertias of motor and load, there are two inertias of gear
which should be added, resulting in a four-inertia system
which is very large. For simplicity in this paper, by consid-
ering, in the experimental machine shown in Fig. 12, the
distinctive structural feature that the gear is positioned close
to the motor, we believe that the model of three inertias
shown in Fig. 4 may be sufficient and therefore we will use
Fig. 2. Two-inertia system. it.

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 When the gear torque is estimated by using an ob-
server and the control system is configured such that its
magnitude becomes Eq. (9), the setup shown in Fig. 5 is
realized. The structure of the gear torque observer is the
same as the disturbance observer (here, since the estimation
speed is very fast, it is expressed by a pure differential in
this figure; however, the actual estimation speed is limited).
Here, if Kpf = 1 and the nominal value shown in Eq.
(10) is used as Kb, Zm / T m will have no relation with Tg and
will be implemented in one inertia as shown in Eq. (11) and
Fig. 6(a); moreover, the moment of inertia will be nominal -
ized. However, Fig. 6(a) uses the numerical values of the
experimental machine (subscript n indicates nominal
value).

(10)

(11)

However, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the compensator of

Kpf = 1 will compensate not only Tg but also shaft torsional
torque Ts. The fact that Ts is compensated and Zm will not
appear means that the information on shaft torsional vibra-
tion will not be transmitted to the motor side, and so the
control of the shaft torsional vibration cannot be performed.
Accordingly, let us consider a technique for deter-
mining the gain Kpf, without changing the form of the
Fig. 4. Two-inertia system with backlash.
compensator, by considering the suppression of the vibra-
tion of the two-inertia system.

3.2 Method of determination of gain Kpf

Jm is the sum of motor inertia and gear inertia on the
motor side, Jg the gear inertia on the load side, Jl the load In determining the gain Kpf, both sides of the com-
inertia, and Ks the elasticity of the shaft. pensation of the backlash and the transmission of the shaft
torsional information must be considered.

3. Gear Torque Compensator

3.1 Gear torque observer

In the backlash model shown in Fig. 3(b), if it is

assumed that load torque Ts = 0 and there is no backlash,
since we have Eq. (6), Eqs. (7) and (8) hold. From these,
the magnitude of the gear torque Tg which would be realized
in the state of no backlash can be calculated by Eq. (9).

(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
Fig. 5. Gear torque compensator.

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 Fig. 6. Bode magnitude plots of Zm / T m and Zm / Ts
when Kpf 1.
Fig. 8. Bode magnitude plot of F with respect to Kpf.

First, as the index of backlash compensation, the peak

gain Ep of E given by Eq. (12) will be used. Here, the smaller (14)
Ep is, the better the aspect of backlash compensation.
As the index of shaft torsional information transmis-
sion, the gain Fr in the resonance frequency Zr of F given
by Eq. (13) will be used. Fr is about 1 / {Jm  JgZr} better (15)
than the case of a one-inertia system without backlash; It is seen from Fig. 9 that qualitatively, Ep (i.e., the
however, for simplicity here, it is regarded that the larger suppression performance of the backlash vibration) is better
the better. when Kpf is larger; and Fr (i.e., the suppression performance
The results of calculating the changes of E and F with of the vibration of the two-inertia system) is better when
respect to Kpf by using the numerical values of the experi- Kpf is smaller. Concretely, it is good enough to apply the
mental machine are shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Here, recommended Kpf based on the calculation first, and then to
Zr u 152 rad / s. perform the tuning such that the balance of both is taken
while looking at the response waveforms. Figure 10 shows
(12) the frequency characteristics in the case of using the recom-
mended Kpf (0.74). It is seen that the information on the
(13) shaft torsional torque Ts has been transmitted to the speed
controller; although it is not implemented in one complete
The evaluation quantity ZKpf given by Eq. (14) is inertia by looking at Zm / T m, it may be regarded roughly as
defined by using Ep and Fr, and Kpf which minimizes it will a one-inertia system in the frequency band lower than the
be used. In the example of the experimental machine, backlash vibration and, moreover, the resonance point has
Ep, Fr, and Z are drawn as shown in Fig. 9, and Kpf which also been suppressed.
minimizes Z becomes 0.74.

Fig. 9. Characteristics of Ep, Fr, and Z with respect to

Fig. 7. Bode magnitude plot of E with respect to Kpf. Kpf.

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 Fig. 10. Bode magnitude plots of (a) Zm / T m and (b)
Zm / Ts with the suggested Kpf.

3.3 Handling of descriptive function Kl of

dead zone
Fig. 11. Block diagram of the proposed control method.
In the proposed technique, the frequency response is
used in order to determine the value of Kpf. As previously
described, in the case of calculating the frequency response,
it is necessary to handle the dead zone as an equivalent gain
Kl0 d Kl d 1. When the backlash is considered, the controlled sys-
If the gear is completely noncontact, Kl = 0; and if tem becomes a three-inertia system. When the PID control-
completely in the contact state, Kl = 1. For Kl = 0, we have ler of Eq. (16) is applied to the three-inertia system, the
Tg = 0 regardless of the value of Kpf and the shaft torsional sixth-order coefficient of the characteristic equation be-
torque Ts will not be transmitted either. Namely, the con- comes negative, and the system will become unstable when
trolled variable Zl will not become controllable in the first Eq. (17) holds. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the gain
place. of the speed controller when Eq. (17) holds. In the adjust-
For Kl = 1 , since Kg f is not the case, it does not ment, it is desirable to maintain the original response per-
agree with the simple two-inertia system in which the gear formance as much as possible. Accordingly, Kd only is
is completely neglected. On the other hand, if it is rotating adjusted in such a way that the equivalent time constant
at a constant speed under the state that the load is connected, W Kp / Ki which expresses the basic response in the coeffi-
it must be that Kl = 1. Accordingly, Kl = 1 will be used in cient graphic method is not changed. Here, since the stable
the design regardless of the magnitude of 'T in the sense condition of the system is given by Eq. (18), Eq. (19) will
that the assumed state is clear. also be used taking into account the modeling error.
By doing so, the backlash angle 'T can be removed
in the design. 'T is a difficult parameter in the measurement (17)
and is also a parameter whose change of value due to (18)
wearing and damage during operation can be expected; this (19)
advantage may be large.
Namely, the PID controller shown in Eq. (16) will be
4. Design of Speed Controller—PID Gain Adjusting used in the speed controller; however, Eq. (19) will be used
Method as Kd only when the controlled system satisfies Eq. (17).

It is known that a PID controller [4] is sufficient for

vibration suppression control of the two-inertia system
5. Experimental Machine
without backlash. In this paper, the PID controller of Eq.
(16) designed by means of the coefficient graphic method
will also be used as the basic speed controller. Figure 11 Figure 12 shows the configuration of the experimen-
shows a block diagram of the proposed control system. tal setup of the two-inertia system with gear used in this
paper. The gear inertia Jg, load inertia Jl, and elasticity
coefficient Ks of the shaft can be changed in a certain range;
however, the results of the case of the parameters given in
(16)
Table 1 only are shown in this paper.

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 Fig. 12. Experimental setup of torsional system. Fig. 13. Step-response simulation of two-inertia system
without backlash: Simulation results.

The backlash angle 'T is set as 1°; however, this is

employed only for the simulation and is not used in the
design of the control system.

6. Experiments and Simulations

In the simulations and experiments, as the inputs, a

speed command of 20 rad/s is given stepwise at t = 0, and
a disturbance torque of 1 N is also given stepwise at t =
0.15 s. The speed controller uses a two-degree-of-free- Fig. 14. Step-response without proposed methods.
dom PID controller shown in Fig. 11. We set b = 0.3. For
the parameters of Table 1, since adjustment of the differ-
ential gain Kd becomes necessary, Eq. (19) is used.
Figure 13 shows the responses in the case of no
backlash. These are also the responses targeted for a two-
inertia system with backlash.
Figure 14 shows the responses when this controller
is applied to the two-inertia system with backlash. It is
seen that violent vibration has occurred due to the back-
lash.
The results of the case when the proposed tech-
nique is applied are shown by the following orders.
First, in the example of the parameters given in Table
1, since the condition of Eq. (17) holds, adjustment of the Fig. 15. Step-response only with adjusted Kd.
differential gain Kd becomes necessary. Accordingly, Fig.
15 shows the responses for the case of adjustment of Kd
only. It is seen from the simulation result that although it is
not as unstable as in Fig. 14, the backlash vibration cannot
be sufficiently suppressed. In the experimental result, ow-
ing to the influence of friction, which does not exist in the

Table 1. System parameters

Fig. 16. Step-response, proposed methods are applied

(Kpf = 0.74).

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 speed controller cannot obtain the desired performance
because of gear backlash, it is good enough to add the gear
torque compensator for the first time and the speed control-
ler can use the original one as is; thus, the proposed tech-
nique can be regarded as a realistic method. The rough role
sharings are summarized as follows:

x Design of basic speed responses o Ki, Kp

x Suppression of shaft torsional vibration o Kd
Fig. 17. Step-response, proposed methods are applied x Trade-off between backlash vibration and shaft
with adjusted Kpf Kpf 0.5. torsional vibration o Kpf

Moreover, since the design does not employ the back-

lash angle 'T, which is hard to measure and fluctuates
easily, it can be said that the design is simple and is also
simulation model, it appears that the vibration due to back- excellent in robustness.
lash did not become that much of a problem. However, a The estimation speed of the gear torque observer is
vibration is actually seen near 0.1 s, and teeth buzzing set sufficiently fast. However, since the backlash phenome-
always occurs during experiments. non occurs in the high-speed region, there is a concern that
Next, we consider the results of applying the pro- a too fast observer may cause some problem. It is necessary
posed gear torque compensator. When the calculations to study the optimal estimation speed of the observer con-
are performed using the numerical values of Table 1, we sidering the backlash vibration and there is a possibility that
have Kpf = 0.74 from Fig. 9 and the responses in this case it may be related to a new design method.
are shown in Fig. 16. It is seen that the vibration due to
backlash has been well suppressed. However, owing to
the use of a finite Kpf value, vibration in the two-inertia REFERENCES
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AUTHORS (from left to right)

Masaki Odai (student member) graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Tokyo in
1997 and completed his master’s course in 1999. He is currently with Hitachi Ltd., and is engaged in research on control
engineering and its industrial applications, particularly on control systems which are robust against nonlinear elements. He is
a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers.

Yoichi Hori (member) graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Tokyo in 1978 and
completed his doctoral course in 1983. After serving as a research associate, lecturer, and associate professor, he is now a
professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering of that university. His areas of interest are control engineering and its
industrial applications, particularly applied researches in the fields of motion control, mechatronics, and electric vehicles. He
is a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, IEEE, the Robotics
Society of Japan, the Institute of Systems, Control and Information Engineers, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, the
Japan Society for Simulation Technology, the Automobile Technology Association, and others.

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