Adaptive control and optimal power/brake distribution of high speed trains with uncertain nonlinear couplers

This paper focuses on the position and velocity tracking control problem of high speed trains consisting of multiple vehicles (i.e., locomotives and carriages). A new dynamic model explicitly reflecting the interactive impacts among the vehicles is established using multiple point-mass Newton equations. Such impacts, together with aerodynamic resistance, mechanical resistance and some other additional resistances due to uncertain operation railway conditions, are addressed in control design. Robust adaptive control strategy is proposed to ensure high precision speed and position tracking, which is realized through optimal power and brake distribution among the vehicles. It is shown that the control scheme is not only robust against external disturbances, but also adaptive to unknown system parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is also confirmed through numerical simulations.