Sliding Mode-Based Distributed Trajectory Tracking Control of Four-body Train Systems

Abstract

This paper considers the speed tracking of a four-body train system modelled mathematically based on Newton’s second law, which is described by a large-scale interconnected system with four subsystems. Uncertainties are included in the systems to represent the potential impacts on system performance caused by mechanical wear and external environmental changes. An adaptive sliding mode technique is employed to design a distributed control scheme to guarantee tracking accuracy. Coordinate transformations are introduced to transfer the model of train systems to a system in regular form to facilitate the design of the hyperplane and controllers. The Barbashin-Krasovskii theorem is employed to show the reachability of the hyperplane. In simulations, the Gaussian function is chosen as the desired signal, representing time-varying characteristics relevant to real-world situations, and the result demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed control strategy.