Nonlinear Trajectory Tracking Control for Heavy-Haul Trains

In this paper, a nonlinear control is proposed for trajectory tracking of heavy-haul trains. The distinctive feature of the proposed control strategy is that, no active control efforts are exerted on wagons; and braking forces of wagons are considered as resistance, such that constraints of negative values on controls for wagons are avoided. It is proved that, the wagons can be regarded as the internal dynamics of the full-state system, and states of wagons are ultimately bounded. The control strategy for locomotives is designed based on nonlinear consensus of networked systems. Theoretical proof indicates that, with the proposed control, tracking errors of the closed-loop system are globally asymptotically stable. Simulation results are displayed to illustrate the performances of the closed-loop system.