Robust Distributed Cruise Control of Multiple High-Speed Trains Based on Disturbance Observer

This paper investigates the robust distributed cruise control problem of multiple high-speed trains under external disturbances. First, by modeling each train as a cascade of point masses connected by spring-like couplers, the longitudinal interaction between adjacent cars are represented by the connected topological graph. Then, under the framework of the communication-based train control technology, the interaction of desirable speed information among trains and the wayside control center is described by the directed topological graph. Next, a distributed cruise controller is designed by taking advantages of the graphic theory such that the multiple trains track different target speeds, and both the distance of neighboring cars and the headway of successive trains are kept in appropriate ranges. Finally, to eliminate the influence of external disturbances, we adopt the disturbance observer to approximate the perturbations, and present a sufficient condition for the existence of the distributed control strategy and the observer gain parameter in form of the linear matrix inequality (LMI). Numerical experiments illustrate that the composite control law is effective in inhibiting the external disturbances, and guaranteeing the safety, efficiency and comfort of high-speed trains' movement.