Robust Adaptive Contact Force Control of Pantograph–Catenary System: An Accelerated Output Feedback Approach

The pantograph-catenary system plays the crucial role in high-speed electric trains for electrical power collection, where continuity and smoothness of the contact between the pantograph and the catenary is one of the key factors ensuring high-quality power collection essential for safe and reliable train operation. In this article, a nonlinear and highly coupled model for the pantograph-catenary system is established, and an accelerated robust adaptive output feedback control method based on a high-gain observer is proposed to solve the contact force tracking control problem of the pantograph-catenary system using output information only. It is shown that, with the proposed method, the tracking error of the contact force is ensured to be ultimately uniformly bounded with an accelerated preassignable decay rate, resulting in smooth contact force and good-quality current collection. Both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation confirm the effectiveness and benefits of the method.