Decentralized learning control for high-speed trains with unknown time-varying speed delays

Treating the multi-point-mass dynamic model of high-speed trains as an interconnected system, this study proposes a decentralized iterative learning control scheme for high-speed trains to achieve the trajectory tracking goal. By making reasonable estimates of the interaction term and compensating for it, the proposed control scheme utilizes only local information from each carriage and does not need any inter-carriage information exchange. The zero-error tracking of the desired trajectory is guaranteed even in a restricted communication environment. Considering unknown time-varying speed delays in the actual high-speed train operations, a modified decentralized iterative learning control scheme is also provided to address the negative impact of speed delays. The convergence of tracking errors is strictly proven by constructing appropriate composite energy functions. Numerical simulations further verify the theoretical results.