ACC Fuzzy-Based Control Architecture for Multi-body High-Speed Trains with Active Inter-cars Couplers

This paper tackles the problem of controlling the motion of high-speed train composed of different cars physically connected via active couplers, where only the first one is powered. At high-speed, performing acceleration and deceleration maneuvers could generate higher longitudinal inter-cars coupling forces, which might cause possible shocks of the couplers compromising their mechanical structure and, hence, the safety during the travel. To face this issue, we propose a novel double layer control architecture able to guarantee that the whole high-speed train moves according to an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) guidance mode, while reducing inter-cars shocking phenomena. Accordingly, we design a PID controller for driving the motion of the first powered car and a Fuzzy-based PI for the active couplers. More in details, the fuzzy logic is used to modulate the damping and spring coefficients of each active coupler with the aim of reducing the higher fluctuations of the coupling force induced by couplers for travelling, hence minimizing the inter-cars shocks. Numerical results, including a comparison analysis with a passive coupler, confirm the effectiveness and the benefits of the proposed control architecture in guaranteeing a smooth and safe inter-cars motion.