Adaptive nonlinear control of braking in railway vehicles

In this work a new technique for anti-slip control in railway vehicles is proposed. This technique is based on a new parametrization of the unknown adherence force. The control philosophy is alternative to the ones currently implemented in the industry and found in the literature, and aims at enhancing vehicle performances by estimating the maximum available adhesion force, which is then exploited via a nonlinear controller. The effects of the implemented control scheme are the use of the maximum available deceleration in case of poor adhesion conditions and, consequently, a reduction in the wear rate of the rolling stock. The results are illustrated via simulation.