An Active Repetitive Learning Control Method for Lateral Suspension Systems of High-Speed Trains

This article presents a novel perspective to improve the ride quality of high-speed trains (HSTs), namely, by virtue of the periodicity of lateral dynamics to suppress the lateral vibration of HST. To resolve the contradiction between the complex HST model and the effective controller design, a simplified three-degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF) quarter-vehicle model is first employed for controller design, while a 17-DOF full-vehicle model is built for efficiency verification, where periodic and random track irregularities are considered, respectively. An active repetitive learning control (RLC) method is proposed to achieve the periodic tracking control, where the learning convergence is proved rigorously in a Lyapunov way. The configuration of RLC-based lateral suspensions is economical in the sense that only four actuators and six sensors are needed. It is verified by simulation that, compared with the dynamic matrix controller, the proposed RLC controller has greatly reduced the lateral vibration of a vehicle body, especially the lateral acceleration in the frequency range of (0, 3] Hz to which human body is strongly sensitive.