Freight Train Speed Active Disturbance Rejection

Tracking and Wheel Anti-slip Based on T-S Fuzzy

Neural Network
YI Lingzhi
Xiangtan University
YI yu (  1650702980@qq.com )
Xiangtan University
LI Chen
Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Limited Liability Company
Xie Chen
Xiangtan University
Zhang dake
Xiangtan University
Jiang wenbo
Xiangtan University

Research Article

Keywords: Freight train, speed tracking, Wheel slip, Auto Disturbance Rejection Control, Fuzzy Neural
Network, Unscented Kalman Filter

Posted Date: December 9th, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2344184/v1

License:   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Read Full License

Additional Declarations: No competing interests reported.

 Freight Train Speed Active Disturbance Rejection Tracking
and Wheel Anti-slip Based on T-S Fuzzy Neural Network
Author: LingZhi Yi*; Yu Yi*†; JianLing Li**; Chen Xie*; DaKe Zhang*; WenBo
Jiang*
† Corresponding Author: Hunan Province Engineering Research Center for Multi-
Energy Collaborative Control Technology, College of Automation and
Electronic Information, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, Hunan, China.
(1650702980@qq.com)
* XiangTan University
** Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Limited Liability Company
Abstract: A speed tracking control scheme is proposed for freight trains in this paper.
This speed tracking scheme approach can prevent the wheel from slipping while
controlling the traction motor to drive freight trains at an appropriate speed. Direct
Torque Control (DTC) used by the HXD1 electric traction locomotive is applied in this
strategy to control the asynchronous motor. Velocity tracking control is implemented
by a Predictive Auto Disturbance Rejection Control (PADRC). Through an modified
Smith estimator, this PADRC can predict the response of time-delay systems. In
addition, an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) observer is designed. An adaptive
parameter adjustment mechanism implemented by Affinity Propagation-Fuzzy Neural
Network (AP-FNN) is also integrated into this observer. It is used to solve the problem
that is difficult to measure the radial velocity and creep rate accurately. Using the anti-
slip parameters obtained by this observer, the control scheme of anti-skid control is
determined. Under wet and dry pavement conditions, an actual speed curve of a freight
train is used to simulate and verify the effectiveness of this scheme.
Keywords: Freight train; speed tracking; Wheel slip; Auto Disturbance Rejection
Control; Fuzzy Neural Network; Unscented Kalman Filter
1. Introduction
Railway freight transportation is an indispensable way of freight transportation. It
has many advantages, including timeliness, economy, and safety. Because of these
merits, it is widely used in the transportation of bulk commodities. Compared with
passenger trains, freight trains have higher quality, slower speed, and greater inertia.[1]
Thousands of kilometers of railway line make it difficult for train drivers to remain
focused on long-distance driving.[2] Therefore, it is vital to develop automatic driving
technology for freight trains. The automatic train control (ATC) system is composed of
automatic train protection (ATP) system, automatic train operation (ATO) system, and
automatic train monitoring (ATS) system.[3] Among them, the ATO system is the most
important subsystem to achieve automatic train driving. It optimizes the travel speed
offline according to the line conditions and controls the power unit to track the speed
in real-time during the train running.
The speed tracking control of freight trains ensures the train travels at the optimal
speed optimized offline in real-time. Velocity tracking research can be divided into two
parts:[4] only considering speed tracking control, ignoring other factors;[5-7] considering
the impact of wheel slipping when performing speed tracking control.[4,8-13] Wheel
slipping will cause a deviation in the speed between the train and the wheel. In severe
cases, the train will derail. Hence, ignoring wheel slipping reduces the stability of speed
tracking control. Meanwhile, the object of speed tracking control is the radial speed of
the train driven by the motor. As a result, the speed tracking control ignoring motor
control does not have strong engineering practicability.
Due to the specificity of the research object, some studies were temporarily staying
in the simulation stage. A creep speed tracking control for high-speed trains based on
the dynamic surface method was put forward by ChuanFang Xu and Xi Chen.[8] By
introducing the obstacle Lyapunov function, an adaptive dynamic surface control rate
was designed to realize the stability constraint of creep speed. The stability of the
control rate was proved by several numerical examples. Optimal speed tracking
methods for electric locomotives respectively based on fuzzy control and model
prediction control were designed by Moaveni and Rashidi.[4, 9] Both methods integrated
an observation method that uses the torque and flux linkage of the traction motor to
observe the radial speed and creep rate. The tracking accuracy of these methods was
verified by simulation under various pavement conditions. An improved ultra-twist
sliding mode control was implemented by Uyulan and Gokasan.[10] This control used
the Burckhardt adhesion model to achieve maximum adhesion tracking. Its
effectiveness was demonstrated in the longitudinal dynamic model of the train. Also,
considering anti-slip from the perspective of the motor was advisable. An anti-slip
control strategy for wheels based on average differential control was developed by
Achour and Debbou.[11] For dual induction traction motors, the differential torque
between traction motors could be eliminated. The strategy was tested on a semi-
physical simulation platform with a mechanical railway load. The solution ideas of
other tracking fields were also applied to train anti-slip control. A new method to
achieve maximum adhesion between the wheels and tracks of the train was proposed
by Sadr and Arab.[12] This method applied the tracing idea of the MPPT algorithm to
the tracing of the optimal creep rate, the maximum acceleration was obtained with the
adhesion coefficient estimator. Its availability got verification on a digital signal
processor. Similarly, the combination with intelligent control could also improve the
effectiveness of anti-slip control. A neural adaptive fault tolerant control scheme was
purported by DanYong Li and Peng Li.[13] High-precision speed and position tracking
were achieved by combining adaptive robust control with a non-linear hierarchical
neural network. The validity of the scheme was averred under the adhesive anti-slip
constraint.
In this paper, speed tracking control is implemented by a Predictive Auto
Disturbance Rejection Control (PADRC). Unlike conventional ADRC, PADRC adds a
prediction link in the state estimation phase to cope with large delay control of freight
trains. Based on the principle of Smith estimator, a Flexible Smith Estimation Module
(FSEM) is used in this prediction link to solve the time delay estimation problem of the
system. Meanwhile, a UKF observer is designed to solve the anti-slip problem of freight
train wheels. This observer integrates an adaptive parameter adjustment mechanism.
Combining Affinity Propagation (AP) clustering and T-S Fuzzy Neural Network (FNN),
the mechanism can adjust the control parameters adaptively. By real-time monitoring
and appropriate intervention of acceleration, the slipping phenomenon in the driving of
freight trains is well prevented. The HXD1 electric tractor locomotive is taken as the
research object, and its Direct Torque Control (DTC) is used as the validation object. A
numerical simulation results using real freight train speed curve verify the effectiveness
of the strategy to improve the speed tracking accuracy.
The rest of the article discusses this strategy separately. Section 2 establishes the
freight train dynamic model and the control model. Section 3 describes the PADRC.
Section 4 designs the UKF observer to observe unknown anti-slip parameters during
the driving of the freight train. Section 5 verifies the superiority of the method by using
the HXD1 electric locomotive and the real freight train driving curve. Section 6
summarizes the full text.
2. Model building
In this section, the dynamic model of the freight train and the control model are
established. The multiparticle model of the freight train is shown in Fig. 1. The drive
system of the freight train contained in the dashed frame in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 Freight train multiparticle model

Fig. 2 Freight train drive model

2.1 Freight train dynamic model
In the multiparticle model, the carriages shown in Fig. 1 are considered as a
particle, and the traction force is transmitted between the carriages through the
coupler.[14, 15] The equation of motion is as follows：
F −f
x= a (1)
m
0.002mD
f = a0 + a1 x + a2 x 2 + mgsin + (2)
R
Where, x represents the driving distance for the freight carriage, Fa represents
traction, f represents driving resistance, and m represents the quality of carriage.
a0 , a1 , and a2 represent the Davis coefficient, g represents the gravity coefficient,
 represents the slope of the line, D is an empirical constant, and R is the curve
radius of the driving line.
On the contact surface between the wheel and the railway track, the direction of
the wheel torque is the opposite direction of the train travel. The interaction force of the
wheel torque points to the direction of the train driving. Meanwhile, it is the same size
as the wheel torque. Considering the wheel anti-slip problem, Fa is the interaction
force of the track on the wheel torque. This interaction force will be constrained and
cannot be larger than the wheel adhesion force F . The wheel adhesion force is
obtained by Eq. 3. The electric transmission process of the train is represented by Eqs.
(4~6).[4, 16]
F =  mgcos (3)

J w ww = Tw −  w ww − frw (4)

Tw wm rw
= = = Rr (5)
T1 ww rm

Te −  m wm − T1 = J m wm (6)

Where, μ represents the adhesion coefficient; J represents the moment of

inertia, T represents torque, β represents friction coefficient, w represents speed,
and r represents radius; the subscript w represents the wheel side and the subscript
m represents the motor side. frw is the adhesion torque, Rr is the transmission ratio
of the train. The adhesion coefficient μ represents the degree of adhesion between the
wheel and the track of a train. The adhesion coefficient can be obtained from the
Burckhardt model or Ishikawa model.[17, 18] Here, the Ishikawa model is used.
ww rw − v
= (7)
ww rw

 = b3e−b v − b4e−b v
1 s 2 s
(8)

vs = ww rw − v (9)

Where, v represents the running speed of the train, vs represents the sliding
speed of the train, b1 , b2 , b3 , b4 are four parameters in the Ishikawa model. The
relationship between creep rate and adhesion coefficient under various road conditions
was studied by ShiBing Lu,[19] as shown in Fig. 3. From this figure, we can see that the
relationship between adhesion coefficient and creep rate is strongly nonlinear. Before
the ( max , max ) , the adhesion coefficient is positively correlated with the creep rate.
After the ( max , max ) , the adhesion coefficient is negatively correlated with the creep
rate. Sufficient adhesion force cannot be obtained when the adhesion coefficient is
small, furthermore, sufficient acceleration is difficult to be obtained by freight trains.
Before the ( max , max ) , the increase of creep rate can increase the adhesion coefficient
to ensure that the freight train obtains sufficient adhesion. But after the ( max , max ) ,
the increase of creep rate can lead to the decrease of adhesion coefficient. The decrease
of the adhesion force will increase the driving speed error of the freight train and further
increase the creep rate, then create negative feedback. Thus, after the ( max , max ) , the
travel of freight trains cannot be maintained within a stability boundary. This
phenomenon will greatly reduce the safety and punctuality of the train, and cause a
huge waste of electrical energy.

Fig. 3 The relationship graph of creep-slip rate and adhesion coefficient

From above analysis, the control target of wheel anti-skid of freight trains can be
getting: try to make the train run before ( max , max ) ; if the train is running after
( max , max ) , make the running status of the train return to before ( max , max ) at the
fastest speed.
When the freight train accelerates or decelerates, the speed of the train will change
sharply. If the freight train runs at ( max , max ) with acceleration exceeding the
maximum acceleration provided by adhesion force, the train will enter an unstable
operation area. Therefore, anti-slip of train wheels can be achieved by controlling the
speed of freight trains. When the freight train is approaching ( max , max ) and still
accelerating, the acceleration will be reduced to achieve wheel anti-slip control. The
speed of freight trains is off-line planned by the ATO system before running. Travel
speed will be monitored by the ATP system in real time.[3] It will interfere with the
output of the ATO system if necessary to ensure the safe operation of the freight train.
That is to say, the off-line optimized speed curve of the ATO system is an ideal driving
curve. During the train running, the ATO system will try to track the speed curve while
ensuring the secure operation of the freight train.
2.2 Control model
Rewriting the freight train multi-mass model into a standard ADRC control model.
x1 = bu + f ( x1 , x2 , t ) (10)

Where, x1 represents the driving distance of the freight train, f ( x1 , x2 , t )

represents the disturbance of the control system, b represents the control factor, and
u represents the control amount of the system. Organize it into the standard form of
ADRC.[20]
 x1 = x2

 x2 = bu + x3 (11)
x = f ( x , x ,t )
 3 1 2

Where, x2 represents the speed of the freight train, x3 represents the

disturbance of the control system and its derivative is f ( x1 , x2 , t ) . The structure block
diagram of the freight train control model is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 Structure block diagram of freight train control model

3. PADRC
The control essence of ADRC is that it considers the internal and external
disturbances of the control system as the total disturbance of the system, and
compensates it in the control amount. In ADRC, real-time observation of the
disturbance are implemented by an Extended State Observer (ESO). Objects of greater
mass, such as freight trains, usually have large motion inertia, which results in a longer
time delay in their control system. When facing a control system with a long time delay,
ESO cannot guarantee the timeliness of disturbance observation, so ADRC cannot get
a good control effect. Professor Gao proposed an ADRC control scheme based on the
Smith estimator, which provided a solution for the application of ADRC in time-delay
systems.[21] In this paper, an improved Flexible Smith estimation module is used to
provide the ESO with predicted values for the response of time-delay systems, ensuring
the real-time performance of disturbance estimation. The structure block diagram of the
PADRC designed in this paper is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 Structure block diagram of PADRC

3.1 ADRC
ADRC consists of three components: Tracking Differentiator (TD), ESO, and
Non-Linear State Error Feedback (NLSEF). They provide the differential value of the
target output, the estimate of the perturbation, and the control amount of the system for
the ADRC, respectively. The structure of the ADRC is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 Structure block diagram of ADRC

·TD:
v1 ( k + 1) = v1 ( k ) + hv2 ( k )
 (12)
v2 ( k + 1) = v2 ( k ) + hfst ( v1 ( k ) − v ( k ) , v2 ( k ) , r , h0 )
 d = rh0
d = dh
 0 0

 y = v1 ( k ) − v ( k ) + h0v2 ( k )

a0 = ( d 2 + 8r y )
2


  ( a0 − d ) , y  d
 v2 ( k ) + 0 (13)
a =  2
  v2 ( k ) + y , y  d
  h
0

  ra
 fst = − f ( x ) =  d , a  d
 
rsgn ( a ) , a  d
 

·ESO:

 = Z1 ( k ) − y ( k )

 Z1 ( k + 1) = Z1 ( k ) + h ( Z 2 ( k ) −  01 )
 (14)
 Z 2 ( k + 1) = Z 2 ( k ) + h ( Z 3 ( k ) −  02ca (  , 1 ) ) + bu ( k )
 Z ( k + 1) = Z ( k ) − h ca (  ,  )
 3 3 03 2

ca (  ,  ) = ( a` 1− + b`)  

2
(15)

·NLSEF:
e1 = v1 ( k ) − Z1 ( k )

e2 = v2 ( k ) − Z 2 ( k )
u0 =  01 fal ( e1 , 1 ,  ) +  02 fal ( e1 ,  2 ,  ) (16)

u ( k ) = u − Z 3 ( k )
 0
b
 e  sgn ( e ) , e  

fal ( e,  ,  ) =  e ,  0 (17)
 , e  
  1−

3.2 FSEM
The freight train speed tracking control system has a long time delay, and Eq. (14)
becomes:
  = Z1 ( k ) − y ( k −  f )

 Z1 ( k + 1) = Z1 ( k ) + h ( Z 2 ( k ) −  01 )
 (18)
 Z 2 ( k + 1) = Z 2 ( k ) + h ( Z 3 ( k ) −  02ca (  , 1 ) ) + bu ( k )

 Z 3 ( k + 1) = Z 3 ( k ) − h 02 ca (  ,  2 )

Where,  f is the time delay of the speed tracking system. You can see that
because of the presence of  f , ESO cannot obtain accurate system output y ( k −  f )
at k -time, which results in a decrease in ESO's estimation accuracy of total system
disturbance. To reduce the influence of  f on the control system, based on the idea of
Flexible Smith,[22] an FSEM is designed for ESO. The structural block diagram of
FSEM is shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 Structure block diagram of FSEM

In Fig. 7, 𝐺𝑚 represents the control model shown in Section 2.2. Its structure is
as shown in Eq. 19. 𝐺𝑚𝑚 represents the control model considering the control delay
 m , as shown in Eq. 20. 𝜏𝑥 is a design parameter that needs to be specified and its
value should be greater than 0.
 Z m ( t ) = Am Z m ( t ) + Bmu ( t )
 (19)
 ym ( t ) = Cm Z m ( t )

 Z m ( t −  m ) = Am Z m ( t −  m ) + Bmu ( t −  m )
 (20)
 ym ( t −  m ) = Cm Z m ( t −  m )

Where Am , Bm , Cm is the transformation matrix for the appropriate dimension.

 m is an estimated value of freight train speed tracking system delay time  f . By
replacing y ( k −  f ) in Eq. 18 with y f ( k ) , the real-time prediction of the output of
the time-delay system can be realized through FSEM, and the output of the system at
time 𝑘 can be obtained.
4. UKF Observer
In the movement of freight trains, wheel slippage will pose a great threat to the
safety of the train formation and cause a huge waste of electrical energy. To track the
optimal speed accurately, the anti-slip control of the wheels is necessary. As mentioned
in Eqs. (3,8,9) the most essential thing for performing wheel slip control is to obtain the
accurate radial speed and creep rate of the freight train. However, the radial speed of
the train is not easy to obtain, especially in tunnels, remote areas, and other areas where
GPS positioning signals are weak.[23] Therefore, a UKF observer is designed and
applied to observe the radial speed and creep rate of the freight train.
4.1 Observation model
As an optimal digital recursive algorithm, the Kalman algorithm is widely used in
the fields of space, location, and tracking.[24] By performing a data fusion of data from
observed and measured information, the Kalman algorithm makes the best
approximation to the true state quantities. To observe the radial speed and creep rate of
the freight train, the state quantity of the observation system needs to be defined. The
state quantity of the system must be able to accurately reflect the transport process of
the freight train and have high observability. Accurate modeling of the freight train's
transmission process will increase the complexity of the model, and improve the
difficulty of its implementation in microcomputer control.[25] The complex transmission
process is simplified. As shown in Fig. 2, the output of the traction motor is converted
by the train gearbox to act on the wheels of the freight train.
Mathematical modeling is important, and the appropriate mathematical model can
improve the applicability of UKF in the transmission model. For better observation of
radial velocity and creep rate, the state quantity X in this UKF observer is defined as:
X =  wm ww v 
T
(21)

In this model, the observed quantity Z is directly defined as the target observed
quantity:
Z = v  
T
(22)

Appropriate selection of state and observation quantity can effectively improve

the observation accuracy of the UKF filter and reduce the difficulty of system
observation. Combining Eqs. (3~6), the transformation and observation matrices of the
model can be defined as:
 T
  f 
X ( k + 1) = A  X ( k ) + Wm , 0, min   gcosθ − , u   + w ( k ) (23)
  m 

Z ( k + 1) = C  X ( k + 1) + v ( k ) (24)

4.2 UKF observation

The drive train system of a freight train is strongly nonlinear. Twice UTs are used
instead of the traditional symmetric transformation, so UKF has a better prediction
capability for nonlinear systems. UKF can be divided into four steps:
1) UT
X i = ( X (k | k ), X (k | k ) + ( ( n +  ) P )i , X (k | k ) − ( ( n +  ) P )i ) (25)

 0 
 wm = n +  (26)

 0 
 wc = n +  + (1 −  +  )
2


 i 
 wm = wc =
i

 2(n +  )

In Eq. 26,  is the zoom parameter for sampling. Adjusting this parameter
appropriately can adjust the distance between each sample point and the mean value
after the UT, and can reduce the sampling error during sampling.
 =  2 (n +  ) − n (27)

Where,  is a small positive value, between 10−4 ~1;  is the auxiliary zoom
parameter;  is the adjustment parameter with a value of 2.
2) Estimate
X i (k + 1| k ) = f  X i , a ( k )  (28)

2n
X (k + 1| k ) = w( ) X i (k + 1| k )
i
(29)
i =0

2n
P(k + 1| k ) = w( )  X (k + 1| k ) − X i (k + 1| k )    X (k + 1| k ) − X i (k + 1| k )  + Q
i T

i =0

(30)

3) Measurement

X ii (k + 1| k) =  X ( k + 1| k ) , X ( k + 1| k ) +
 ( ( n +  ) P )i , X ( k + 1| k ) − ( ( n +  ) P )i 
 (31)

Z i ( k + 1| k ) = h[ X ii (k + 1| k)] (32)

2n
Z (k + 1| k) = w( ) Z i ( k + 1| k )
i
(33)
i =0

4) Update
2n
Pzk zk = wi  Z i ( k + 1| k ) − Z ( k + 1| k )    Z i ( k + 1| k ) − Z ( k + 1| k )  + R
T
(34)
i =0

2n
Pxk zk = wi [ X ii (k + 1| k) − X (k + 1| k)]  [ Z i (k + 1| k) − Z (k + 1| k)]T (35)
i =0

K ( k + 1) = Pxk zk Pzk zk −1 (36)

X ( k + 1| k + 1) = X (k + 1| k) + K ( k + 1)  [ Z ( k + 1) − Z ( k + 1| k )] (37)

P(k + 1| k + 1) = P(k + 1| k) − K ( k + 1) Pzk zk K T ( k + 1) (38)

R-matrix mean and Q-matrix mean are two momentous filter parameters for the
UKF. And the filtering results are closely related to the R mean and Q mean in this
algorithm. Studies by Huaju and Mingwei also showed that:[26] in a tracking system, if
the tracking object changes slowly, smaller Q mean and R mean will make the tracking
more accurate; if the tracking object changes quickly, large Q mean and R mean are
required to ensure the stability of the filtering. Meanwhile, the best values of Q mean
and R mean are also related to the observation residuals in the filtering process.[27] In
response, this paper designs an adaptive parameter tuning mechanism based on AP-
FNN. x'' and ∆Z in the filtering process are taken as input, two adjustment ratios for
Q mean and R mean are taken as output by AP-FNN. The best parameter output of the
filtering process is achieved through the powerful learning and fitting capabilities of
AP-FNN, and this process is done in real-time.
The essence of fuzzy control is based on logic, and the neural network is based on
data. The combination of them can make up for each other's shortcomings and better
solve non-linear problems in engineering applications. The difficulty of FNN research
lies in the selection of membership functions and the formulation of fuzzy rules. AP
clustering is a graph-based clustering algorithm proposed by Brendan in 2007. [28] The
algorithm uses a point-to-point exchange of information for clustering and does not
require specifying the number of cluster centers before clustering. For this reason, AP
clustering is applied in FNN, and the number of cluster centers after clustering is
specified as the number of fuzzy variables. The designed FNN is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 AP-FNN
The FNN designed in this paper is a neural network system based on the T-S fuzzy
model, which can fully combine the advantages of logical rules and data. The T-S fuzzy
model is an adaptive fuzzy system. This model not only can update in real-time but also
dynamically correct the fuzzy membership function. With fuzzy rules of 𝑅 𝑖 , the
inference of the T-S fuzzy model is as follows:
𝑅 𝑖 : 𝐼𝐹 𝑥1 𝑖𝑠 𝐴1𝑖 , ⋯ , 𝑥𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝐴𝑖𝑘 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑖 = 𝑝0𝑖 + 𝑝1𝑖 𝑥1 + ⋯ + 𝑝𝑘𝑖 𝑥𝑘
In the initialization phase, FNN assigns random numbers to the center and width
of each membership function, which greatly affects the convergence rate of FNN and
wastes training time. In this paper, the center of the cluster obtained by AP clustering is
designated as the center of the membership function, and the width of the cluster is
designated as the width of the membership function. The FNN designed in this paper
has four layers: input layer, fuzzification layer, fuzzy rule layer, and output layer. [29, 30]
The task of the input layer is to store and transmit the input data of the neural
network. The number of nodes in this layer is equal to the dimensionality of the input
data [𝑥 ′′ ∆𝑍]𝑇 , which is 2.
The task of the fuzzification layer is to calculate the membership of each input
component to each fuzzy variable. In AP-FNN, the number of fuzzy variables
corresponding to each input component is the number of cluster centers after AP
clustering. The affiliation degree is calculated through Eq. (39).
 −
( x −c )
j
i
j

bij
 Aij = e (39)

Where, cij , bij is the center and width of the membership function, respectively.
j=1,2⋯,k，k is the number of input parameters; i=1,2⋯,n, n is the number of fuzzy
variables.
The fuzzy rule layer is responsible for the fuzzy calculation of each membership
degree. Here, the multiplication operator is used. This layer accepts the membership
value from the fuzzification layer and outputs the fuzzy calculation value.
wi =  A1j ( x1 )   A2j ( x2 )    Akj ( xk ) (40)

The output layer calculates the output value of the fuzzy model according to the
fuzzy calculation results.

 wi ( p0i + p1i  x1 + + pki  xk )

n

yi = i =1
(41)

n
i =1
wi

Where, pki is the neural network parameter.

The data to be trained is fed into the AP clustering, and the number of cluster
centers of the data can be obtained without specifying the number of cluster centers.
The AP clustering algorithm is implemented mainly by three equations:
r ( i, k )  s ( i, k ) − max a ( i, k `) + s ( i, k `) (42)


a ( i, k )  min 0, r ( k , k ) +  max 0, r ( i`, k )  (43)

a ( k , k )   max 0, r ( i`, k ) (44)

Where, s ( i, k ) denotes the degree of the point k being suitable as a cluster center
for point i; s ( k , k ) denotes the degree of the possibility of the point k being the final
cluster center. r ( i, k ) is called attractiveness, reflecting the extent that point k is
suitable as a cluster center for point i after considering the remaining cluster centers.
a ( i, k ) is called attribution, reflecting the extent to which point i selects point k as a
clustering center after considering the remaining points to be called clustering centers.
Eq. (43) shows that any candidate clustering center can influence the rest of the
candidate clustering centers, and each candidate clustering center has an equal chance
to become a clustering center. Eq. (44) illustrates that only positive attraction can
support the point k called cluster center.
1. Update the attractiveness information of each point in the similarity matrix under the
condition of a given degree of attribution
2. Update the attribution information of each point under the condition of a given degree of
attraction
The pseudo-code
3. Sum of the AP
up the attractiveness clustering
information andalgorithm
attribution is as follows:
information of each point and
make decisions; Determine whether the iteration is stopped

In this case, the iteration-stopping condition is that the number of iterations reaches
a pre-defined number or the clustering centers are no longer changing. In this paper,
four datasets are used to validate the improvement effect of AP-FNN and also to
compare it with the standard FNN. The comparison results are shown in Fig. 9.

(a) Fitting data

(b) Fitting error

Fig. 9 Comparison result
The UKF observer can observe the running state of the freight train in real time.
Combining with Eqs. (4,8,9), it can obtain the adhesion coefficient 𝜇 when the freight
train is moving. When the acceleration of the train is less than the acceleration provided
by adhesion, it means that the train adhesion force satisfies the acceleration needs of
the train, and the train will accelerate forward with the acceleration given by the control
system. When the train acceleration is greater than the acceleration provided by
adhesion, it indicates that the train adhesion cannot meet the needs of train acceleration
at this time, and the train will accelerate forward with the maximum acceleration
provided by the adhesion. Thus, anti-slip control of wheels becomes a constraint
problem: when the train acceleration is greater than the acceleration provided by
adhesion, the output of the speed tracking system is intervened, and the acceleration
output from the controller will be equal to the maximum acceleration provided by the
adhesive force.
The structure of the freight train speed tracking and wheel anti-skid control system
designed in this paper is shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 Structure block diagram of speed tracking and wheel anti-skid control system
5. Simulation results and analysis
In engineering, speed tracking without motor control does not exist. At the same
time, not taking wheel slip into account would greatly reduce the accuracy of speed
tracking and pose a great danger to freight trains. In this paper, the effectiveness of
motor control, speed tracking, and wheel slip prevention are verified separately. All
three are validated using an actual freight train running curve from the Geku section in
China. We use the HXD1 electric tractor locomotive running on the Geku line to track
the C80 freight train for simulation. The speed curve is shown in Fig. 11. The relevant
simulation parameters are shown in Tab Ι. Some of the unspecified control parameters
are obtained by an improved mayfly algorithm.[31] Thus, the control effect of the
controller is better presented.
 Fig. 11 Target speed curve
Tab Ι Explanation of simulation parameters
Parameter Value Parameter Value
1.2,
a0 , a1 , a2 0.0065, g 9.8 (m/s2)
0.000279
D 600 Rr 6.2325
rw 1200 (mm) b 1
 01 3w0  02 3w02
 03 w03 1 0.5
2 0.25 f 0.5 (s)
Train length 275.2 (m) Quality of traction train 200 (t)
Quality of heavy-duty train 20+80 (t) Train quality 2200 (t)

5.1 Motor control

This section simulates and verifies the speed curve for motor control under dry
and wet road conditions respectively. The DTC model used for motor control is shown
in Fig. 12. The motor operation of the speed curve under wet and dry pavement
conditions is simulated and verified respectively in Fig. 13. The target speed curve is
input into the controller designed in this paper, and the output speed of the motor is
obtained. According to the comparison in Fig. 13, the output speed of the motor can
generally track the target speed. Compared with dry road conditions, the output speed
of the motor under wet road conditions is slightly smaller to prevent wheel slippage.
 Fig. 12 DTC model

(a) Dry pavement condition (b) Wet pavement condition

Fig. 13 Motor speed
5.2 Speed tracking
In this section, the tracking performance of the freight train speed tracker based on
the PADRC is verified. Its tracking results are compared with typical ADRC. In Fig. 14,
in the acceleration and deceleration stages of freight trains, ADRC and PADRC all have
different degrees of tracking errors. Because of the long control delay of the freight
train, ADRC has been unable to track the target speed steadily. Thanks to FSEM,
PADRC can correctly predict the output of time-delay systems and enable freight trains
to track target speeds accurately.

(a) ADRC (b) PADRC

 (c) tracking error
Fig. 14 Speed tracking with time delay
Moreover, ESO is very important for Auto Disturbance Rejection Control. The
ADRC and PARC observations of speed are shown in Fig. 15. It is clear that PADRC
observations are more stable and accurate. However, the ADRC observations are
unstable due to the time delay.

Fig. 15 ESO observations

In order to emphasize the predictive effect of FSEM, the simulation of this control
system without considering time delay is also carried out, and the result is shown in Fig.
16. It can be seen that both ADRC and ADRC can accurately track the target speed, and
the tracking effect of both is not very different.

(a) ADRC (b) PADRC

 (c) tracking error
Fig. 16 Speed tracking without time delay
5.3 Anti-slip control
In this section, simulation is carried out for dry and wet pavement conditions
respectively. And the results are shown in Fig. 17 and Fig. 18. It can be seen that without
anti-slip control, the speed of the freight train largely lags behind the output speed of
the speed tracking controller, whether on dry or wet roads. Comparing the driving
speeds on dry and wet pavement conditions, the driving speed on dry roads can track
the speed output by the speed tracking controller more accurately. This is because,
under dry pavement condition, the wheels of freight trains can obtain a greater adhesion
coefficient and thus sufficient traction to keep the train moving at its target speed.

(a) Dry pavement condition (b) Wet pavement condition

Fig .17 Driving speed

(a) Dry pavement condition (b) Wet pavement condition

Fig .18 𝑣𝑠
Fig. 19 shows the UKF and AP-FNN-UKF observations of the speed of freight
trains under dry road conditions. It can be seen that the observation accuracy of the
filter can be improved by adjusting the filter parameters in real-time. Accurate
observation of the speed of freight train helps to obtain more accurate anti-slip
parameters and ensure the effectiveness of anti-slip control. This is very helpful for the
safe operation of freight trains.

Fig. 19 Comparison of observations

6. Conclusion
The purpose of this paper is to design a freight train speed tracking system that
can control the output of the traction motor while considering wheel slip constraints,
and then making the freight train travel at the target speed. A DTC model is built to
control the asynchronous motor of the HXD1 electric tractor locomotive. The speed
tracking control is implemented by a PADRC. It uses FSEM to estimate the output of
the large time-delay system. Meanwhile, an observer based on UKF is designed to
observe the creep rate and radial speed of freight trains. Through an AP-FNN, the
filtering parameters in the UKF observer are adjusted in real-time, and its robustness is
greatly improved. The best approximation of creep rate and radial speed is achieved by
data fusion of the observed and measured information. The simulation results show the
validity of each part under wet and dry conditions, and the controller ensures the freight
train always travels within the stable range. Compared with ADRC, the PADRC can
reduce speed jitter better and improve the response speed of speed tracking.
Considering the research object of this paper, the method proposed in this paper should
be subsequently validated on a semi-physical simulation platform to evaluate the
performance of this control system in engineering applications.
 Declarations

Competing interests
This is the first submission of this manuscript and no parts of this manuscript are
being considered for publication elsewhere. All authors have approved this manuscript.
No author has financial or other contractual agreements that might cause conflicts of
interest.

Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(61572416), Hunan Province Natural Science Zhuzhou United Foundation
(2022JJ50132).

Authors’ contributions
Yi Lingzhi provided financial support and reviewed the full text. Yi Yu completed
the writing of the manuscript content and the drawing of graphics. Zhang Dake and Xie
Cheng provided some simulation data and verified it. Jiang Wenbo and Li Jianling built
the relevant control model.

Availability of data and materials

Relevant data about this study can be obtained by contacting the corresponding
author of this paper.

Reference:
1. Dick, C.T., et al., Quantifying Recent Trends in Class 1 Freight Railroad Train
Length and Weight by Train Type. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD, 2021.
2675(12): p. 890-903.
2. Chen, X., Reconnecting Eurasia: a new logistics state, the China–Europe freight
train, and the resurging ancient city of Xi’an. Eurasian Geography and Economics,
2021: p. 1-29.
3. Wu, P., Q.-Y. Wang, and X.-Y. Feng, Automatic train operation based on adaptive
terminal sliding mode control. International Journal of Automation and Computing,
2015. 12(2): p. 142-148.
4. Moaveni, B., F.R. Fathabadi, and A. Molavi, Supervisory predictive control for
wheel slip prevention and tracking of desired speed profile in electric trains. ISA
TRANSACTIONS, 2020. 101: p. 102-115.
5. Cheng, R.J., et al., Intelligent Safe Driving Methods Based on Hybrid Automata
and Ensemble CART Algorithms for Multihigh-Speed Trains. IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON CYBERNETICS, 2019. 49(10): p. 3816-3826.
6. Wang, X., et al., Robust Distributed Cruise Control of Multiple High-Speed Trains
Based on Disturbance Observer. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, 2021. 22(1): p. 267-279.
7. Yu, Q.X. and Z.S. Hou, Adaptive Fuzzy Iterative Learning Control for High-Speed
Trains With Both Randomly Varying Operation Lengths and System Constraints. IEEE
TRANSACTIONS ON FUZZY SYSTEMS, 2021. 29(8): p. 2408-2418.
8. XU Chuanfang, C.X., ZHENG Xiang, WANG Ying, LI Weidong, Slip Velocity
Tracking Control of High-speed Train Using Dynamic Surface Method. JOURNAL OF
THE CHINA RAILWAY SOCIETY, 2020. 42(02): p. 41-49.
9. Moaveni, B., F. Rashidi Fathabadi, and A. Molavi, Fuzzy control system design for
wheel slip prevention and tracking of desired speed profile in electric trains. Asian
Journal of Control, 2022. 24(1): p. 388-400.
10. Uyulan, C. and M. Gokasan, Modeling, simulation and re-adhesion control of an
induction motor-based railway electric traction system. PROCEEDINGS OF THE
INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART I-JOURNAL OF SYSTEMS
AND CONTROL ENGINEERING, 2018. 232(1): p. 3-11.
11. Achour, T., M. Debbou, and M. Pietrzak-David, Control strategy of a dual
induction motor: Anti-slip control application. CONTROL ENGINEERING
PRACTICE, 2015. 36: p. 58-71.
12. Sadr, S., D.A. Khaburi, and J. Rodriguez, Predictive Slip Control for Electrical
Trains. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, 2016. 63(6): p.
3446-3457.
13. Li, D.Y., et al., Neural Adaptive Fault Tolerant Control for High Speed Trains
Considering Actuation Notches and Antiskid Constraints. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, 2019. 20(5): p. 1706-1718.
14. Liu, Y.F., et al., An analytical optimal control approach for virtually coupled high-
speed trains with local and string stability. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART
C-EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, 2021. 125.
15. Tang, H.Y., Q.Y. Wang, and X.Y. Feng, Robust Stochastic Control for High-Speed
Trains With Nonlinearity, Parametric Uncertainty, and Multiple Time-Varying Delays.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, 2018.
19(4): p. 1027-1037.
16. Chun, M.T.W.M.T., Anti-Skid Control Based on AdhesionForce Observer for Train
PneumaticBraking. JOURNAL OF TONGJI UNIVERSITY（NATURAL SCIENCE）,
2020. 48(11): p. 1668-1675.
17. Ulsoy, A.G., H. Peng, and M. Çakmakci, Automotive control systems. 2012:
Cambridge University Press.
18. Ishikawa, Y. and A. Kawamura. Maximum adhesive force control in super high
speed train. in Proceedings of Power Conversion Conference-PCC'97. 1997. IEEE.
19. SHI Lubing, L.Q., GUO Jun , WANG Wenjian, LIU Qiyue Adhesion-creep Curve
Characteristics of Wheel/Rail under Various Conditions. JOURNAL OF
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 2019. 55(10): p. 151-157.
20. jingqing, H., From PID Technique to Active Disturbances Rej ection Control
Technique. ComroI Engineering of China 2002(03): p. 13-18.
21. Zheng, Q.L. and Z.Q. Gao, Predictive active disturbance rejection control for
processes with time delay. ISA TRANSACTIONS, 2014. 53(4): p. 873-881.
22. Astrom, K.J., C.C. Hang, and B. Lim, A new Smith predictor for controlling a
process with an integrator and long dead-time. IEEE transactions on Automatic Control,
1994. 39(2): p. 343-345.
23. Guzinski, J., et al., Speed and Load Torque Observer Application in High-Speed
Train Electric Drive. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS,
2010. 57(2): p. 565-574.
24. Kim, J., et al., An Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter With Selective Scaling
(AUKF-SS) for Overhead Cranes. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL
ELECTRONICS, 2021. 68(7): p. 6131-6140.
25. Pichlik, P. and J. Zdenek, LocoMotive Wheel Slip Control Method Based on an
Unscented Kalman Filter. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR
TECHNOLOGY, 2018. 67(7): p. 5730-5739.
26. Liu, H.J., L.W. Xia, and C.L. Wang, Maneuvering Target Tracking Using
Simultaneous Optimization and Feedback Learning Algorithm Based on Elman Neural
Network. SENSORS, 2019. 19(7).
27. Lin, M., C. Yang, and D. Li, An improved transformed unscented FastSLAM with
adaptive genetic resampling. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 2018. 66(5):
p. 3583-3594.
28. Frey, B.J. and D. Dueck, Clustering by passing messages between data points.
science, 2007. 315(5814): p. 972-976.
29. Zhou, H.B., et al., Soft-sensing of effluent total phosphorus using adaptive
recurrent fuzzy neural network with Gustafson-Kessel clustering. EXPERT SYSTEMS
WITH APPLICATIONS, 2022. 203.
30. Fei, J.T. and L.H.J. Liu, Real-Time Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Active
Power Filter Using Self-Feedback Recurrent Fuzzy Neural Network Estimator. IEEE
TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, 2022. 69(8): p. 8366-8376.
31. Zervoudakis, K. and S. Tsafarakis, A mayfly optimization algorithm.
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, 2020. 145.