Development of an Optimal Operation Approach in the MPC Framework for Heavy-Haul Trains

An operation control approach for heavy-haul trains to optimize their performance, including operation safety, service quality, and energy consumption, is proposed. Following a model predictive control method, the controller is capable of scheduling a train to operate optimally during a long section of the rail track. In the cost function, two penalty factors are presented, i.e., one for the braking forces and one for coupler damping effects. The penalty for braking forces is employed to reduce the energy waste incurred by braking. The penalty for coupler damping is introduced to alleviate the cyclic vibration of couplers, which link adjacent cars in the train. The damping penalty is also expected to reduce energy wasted by coupler damping and corresponding maintenance/replacement cost of the dampers. In addition, the weight of the velocity tracking term in the objective function is modified to vary dynamically, according to the train's velocity, to improve the train's overall performance. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed control approach. Discussions over the impacts of the two penalty factors and the dynamic weight method are provided, together with some suggestions on their applications.