A Phase-Shaping Method for the Control of Pantograph-Catenary System of High-Speed Trains

High speed trains are being developed rapidly world-wide, particularly in China. A train is powered by several pantograph-catenary systems. The power transmission efficiency is the central issue in this system. To this end, a high precision control of the contact force between the catenary and the pan-head is a must. However, owing to the feature of the catenary the stiffness varies periodically and the frequency is rather high for a high-speed train. This fast-varying stiffness brings about a big oscillation in the contact force and must be actively controlled. This problem has not been well resolved up to now. In this talk, a phase-shaping approach, combined with the idea of disturbance observer, is proposed and validated. It is verified that this method outperforms all existing technologies.