Virtual coupling can flexibly adjust vehicle resources as needed to improve vehicle resource utilization and significantly enhance rail transit capacity and efficiency. However, its stability is constrained by inherent train parameter uncertainty and delay effects, which may reduce the benefits brought by virtual coupling technology. To address the effects of actuator inertial delay and control system delay on control accuracy, a smooth tracking control method for virtual coupling trains based on a barrier Lyapunov function and a prescribed-time function was proposed. A nonlinear dynamic model considering actuator inertial delay and control system delay was established, and a state-constrained controller based on the barrier Lyapunov function was designed. The Lyapunov–Krasovskii stability criterion and the prescribed-time function were used to ensure that the errors converge to a safe range within the prescribed time, and an RBF neural network was used to approximate unknown nonlinear terms to enhance robustness. Based on the prescribed-time method, an adaptive smooth tracking controller for virtual coupling unit trains was designed according to the nonlinear distance tracking interval strategy.
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