CONTROL STRATEGY OF AN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL BRAKE ACTUATOR THROUGH A MODEL-BASED DESIGN APPROACH Development and validation of an electro-mechanical brake model and related control strategies compared to a real laboratory demonstrator

Faiveley Transport S.p.A. has recently taken part in one of the several sub-projects related to the EU-funded PIVOT2 project: the development of innovative braking systems to contribute to the achievement of some of the key Shift2Rail Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAAP) objectives, focusing on lo development of an electro-mechanic brake (EM-B) as an alternative technology to traditional brakes (pneumatic and / or hydraulic). The hypothesized solution is based on an innovative and patented energy storage strategy aimed at satisfying the safety concepts typical of the railway sector. In order to validate the principle of this solution, a physical laboratory prototype of the electro-mechanical brake has been developed, chaperoned by a mathematical model based on the MATLAB environment and Simulink (the MATLAB-based graphical programming software suitable for Model-Based design). This thesis therefore focuses on the design of a Simulink model able to emulate the one in the test bench as best as possible, so as to make it a reliable tool for predicting future results and preventing possible critical issues. The results obtained from the various simulations have been compared with those carried out on the test bench, demonstrating how the physical laboratory prototype has actually been reproduced quite faithfully. Therefore, thanks to the potential of this mathematical model, in the future it will be possible both to bring any changes to the components and to be able to predict the performance of the real model without necessarily physically building a new prototype, obtaining a significant improvement in terms of time and costs.