Optimal PID Control for Precise Lubrication of Railway Turnout Dripper

Abstract

In order to reduce the influence of environment on the flow rate of lubricating oil and improve the accuracy of dripping oil, this paper developed an optimized proportional integral differential (PID) precision lubrication controller for railway switch locking hooks. The system models the temperature-dependent flow dynamics of biodegradable lubricants. An improved PID algorithm is proposed, which uses velocity feedback to enhance setpoint tracking and disturbance suppression. The simulation results show that the flow control accuracy is improved by 0.8% compared with the traditional PID method. Field tests over a temperature fluctuation range of –3 °C to 35 °C validate the effectiveness and robustness of the method for maintaining a constant drop rate. This research enables adaptive, environmentally friendly lubrication to reduce friction and ensure the operability of railway switch.

Keywords

• disturbance suppression
• fixed-point tracking
• modeling
• PID
• switch lock hook
• velocity feedback