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    Catenary Pantograph and Their Interaction

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    MercedHernandez
    The document discusses the interaction between catenary systems and pantographs that provide electric power to trains. It describes how the catenary wire sags between support droppers, creating an irregular contact force with the pantograph. Vibrations in both systems can cause loss of contact. Accurate models are needed to understand the dynamic behavior and improve performance.

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    Catenary Pantograph and Their Interaction

    Uploaded by

    MercedHernandez
    37 views4 pages
    The document discusses the interaction between catenary systems and pantographs that provide electric power to trains. It describes how the catenary wire sags between support droppers, creating an irregular contact force with the pantograph. Vibrations in both systems can cause loss of contact. Accurate models are needed to understand the dynamic behavior and improve performance.

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    Catenary pantograph and their interaction

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    Catenary pantograph and their interaction

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    The document discusses the interaction between catenary systems and pantographs that provide electric power to trains. It describes how the catenary wire sags between support droppers, creating an irregular contact force with the pantograph. Vibrations in both systems can cause loss of contact. Accurate models are needed to understand the dynamic behavior and improve performance.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    37 views4 pages

    Catenary Pantograph and Their Interaction

    Uploaded by

    MercedHernandez
    The document discusses the interaction between catenary systems and pantographs that provide electric power to trains. It describes how the catenary wire sags between support droppers, creating an irregular contact force with the pantograph. Vibrations in both systems can cause loss of contact. Accurate models are needed to understand the dynamic behavior and improve performance.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 4

    Vehicle System Dynamics

    International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility

    ISSN: 0042-3114 (Print) 1744-5159 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nvsd20

    Catenary, pantograph, and their interaction

    Tore Dahlberg

    To cite this article: Tore Dahlberg (2006) Catenary, pantograph, and their interaction, Vehicle
    System Dynamics, 44:8, 591-593, DOI: 10.1080/00423110600735894

    To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423110600735894

    Published online: 17 Feb 2007.

    Submit your article to this journal

    Article views: 5711

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    Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

    Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at


    https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nvsd20
    Vehicle System Dynamics
    Vol. 44, No. 8, August 2006, 591–593

    Editorial

    Catenary, pantograph, and their interaction

    Nowadays many railway trains use electric traction. The electric power is transferred to the
    locomotive by an overhead current supply system, the catenary system, and the power is
    transmitted down to the motors via a pantograph that is mounted on the roof of the locomotive.
    The current collection system should provide an uninterrupted current flow from the catenary
    system to the locomotive. The current supply must be reliable and of good quality.
    Mechanically, the pantograph on the locomotive and the overhead current supply system
    on the track are two dynamic systems that interact with each other through the contact force
    acting on a collector strip of the pantograph head. This gives a force moving along the contact
    wire and, because of the staggered alignment of the contact wire, the contact force is moving
    (sideways) on the collector strip as well. Owing to geometrical and other irregularities in the
    track and in the catenary system, the contact force will be irregular in time, causing dynamic
    excitation of the pantograph and the catenary system.

    1. The catenary system

    A catenary system generally consists of a contact wire that is supported in a messenger (or
    support) wire. The vertical connections between the messenger and the contact wires are called
    droppers, and their lengths are adjusted so that the contact wire becomes as horizontal as
    possible. However, because of the separation of the droppers (normally, the distance between
    the droppers is about 10 m), the contact wire will sag a little between the droppers. The
    messenger and contact wires are supported by masts at the side of the track. By the support
    structure, the wires are given a staggered alignment to avoid centralized contact abrasion of
    the current-collector strip on the pantograph.
    The variation of distance from wire to track produces, especially at high train speed,
    undesirable dynamic behaviour of both the wire and the collector and pantograph. Oscillations
    of both take place, and the connection between them may break, causing excessive arcing and
    wear with attendant loss of power transmission. Stitching the wire to a stouter supporting wire
    can minimize the bounce of both collector and wire and assure a more reliable current flow.

    Vehicle System Dynamics


    ISSN 0042-3114 print/ISSN 1744-5159 online © 2006 Taylor & Francis
    http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
    DOI: 10.1080/00423110600735894
    592 Editorial

    2. The pantograph

    Formerly, the pantograph geometry was seen in the collapsible parallel linkage used on electric
    locomotives to keep a current-collector bar in contact with the overhead wire. Two such
    congruent linkages in planes parallel to the train’s motion were affixed on top of the locomotive.
    An uppermost horizontal member collected the current. Springs pushed the configuration
    upwards to give contact between the current-collector and the contact wire.
    Nowadays, a pantograph is generally composed of a lower arm, an upper arm, a pantograph
    head, and connections between them. On modern pantographs, two collector strips are mounted
    with soft springs on the pantograph head and the head itself is mounted with flexible mountings
    on an articulated framework (the lower and upper arms). The articulated frame is free to move
    in a vertical plane and is spring-loaded so that, irrespective of the wire height over the roof of
    the vehicle, the pantograph could provide a constant contact force between the collector strips
    and the contact wire.

    3. Problems

    As mentioned, the current collection system should provide an uninterrupted current flow from
    the catenary system to the locomotive, but because of oscillations in the contact wire and in
    the pantograph, the contact force between the two will be irregular and the contact may even
    be broken. There are many sources that contribute to creating an irregular contact force.
    When starting a train, a large amount of current should be supplied within a very short
    portion of the contact wire. This will induce heating of the wire and may damage it. A weak
    spot on the wire may thus be created.
    When the collector strip slides along the contact wire, the pantograph will perceive an
    irregular stiffness (in the vertical direction) from the contact wire. The irregular stiffness is
    caused by the droppers and by the sagging of the contact wire between the droppers. The
    droppers (with their fastenings) also induce an irregular mass distribution along the contact
    wire. This generates variations of the contact force and vibrations in the two systems. Also,
    the catenary system is divided into sections of, say, 1200 m, with some overlap of the contact
    wires at the ends of the sections. At these overlaps, the height, stiffness, and mass distribution
    of the contact wire(s) will differ from that along the line, and this will also induce irregularities
    of the contact force.
    When the pantograph enters a new section of the contact wire, and moves along it, tra-
    velling waves in the contact wire are generated. These waves move faster than the train, both
    forwards and backwards, and they are reflected at the wire ends to meet or to catch-up with
    the pantograph, and these irregularities will induce variations in the contact force.
    Variations in the contact force between the pantograph and the contact wire create problems.
    If the contact force goes down to zero, electromagnetic disturbances due to sparkling appear.
    If the contact force is too large, the contact wire uplift may exceed allowable limits and may
    even be torn down. Also, the wear of the contact wire and the collector strip(s) is influenced by
    the contact force. Thus, to avoid excessive wire uplift and wear (due to friction), the contact
    force should be small, but to avoid electromagnetic disturbances, the contact force should be
    large. As seen, these requirements are conflicting. In order to achieve a good compromise, the
    dynamic behaviour of the two systems, the pantograph and the overhead system, and their
    interaction need to be properly understood.
    To better understand and improve the dynamic performance of the pantograph and the
    catenary system, and their interaction, mathematical simulation tools are of great help.
    Editorial 593

    A pantograph/catenary numerical model should be able to reflect geometric changes, contact


    wire irregularities, the staggered alignment of the contact wire, dropper spacing, wire tension,
    wave propagation, and so on. Non-linearities in the system should be taken into account. For
    example, at high train speed, slackening of the droppers may play an important role in the
    catenary dynamics.
    The pantograph model should include both low-frequency rigid-body motions and high-
    frequency vibrations of the collector strips and the pantograph head. Also, in the pantograph,
    non-linearities may be present. Examples are collector suspension bump stops and non-linear
    springs. At high train speed, aerodynamic effects will be important.
    A numerical model of the compound pantograph/catenary system should be able to simulate
    the contact force variations, including the loss of contact and recovered contact between
    the contact wire and the collector strips. Pantograph/catenary models should also be able
    to assess the current collection quality, estimate limiting speeds with multiple pantograph
    configurations, investigate wear phenomena, analyse actively controlled pantographs, and so
    on.
    In this issue of Vehicle System Dynamics, several of the above aspects are investigated. Four
    articles are presented, dealing with different aspects of the pantograph and catenary behaviour
    and their interaction.
    In the article by Vera et al., a rigid arrangement for current supply is presented. One advan-
    tage with this arrangement is that the required height for installation is much less than that for
    the conventional catenary energy supply systems. This makes the installation suitable for sub-
    way infrastructure and for tunnels. By means of simulation, the dynamics of a new conductor
    rail is investigated.
    The pantograph–catenary system for high-speed trains is analysed in the article by Seo
    et al. A structural model (the catenary) and a multibody dynamics model (the pantograph) are
    unified into one numerical system. Analysis results are compared with experimental data.
    Dahlberg formulates the moving force problem for an axially loaded beam. The solution
    is used to investigate the behaviour of a contact wire, taking both tensile force and bending
    stiffness of the wire into account. Wave propagation is investigated and stresses in the wire
    due to bending are estimated.
    The article by Zhang et al. presents a finite element model of the catenary system inter-
    acting with a multi-body mass–spring–damper pantograph model, and dynamic stresses in the
    catenary are simulated. Some test results are also presented.
    As guest editor of this special issue of Vehicle System Dynamics; an issue devoted to catenary
    and pantograph dynamics, I hope that the reader finds it useful and interesting.

    Tore Dahlberg
    Linköping University, Sweden

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