Assessment of the High-Frequency Response in Railway Pantograph-Catenary Interaction Based on Numerical Simulation

Abstract

The numerical model is a well-acknowledged tool to evaluate railway pantograph-catenary interaction performance. The current standard restricts most current simulation tools by a cutoff frequency of 20 Hz. This low-frequency range of interest cannot fully describe the current collection quality of pantographcatenary. This paper includes simulation with cutoff frequencies up to 200 Hz to investigate the high-frequency behaviour of pantograph-catenary interaction. The reference model of pantograph-catenary in the benchmark is taken as the analysis object. Firstly, the effect of key simulation parameters of the resulting contact force is investigated. A small element length in the finite element model is proposed to prevent the frequency range of interest being contaminated by the numerical error. The contact stiffness has an opposite effect on the contact force in low and high-frequency ranges. Then the source and the amplification factor of high-frequency components of contact force are investigated. The results show that the half and quarter of the dropper/steady arm interval length presents the primary source of high-frequency components of the contact force. The corresponding wavelength can also be found in the high-order modes of the catenary. Finally, a variable time step procedure is also proposed to capture the contact loss occurring at high frequencies accurately. The comparison of the results between the variable and constant time steps indicates that the traditional constant time step may result in errors when calculating the contact loss duration.

Development of steady arm damper for electrified railway overhead contact line with double pantographs based on numerical and experimental analysis

“…It is seen that all the results are in the range of acceptance, which can demonstrate the validation and convincing accuracy of the present model for simulating double pantographs‐catenary interaction. Apart from the validation with the standard, the accuracy of the present model has been verified by the filed test data [2] and the world benchmark [33] in the authors' previous works.…”

A Response Spectrum Analysis of Wind Deflection in Railway Overhead Contact Lines Using Pseudo-Excitation Method

“…In combination with the pantographs' model, various numerical tools have been developed to evaluate the performance of pantograph-OCL interaction system [6]. The contact force between the contact line of the OCL and the registration strip of the pantograph is desired to be stable to ensure a good contact quality [7]. Inadequate contact forces may lead to the contact loss and increase the occurrence of arcing, sparking and contact loss [8], while excessive contact forces cause extra wear of the strip [9] and the contact line [10].…”

Pantograph Arc Location Estimation Using Resonant Frequencies in DC Railway Power Systems

“…equivalent to 200 Hz) [13] such that high-frequency contact losses cannot be completely reflected by measurements. The pantograph-OHL interaction performance at high frequencies has been investigated in [14] to capture high-frequency contact losses that associate with pantograph arcing so as to maintain the dynamic performance of sliding contact as required [15]. Some research has also been devoted to developing methods for arc detection which supply a basis for predictive maintenance, providing a cost-effective solution to maintenance schedules [16].…”